Why am I Panting?- Shifter Romance

In this episode of Blush & Bindings, your hosts Kacy, Lauren and Lindsey will take you on a howl of a good time as they discuss the territory of shifter romances. They talk about everything from the allure of alpha-holes, primal instincts, and the difference between monsters and shifters. Book Club has your hosts panting by turning up the heat with Feral Sins by Suzanne Wright. And last but not least the TBR section goes feral for our fanged and furred MC’s as the hosts recommend some of their favorite shifter romances and ones they can’t wait to read.

This episode contains mature themes and explicit content recommended for those who are 18+. Listener discretion is advised.

About Us

We’re a couple of friends and sisters who bonded over a love of romance novels. After countless book discussions and shared book hangovers, we decided to create Blush & Bindings, a space to break down stigmas, lift up love stories and get cozy with the pages that bind us together.💕

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Transcript

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Lindsey 0:04

Hey everyone and welcome back to Blush and Bindings. I'm Lindsey here with my wonderful co-host, Kacy and Lauren. In today's episode, we're talking about the wild and wonderful world of shifter romances, where love is fierce and hearts transform just like our characters.

Kacy 0:19

Our main characters can morph into wolves, bears, or even something more exotic. Talk about bringing a whole new meaning to wild love. Who wouldn't wanna fall for someone who's got a literal animal side?

Lauren 0:31

Rah. These stories are packed with thrilling adventures, found family and pack dynamics, and a whole lot of ferocious passion.

Kacy 0:39

And you know what's even better? The playful banter between characters. There's something special about a love story where one partner might tease the other about their inner beast. Definitely keeps things spicy. So let's unleash our inner animals and dive into what makes shifter romances a howling Good time.

Lauren 1:04

Oh.

Kacy 1:06

Ooh, I feel like people always do that because it's always wolf shifters is like the number

Lindsey 1:11

Well, I mean, if it is a snake shifter, it's just like, it's like not as sexy.

Kacy 1:17

have read snake

Lindsey 1:18

I, me too.

Kacy 1:19

and it's really funny because they will like bite people and hiss at them if they don't like them.

Lindsey 1:24

I feel like I hiss at my husband every couple of weeks.

Kacy 1:28

Just,

Lindsey 1:28

That's back off. Poor guy.

Lauren 1:32

I like cat hiss.

Lindsey 1:33

Yeah. Yeah. But yes, the awo is a classic howl, although much sexier. The growl,

Lauren 1:42

the growl.

Lindsey 1:43

the teeth bearing the posturing, that's pretty sexy.

Lauren 1:47

At least I don't like pee on your leg to mark their territory.

Kacy 1:52

no, they just bite you

Lindsey 1:53

I do prefer that, that version of marking

Kacy 1:56

I mean, they do do scent marking a lot in shift of romances where they'll like rub their body on the other person's body. But yeah, let's not get peed on guys, unless you're into that, you

Lauren 2:06

Yeah, or like A cat

Lindsey 2:07

Yeah.

Kacy 2:08

Ew, God, why are we on this?

Lindsey 2:10

Well, no, it's funny because in the book that we were reading recently, they made a reference to like marking their scent. And I know it's more just like rubbing on there, but like all I could think of was just the wolf like lifting and ping his leg. And I'm like, I'm glad that's why they inferred it and didn't say like, and then the wolf

Lauren 2:25

it

Lindsey 2:26

lifted his leg on and peed on the tree

Kacy 2:30

Well,

Lauren 2:30

Yeah.

Kacy 2:30

for tropes in regards to shifter

Lindsey 2:34

in case he getting us back on track.

Kacy 2:35

of them is marking and

Lindsey 2:37

Yes,

Kacy 2:38

right? So shifters often mark or claim their mates, whether physically like biting. I've never seen someone get peed on, but it could happen, right?

Lindsey 2:50

the golden showers.

Kacy 2:51

it's symbolically right? They do a mating ceremony or very much like a wedding ceremony. And the act usually is, there's some sort of either metaphysical bond between the two or it could just be, you know, they're like regular married

Lauren 3:07

Mm-hmm.

Kacy 3:08

and it's usually a key point in the story when they bond with each other.

Lauren 3:14

Definitely

Kacy 3:15

it usually highlights a deep committed relationship because as we all know, wolves mate forever,

Lindsey 3:21

for life,

Kacy 3:22

sure.

Lauren 3:23

for alive,

Kacy 3:23

So for life. So

Lindsey 3:25

as we all know. We're not sure. We think so.

Kacy 3:28

I'm pretty sure

Lindsey 3:29

I think so too.

Kacy 3:30

just like penguins

Lindsey 3:31

Aw,

Lauren 3:31

and otters,

Kacy 3:33

otters,

Lindsey 3:34

and is

Kacy 3:34

not humans.

Lindsey 3:35

and isn't there like a fish that mates for life?

Kacy 3:38

I'm sure there's fish. It's probably like OC

Lindsey 3:40

I mean, it,

Kacy 3:40

or

Lindsey 3:41

it's probably only like a couple weeks or something. I don't know. Some, some fish don't live forever.

Lauren 3:45

Nothing lives

Lindsey 3:46

I know that was a weird train of thought anyways. No, I really like that bond. Like, I think it's super cool. There are varying levels to it, whether they just like feel the bond snap into place and then they can feel their emotions and that sort of thing. Even taking it to the extreme of they can hear their thoughts or communicate

Lauren 4:06

Sometimes they can feel like,

Lindsey 4:08

Mm-hmm.

Lauren 4:09

each other's pain if they're maid is being hurt,

Kacy 4:12

even with that, a lot of shifter romances, you get the, if my mate dies, I die,

Lauren 4:18

or they go feral, especially in like wolf, shifter books where if you lose a mate, your wolf goes feral and then that's it for you. You're like, put down or you joined like a feral pack, you know, or you're a lone wolf now. Um,

Kacy 4:34

talk

Lauren 4:35

yeah.

Kacy 4:35

book club pick today. Later on in the series, they talk about how, if you know, you get to an old age, your mate might dive natural causes. Right? and a lot of people will continue to go on, even if their mate does die because they have something to live for, such as children or grandchildren or something along those lines. But typically it's like, yeah, you die or you go

Lindsey 4:57

Yeah.

Lauren 4:58

Yeah.

Kacy 4:58

if something what is it called?

Lindsey 5:00

Something just like unexpected. Yes. Yeah. Like a heart attack or they get killed or something like that. But one thing I really wanna bring up, and we may cover it in our monster episode, is the duality of the shifter as a human then their like wolf or whatever creature it is. It's almost like they're. Two souls inhabiting the same body or two entities. Whereas our monster counterparts, not all of them, but they are the monster. That's just what they are. But those two natures, like battling it out internally makes for such a cool internal monologue in these stories.

Lauren 5:39

a separation between them and sometimes the human part. Disagrees with their wolf or they're battling an instinct to claim or to have them right? Or it's the wolf that goes, that's my mate, but the man or the woman is like, no, it's not. I don't believe you. And there's this, inner battle too that occurs. And I like that as well. 'cause you get almost nother character, within

Lindsey 6:05

Mm-hmm.

Kacy 6:06

It's like a side

Lauren 6:08

Yeah. it's driving so much of the plot. And, I just read a shifter romance, where the two wolves inside the people were like, fuck it, we're gonna be together. And the people didn't really have too much of a choice. Sometimes they would let go and let their inner beasts, interact and they were a thirst day. you have this dynamic that pulls in, found families where Pac, members come together to form this. sectioned off society where they can be themselves. And sometimes you have known shifter storylines where they're known part of the population, right? Where everybody knows the shifters exists, they just do. But in essence, you have this separation between shifters and humans. and then sometimes it's, nobody knows they exist, right? It's that supernatural elements that is kept quiet. It's kept secret. but I find what's really interesting is you almost a lot of cases, have this compound type, where it's, very self-sustaining. Almost,

Lindsey 7:10

It is their den.

