Roscoe was all kinds of sexy bear and Sawyer was his feisty, defiant, sexy little mate. Their pairing was great and the adversity they faced was intense. I liked the twists it took. A lot was packed into this shorter novel

This is the start of a new series but you will see a glimpse of some old friends. Roscoe and Sawyer have a rocky start to their relationship but eventually they got it together. This was a quick and enjoyable read with a few surprises along the way. Looking forward to the next one.

3.5 stars for me. I am a huge Kiki Burrelli fan, I have read everything she's written and really loved it. Unfortunately, this one kinda missed the mark for me, and although I still enjoyed it, I just didn't think it felt as strong as her previous works.

For one, there seemed to be a whole lot of telling the story, rather than showing. And there were things that seemed to be either quickly summarized, or not even explained, it just WAS. With it being the first book in a new series, I would especially appreciate knowing the shifter/mpreg "rules," y'know - what to expect and what's norm in the world building of this series.

I did love the age gap between Roscoe and Sawyer, and I enjoyed the little bit of kink thrown in. I love that we're getting some bear shifters this time! And I really love that we got to see a couple familiar faces in this, too! (that was a nice surprise!) (And it made me wonder what the heck shifters were doing before c-section surgeries were the norm for their mates and babies!)

I definitely look forward to the next book in the series, and will of course continue to read any and everything that this author writes for us! For some great mpreg series, you gotta start with her Wolf's Mate series!

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Tropes and Elements:

- Shifter (Bears!)
- Mpreg
- Age gap
- Size difference
- Spanking
- Fated mates

3.5/5, rounded up.

This was good! Kiki Burrelli’s writing had no notable errors, it was engaging, and I was invested in this story. Y’all know I like age gap so I was very happy with this story. The shifter aspects are interesting and although not explained fully, I feel I got a basic handle on things. I enjoyed all the side characters and our couple - sure, there’s not much slow and natural development, but it made just enough sense for me as a fated mates instalove shenanigans. The ending was honestly really cute, and I’m looking forward to the next book.

The only big issue is the amount of telling and not showing. There were plenty of scenes I would’ve liked to be fleshed out with dialogue versus just glossed over, but it wasn’t so much it took away from enjoyment. I just could’ve enjoyed it even more!

I'm fine with insta-love - no issue whatsoever. But I wanted more. I wanted to know more background about how things happened. I felt like I'd walked into the middle of a story and missed the beginning? Like - all the talk of his brothers made me feel like I'd missed something and I should know them from somewhere.

The relationship between the two MCs was generally sweet, but the acceptance of the shifters/male pregnancy thing was all so tame. And the 'bad guy' thing that was happening just felt really fabricated - there just wasn't enough fire.

I don't know, it was a nice enough read - I just wanted more.

This really was not a book for me. I couldn't get into the main relationship at all, it felt like they were mostly together because of the bond and that there wasn't really any romantic development. Bonds are a really fun trope, but I don't like when it feels like it's there instead of the romantic relationship, rather than in addition to it.

I also really didn't like Roscoe, possessiveness and protectiveness are things that I can love in shifter books but in this one it was just way too much. It felt like Sawyer wasn't given a say in anything, and barely given any information with which to make decisions either. He barely got to know anything about shifters, he was made to stay put wherever Roscoe wanted him to be, spanked in public without consent, impregnated without a prior discussion of it... It felt like everything was on Roscoe's terms all the time and Sawyer just had to go along with it. Not the kind of relationship dynamics I want in romance.

DNF. Lame story and MC behaviors. No world building. Akward writing.

Super rushed. Uninteresting characters. Unoriginal plot.

And my question is, did this bear shifter pack just find some plot of wood and decide to build a community there or did they buy the land? And how do bear shifters that live in the woods away from society get the money to buy land and supplies?

That aside, the characters just didn't interest me enough to make me want to continue with this series.

Charming. An enjoyable read.

3 stars. Love Kiki but this book was not my favorite by her by far. The side characters were great and the smut was hot but the main characters got on my last nerves. Sawyer was unbearably annoying and insecure and it got old really fast. I wanted him to get some confidence and just shut up for once. Roscoe was daft as hell and never seemed to know what was going on with his mate and how he was feeling. Their chemistry was just so off when they weren't having sex and it didn't really get any better. The ending was cute and I'm interesting in reading the next book because I liked Heath quite a bit and am interested in his story. Other than that, this was just alright. Nothing special but a quick read.