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yazaleea's review against another edition
4.0
I don't know if I actually liked this as much as I think I did, and I am still hesitating between rating this 3 or 4 stars... It might be because it's the first book that's not a sweet and harmless college romance that I read in a while? But this was so intense? I was invested in this story??
This was messy and a little dark and emo. Jack's wife was found murdered and when he finally gets away from the small town he'd lived in all his life for a fresh start, his daughter Ellie gets kidnapped. Not a great time. He only has one suspect in mind: the mysterious man who seemed to have a romantic past with his wife. And when said man, Nicolae, comes to his door telling him he knows exactly who killed the woman they both love and took his daughter, Jack has no choice but to follow this man. The hate is instant and intense for both men, but they have to work together to get Ellie back. What he doesn't expect is to be thrown into a whole new world of werewolves and magic. His wife was a werewolf. His daughter is a werewolf. And so is Nicolae. But Jack would do anything to get his daughter home. He'd withstand Nicolae's anger, humiliation and contempt. He'd mate with Nicolae out of obligation to prove to some Werewolf Court that Ellie is theirs. But when lies and unexpected revelations unravel everything they thought was true, the relationship between Jack and Nicolae shifts into something... different.
That was a wild ride, and I am saying this for soo many reasons. At first this was lowkey a bullying romance between two grown ass adults, as Nicolae's hatred of Jack translated into some crazy shit. Nicolae is the alpha alpha even if he does soften at the end. And I'm sorry but i didn't mind it that much?? Maybe because Jack held his own, he was so dedicated to doing everything to protect those he loves, namely his daughter, that he'd just stubbornly fight back when he could or just go through things with gritted teeth. I just really liked Jack. And while his relationship with Nicolae went from legit hate sex with pain kink (involving a dick described to be as thick as a soda can, which made me laugh during the whole painful thing), knotting and begging, right to love. The transition from hate to love was a liiiittle fast to my taste but again, I enjoyed the whole thing enough not to care too much about that. I loved to see them whipped for each other and even got a little emotional at the end, because they were so cute and even if this whole thing was fucked up, I liked them together and I want to read more.
Some stuff felt a little weird and I didn't understand the whole thing of having multiple destined mates and everything, but ey, I read this with my heart not my brain and that was a fun read for dark romance girlies who are still softies because it wasn't that dark when i think about it, Nicolae was just an asshole and werewolves are weird bloody mfers lol.
Also: I loved how supportive and loving Jack was towards his trans daughter. He always showed his unconditional and unwavering support to her and it made me appreciate his character so much. I just really liked Jack.
This was messy and a little dark and emo. Jack's wife was found murdered and when he finally gets away from the small town he'd lived in all his life for a fresh start, his daughter Ellie gets kidnapped. Not a great time. He only has one suspect in mind: the mysterious man who seemed to have a romantic past with his wife. And when said man, Nicolae, comes to his door telling him he knows exactly who killed the woman they both love and took his daughter, Jack has no choice but to follow this man. The hate is instant and intense for both men, but they have to work together to get Ellie back. What he doesn't expect is to be thrown into a whole new world of werewolves and magic. His wife was a werewolf. His daughter is a werewolf. And so is Nicolae. But Jack would do anything to get his daughter home. He'd withstand Nicolae's anger, humiliation and contempt. He'd mate with Nicolae out of obligation to prove to some Werewolf Court that Ellie is theirs. But when lies and unexpected revelations unravel everything they thought was true, the relationship between Jack and Nicolae shifts into something... different.
That was a wild ride, and I am saying this for soo many reasons. At first this was lowkey a bullying romance between two grown ass adults, as Nicolae's hatred of Jack translated into some crazy shit. Nicolae is the alpha alpha even if he does soften at the end. And I'm sorry but i didn't mind it that much?? Maybe because Jack held his own, he was so dedicated to doing everything to protect those he loves, namely his daughter, that he'd just stubbornly fight back when he could or just go through things with gritted teeth. I just really liked Jack. And while his relationship with Nicolae went from legit hate sex with pain kink (involving a dick described to be as thick as a soda can, which made me laugh during the whole painful thing), knotting and begging, right to love. The transition from hate to love was a liiiittle fast to my taste but again, I enjoyed the whole thing enough not to care too much about that. I loved to see them whipped for each other and even got a little emotional at the end, because they were so cute and even if this whole thing was fucked up, I liked them together and I want to read more.