Lauren 7:11

every PAC member has a position or a purpose or a job role, whatever, to. Help that pack survive. and you know, just like, Ned Stark said, when the lone wolf the pack survives or something. What is that? It's

Lindsey 7:27

The lone wolf dies, but the pack survives.

Lauren 7:30

Yeah. I'm a game A Thrones fan.

Kacy 7:31

don't go well together. Like bone wolves don't do well

Lindsey 7:35

Yeah.

Kacy 7:36

obviously, because they're a pack

Lindsey 7:37

Well, and brings another theme or trope that you often see is that shifter hero who is an outcast or a lone wolf, they're living apart from the pack due to like betrayal or tragedy. Maybe it's a personal choice, but the characters romance with the heroine or the FMC often helps him reconnect with his pack or find a new packer family.

Lauren 8:02

Or there's somebody raised in like the human world, maybe they don't know they're shifter or they're brought up outside of a pack and they're brought into it,

Kacy 8:11

Yeah. in a lot of shifter romances, there's a lot of stigma against the outcast, right? So why are you a lone shifter? Why do you do that? Like, why would you not want to be part of like a pack or a group of shifters? And depending on the author, a shifter could mean a lot of things, right? Like they broke pack rules or you know, they ran away from a pack

Lindsey 8:34

They're too

Kacy 8:34

they've gone

Lauren 8:35

Yeah. They're feral or something like that.

Kacy 8:38

yeah, there's a lot of reasons, but typically if you're a lone shifter, you end up being an outcast. And so people don't look at you well, like at all, which, you know, once they do build that connection with a person within a pack, usually it's like, oh yeah, that's the reason. You know, shifters tend to have packs is found. Family is so important.

Lindsey 8:59

it's like they almost see through all their BS and their brooding and they're walled off, grumpy personality and they're like, I see you for you and who you are, and accept them. Like that's a really cool thing, is to be accepted for who you are despite all of your gruff and gritty exterior. they love you, like as their mate as an entire person, which just makes a great romantasy story too.

Lauren 9:24

Yeah. Well, and then it drives a plot to, there's a, common rival pack trope, Where you'll have, several different alphas of packs. Rivaling for, for land or, you know, you've got this like bad evil pack, that adds a component of danger, to kind of the main character in their, storyline. Or, you know, you may have PACS come together, despite their differences to attack a problem, can be a really fun dynamic. And then with that, we have an added element of the ability for an interconnected standalone series where it follows different characters within a pack. I feel like whenever you have. A setting for a found family.

Lindsey 10:05

Mm. Mm-hmm.

Lauren 10:07

that ability to build off of that. We talked about that in a sports romance with the team. We talked about that in

Kacy 10:12

Mm-hmm.

Lauren 10:13

club. Romance with a motorcycle club.

Lindsey 10:15

Mafia romances.

Lauren 10:17

romance with Yeah. The mafia families. Right. And again, I feel like this is a very common element in the shifter, especially wolf shifter pack dynamic, type storylines where you get to know other characters and then have the, potential for additional, interconnected standalones with other couples

Kacy 10:35

Just like our book club pick today. It's a standalone, it's an interconnected standalone. They go through the entire Phoenix pack then the author even then extends that to the Mercury Pack, which is connected to the Phoenix Pack in certain ways. And then she even goes farther and does the Olympus pack. So you get like all these different types of found family, but you get like, all the fun things of, oh, I already know what those characters do. But there's an overarching story as well, which is kind of fun. but I'd love to talk about inner species

Lindsey 11:06

Oh yes,

Kacy 11:08

because one of the best ones I ever read was a between a palace cat and a snake.

Lindsey 11:14

What's a palace cat? I need more

Kacy 11:17

you don't know what a

Lindsey 11:18

just like a cat who lives in a palace.

Kacy 11:19

it's a Chinese feline that used to hang out in the palaces in China, I'm pretty

Lindsey 11:25

Okay.

Kacy 11:26

but it's a cat that stands on its tail because it, lives in the mountains in like the snowy areas of China and it stands, its little tiny feet on its tail. But they're known for being vicious. Think of like a honey badger, but in a cat body.

Lauren 11:40

Wait, these are real.

Kacy 11:41

they're

Lindsey 11:42

Okay.

Kacy 11:42

they're real

Lindsey 11:43

But I gotta, I gotta know because I feel like the like core memory unlocked that there was a show when we were younger.

Kacy 11:50

was,

Lauren 11:50

That's the ese.

Lindsey 11:51

Oh, okay.

Kacy 11:52

Uh, it was called Sua

Lindsey 11:53

Yes.

Lauren 11:54

Yeah.

Kacy 11:55

the Chinese Siamese cat.

Lindsey 11:57

Okay, so back to Palace Cat. So tell me about the Palace Cat.

Kacy 12:00

So Palace cats. Yeah. They're just really vicious little cats, but I don't know, I love sassy characters. They're like one of my favorite things. And so, it happens to be in the third series by Suzanne Wright, which is about the Olympus pack, which is about palace cats, and, Wolverines. So, which I guess both happen to be fairly vicious animals, but they end up with a snake shifter who is in actually the first series, the, Phoenix pack series, but, it's so sassy. 'cause you have a snake that's like hissing and biting things that you have a freaking palace cat wrestling, a snake. I dunno why, but I found it really endearing. And then when they were humans, they were just as sassy

Lindsey 12:40

naked.

Kacy 12:41

and wrestling. Yeah,

Lindsey 12:44

Well, that sounds like fun.

Kacy 12:45

just think, inner species romance can be really fun. Just like in, dragon Bound by Thea Harrison. I've already recommended it earlier in the podcast, It's about a dragon and a mysterious, I don't want to spoil it for anyone shifter who is not a dragon. And she has special qualities that relate to that animal where he has special qualities that are related to a dragon. And I just think it's always really fun because I feel like within shifter romances you can get really stuck specifically very much in

Lindsey 13:14

Mm-hmm.

Kacy 13:14

And so it's really fun when you read about other animals that even if they're like technically mythical animals right, can be really fun. because you know, when you hear the wolf shifter, you're like, ah, wolf shifter. Okay. They go on pack runs, they howl the moon. There's maybe a luna involved

Lindsey 13:32

But there's so much more

Lauren 13:33

there's maybe like a heat of some sort, especially what you're talking about, the inner species, which I haven't, I don't think I've read one of those, but also it tends to be the shifter and then maybe a human

Kacy 13:45

Right.

Lauren 13:45

or shifter to same species shifter. So those ones that are, shifter to shifter in different species that's an interesting, I don't think I've ever read one like that.

Kacy 13:54

you should read Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison. 'cause it's one of my favorite books of all time.

Lauren 13:58

will.

Lindsey 13:59

Lauren, you've read the one that I'm gonna wreck in our TBR, and they're different shifters.

Lauren 14:03

yeah, I guess there are different shifters.

Lindsey 14:05

that one's a little different.

Lauren 14:06

one's a little different I feel like from your standard, paranormal

Lindsey 14:10

Just like pack to pack. Yeah. Like you've got a bear shifter pack and a lion shifter pack. Or a wolf shifter pack. And a mongoose shifter pack. I don't know. I pulled that one outta nowhere

Kacy 14:20

Mongoose. Not gonna say I have read one of those, but I would

Lindsey 14:26

because he is like, I'm down You gotta write one.

Lauren 14:28

the most out there animal that you have, Fred?

Kacy 14:31

that I have read.

