Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Luke Devlin’s surrogate father Henry Darcy has died from a massive heart attack. The consequences of this event may be even more devastating. He faces the loss of the home he has had for the last few years. And he must face Henry’s wayward son, Finn, whom Luke hasn’t seen since he returned to England at age 16. Luke does not understand how Finn has not visited his father all these years.
Finn Darcy has a reason for not visiting and it has nothing to do with his father. Finn, his father, and half the people who live and work at the lodge that the family runs are werecats. During his first shift when he was thirteen, a frightened Luke watched as Finn’s panther hunts and kills a deer. Seeing this, Luke runs away which triggers Finn’s hunter instincts. Finn’s panther then marks Luke as his mate by scratching his chest. Ever since that time, Finn has worried about losing control over his panther whenever he is near Luke.
The passion between the two heats up when the two meet again, even if Luke still resents Finn for staying away so long. Thinking that it would be a one night stand as Finn is bound to take off soon after his father’s funeral, Luke agrees to sleep with Finn. However, things turn on him after he agrees that he belongs to Finn and receives Finn’s mating bite. When Luke finds out the significance of this and the fact that he has been living with a werecat clan for the last several years, Luke is upset. Finn now must work to get back Luke’s trust that they had as children or face the loneliness that their fathers had while they were growing up. To make matters worse, young werecat alphas and their mates have been disappearing around the world. Finn must make sure the same fate does not befall them.
I found this to be a decent shifter story overall. The first part of the book deals with the reunion of childhood friends Luke and Finn to deal with the death of Finn’s father who has become a father figure to Luke after his dad’s passing. I am always leery of either forced matings or matings done under false pretenses and this book has a combination of both. Finn must mate to become alpha but does not tell Luke the implications of it until after Finn basically tricks Luke into agreeing to mate. The theme of trust in a relationship runs throughout the book. I like that Luke does not make it easy for Finn and that lingering sense of mistrust is a current throughout the book. It is especially important when Luke’s ex Max enters the picture.
The cover art features Finn’s panther above the hunting lodge that the panther clan owns. Cover designer Ann Cain has done well to represent the novel with her work.
Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | ARe | Amazon
Book Details:
EBook, 214 pages
Published: May 2, 2016 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN: 978-1-63477-277-8
Edition Language: English
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