offmyredcarpet's reviews
791 reviews

Come for the biting sarcasm and deadpan humor, stay for the toxic love interests suffering the consequences from the folly of their inherent bias. 

What I enjoy about the Cruel Shifterverse series are the keen observations of human nature delivered in a way that is endlessly entertaining while coasting on vibes. And for the most part that’s what we got, until we didn’t. I liked Aran’s story *more* than Sadie’s (Psycho Shifters 1-3), but the writing is not as tight and cohesive. Instead we end up with three books that are unnecessarily long with missed opportunities for character growth for the MMCs.

Midway through every MMC starts behaving in ways counter to established precedent. There’s so much that feels forced. We’re here for the toxic devil trio to finally experience growth but instead we get a plot device used to completely leap past growth and go straight to “we’re just sad marshmallow bois who want their fated and our fee-fees are hurt that you don’t want us after we spent two books being cruel to you but also you chose the twins—who make every effort to show how much they cherish you—over us how very dare you”. There was so much potential here and it’s squandered for a lazy humor grab that doesn’t fit the narrative.

By the last few chapters I honestly was wondering if the author experienced a lack of sleep completing it. And then her thank you reveals she and her mother spent “four consecutive all nighters…so we could release this on time”. That tracks. Also, called it. It’s better to move your pub date forward than deliver subpar work to readers who know you’re capable of more. 

Even with all that’s disappointing about it, I still had a good time reading it. There was much I liked about it:

 1) hating the devil trio at first but they become comically endearing 

2) showing us everyone’s trauma and not just the FMC’s

3) her mates being a mix of fated and chosen 

4) the perseverance of everyone but especially the FMC

The biting sarcasm and charming deadpan humor of this author’s FMCs is what keeps me coming back for more. That and the underestimated trope. But this one could probably have been a bit shorter. Some of the trauma monologues and fighting go on too long. Intriguing ending. Definitely curious where that’s going.

All fun, just vibes. So cute and oh so charming. Ursa gives us all the longing and pining we could want for along with an MMC who is absolutely smitten at first glance. My favorite thing Ursa does are romantic declarations from the MMC to his FMC and she did not disappoint. Character interactions are where she shines and I laughed and melted my way through. We also get alien tails, fun alien appendages to accompany other appendages, and a “my wife!” moment that had me kicking my feet. I had the best time reading it.

The character and relationship development in this series is truly superb. Nascosta shows us that complexity of character very much extends to our beloved favorites giving us relatable human characteristics and reminding us that even good people have the capacity to sometimes be thoughtless. Basically, some of our characters are going to act in shitty ways and some are going to be self absorbed. It’s relatable-but-make-it-modern-fantasy and oh yes let’s add a layer of danger and intrigue from the fae realm. 

We do finally learn the ‘why’ behind Tate’s holding back of himself and I’m eager to see how Nascosta solves it in book 4. This book is going to hurt your heart but Nascosta will patch us up with Reunions this fall when everyone gets their HEA. 

Dislike: a confusing flashback and it not initially clear that is what was happening. Frequent typos in the form of correctly spelled words but the wrong word entirely and several instances of misspelled names. It’s enough to be distracting.

Lots of cameos in this one: Vanessa (Run, Run Rabbit), Ladybug (Wheel of the Year series), Grace (Sweet Berries), Philomel (Hexxenacht), Azathé (Two For Tea). We meet the MMC for Nascosta’s upcoming release He Loves Me Not. And if you’re not reading Wheel of the Year series, too, consider it. Everything is converging.

First thing: this book needs a content warning for drug addiction, among other things, but that’s a big one. The FMC is an herbalist creating remedies for things like anxiety and pregnancy prevention but also makes mild recreational drugs. The MMC is on a mission to capture the maker of a drug outfit that is creating highly addictive drugs killing people. They also happen to be true mates. 

I’ve never been so conflicted about a rating. The parts I loved about this book I absolutely loved, the parts I didn’t I hated. 

Liked:
1.) Underestimated morality and character of the FMC by the MMC and, by extension, his pack.
2.) The FMC. She’s strong, steadfast, stubborn, willful, analytical, has integrity and empathy, and is dogged in her pursuit of understanding and knowledge. 
3.) That the FMC had to reckon with being blind to the lives of the villagers and how their lives were affected by her job/product. 
4.) The MMC having such integrity he’s willing to lose his fated mate to execution by the dragons for the product she created.
5.) The tension between her belief in herself and her product and the mystery of what is happening with it once it leaves her hands. 
6.) Hate banging
7.) Author does a believable job of showing the mindset of a traumatized person with years of abusive psychological conditioning trying to survive.

Disliked:
1.) Granny is mentioned 333x. For comparison, Weston, the MMC is mentioned 220 times and, Aurelia, the FMC 228.
2.) The mate bond sexual tension is really heavy handed at times
3.) The MMCs dirty talk is a copy paste collection of trite phrases: “mine” “take it” “take your alphas knot” “good girl” 
4.) Sometimes it feels like the author spoon feeds details instead of allowing the reader to infer them; particularly in the first half of the book
5.) Some aspects felt really forced 
6.) The continuity of the MMC’s behavior. I’m guessing the author was attempting to show his struggle between wanting his fated mate while also wanting to see her punished but instead it comes off extremely flip floppy. Especially at the end when we all have the same info. It just doesn’t land for me.

I’ll definitely read the conclusion and hope for a tighter read than this first half to their story. 

I enjoyed this. Definitely has a dark, somber tone to it. Author is great at writing the trauma of growing up in a difficult family where you felt like an inconvenience and only rely on yourself as an adult. Plus having to dredge all that back up when the parent dies and return home to a town you only ever wanted to get away from to deal with family, the estate, etc. I wasn’t sure if the author could make a Sasquatch hold appeal but she’s successful in doing so! Interesting world building though it did seem to contradict itself. I never understood how some people knew he existed (ex lovers, a vet) while there’s a simultaneous story line trying to keep his monstrous identity hidden. That part didn’t fully work for me. I also found the ending to be a little too neatly resolved and cleaned up but it’s a fun read and I do recommend it.

It’s cute and funny. Bit derivative. Too insta-love and syrupy sweet for my taste but might be right on for those who love it. Several instances of phrasing that denote passage of time but they’ve known one another for all of 24 hrs. Heavy handed with the micro-tropes of grey sweatpants and rolling up the sleeves forearm reveal. And the spicy dialogue on the part of the MMC is copy paste for every popularized phrase. But if you want something that is low angst and low anxiety with all the crooning sweetness in a couple hundred pages, this might be a good option.