Lauren 14:33

I feel like I've mainstay pretty much to like either wolf shifter or dragon shifter are my main, Shifter books that I have read, um,

Kacy 14:42

through

Lauren 14:42

as

Kacy 14:43

catalog in my head. Hold

Lauren 14:44

aside from, the one that Lindsey and I have both read by Jasmine Maoz, the Psycho Shifter series,

Lindsey 14:50

I've only read other than that one bear shifter and wolf shifter,

Kacy 14:54

I've read probably as many animals as you can think of. I've probably read one

Lindsey 14:58

except for Mongooses, apparently.

Kacy 15:00

I would say probably the palace cat was the most outlandish one. 'cause it's such a rare animal. But like, I've read some weird

Lauren 15:07

Yeah.

Kacy 15:08

they typically are forest animals or jungle animals or polar bears. Those are one

Lauren 15:13

Where are we landing on mem people?

Kacy 15:17

that's not a

Lindsey 15:17

No,

Lauren 15:18

Because they shift from human and then in the water to a MER person.

Kacy 15:23

I don't

Lindsey 15:23

not on standard.

Kacy 15:24

shifters 'cause it's not an animal.

Lindsey 15:26

It's usually, it's more like an enchantment too.

Lauren 15:29

they are, a MER person and they shift into a human.

Lindsey 15:32

Yeah.

Kacy 15:32

I view shifter as they have to be an actual of some sort,

Lauren 15:36

Yeah,

Kacy 15:37

don't view

Lauren 15:38

a half shift.

Kacy 15:39

an

Lindsey 15:39

Yeah,

Kacy 15:41

Just like,

Lindsey 15:41

because they're half

Kacy 15:42

a

Lauren 15:43

where do we put the MER people?

Lindsey 15:45

in mythical creatures. Because they're half like Like it's not like they're shifting into a fish. Like

Kacy 15:50

like a

Lindsey 15:51

Yeah,

Kacy 15:51

like,

Lindsey 15:51

like a dragon is different because you're shifting fully into a dragon. That's why I would classify dragons of shifters. Yeah. If you have your human form and then you have your completely animal slash mythical creature form shifter, but if you are like a halsy,

Lauren 16:05

a werewolf.

Lindsey 16:06

well, werewolves are Monsters,

Kacy 16:09

would say that's

Lindsey 16:09

yeah.

Kacy 16:10

Or if you're just a wolf,

Lindsey 16:11

yeah.

Kacy 16:12

Yeah.

Lindsey 16:12

I think we're all on the same page.

Lauren 16:13

the myrrh

Lindsey 16:14

They're in the mythical creatures.

Kacy 16:15

They're

Lauren 16:15

Okay,

Lindsey 16:16

They're with the unicorns.

Kacy 16:17

Yeah.

Lauren 16:18

that's, there's not like a half person

Lindsey 16:21

Well, I mean there maybe there is, maybe there's a unicorn centar. Yeah, that's close enough.

Lauren 16:25

Yeah. I feel like now I want like a, unicorn, like a half shift, but. Their horn is somewhere else.

Kacy 16:34

Ow.

Lindsey 16:35

Yeah. That, no, don't stick it with the pointy end, Lauren.

Kacy 16:39

It needs to have a flared

Lindsey 16:40

yeah. Okay. You went there.

Lauren 16:44

I don't know. I read that no one, and he stuck his hat head

Lindsey 16:48

a known the entire time?

Lauren 16:50

There were little gnomes and they were just going to town on her,

Lindsey 16:54

Oh my God.

Lauren 16:54

in the

Lindsey 16:55

You haven't told me about this.

Kacy 16:56

out of stone or ceramic or were they actual? No. Oh,

Lindsey 17:02

We're gonna get a whole side note on this. I, you have not told me about this.

Lauren 17:06

He basically shoved his whole head with this hat inside of her.

Kacy 17:10

What

Lindsey 17:11

Oh my God.

Lauren 17:11

Uh, I don't know. I can't remember. It was like one of those things where,

Kacy 17:15

like one of those things you black

Lauren 17:16

yeah, I read it and then I immediately was like, I need to erase this from my brain. It's like the, door, the door book. It was an H, it was like kind of one of those.

Kacy 17:28

was not embarrassed about reading that. It was kind of a good book, but you know, my friend, Ariel, she'll send me books that she thinks are really weird, but they're romance and she wants me to read them and then tell what they're about. And she sent me

Lindsey 17:41

Nice, nice.

Kacy 17:42

And honestly, interesting concept. Concept. I highly recommend people read the book because it is an interesting concept. It's wild, but it's,

Lauren 17:51

fro

Kacy 17:52

the door

Lindsey 17:53

if you didn't know what we were getting at,

Lauren 17:55

it. Her

Kacy 17:56

guess.

Lindsey 17:56

um, speaking

Lauren 17:57

Frisky by Lauren Beal, where she fucks a snowman.

Kacy 18:01

Cold.

Lauren 18:02

And he is got a big carrot.

Lindsey 18:04

Okay, well that's why Lauren's thinking of pointy ends. Um, but let's, let's move from one door to the other, and talk about book club because I'm excited to talk about this book

Kacy 18:14

well in regards to book club, obviously heavy spoilers, ahead for our book club pick this week. we do have content warnings. There is, death of an infant or child that is mentioned, loss of a parent that's mentioned and mentions of past abusive relationships. And that's it, I believe, so our book Club Pick for this week is Ferrell Sins by Suzanne Wright. This book follows a latent wolf shifter named Terran, who values her independence after distancing herself from Pack Life due to past dramas. When she meets Trey, a charismatic alpha of a rival pack and their undeniable chemistry sparks an intense attraction and a fake mating starts as Taryn navigates her growing feelings and complexities of pack politics. She must confront her fears and embrace her true nature. And that's that

Lindsey 19:04

Should we talk about it,

Kacy 19:05

we didn't do fun facts, Lauren.

Lindsey 19:07

There's no fun facts about romance.

Lauren 19:09

Fun facts about romance.

Lindsey 19:12

It's that Lauren didn't do her homework for this episode.

Lauren 19:14

I didn't, I'm so sorry.

Lindsey 19:17

She is an English romance and paranormal fiction author known for her series that we read. She lives with her family and writes, reads, and does housework. Suzanne Wright is a bit of a mystery.

Kacy 19:28

Oh, she eats Skittles.

Lindsey 19:30

Who

Kacy 19:30

Lots of Skittles.

Lauren 19:32

Okay, let's end it there because that was the best. She's a bit of a mystery. She Skittles

Kacy 19:40

You know, her Instagram very specifically says she eats Skittles. Lots and lots of Skittles.

Lauren 19:47

and there you have it. Today's fun facts about romance.

Kacy 19:52

That was silly.

Lindsey 19:53

Oh, I found her webpage.

Kacy 19:55

No, her webpage wouldn't open for me.

Lindsey 19:57

I was born in a village in Yorkshire. My father was a coal miner and my mother was a nurse.

Kacy 20:02

Why do you sound like you belong in Monty Python?

Lindsey 20:05

I dunno, I don't know that this is actually the same author. Nope. She wrote Autumn, butterfly. This is not the same author.

Lauren 20:13

This is what happens when I don't do my homework.

Kacy 20:16

That's okay. she has written a lot of fucking shifter

Lindsey 20:18

Yeah,

Lauren 20:19

She really

Lindsey 20:20

Well, can we, can we,

Kacy 20:21

lot. She also has done Vampire

Lindsey 20:24

say how I feel like what? The Phoenix Pack is eight. The Phoenix Pack itself is eight books. Like, whoa. That's intense. And then

Kacy 20:34

all good.

Lindsey 20:35

Dark in You. Is that another one?

Kacy 20:37

Darken you is the demon

Lindsey 20:39

Oh, okay. The Mercury Pack has,

Kacy 20:42

six.

Lindsey 20:42

are you just throwing out the number six, five for like everything, what? How many does it have? Six. Do you even know what I'm talking about? Six.

