Coralee June

Going into this story I knew I would be in for ride from the beginning when tragedy happened. Halle loved her sister with everything she had, she was used to being the average one living in her shadow, but deep down she wanted more. She is the glue that holds her family together even after tragedy and her adrenaline rushes got her the one thing she didn’t want, a guardian shifter. As shifters have been turning feral can Halle be the piece that solves this event or is she still that same ordinary person she always has seen herself as? As they try to figure out what Halle can do to save the shifters and prodigies so many are against them, times running out, and now Theo is starting to feel more than he should for their bond. Will she be able to save everyone, will her and Theo ever get their chance, what will happen next? This was a unique story with a lot of suspense, action, tragedy, love, and so much more. I can’t wait to see what will happen next and Theo’s reaction.… (altro)

After book one left us breathless with anticipation, I’ve been dying for this one so we can see what is going to happen. This book did not disappoint because it brought it all from steam to suspense while leaving me anxious for things to finally go right for them. The twists in this one will blow everyone away because I know I wasn’t expecting them, but man they shook me. There is still so much these characters still have to do to help the feral shifters and prove that not all shifters are bad and the fight has only really begun. “So much has changed.” This is very true and so much we are still learning while not many can be trusted. Halle was extremely frustrating because yes she went through A LOT, but she was naive when it came to listening to strangers compared to Theo. I felt bad for Theo since all he wants is her and she continues to want/need him, yet shove him away over and over again. With so many ups, downs, twists, turns this book gives us answers yet leaves us with more questions that we all want not, but will have to wait for.… (altro)

In this epic conclusion, Halle has faced some intense and trying times and this one will be her hardest journey yet. When her world came crashing down at the hands of President Astor, Halle finds herself alone trying to find her bearings and then she arrives at Alpha Camp on the run from those who want all shifters gone. Halle has had so many transformations, and this will be her biggest one, but can she finally accept her fate figure out her path so that she can save those she loves, or will she be doomed fail? This journey has been one that kept me on the edge wanting to Halle grow and become her epic self and finally see her and Theo become more. I loved the journey and some of the turns were heartbreaking, but the hope of more keeps a smile on your face.… (altro)

In the world of this series, werewolves bond with prodigies and keep them safe. Halle comes from a long line of prodigies, although it skipped her father and seems to have skipped her as well. Halle's sister Mona, however, is a gifted violinist bonded to Jax. Halle loves her sister, although part of her wishes she didn't have to constantly live in her shadow. Mona is scheduled to go to Australia when the unimaginable happens: Jax, the werewolf who should have been her lifelong guardian, suddenly turns feral and kills her, right in front of Halle.

A year later, Halle is still a mess, the prodigy-werewolf system is on rocky ground, and more feral bonded werewolves have turned up. Halle and her family have gone from having a close relationship with werewolves to barely speaking to them, and when Halle unwillingly finds herself bonded to a werewolf named Theo, her first reaction is fear that he, too, might turn feral and kill her the way Jax killed her sister. However, Theo is somehow spared from whatever it is that's turning bonded werewolves feral, and suddenly everyone wants to study Halle and whatever it is that makes her bond to Theo different.
This is one of the books I bought at Book Bonanza 2022. I attended a panel the author was on, and her brief description of this series (something about a semi-taboo relationship between a woman and the werewolf guardian bonded to her) snagged my attention. I didn't like the sound of the whole "prodigy" aspect, but I was willing to give the series a shot anyway.

I was pleasantly surprised. Although the writing could have been better, I noticed a few typos/incorrectly used words, and the world-building had some issues, this was an engaging read and an interesting take on the whole werewolf "fated mates" trope. In this world, the prodigy-werewolf bond started off as a survival mechanism for a particular group of people. The group was kept alive via the skills of various prodigies that cropped up among them (like miraculously gifted healers, leaders, etc.), and those prodigies were in turn protected by werewolves that bonded to them. The thing that didn't quite sit right with me: that this had somehow evolved, relatively quickly (I think?), into something accepted worldwide as the basis for running everything. I wonder what mechanisms were used to figure out where in the world particular prodigies should go, and whether it ever resulted in wars?

I initially thought that prodigies and their werewolf guardians were also considered to be fated mates or something similar, but in reality there were rules against sexual relationships between humans and werewolves (something about diluting werewolf bloodlines). I'm going to guess that those rules won't survive Book 2 of this series. Although Halle and Theo spent a lot of time unhappy with and/or angry at each other, there were strong indications of potential romance on the horizon.

Personally, Delilah interested me more than Theo did. She'd been kicked out of her pack after her prodigy committed suicide. The friendship developing between her and Halle was definitely more enjoyable than the tension between Halle and Theo.

This first book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, and I initially thought print copies of the second book weren't available yet. However, it turned out that Amazon was just pushing the Kindle version in my face so firmly that I didn't initially see the print version. Crossing my fingers that the second book is as strangely addictive as the first.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)… (altro)