Review: Black & White: An MM Shifter Romantic Suspense Novel (ORCA Book 1) by Vinni George

Rating: 4.25🌈

Vinni George dives into the fated mates shifter trope with a new action adventure romance series, ORCA, or the Organization for the Return of Criminals and Assets . That it’s centered around a family or pod of killer whale brothers as they find their fated mates while they’re hunting stolen artifacts or just on wild uncover missions is spot on. How that all happens is also a part of the storyline of this book.

George has a lot to lay out in this first book. We get the foundation for the universe, the culture of our shifter species, the various shifter family structures , especially in case of the two types of species of our main characters, a orca killer whale and an otter.

Felix White is a highly talented hacker and otter shifter, one who’s also in a load of trouble. That will bring his fated mate to him in the form of a bodyguard, Nero Black, bondsman now bodyguard, and orca shifter, one of a family of brothers that live together.

This is an instant recognition of the mate storyline. While I’m not always a fan of this approach, it works well with Nero and Felix due to their situation and the chemistry the author builds between them.

Because the series is going to be based on the rest of the family, they are quickly introduced and their personalities defined by jobs and appearance. Species characteristics are also very well represented here which I think makes them better realized as shifters. The holding hands by Felix as an otter is just adorable.

I had a few issues with the story in the I wish the actual villain was better executed and explored. This person sort of popped up out of nowhere. And was done equally as quickly. With all the buildup, this potion of the story doesn’t have the same kind of fulfillment as the other aspects. It’s over with in a blink.

My other quibble isn’t by the author but should have been caught. Things like this.

““You didn’t answer my question.” Quin looked at me with shred eyes.”

I’m guessing it should be shrewd eyes. I’m betting autocorrect struck again. But in a book you paid for , it’s annoying and a line editor should have caught it.

I’m seeing too many errors like that in books these days.

Quibbling aside, I found Black & White: An MM Shifter Romantic Suspense Novel (ORCA Book 1) by Vinni George is very entertaining and a terrific start to a new series .

ORCA :

✓ Black & White #1

◦ Grayscale #2 – Dec 31,2024

Buy link

Black & White: An MM Shifter Romantic Suspense Novel (ORCA Book 1)

Blurb

Nero Hunter is tired. He’s tired of early mornings chasing down skips. He’s tired of Shamu jokes and dealing with idiots. He’s tired of being alone. But agreeing to do one little favor for a friend turns the tide and brings Nero face-to-face with his destiny.

Felix White is unlucky. When his life is threatened and he’s hauled into police custody for safekeeping, the last thing he expects is to meet his fated mate. Especially when his mate is a giant killer whale shifter, who is also his new bodyguard.

But there is more to the plot against Felix than meets the eye, and Nero and his brothers have to work together to figure out who is after Felix before it’s too late…before Nero loses the mate he just found.

Black & White is book one in the Organization for the Return of Criminals and Assets (ORCA) series featuring an orca shifter art thief turned bounty hunter, a sea otter shifter hacker who might have pissed off the wrong people, and a group of orca brothers who will do anything—even if it’s not quite legal—to save the newest member of their family.

• Publication date: June 6, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 212 pages