Kacy 20:49

And

Lindsey 20:49

What do you want? Six.

Kacy 20:51

There's the

Lindsey 20:52

It has six. Kacy,

Kacy 20:53

it's six.

Lindsey 20:55

I haven't fucking checked yet. It has six. You're welcome.

Kacy 20:59

that's her, that's her most recent one. And she keeps coming out with

Lindsey 21:04

Oh my God. That was,

Lauren 21:05

just love these names that, she's come up with for the pacs. They're really cool.

Kacy 21:10

they all have different reasons,

Lindsey 21:12

I'm loving the covers like just your classic like

Kacy 21:16

Oh yeah.

Lauren 21:18

And for those of you who don't know what that means, it means the classic, spicy, hunky man on the cover.

Kacy 21:26

typically she has kind of almost like an artsy version of like a man and a woman and like some sort of animal on top of the

Lindsey 21:34

like this one's just his squinting eyes in a forest.

Kacy 21:38

or, it's a picture of the man with no head, right? No head. Just his body in like a misty background

Lindsey 21:45

Ooh, ooh. This one's wolf eye. This one's wolf eyes. And then like two couples with their heads, em embraced.

Kacy 21:52

Oh, is

Lindsey 21:53

Dark instincts,

Kacy 21:54

yeah, that's the third book in the Mercury

Lindsey 21:57

like gently like holding his head in profile.

Kacy 22:00

or the third, but that one's a really good one. 'cause it's a black cat, like golden retriever Energy

Lindsey 22:04

Oh,

Kacy 22:05

know all these books. Sorry, I've read them all a

Lindsey 22:06

the, oh.

Lauren 22:07

you were gonna say it was a black cat shifter.

Lindsey 22:10

or he is like, his shirt's open or he is like wearing a, like a tank top and it's muscles are exploding out of it.

Kacy 22:16

Oh

Lindsey 22:17

I prefer when their heads are cut off, so that I can just imagine because

Kacy 22:20

imagine the face.

Lindsey 22:22

Yeah. But anyways. Okay. Onto the book.

Kacy 22:24

So how did you guys feel about the plot and pacing of this book? I recommended this book for book club because I love Suzanne Wright.

Lindsey 22:31

Clearly.

Kacy 22:31

I've read every single book she's ever written. not just her shifter romances, but what do you

Lindsey 22:36

I wanna I wanna go first. Lauren always gets to go first. this, like hit the nail on the head for like, everything you wanted from a shifter book. it has like alpha energy, the markings, the pack dynamics, the cool extra supernatural ness that we were hitting on the forced, proximity with the fake marriage, the mating. I mean, like if,

Lauren 22:56

hot

Lindsey 22:56

yeah, if you wanna shifter book, pick this one up because it's amazing.

Kacy 23:00

Yeah.

Lindsey 23:00

I definitely feel like the plot and pacing, I liked the plot. that kind of like initial fake mating. like that marriage of convenience almost. It's like a shifter version of that, which was really cool. I love that Taryn is Super. Like she is an alpha through and through,

Kacy 23:18

Yeah, she is an alpha

Lindsey 23:19

yeah.

Kacy 23:20

which is nice that the author did a good job of conveying what it would mean to be an alpha

Lindsey 23:25

Mm-hmm.

Kacy 23:26

in a pack. cause you honestly don't see that very much in shifter romances. It's always the guy that's the alpha and I mean, Trey is an alpha as well. But it's interesting, I think specifically, even if you go throughout the series, there's different couples, whether they're alpha, alpha, alpha beta, beta, beta, like whatever. It's always interesting to see like the way authors describe that type of relationship because she very much gives a good idea of what a, like, it's like a tug of war between the

Lindsey 23:52

Well, I feel like this might happen some more in the fantasy books where like the, female main character is supposed to be like super, badass and possessive and has this elf of energy and it sometimes falls flat, like it doesn't follow through. Or it could even happen in shifters where they're supposed to be like super dominant, but they end up being written as submissive

Kacy 24:11

Yeah.

Lindsey 24:11

Taryn.

Lauren 24:12

the mail.

Lindsey 24:12

Yeah.

Kacy 24:13

Yeah,

Lindsey 24:13

and Taryn was described as an alpha and I was like, oh please, like please live up to that. And she did a fantastic job of living up to that. She stayed alpha, like even when she was giving, it was like still in her alpha mode, like in her own alpha way. I really appreciated that.

Kacy 24:29

do so, right? Like she chose to be submissive to Trey or whatever, like he

Lindsey 24:35

Yeah.

Kacy 24:36

You know, something

Lindsey 24:36

Yeah.

Lauren 24:37

Yeah. But it wasn't, once she did it, it was. Like off the table or it was off the table. like, okay, I'm gonna do this, but I might not do it next time.

Lindsey 24:44

Yeah.

Lauren 24:45

You know, it wasn't that, oh, I flipped this switch and now it's gonna be like this for, you

Lindsey 24:49

Mm-hmm.

Lauren 24:50

rest of the book.

Lindsey 24:51

Yeah.

Lauren 24:51

And she was able to be submissive in some ways without sacrificing that in others, which I think is a really fantastic dynamic.

Lindsey 24:59

But back to the pacing though, there was a bit in the middle that it was needed for the story, and I totally understood it, but it did kind of feel like they had just holed up in their den a little bit and not so much was happening. just like them, they were developing their relationship, did.

Lauren 25:15

that emotional connection too.

Lindsey 25:16

yes,

Kacy 25:17

And building the

Lindsey 25:18

yes.

Kacy 25:18

not a singular book.

Lindsey 25:20

And knowing that like it's an interconnected standalone, it makes sense it's needed, but I kind of wanna know what's gonna happen with Darryl's pack and all of that. I was kind of just like itching to get to that. so it did feel like it drug on a little bit. Not to say that it wasn't good in the middle, but I did feel that a little bit the, the middle slowed down. Yes. Yes, for sure.

Lauren 25:39

and that fake dating trope, that was in there, they kind of needed that time to realistically get to know each other since they're like, okay, we're together, but for everybody else, but what does that mean? What I found too, which is. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. When you're doing an inner cry connected standalone where you know you're gonna have other, books for other characters is finding that balance between keeping your reader interested in the main couple while introducing the new potential couples. Because sometimes I felt need where I wanna put this book down and pick up the other one about that character. She almost made it like

Lindsey 26:19

Too enticing.

Lauren 26:20

too enticing and too interesting where

Kacy 26:22

going

Lauren 26:22

wanted to like follow that, other story to the point where I was, almost like, oh, I can't wait to finish this book so that I could start that book

Lindsey 26:31

I totally didn't get that at all though.

Lauren 26:33

where I can't remember who.

Lindsey 26:35

Was it Dante? get one?

Lauren 26:36

might have been Dante.

Kacy 26:38

Dante and Jamie.

Lauren 26:39

Yeah. I was just,

Kacy 26:41

Yeah.

Lauren 26:42

there's that balance, right? and I'm a DHD, so I'm like squirrel, you know, new couple. Uh, and I feel that sometimes in the interconnected standalones where, I'll latch onto a couple in a dynamic that I really like. And this happens with, Anna Wong's Twisted series where I was reading the first one and I wanted to skip over and go straight to the third book couple, because their sideline interactions.

Kacy 27:12

Yeah.

Lauren 27:12

Where,

Kacy 27:13

very similar in that

Lauren 27:14

yeah. I was like, not as entertained and I was like, I just wanna go over and read what happens with them and I had to reel myself back in. So it's, a testament to creating such, a dynamic and interesting, world with all these interesting characters and you're really kind of teasing your readers for the, the next books in your series. But there's definitely like other side to that where you can have your reader pause the current book if you

Kacy 27:41

they have a

Lauren 27:42

Yeah, if you, if you drop the treats a little bit too Enticingly. And I found that a little bit, and I think that's why I also felt like it dragged on in the middle, because then I was like. Let's finish this. I wanna see what happens so I can get to the other ones. So that was kind of like my only, I love the plot. and like Lindsey said, it fulfilled every single desire I have for like a wolf shifter book.

