It’s been a while since I’ve read the previous book in the ‘Spotless’ series, and it was good to return to the world of the “spotless” leopard and half leopard shifters. There are quite a few of the formerly-abused children of the evil leopard shifter Bashuan left whose story has not been told yet. This time it is Erdwin’s turn, though a lot has happened since his oldest brother Solomon, who basically raised his younger siblings, joined Bobby and Sully’s pack. It made for a fascinating story from a psychological point of view, as well as a suspenseful adventure that had me eagerly turning the pages.

Erdwin is no longer the man he was born as. Over many years of not fitting in his skin, of trying to be someone he isn’t, he has finally accepted who he really is: Edie, a beautiful young woman. Edie has been through the self-doubt, the questioning, and the final admission that she is female at her core, but there is one thing she can never do. I’ve never thought about it, but a shifter’s body, due to the fact how quickly it heals, cannot be surgically altered. So gender reassignment is not possible for Edie, and that makes everything even more difficult for her. She has had to learn to live with her body as it is, and that took a while, but she has done it. Not that she expects her life to be easy, but at least she is at peace with herself, and her pack has accepted her as well. Then the one thing she never expected to happen does, and finding a mate who accepts her makes her life a whole lot less lonely.

Rolly has known Erdwin is his mate for a decade, but the boy was only thirteen when they first met, so Rolly had to keep his distance. It’s been hard for him, but when he finally feels the time is right he makes his way back to find – Edie. Rolly doesn’t even blink – his mate is his mate, and that is all he needs to know. I loved how the mate bond is shown to literally go deeper than skin here, and the point is that Rolly loves the person Edie is, never mind what she looks like physically. But they don’t get a lot of time to enjoy newly mated bliss before a mysterious threat endangers the entire pack. Rolly needs all his shamanic powers and the help of his powerful shaman father to even begin to unravel who is behind the newest plans to destroy everyone he loves.

If you like supernatural mysteries and enemies who attack out of nowhere, if you’re curious how two mates who have waited forever to be together manage to find each other despite some pretty significant changes, and if you’re looking for a read that is as touching and emotional as it I suspenseful and hot, then you will probably like this novella.


NOTE: This book was provided by Pride Publishing for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
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