Rating: 4.5🌈
The second book in Marie Reynard’s excellent paranormal fated mate mystery series, Impulsive Connections is one of those stories that kept me up til the early morning hours. Then ended on a thrilling cliffhanger. I wasn’t expecting that.
Reynard has been building a superb paranormal mystery that borders on the horror for this series. It’s a fated mate romance that has an overlying series plot about a disappearing shifters, shifter territories under siege by mysterious dark forces, and entire packs suffering or sometimes failing from odd magical symptoms.
With each new book and couple (a mage/shifter fated mate storyline), more of the complex arc plot and its elements are revealed.
Reynard’s characterizations and plot lines are excellent. Both in terms of how the author builds the relationship between scholarly mage Liam Batiste and the extroverted romantic wolf shifter, Kade Mills, weaving series foundation knowledge and mystery elements into it while maintaining the core plot of a fated mate couple. Our attention is secured, our emotions engaged.
The author never fails to let her characters grow as the relationship develops, letting them reveal more of their inner lives and desires be communicated as the story progresses. This is true for not just the main characters but the equally important side characters as well, like Aran, and the other mages and shifters.
Another well done aspect of the series and the story is the magical elements. The various spells, the crafting abilities, and even the deep lore and research, stressing the importance for resources, it’s all realistic and exciting. It makes sense and grounds this magical world.
Liam and Kade’s relationship is one I absolutely connected with, while enjoying their friendships with other people, including the close knit group of mages that arrived to help the Mills pack with their dark spirits troubling their territory.
There’s a cliffhanger I hadn’t expected after the first book, and it’s a heartbreaking moment. It’s times like this when I love having a fully finished series to read.
However, I’ll be waiting in mad anticipation for the third book to arrive and probably re-visiting this one to be ready!
I’m highly recommending this series and story for all lovers of the fated mate trope and paranormal romance novels. No mpreg. There’s plenty of great suspense and magical battles to look forward to.
Read them in the order they are written for plot and character development.
Elemental Bonds:
- Accidental Bonds #1 (Victor and Elijah)
- Impulsive Connections #2 (Kade and Liam)
- Unexpected Alliances #3 – (Aran’s story) coming soonÂ
Buy link
Impulsive Connections (Elemental Bonds Book 2)
Blurb
Ignited by accident, fueled by fate. Some bonds burn brighter than any flame.
Kade Mills has spent over a decade dreaming of his ideal meet-cute. Surely the universe wouldn’t toss the perfect mage at him while he’s a scarred shadow of his former flirtatious self, recovering from his last encounter with the malicious spirits haunting his pack’s territory.
Liam Batiste is a man of simple pleasures; a quiet room and a stack of books are all he needs to be happy. He’s only in Lost Creek to help his friend save the Mills pack from the unknown evil infesting their land, but everything changes when he and Kade are paired up to capture the supernatural threat.
After a run-in with a spirit leaves them entangled—physically and magically—they must learn to control the newfound power their unwanted connection grants them. As they struggle to resist the heady pull of their bond, they begin to realize it may hold the key to defeating the dark forces that are endangering far more than just Kade’s pack… and perhaps it’s not as unwelcome as they first thought.
Impulsive Connections is a steamy 149k M/M paranormal romance featuring a playboy wolf shifter, a nerdy mage, and friends who are trying their very best not to meddle. This simmering slow burn is perfect for readers who love reluctant mates, unintended bonds, forced proximity, unfortunate bed shortages, and knotting. While it guarantees a happy ending for its main couple, the overarching plot does contain cliffhangers, and the series should be read in order. Please look inside for content warnings. (This series does not contain mpreg.)
- Publisher: Peace Garden Publishing, LLC (December 14, 2024)
- Publication date: December 14, 2024
- Language: English
- Print length: 576 pages
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 