Lindsey 28:04

Mm-hmm.

Lauren 28:05

and not in a, oh, this has been done a thousand times way, like I really enjoyed reading about the latency,

Lindsey 28:13

I thought that was so cool.

Lauren 28:14

That was really an interesting dynamic. And I, the thing is, what, one thing that bothered me is they never really described what latent meant.

Kacy 28:24

I guess like it's all in like the assumption,

Lauren 28:27

Yeah.

Kacy 28:28

they talk about how, you know, she's weak because she's latent that sort of stuff. But I guess if you know what latency means, it makes sense. 'cause latency is literally the delay of something. And so I understand what you mean by that because with like context clues, if the context clues aren't obvious

Lauren 28:48

Mm-hmm.

Kacy 28:49

be like, wait, what is latency? And then they kind of explain it

Lauren 28:52

A little bit. Well, and if it's your first

Kacy 28:55

fully

Lauren 28:56

too, you may go, well, what does latency mean for a shifter?

Lindsey 29:00

It's,

Lauren 29:00

thing? they never came out and said, latency means this. And I was waiting for it to happen.

Lindsey 29:06

It means she can't shift. Lauren.

Lauren 29:08

like eventually knew

Lindsey 29:09

well, I,

Lauren 29:10

but I'm.

Kacy 29:10

with her A

Lindsey 29:11

I'm like, did you miss that? Did you, did, did you miss it? Because, uh,

Lauren 29:15

I know what it meant. I've read enough shift or romances.

Kacy 29:18

Dante.

Lindsey 29:20

The key takeaway here is Lauren was owing Dante and read the rest of the book.

Lauren 29:24

I mean, you, you give a character named Dante. gonna read it. Okay. Authors beware. if you say Dante, Lauren's like, yes, please. Raw. Next question.

Kacy 29:35

I do have to say though, the second book, which is Dante and Jamie is one of my favorite in the series because Dante is Dante in, if you know what I mean. And

Lindsey 29:46

Dante was Dante ing for Lauren in this book. So.

Kacy 29:50

Lauren really needs to read the

Lauren 29:51

You know what? I can tell when an author saves a good name for a good character, and I think they did because no shade, but I do not like the name Trey. It, it gives like fuckboy energy.

Kacy 30:02

he kind of is a fuck

Lindsey 30:04

Yeah. Yeah.

Lauren 30:05

so I'm not about that. I want a Dante, I'm team Dante.

Kacy 30:11

Well, in regards to plot, obviously I really like this book. I've read the entire series multiple times, all of her series. I think it's a fairly fast-paced plot in the beginning, especially with and Trey going into a fake, relationship almost immediately in the book. It's agreed upon fairly, very quickly. but I do think that the book nails it on the head, what people want from a shift, real romance, like you've already said. because it is the first book in a series. It really focuses on the world building that they live in and how the Pac Life is handled, whether it's through marriage agreements, true mates meetings of alphas to discuss alliances, even as, you know, simple as the PAC

Lindsey 30:53

Oh my God, I, I'm glad you mentioned that. 'cause that was fun.

Kacy 30:56

I was like, oh my God, it's Facebook first shifters.

Lindsey 31:00

But I feel like it's more like LinkedIn for shifters,

Kacy 31:03

more

Lindsey 31:03

like LinkedIn meets Facebook.

Kacy 31:05

what an interesting concept that you can register your PAC on the PAC web and like create alliances that way. And I was like, what an interesting way to bring technology into it. 'cause like no one ever talks about technology with

Lindsey 31:17

Mm-hmm.

Kacy 31:18

just because it's more to do with like getting in touch with nature than with technology. But I thought that was really fun. And I do really like that. This book series, there are different types of magic in the series. You get that with Taryn, she is a healer, right? And her specific power is she literally. Sucks the pain out, by kissing you, uh, you know, it's not sexual or anything. She just puts her mouth on your mouth and then it just kind of goes into her body and she releases whatever sickness or injury or whatever you have. But throughout the series, you are, introduced to Sears, who can see the future or potential futures. And then you're also introduced to Omegas, which I think the concept Suzanne Wright has for Omegas is really interesting. They're considered the therapists of the pack. So

Lindsey 32:05

Are they sex therapists?

Kacy 32:06

can know No, but they're, wolves who have the ability to calm people, which typically in shifter romances, omegas are considered like, the fuck toy of the group really? I mean, or like someone who is super, super, weak or whatever. But she makes omega like a position in the pack, which is very interesting.

Lauren 32:29

the valued position at that. mean,

Kacy 32:31

valued

Lauren 32:31

with the Omega verse, sometimes the omegas either they're highly coveted because they're the breeder maybe, or something like that. Or they're seen as second rate, like second class.

Kacy 32:42

Yeah. And I do like how Suzanne Wright brings in magic in a way because it's subtle, which is really nice. And it brings an interesting, like plot device to her stories, which sometimes shifters don't have. but I, really like that Taryn's a healer and you get different types of healers, which is kind of cool too. they're not just specific to the way Taryn does her healing,

Lauren 33:05

I added, I like that added dynamic when they have powers. I mean, it's a bit reminiscent of, twilight, you know, the vampires they have like sometimes have this added power.

Kacy 33:16

werewolves, and I was like, they

Lauren 33:17

no, uh, no. But sometimes you have a paranormal, that's not inherently magical like witches, but it's a vampire, it's a shifter they have an added elements,

Lindsey 33:29

Like one's burned.

Lauren 33:30

Yes, yes. And I love that incorporation into a book. It just adds a little bit more, to this paranormal, magical, Setting in the real world, because in fantasy you get anything goes right, but, with paranormal, you sometimes have to work within the confines of the real world. so that just adds a little bit more fun for me. More dynamic, plot line, or plot elements to the story. I do think, which is interesting to me because you recommended this book just Kacy, that there's miscommunication,

Kacy 34:03

I know,

Lauren 34:04

a lot in this book,

Kacy 34:06

know,

Lauren 34:07

your

Kacy 34:07

I

Lauren 34:08

least favorite trope.

Kacy 34:10

for us to start talking about emotional connection, to

Lauren 34:13

Yeah. And I remember reading this and there was a lot of misses, I would say,

Kacy 34:19

Yep.

Lauren 34:20

Maybe not miscommunication, but lack of communication. They just weren't being truthful or being open with each other. Um, which definitely interweaved with that slow build of the emotional connection because they were holding a lot internally and there was a lot of I would say, of actions.

Kacy 34:42

thought they had true mates before they met

Lauren 34:45

Yeah.

Kacy 34:46

they're like, we can't be true mates with

Lauren 34:47

So,

Kacy 34:48

That's

Lauren 34:48

yeah. So I'm, I am, they're like having these feelings, but they're not telling each other about these feelings. And so I was reading this and I was like, Kacy really liked this, like this didn't bug the shit out of

Lindsey 35:00

But I think that brings up a really good point because we all have tropes that we don't naturally gravitate towards, except in certain situations, like

Lauren 35:10

for

Lindsey 35:10

I don't generally, like a bully romance, but in shifters you get the alpha hole that is very bullying and I will eat that shit up like.

Lauren 35:20

Or, or some of the Chantal Tessier books. Those are very bully, but I sometimes like those, it's how it's written.

Kacy 35:27

It's very much how written and in regards to the miscommunication in this book, I think it really shows how your taste can change throughout the

Lauren 35:35

Mm-hmm.

