Reviewed by Nikyta
Title: An Impossible Mate
Author: Joy Lynn Fielding
Series: Strength of the Pack #1
Heroes: Matt Urban & Jesse Turner
Genre: M/M Paranormal
Length: 37,195 words
Publisher: Siren Publishing
Release Date: October 10, 2013
Available at: Siren Publishing, Amazon & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes
Blurb: Loner Matt Urban has somehow ended up as alpha to a pack of outcasts and misfits. When an injured shifter blunders onto their territory one night, swearing he didn’t know it was pack territory, Matt is suspicious. It doesn’t help that the stranger, Jesse Turner, is as stubborn as Matt. Wanting answers, Matt persuades Jesse to stay a while, and the intense attraction they feel for one another soon blazes into heat. That’s when Matt realizes—the stranger with the smart mouth and the attitude problem is his mate.
Matt, still mourning the lover he lost years ago, doesn’t want a mate, and Jesse doesn’t believe in mates. Yet neither of them can deny the pull they feel toward one another.
They’re still struggling with the situation when a hostile alpha claims Jesse. Matt has to fight to protect Jesse. First, though, he has to fight Jesse’s stubborn independence if he’s to win his heart.
Review:
An Impossible Mate is about Jesse, who wanders into Matt’s territory injured. Taking Jesse in is no hardship except for the fact that they don’t know what type of trouble he’s in nor whether that trouble has followed him. What Matt doesn’t expect to find is a mate in Jesse or the fact that Jesse seems to have any knowledge of shifters, their customs or even that having a mate is real. Not only that but Matt is desperately trying to keep Jesse safe and there for good but at the slightest thing Jesse may get spooked and run. Trouble comes in the form of not only an aggressive pack hellbent on taking Jesse but finally finding out who Jesse is. What’s Matt going to do when the very person he’s grown to love is the person a dangerous alpha wants for himself?
I was actually surprised by this book. I’ve come to associate Siren Publishing with shifter fluff. This book, though, wasn’t like that. Yes, there were fluffy moments and yes, there was a lot of sex but there was suspense and a plot that had me intrigued and curious what would happen next. Not to mention there were an eclectic group of characters that had very different personalities.
Jesse is the mouthy, stubborn but independent shifter that won’t let any one trap him, under ANY circumstances while Matt is the alpha who realizes Jesse is his mate and doesn’t want anything to happen to him. Matt’s pack is made up of a wayward group of outsiders that range from the quite and shy Jason to the dangerous Karl. I loved that while they were so different, they were more of a family than a pack. It was sweet and I loved the banter and teasing that was thrown around so casually.
My only big issue is that there was a lot of sex. I loved that Jesse and Matt had a deep connection and that this connection happened very quickly (yes, this is insta-love) but I still would have liked to see them develop more feelings for each other based on things outside of their bed.
In the end, this was still a good story that I really enjoyed. I loved the fact that shifters are known to the world and that they’re, more or less, accepted. Jesse was a fun character that always had something snappy to say and I especially liked that Matt had no issues using his ‘alpha voice’ on Jesse to get him to understand things. I’m looking forward to reading more of this series because I think it’ll hold a lot more surprises.
Overall Impression: I really liked it!
*I received a copy of this book from the author in return for a fair and honest review.*
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