Reviews

The Lone Wolf's Rejected Mate, by Cate C. Wells

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reading_in_brussels's review

3.0

All the musings/tangents took me a bit out of it. They felt like fluff that were not needed. Also I do not like big age-gaps as they always feel icky to me, but that's personal preference.
Other than that I enjoyed the story. Mari held her own, I liked that.

lovevirology's review

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adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

reading_rainy's review

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5.0

*4.5* I loved this story!! Yes, I could sit here and nit-pick the parts I wished were slightly different, but overall, this was a win.

Darragh is a beast. Older, larger than all the other pack members, and even though he is an alpha, he has no desire to rule. He lives in a shack up the mountain and contributes to the pack by bringing food and killing anyone who threatens the pack. There are reasons he lives so far away and completely alone. I can’t help but cheer for this kind of hero.

Mari is a pretty little princess, she even wears pink bows on her shoes. However, it’s mostly all to cover her feelings that no one wants her. She was rejected by her parents early on and almost killed by the previous pack alpha, she has some serious internal issues to uncover in this story.

That moment when Mari and Darragh glance at each other, feeling the beginning of a bond. Sigh. I felt for Mari. She doesn’t want to live in a cabin without running water! Not to mention, there is a 20+ year age gap between the two of them

Darragh cannot be my mate. I mean, I didn’t want, like, a softboi, but this guy sailed way past dominant and landed smack dab in the middle of cleans his teeth and butchers his meat with the same knife.

She was quite immature, making one bad decision after another that not only affects her friends but Darragh as well.

There is a scene early on where she is in her tiny wolf form, and she snuggles up to his legs, plopping her tiny furry ass on his bare feet. It’s the absolute sweetest moment, he reaches down, picks her up and cuddles her to his chest, walking her home.

The “rejected” part of the story about broke me into tiny emotional pieces. But it wasn’t like the others stories, the rejection was for her protection.

I loved that these two are broken in different ways, and they find a commonality in their wounds to help one another. It’s not one healing the other with their love, it’s the two of them growing together to balance each other out.

We both know that nothing’s solved, nothing’s fixed. We’re a mess. But it’s perfect all the same.

That first sex scene will break your heart. Ugh, it’s so so so emotionally hurtful.

You have to wait years for the second one, but it was so flipping hot, the third just as smoking. There were so many little moments in this story that made me smile.

Spoiler

His giant, feral wolf offering her up the human head, like ‘see what I did for you, tell me I did good’ or when she can’t run anymore and he picks up her tiny wolf and makes a baby sling to carry her miles and miles against his chest?? OMG, heart melting all over the place.

The only part of the story I could have done without was

Spoiler

hearing about his first sexual experience with the pack wise woman when he was 18. They are still friends, and while it was just a fun moment for the two of them, her still being in the picture felt slightly uncomfortable for this couple

. It's mentioned quite a few times and does cause issues for Mari.

As with the other books in this series, I am always left wanting MORE with the couple after they resolve their issues!! Why can’t we have another chapter showing them in love and happy? I read this in one sitting, loved their dynamics and overall character arc. I really appreciate an author who can show character growth like that.

thenaptimewriter's review

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4.0

If you ever want to read a PNR book where the hero acts pretty horribly—in this series’s case, by rejecting the mate that wolves are taught to value so highly—& then has to try to win his mate back, then take a look at Cate C. Wells’s The Lone Wolf’s Rejected Mate, the latest release in the series.

Someone who recommended the series promised me grovel and oh boy. This book is a wild, dramatic roller coaster of feelings & sensations; it offers some wish fulfillment of the “did he really just do that?” —> “he better grovel big time!” —> “oh yay, he realized what an idiot he was” variety. The world building has some really interesting dynamics—particularly in regards to gender—at play & steam lovers, rejoice.

In all transparency, I thought this book & book 1 were great but didn’t read book 2 because the characters were a bit too young for me personally. But this series has been really fun!