Kacy 35:35

when this book first came out, I was in college and I remember just eating it up and I, I blew through all the books and then I was waiting for more books to come out. Like I was reading before she had any of her other series out and I was like, I need more, but like, I reread this book for book club. And I was like, oh wow. Is there miscommunication problems? Right. Taryn and Trey banter, they banter a lot. They don't say a lot when they banter though. They do banter and there is definitely a lot of miscommunications between them, very much in the beginning because they're technically lying to both their pacs and eventually lying to themselves about liking one another. and I think. forgive the book for the fact that throughout the book you can see there's a growing mutual respect for each other and how they each handle situations. So they get this mutual respect and trust between the two of them, which is really nice. And Trey doesn't even think twice about her being latent, which I thought was really sweet. 'cause he's such the alpha, right? Like people are intimidated by him because he's so Alpha E whatnot. And it's a big deal for everyone else in this shifter world that she is latent, right? Because it's seen as a weakness and for her to come in as. The alpha female to Trey and be latent, it causes problems within the pack. Right. but I really like that they end up developing their thing and they do eventually come to communicate

Lindsey 37:09

Mm-hmm.

Kacy 37:09

like they do with all miscommunication tropes. It does eventually happen, but I think it's interesting looking back how I was obsessed with this book and this series and miscommunication, trope is pretty common throughout them, and it does get better. I think it's the very first part of the series that there's communication tropes, but, I don't like it so much now, but I love this series so much. I'm willing to forget it.

Lindsey 37:34

It's still really well done though, and I think that, like what Lauren said, like that's the caveat And that's not to say that like bully romances that we don't like, or tropes that we don't like, aren't well written. Just I like well written for what you are interested in or what you like. Yeah.

Lauren 37:50

We all have a line too sometimes where I don't mind. I actually like an accidental pregnancy trope and then sometimes I'll read one, I'll be like, no, I don't like that. Wasn't a fan of that. Wasn't a fan. How, how that was written.

Lindsey 38:04

that,

Lauren 38:04

So.

Lindsey 38:04

say though, that's like the one thing that. Kind of like surprised me it was a very surprise accidental pregnancy, in this book. And I was just like, wait, what the fuck? Like, but it's a much needed plot device. it's the reason that she's able to then overcome her latency and shift I get it. I was just not fucking expecting that. I don't know how I feel about this. And then the book was over because I didn't really have a chance to process it.

Kacy 38:28

I really wanna spoil something in the second book about the baby.

Lauren 38:33

is her name Rena? May because

Kacy 38:35

No, the baby is a boy and its name is Kai. I'm just gonna spoil it, so if you guys don't wanna know what it, it is

Lindsey 38:41

Skip forward like five minutes, two minutes, skip forward like 30 seconds.

Kacy 38:45

seconds. Kai is a healer and Kai, his way of healing is by being around people. He naturally heals emotions,

Lindsey 38:54

Oh

Kacy 38:55

so

Lauren 38:55

well, and it was also by, Trey that he was. Her mate that helped her transform too,

Lindsey 39:01

yeah, yeah,

Lauren 39:02

Yeah. Yeah.

Kacy 39:03

I just think it's fun that, like her son also got a healing trait, but his healing's different than the way she heals. And while she heals

Lauren 39:12

Physically.

Kacy 39:14

he heals emotional

Lauren 39:15

Cute.

Kacy 39:16

I, have this like theory that he's slightly helped her heal from her emotional traumas while he was in her. And I was like,

Lindsey 39:25

Also super jealous that shifter pregnancies are shorter. Just gonna say, wish I could sign up for that.

Kacy 39:31

that's great. Like,

Lauren 39:33

can I talk for a second about something that I don't like, and I don't know what it is, but sometimes you get towards the end of a series, you have like, everybody's coupled up. Maybe they've had kids. And then the next series that the author writes is about the kids when they've grown up.

Kacy 39:51

Mm. Weird.

Lauren 39:52

it's weirds me out to know that she's like an adult and I can't picture it

Lindsey 40:00

Now we're Lawrence 'cause we're getting old.

Lauren 40:03

I

Lindsey 40:03

We're Adulty. You're adults now.

Lauren 40:05

I'm not at that point where my brain can compute kids, growing growing up. 'cause I still sometimes feel like a kid. and so when I get that in my books, a part of me sometimes I'm really excited 'cause like, oh, I get more of the story, but then it weirds me out. do you guys feel that at all? Sometimes.

Kacy 40:25

I've definitely read shifter romances where it follows to the kids in maybe like the next series or something. It doesn't really bug me that much.

Lauren 40:33

I was just curious because I feel like we have, large swath of romance readers from, our age to, our parents. being in the mid thirties, we're in this, where, we're at that age where you can date, you know, the guy or his dad. Um, but

Kacy 40:52

I saw that with like Supernatural, like I'm at the point I could date Dean or his

Lauren 40:57

yeah, the hundred percent right. which is a fantastic area to be in, I would say.

Lindsey 41:03

but speaking of spice

Kacy 41:04

Spa.

Lauren 41:05

Bash.

Kacy 41:06

I love

Lindsey 41:06

Fast,

Kacy 41:07

What do you guys think about the

Lindsey 41:08

spicy. Fast.

Lauren 41:10

I loved

Lindsey 41:10

Looks good.

Lauren 41:11

it was on theme.

Kacy 41:13

It's a very like, do vibe,

Lauren 41:16

Hmm. Yeah.

Kacy 41:18

the alpha is the dominant in the bedroom though. I do like in this book that, Trey is really possessive, especially in the bedroom, right? And it, really, really shows in the spicy scenes. I think he is a hundred percent an alpha in bed and likes the idea of Taryn as an alpha, also submitting to him and burying her neck to him, but then she's also basically a brat and makes him earn the right to her submission, I really like because their banter in the bedroom I think is absolutely hilarious. but yeah, lots of primal play, lots of biting and marking of mates, whether it's the scratches on the back or literal biting or what's not.

Lauren 42:00

Yeah. And I like how she wrote the separation between the wants and desires of the wolves and then the wants and the desires of the people. and she kept with that through the entire book, keeping them very much separate in their desires and acts.

Kacy 42:15

Mm-hmm.

Lauren 42:15

that like kind of, like the biting, you said the wolf marked her versus him marking her. I thought that was really interesting. And she fought it like,

Kacy 42:26

yeah, she

Lindsey 42:26

I ha I have to say, I've realized, not that I'm a mood reader, I know that I'm a mood reader, but, that alpha whole macho dirty talk, like I have to be in the mood for it. I.

Kacy 42:36

I'm always

Lindsey 42:37

know.

Kacy 42:37

the mood for

Lindsey 42:37

I know, I know. But I, I just like, I don't know if it was 'cause there was like a deadline to read it or I was like trying to get I was like, oh God, I gotta read this book for, book club. but I just, don't think I was in the mood for the alpha, macho dirty talk. And that's not to say that it wasn't, I mean it was good. like, if you were looking for that it was good spice. I was just like, oh, I realize this about myself. I had some self-discovery, but it was good spice.

Kacy 43:04

it's it's interesting 'cause like moods can affect everything when it comes to reading, especially romance. There are times when I absolutely have no want to read a shifter

Lauren 43:14

Yeah.

Kacy 43:15

at all. And there's sometimes when I have absolutely no want to read like a

Lindsey 43:19

Yeah.

Kacy 43:19

Romance, but then there'll be times when maybe I've watched an episode of Bridger Tin or something that I'm like, oh my God, I gotta pick up a regency book. And then I just devour like 12 of them, you know? And it's one of those things where I am a complete mood reader. I have to want to read what I'm reading. It's really hard for me to get through books where I'm like, oh, like I have to finish this for this reason. Which is why, like any book I'm a part of, they'll tell you. I like wait till the last, literally the last 24 hours to read the book. and then I always end up loving the book, but I'm like, oh, I finally have to do it. But mood reading is such a thing. It's kind of like a

Lindsey 43:53

Yes, yes. Like I have books on my shelf that I have started and they're good books, but I just wasn't in the mood to read them, and I now I need more bookmarks. I know I'll pick them back eventually. I don't know when, but.

