Ohhh this book launches another of my favorite Breeds and I can't wait for y'all to catch up and read this one as well.
One of my favorite characters in this book has got to be Charity, despite all she's been through she still fights for the Breeds and fights to live, even in the face of absolute rejection and pain she still fights. She's hilarious, bratty, funny and just plain fun character to read. Despite the pain she's been dealt she still fights for justice anyway she can because it honors not just her parents and their work but her on sense of rightness with the world.
I loved that we are getting so much more of the world surrounding the packs and the men and omen who make up the packs., Meeting several of the well known badasses and seeing how quirky they are, how brass, funny, sarcastic and in your face they are without their mates and just knowing when it happens for them it will knock them on their asses. I loved how autonomic they felt especially when they became blindsided by emotions they had never felt before.
Aiden's journey in emotions were authentic to the characters, because he had never had anyone or anytime in which to learn the full range emotions being assaulted by them when in this relationship with his mate and his pack both frightens him into shutting down and then running into it as well. The confusion he feels when confronted with the animals instincts to protect and coddle his mate and his very human desire for revenge for what he sees as her betrayal of him and the pack is such an emotional rolacoster to read.
Lora's writing enriched this story, even as she shared the brutality that is the life of a Breed and their mate's fate. This story brought us into the compound; we got to see more of the world the Pack has claimed, how they set up security, their homes, their routines, and even how they are preparing for a future that includes children. I really loved the glimpse of the homes, the description of it being in the woods made me feel like I was there.
I enjoyed that we got the majority of the story from our main character's POV, however there were moments when it switched so that we could get a great balance of the story from anothers' eyes, especially as it advanced the story and gave us major cliffhangers. While the main story revolved around Charity and Aidan learning to accept their mating, we also got the beginning stories of several different couples, were given the glimpse of some of the secrets that form the packs, we were introduced to new characters, the plot around the mates thickens and once again Jonas is in the thick of things stirring up shyt.
There are so many things to love about this story, from the deep lessons being repeated about race, racism, classism and what makes a person human. To the way in which each couple being portrayed has to learn about finding their own brand of happiness and what that looks like for them. To understanding that being born human doesn't always make us the most compassionate people, which sadly is something that is reflected in our everyday world. The last few pages of this one blew my mind, she dropped serious hints, outed a traitor, broke a Breeds heart and set up a good few books to come.
Because I simply went into this book blind because it's part of the series I as unprepared for the host of emotions I felt, from anger, to love, to fear for my characters, to happiness, to joy at some of the quirky moments, to laughing out loud at the funny moments, to serious need to coddle and protect my faves, this book ran the gamut of emotions and I loved every second of it.
★★★★☆
