Wraithful Reads

I didn’t think I’d get so into shifter romance stories, but after reading Marissa Gilbert’s Moonrise Kingdom books here I am. It was probably reading those that got me the ad for this book, which is actually a trilogy compiled into one book. This review will contain spoilers, so consider yourself warned!

The Shifted Fates series follows Avery, the typical pack outcast. With an absent mother and only one friend, she’s scorned by the rest of the pack for her wolf’s red fur and issues with shifting, one an uncommon trait in her pack, and the second unheard of. She’s labelled weak, her wolf useless, is bullied and abused, and this treatment culminates in being rejected and killed by her fated mate during the Choosing; ceremony, where shifter packs converge in order to find their fated mates as blessed by the moon goddess. And her fated mate is none other than one of her chief tormentors, the pack alpha’s son, who is set to inherit the pack.

In her death, however, Avery finds a new strength and is able to connect to her wolf much more strongly. She stumbles across a mansion and is eventually taken in by the reclusive and moody occupant – soon to be revealed as the mysterious voice she’s heard in her dreams all these years.

The book gets a little convoluted from this point onwards. Hecate makes an appearance, as does the moon goddess, who seems to be a new invention. And it’s slowly revealed that Avery is actually Persephone – fractured into pieces by her reincarnation, and that was why her wolf was so weak. Cole is revealed to be Hades, and together they face the threat posed by the moon goddess, culminating in many trials and trickery.

The premise was pretty cool for this book, but it did feel kind of rushed. The pacing could have used some work, especially considering this was originally three books, with the version I was reading being them merged into one omnibus. The first third progresses pretty slowly, with the final two-thirds revealing plot points that come thick and fast, and there’s not a lot of buildup or explanation.

There’s a lot of backstory I felt was missing from this that could have added to the lore. Why they had shifter forms to begin with, and more chance for the romance to actually build between Avery and Cole, would have benefited the story. So far, all we see is that their romance is based on pure attraction and the fact that Avery was once Cole’s wife. The parts where Avery tries to reconcile her old self with her reincarnated self were interesting, but again, could have used a little more fleshing out.

All in all, not a bad book, but certainly had room for improvement. The plot could have worked if it were spread into a longer series, I think, as by the end, it did feel quite rushed. With so much going on, too, Greek Mythology being combined into a dark shifter romance, it just felt like a lot of the plot points were mashed together rather than being fully fleshed out.

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