Kacy 44:06

I told myself recently, 'cause I got into this trap, I had like four books I was reading simultaneously I literally told myself I'm not allowed to do that anymore. I have to finish the book. I started because I keep going back to the book and being like, I have no idea where I was and what was happening because I'm reading four books at the same time.

Lauren 44:23

Yeah, I try to do that with like a bunch of different fantasy

Lindsey 44:26

Yeah,

Lauren 44:26

and you're like, what's happening in these worlds?

Kacy 44:29

Romantasy and a, what was the third one? Oh, like a paranormal. And I was like, I can't, my braid is literally Especially, 'cause one of them was Quicksilver and that one is a, in-depth world

Lindsey 44:41

yes, it's, I have a cutoff. If I get more than like a couple of chapters in, then I have to finish it. But if I'm only a few chapters in and I'm like, I'm not vibing with this, and I can restart it very easily. Or there hasn't been too much that's happened that I can put it down and hopefully remember to take it off my currently reading. Um,

Kacy 45:01

Yeah.

Lauren 45:02

the currently reading on Good Reads, my list sometimes gets longer than like my to be list. Really? You're

Lindsey 45:07

I, I have, I have like a monthly cleanup that I do that I'm like, oh yeah, nope, not reading that. And then it'll spark me to be like, oh, yeah, now I'm actually ready. And in the mood to read that one, which is really fun.

Kacy 45:18

Mm-hmm.

Lindsey 45:18

Um, but overall, what do you guys think? What do, what are your thoughts on the book?

Kacy 45:22

Well, obviously I really fucking love this author. I,

Lindsey 45:26

I mean, I think that's a little clear by now, just a little bit.

Kacy 45:28

she's like up there to me with like Christian Ashley, She's a hundred percent up there for me. she's one of my favorite authors. I own every single book she's ever written and the audio books. So really love this series. I think it's one of those series that if you are really looking to getting into shifters, it is the perfect series for that. And, it's just really well written. each book is such a unique take on shifter life shifter politics and, different types of shifters and stuff. You see everything from tigers to wolverines to palace cats, to snakes

Lindsey 46:03

Mongooses

Kacy 46:03

on and so forth. There is no mongoose unfortunately. I'm kind

Lindsey 46:07

sound, the one.

Kacy 46:08

but like, but it's a really fun series and I think it is a good take on a shifter romance with spice, but not a lot of spice. Like it's spice in, but I wouldn't say it's the spiciest book in the world.

Lindsey 46:22

For sure,

Kacy 46:23

the right amount.

Lindsey 46:24

I was really surprised by the turn of events and the traitor and the surprise at the end, the surprise pregnancy. so I do really enjoy a book that can surprise me even when I think oh yeah, I know where this is going. And it can just like outta left field be like, ha ha, no, you don't. I,

Lauren 46:40

I did not know it'd be Brock. In the end,

Lindsey 46:42

yeah.

Lauren 46:42

like, what?

Kacy 46:43

really

Lindsey 46:43

Yeah.

Kacy 46:44

isn't it? You're like, wait,

Lindsey 46:45

Um.

Kacy 46:46

Brock?

Lindsey 46:47

But I really enjoyed it. I do wanna read more, when I'm in the mood for a shifter book. what I love about this is I know it's like so on brand for shifter romance that if I'm in the mood for a shifter romance, I know what I'm gonna get and I'm gonna pick up one of these books. It's gonna be great writing, it's gonna have all of the things that I want for that mood. And, I would recommend it if you're in the mood for a shift or book for sure.

Lauren 47:10

Yeah. I liked it, I liked the mystery, about, the traitor in their midst. really liked the power dynamic, and struggle between the two characters. I thought that was very interesting. Like we said before, she stuck true to the alpha female tendencies. and I thought that was great to read. So I enjoyed it. even with it being a little bit drawn out kind of in that middle part, didn't set it down. I kept reading it and the plot was interesting enough where I was like, I must figure out what happens. I must figure out, and read it through to the end. And that speaks to just a well-rounded book, I think.

Kacy 47:49

Right. And the author does such a good job at like between characters.

Lauren 47:53

the grandmother.

Lindsey 47:54

Oh my God, Greta.

Kacy 47:55

is so funny. Everything to do with Greta is hilarious because the entire pack is against her. but in the best way possible. They're just like, fucking Greta. Like, you know, doesn't approve of anyone except for her boys and no one's good enough for her. But it's just so funny 'cause literally none of the women takes Greta's shit. And then eventually Greta does find one person she actually likes. And it's hilarious. 'cause like the lady's just, she's crazy. But Greta, the whole Greta thing makes me

Lindsey 48:24

Yeah.

Kacy 48:25

I don't know. I really enjoy that part.

Lauren 48:28

All right.

Lindsey 48:29

TVR recommendations. Time to stuff. The shelves. Should I go first? Who wants to go first?

Lauren 48:33

I'll go first for my TBR Rec is a fantastic shifter series, called the Riley Jensen Guardian Series by Carrie Arthur. Funnily enough, this book was given to me by a friend who knew I read, romance, and they found it in one of those lending libraries it was a beat up old copy of the very first book in this series. And they're like, ha, we found this for you. And it was almost like a little bit of a. I wouldn't say like a jab. it was one of those things where like, oh, you're the only person we know who read romance and this cover looks really, out there and romantasy and you need to read this. And I was like, okay, give it to

Lindsey 49:14

Yeah.

Lauren 49:15

Give it to me. And you know what? I saw them a couple weeks later and I'm like, oh, so did you read that book? I'm like, yes. And I read six more of them, this series. Fantastic. Out of nowhere. I was like, thank you so much for giving it to me because I loved it.

Kacy 49:29

Oh, good.

Lauren 49:29

it's fantastic. little like kind of. Detective e almost. She works for, this kind of guardian, I don't wanna say firm,

Lindsey 49:37

Agency.

Lauren 49:38

agency. it's, it's just, it's so good. and it's very sex positive. especially for shifters. They have this club where they go to find other shifters to hook up with, and especially when they're in heat and it's hot, but it's got fantastic, plot lines. The main character Riley, is just kind of always getting herself into these situations. she has to get out of, but she's badass, too. Badass for FMC. Love it. The other one is the Dragon Dojo Brotherhood, which. I read this years ago, but now when I hear the word like

Lindsey 50:09

Oh, I think is Ken

Lauren 50:10

think,

Lindsey 50:11

Mojo Dojo Casa House.

Lauren 50:13

Yes. So don't let that dissuade you. but it's by Olivia Ash and man, I love me some dragon shifter romance. This one is so good. It's, reverse harem, interesting kind of, supernatural world that they have. And, it was just so good. And then on my TBR is one that's really funny. It's called Luna Trials by Heather K. Carson.

Lindsey 50:39

that the one where she goes on the dating show? Yes.

Kacy 50:42

that. I

Lindsey 50:43

Oh my God. I wanna read that.

Lauren 50:45

So

Kacy 50:45

it was.

Lauren 50:46

the kind of line for the book is she wants to escape. He wants to win. Neither of them were looking for love, but sparks fly in their fates on the popular Wolf Shifter Dating Show mating season. Up next on episode seven of meeting season. That's what I just like picture. Um,

Lindsey 51:03

It totally got me. I was like, add to TBR.

Lauren 51:06

yes.

Kacy 51:07

it kind of reminded me of like the selection yeah. Kiara, Cass, but with shifters, really good. I liked it.

