Review: A rating....
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 26, 2013
My Review:This book was really good. It took a totally different spin on shifter mates and I liked it. In this world, women hold all the power in mated couples and about 1% of the time, the male's mating instinct is "off" and leaves him in a situation that will eventually lead to madness if untreated. For the males, it's completely about animal instinct, but females can reject that...even after they've bonded, leaving the male lost and alone in this mental and emotional circle that needs his mate.Jaylin is a psychiatrist who, until about six months ago, specialized in treating shifters in this mental maelstrom. She finally reached the point where she couldn't handle it anymore mentally, because it's such an awful place to be for these bonded males. She can't deal with the stress and sadness of it all anymore. But her practice has affected her other ways too....she never plans to bond to a male because she doesn't want to do this to a shifter. The mental repercussions not only affect rejected shifters, but it also affects widowers. They can end up in a catatonic, barely functioning state.Aidan's best friend, Liam, is a rejected shifter. He's on a mental precipice so Aidan goes to Jaylin for help....he doesn't care how much it costs, as long as she will help. But what he finds, in addition to help for his friend, is his mate. One that his cougar is clawing to get to. Suddenly Aidan finds himself feeling much more empathy for what Liam is going through....because Jaylin won't even consider him. They aren't even bonded yet and his animal is throwing a fit. The thing is Aidan is a very successful businessman....he got to that point by not accepting "no" for an answer.Like I said, I really liked the little twists of creativity that Abby Niles inserted into this world. It made for a super-entertaining read that I couldn't put down. I read it in one sitting and then dreamed about the book all night long afterwards. I liked both Aidan and Jaylin as characters. They worked for me. I loved how Aidan refused to be put off and that it was Jaylin's empathetic heart that kept her from ever wanting to find a shifter mate. They are both good people in a situation that's really difficult to control.I'm intrigued by Liam's situation and am kind of hoping that this is a series and we'll find out more about him in a later book. I just get the feeling that there is more to that story that we got glimpses of.Then there was the island getaway...I want it. I'm not a beach person, but this locale that Abby Niles envisioned sounded like pure heaven. I want to go there...NOW!It was a great book. I really hope that there are more coming and that this is the start of a series.I received a complimentary copy of this book in return for an honest review.