Title: Rejected

Author: Jaymin Eve

Pub. Date: December 8, 2020

Pages: 398

Pub: Independently Published

Genre: Paranormal Fantasy

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

My father made a terrible mistake. One I’m left paying for.

As a wolf shifter growing up in a strong pack, I should be living my best life. But after my father tried to kill the alpha, I’m labeled an outcast, traitor, less than dirt.

When I can’t take pack life any longer, I run, but apparently they don’t like losing their punching bag. Torin, the alpha’s son, drags me back before my first shift… a shift that will reveal my true mate.

I never could have predicted who mine would be, but the moment my wolf looks upon him, I’m filled with hope for a brighter future.

After all, no one ever rejects their true mate, right?
Wrong. Very wrong.

When the wolves attack, my soul screams for vengeance, and somehow I touch the shadow world. Somehow I bring him to our lands.

The Shadow Beast. Our shifter god. The devil himself.

Turns out being rejected by my mate was only the beginning.

This will be a spoiler free review. I’d seen this book in ads and all-over social media, but it was recommended by a fellow blogger, so I legit wasted no time diving in. I inhaled the first 25% of this book instead of taking a shower. And then I inhaled another 50% instead of sleeping, despite having to be up early for work. If I hadn’t had work, I probably would have inhaled it in one sitting.

For as much as I’m surprisingly enjoying this book, I will say that the writing is a bit surface as are the characters. It’s a really interesting world, with its own unique lore – and I love that. But it’s not that deep. But the enjoyment factor is through the roof, so honestly, it’s forgivable. It’s just easy to get lost in the world, the characters, the story and just have fun. It doesn’t take much brain power.

I chose to dive right into this book without thinking about it too much because I just wanted something quick, dirty and easy to fall into.

And I can honestly say that A Court of Silver Flames has put me in a spicy smut mood, and this book teases so much.

It’s enemies to friends with benefits – with the potential for more. And I use the term “friend” loosely, since all Shadow does is say he’s going to kill Mera if she doesn’t succeed in her task.

While in real life, I know alpha-aholes (to steal SJM’s phrase) are like giant red flags and truly full of toxic af behavior, I fucking love reading about them. Maybe I just love a Beauty and the Beast type situation, or I’ve just come to expect supernatural beings to be giant alpha-aholes – but I legit cannot get enough.

Or maybe it’s just me projecting my wish that some fantastical/supernatural being will come take me away to some fantastical world and after snarking for some time, we’ll fall in love.

Yes, high fantasy has ruined me.

I also love when a MC has to deal with a lot of horrible stuff, but she comes out stronger, she perseveres and does whatever she can to survive. Mera is a badass, with a bad tendency to run her smart-ass mouth at bad times.

And along the lines of enemies to lovers and fated mates/true mates/soul mates – I’m a sucker for rejected mates. Maybe I’m a freaking glutton for punishment, but I love turmoil in my books. And there is so much turmoil in this book.

I hated the ending, so it’s a good thing there’s a book 2 already out. Things were just picking up between Mera and Shadow and then that happened. Jfc, those two dumb fucks need to gtfo. You’ll have to read the book to know who I’m talking about. They play a pretty big role in Mera’s life, and the twists that include them, that are thrown her way are…phew. Fates cruel.

This is definitely a book you go into not expecting much. You’re going in for the spice, the ease and just for a fun time. If you go in expecting the best book ever written, you’ll probably be disappointed. If you go in expecting spice, enemies to lovers, drama, snark, magic, different realms, wolf-shifters (and all the crap that goes with them), then you’ll probably highly enjoy yourself.

Don’t take the book too seriously, and you’ll just fall headfirst into it, and you’ll enjoy yourself!