Lauren 51:15

Yeah. I'm so glad to hear that because this caught my attention. it follows Aspen, the lowest ranking wolf, from her pack, who the pack gets an invitation to be on the mating season, a reality show where Alphas and Lunas from around the country meet to pick their chosen mates. The MMC Ranger, which, you know me, I just love a good name and like a wolf shifter named Ranger. I mean, come

Lindsey 51:43

Yeah.

Lauren 51:43

uh, is an alpha with one goal, win the Alpha Games, but when his wolf sees Aspen and Stakes six claim, he has, to alter his plans. So it's a slow burn with a morally gray MMC, and I promised strong and witty FMC. that is on my list. and you'll probably add it to yours too. Kacy really liked it. She's the, she's the shifter,

Kacy 52:12

I love Shifter,

Lindsey 52:14

Queen.

Lauren 52:15

queen.

Kacy 52:15

alien, monster. Uh,

Lindsey 52:18

Well,

Kacy 52:18

so good.

Lindsey 52:19

my, my TBR rec is psycho shifters by Jasmine Moss. It's a paranormal fantasy, but it has shifters, so I'm like, this counts. it's got alpha dominance. It's why choose it has similar vibes to our book club. Pick in that the FMC is also an alpha, it kind of spoils it, but it's fine. You, figure it out pretty quickly. and similar to like TE's latency, she doesn't know she's an alpha, in her case because there just are no alpha females. It's unheard of. It's set in its own world. there's lots of world building, but like in a good way, I really like it. Tons of alpha whole energy. just like bordering bully romance.

Kacy 53:01

called

Lauren 53:01

alcohol energy.

Lindsey 53:03

yeah. But that, I think that's why I like it. Yes, She gives it as much as she takes. And so I think that's why I like it. It is dirty. It is great. These series will edge the crap out of you also. I don't know how many books I have read that have a ton of spice without spice in Yeah. So it's good.

Lauren 53:21

Is that sword crossing as well? Yeah,

Lindsey 53:23

yes, there is. Yes, there is. Um, on my TVR Is Mate by Ali Hazelwood, it's the second book in her bride series. I just read the first book and I loved it. the second book follows Serena who is a human hybrid shifter. and as much as I love, a good, like human shifter, inner species kind of book, I love a good hybrid book.

Kacy 53:48

Hmm.

Lindsey 53:48

you know, and not just in shifters, but like half vampire, Kind of like cross species, where they're just something other, I really like that. it's an age gap, like not your 500 year I think it's like an 18 year age gap. She's like in her mid twenties and he's in his late thirties or early forties or something like that. but I'm excited to read it. I'm kind of getting more into some of the age gap. not necessarily like super young female, older male, but I like experimenting with that dynamic, that age dynamic. Um,

Lauren 54:20

just finish? Lynn?

Lindsey 54:21

oh, I read, praise by Sarah Kate, and that was, uh, that one was definitely an H gap. Um, I don't know that I was ready for the, like I have nothing against like

Lauren 54:32

daddy

Lindsey 54:33

daddy dom vibes, but the fact that she banged like his. Son and him. I don't know that I was ready for that. it was eyeopening to say the least. but anyways, back to Halle Hazelwood. I devoured deep end. I devoured bride and mate, unfortunately is not out yet. but it's supposed to come out in October of 2025. So we have a bit of waiting to do, but I really, I really wanna read it and I'm excited. Kacy, how about you?

Kacy 54:58

Okay for me.

Lindsey 55:00

Don't sound too excited.

Kacy 55:01

For me? No, my TBR recommendation is claimed by the Lion by January Bell. I actually discovered January bell on TikTok, during the pandemic because she had just come out with an Alien Romance series, which is called The Accidental Alien

Lindsey 55:19

surprise.

Kacy 55:21

Real Good, real funny, and, really recommend that series too. But, claimed by the Lion is about, Lana and her sisters, wishing on a fallen star was never meant to be more than a harmless family tradition for them. but it becomes something far more dangerous, an unexpected journey to literally another dimension. when Lana wakes, her sisters are nowhere to be found. Instead, a massive prehistoric lion stands before her only to shift into a man. Of

Lindsey 55:50

A massive prehistoric man.

Kacy 55:52

that she is his faded mate and she refused to believe it. Her only goal is to reunite with her sisters and to find a way back to earth. However, when his touch awakens aest strange and powerful magic in her, certain it'll proof they're destined to be together. So it's really great. And it's a series called Faded by Starlight, and it's all about the Zodiac signs, which is really

Lauren 56:15

Cool.

Kacy 56:16

every mate is a different animal from the Zodiac,

Lindsey 56:19

I want I

Kacy 56:20

really cool. And so the first one's the

Lauren 56:22

Wait, are there twins for, um, what's Gemini?

Kacy 56:26

She's only written three in the series so

Lindsey 56:30

Oh my goodness.

Kacy 56:30

So she's done the lion, the Scorpio, and the Taurus. Right

Lauren 56:35

bull,

Kacy 56:36

the bowl.

Lauren 56:36

I'm a little scared for the bull.

Kacy 56:39

You're not scared for the

Lindsey 56:40

yeah. The, that's, that's where that's.

Lauren 56:43

I don't know if we've read the Cobra, the snake Cobra one in the psycho shifters and I thought that would freak me out, but that was actually pretty, pretty hot.

Kacy 56:51

picture, when I think of his character is I picture Aslan from,

Lindsey 56:56

The lion, the witch, and the wardrobe.

Lauren 56:58

Oh, proclaimed by the lion. What's a prehistoric lion?

Kacy 57:01

Big,

Lindsey 57:01

Yeah.

Kacy 57:02

lion.

Lindsey 57:02

a big lion.

Lauren 57:03

the,

Kacy 57:03

with like probably big teeth,

Lauren 57:04

yeah. Oh, like almost like saber toothy.

Kacy 57:07

a, I would imagine that's what it is. But when they describe him in the book, he's huge. Like he's, like Alan,

Lindsey 57:14

The large talking lion. Yeah. No, that makes sense. That makes sense.

Kacy 57:17

talking lion. So, yeah, it's a really good series. I honestly love anything by January Bell. she's fantastic. but on my TBR is something I recently discovered, and it's called Hot and Badgered by Shelly Laurenson, I know. Laugh it out

Lauren 57:34

Honey badger. Don't give a

Lindsey 57:34

honey bunch a badass.

Kacy 57:36

Which honestly based off the description of the book sounds like, it's the female main character that is the honey badger.

Lauren 57:43

Of course she is.

Kacy 57:44

she does not give a shit, which is the best part, but it's apparently a hilarious action packed paranormal romance which features shifters, found family, and apparently a lot of over the top chaos, which makes a lot of sense with a badger. And the story falls Charlie a tough as nails, honey badger shifter with a knack for getting into trouble. And berg, a grizzly bear shifter who finds himself drawn to her despite the dangers she brings. And I just love the fact it's a grizzly bear and a honey badger.

Lindsey 58:19

That's exciting. I.

Kacy 58:20

The chaos that will ensue is going to be fantastic and I'm very much looking forward

Lindsey 58:25

You have to tell me all about it. Yeah.

Kacy 58:28

It's gonna be so good. it has really good ratings too, so I'm even more excited

Lindsey 58:32

That's amazing.

Lauren 58:33

And if you want a mini episode of Kacy just talking about that book, let us know.

Lindsey 58:40

Well, that's our episode for today. If you enjoyed this episode and can't wait for more, please like and subscribe and maybe even leave a review. It helps other romance lovers find us. Speaking of more, next episode, we dip our toes into the world of tentacle romance among other beastly desires with our monster themed episode featuring Lillian Larks stocked by the Kraken for our book club Pick. Thank you so much for listening, and as always.

Kacy 59:06

here at blush and bindings.

Lauren 59:07

We're breaking down stigmas, lifting up love stories, and getting cozy with the pages that bind us together.