Some stuff felt a little weird and I didn't understand the whole thing of having multiple destined mates and everything, but ey, I read this with my heart not my brain and that was a fun read for dark romance girlies who are still softies because it wasn't that dark when i think about it, Nicolae was just an asshole and werewolves are weird bloody mfers lol.
Also: I loved how supportive and loving Jack was towards his trans daughter. He always showed his unconditional and unwavering support to her and it made me appreciate his character so much. I just really liked Jack.
ednam0dewannabe's review
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
luhee's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
kaygo2490's review against another edition
5.0
Great
A fantastic werewolf book! Great writing. Great characters. Great plot. This book had great trans representation . It was a pleasure to read.
A fantastic werewolf book! Great writing. Great characters. Great plot. This book had great trans representation . It was a pleasure to read.
aniya_'s review
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
donttellmomwhatimreading's review
4.5
I have been chasing the high that I got from reading Bro and the Beast and while this isn’t quite that, it’s close.
its_peachykawa's review against another edition
5.0
# Exhale
Joel Abernathy’s “Exhale” was the pick-up book that I needed for my reading slump and satisfied my craving for an honest-to-god good and hot MM romance shifter book. It had exquisite writing style, one of the best I’ve read from many of the MM romance novels I’ve read, and the characters were developed and the plot intriguing enough to read. It had all the requirements needed for a steamy shifter romance: main character that is easily relatable and one you would root for, a mysterious and “dangerously” woman as her wife, her hot, tall, broad-shouldered, Greek god werewolf ex-lover, not to mention rich and powerful, and did I forget to say that the wife’s murder was what kick-started the novel?
For all honesty, it was such an enjoyable read, and, yes, it did have a lot of flaws and plotholes, I can easily move past that since I knew what I was getting into.
It was intriguing to a see a dynamic, though, where a man’s wife’s ex-lover will soon be his husband—well, mate but it’s close enough.
Joel Abernathy’s “Exhale” was the pick-up book that I needed for my reading slump and satisfied my craving for an honest-to-god good and hot MM romance shifter book. It had exquisite writing style, one of the best I’ve read from many of the MM romance novels I’ve read, and the characters were developed and the plot intriguing enough to read. It had all the requirements needed for a steamy shifter romance: main character that is easily relatable and one you would root for, a mysterious and “dangerously” woman as her wife, her hot, tall, broad-shouldered, Greek god werewolf ex-lover, not to mention rich and powerful, and did I forget to say that the wife’s murder was what kick-started the novel?
For all honesty, it was such an enjoyable read, and, yes, it did have a lot of flaws and plotholes, I can easily move past that since I knew what I was getting into.
It was intriguing to a see a dynamic, though, where a man’s wife’s ex-lover will soon be his husband—well, mate but it’s close enough.
nomomstayandread's review
4.0
“Maybe you wolves just aren’t as complicated as you like to think,” I said, taking another sip of my drink. Nicolae didn’t smile, but his eyes did somehow. “Perhaps not.”
What you'll get:
Widower
Single parent
Marriage of convenience
Wolves
Gay, bisexual, and trans rep
TW/CW: Black lung disease, murder, Jack's dead wife deadnames/misgenders their daughter throughout via flashbacks.
Setting: Kentucky, Tennessee, and Romania
Love a good enemies to lovers where they can’t stand the sight of each other for a long time. Someone kidnaps Jack's daughter shortly after the death of her mother and he ends up meeting a bunch of unhelpful werewolves. Nicolae was supposed to be his wife's mate and somehow Jack ends up filling the spot.
Jack is pretty helpless for once and ends up taking on a feral wolf child that no one has been able to reach. Watching Jack build a relationship with Andrei was adorable. They helped each other so much.
What you'll get:
Widower
Single parent
Marriage of convenience
Wolves
Gay, bisexual, and trans rep
TW/CW: Black lung disease, murder, Jack's dead wife deadnames/misgenders their daughter throughout via flashbacks.
Setting: Kentucky, Tennessee, and Romania
Love a good enemies to lovers where they can’t stand the sight of each other for a long time. Someone kidnaps Jack's daughter shortly after the death of her mother and he ends up meeting a bunch of unhelpful werewolves. Nicolae was supposed to be his wife's mate and somehow Jack ends up filling the spot.
Jack is pretty helpless for once and ends up taking on a feral wolf child that no one has been able to reach. Watching Jack build a relationship with Andrei was adorable. They helped each other so much.
jess_theinkspell's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0