Mate of Her Own by Elena Abbott had well-developed characters and a plot that was engaging. This book was a great read. I highly recommend!

**Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the e-ARC. All opinions expressed are voluntary and my own.**

Mate of Her Own by Elena Abbott is a fated mates, paranormal shifter romance. The second book in the series follows Heather McKenna. The curse keeping her from connecting to her wolf has been lifted, but while she can now shift her wolf seems unwilling to speak to her.

When her estranged sister calls letting Heather know their mother is in the hospital, she travels back home in hopes to get closure with the woman who tried to curse her to be “normal.”

V is the Alpha’s child, the pack’s Knight and troublemaker. Their progressive ideas fight against their packs’s traditional values and their father has had enough. V likes, and has only ever liked women, but their father has decided to force them to mate bond with his male enforcer.

When an incident at the hospital pushes Heather in to V’s path their whole worlds are changed in an instant. They are true mates, fated by the moon, but will it be enough to protect them from pack politics and demons?

The second book in Elena Abbott's paranormal romance series follows Heather, a side character we met in Pack of Her Own. I would recommend reading that one first.

The romance in this one moves very quickly. I expect a quick pace as it's common with true mate storylines but I almost feel like we skipped the romance part. Since the entire story takes place in, what, a week? and the fact that their bond is established so quickly, I was hoping the rest of the story would get the two alone somewhere to deepen and explore their new connection. Instead, the main runtime of the novel is about both characters' complex relationships with their parents and fighting for the right to stay together. There is no time for them to properly fall in love and we just need to assume that part.
The book continues its exploration of unhealthy pack dynamics by giving us V, a Knight in their pack who is chafing under the rules their father puts on them and all the other members. I enjoyed those moments and the overall resolution, as well as the fact that any misgendering that does happen gets immediate pushback from both the characters and the narrative.
Heather's situation is equally uncomfortable - her mother's curse is the reason she struggles with her wolf side and her hospitalization doesn't erase their past. I was less convinced that she still believed that being a werewolf was terrible. For having such a twisted mindset, the writing does not show us that at all - the constant variations of "I am a monster" whenever she was fighting the shift, ignoring the mating bond, or not trusting herself was probably meant to be that but it's beating you over the head with it. I don't want it spelled out, I wanted a more nuanced approach in depicting her struggles.

RECEIVED ARC FOR REVIEW
I've read Into Darkness and Pack of her Own before, and I'll say this is my favorite of the bunch. The story follows Heather, who is half-werewolf and half-human and only recently comes in touch with her wolf after what can be described as one hell of a one night stand and awakening. But because of years of self-repression her self-esteem needs a lot of work. Returning home to see her sick mother and sister, she finds her true mate, V a non-binary werewolf whose family are equally bigoted about their non-binary identity as Heather's is about her werewolf self.
The story was really sweet, with the writing crisp and funny and the romance genuinely sweet and my favorite of Elena Abbott's work. Can't wait to read more in this series!

"Mate of Her Own" by Elena Abbott is a queer, paranormal romance that follows a side character from her previous book "Pack of Her Own."

I really enjoyed the werewolf aspect of the first book, so I was thrilled when I learned there was a continuation out in the world. "Mate of Her Own" is the perfect fit for those seeking a heartwarming and empowering story about self-discovery, acceptance, and the power of love, set in a richly crafted urban fantasy world. With non-binary and sapphic MCs, Abbott shows that, while some bio families may not ever accept us and will even abuse us, the love & acceptance that comes with found family is absolutely incredible.

This is a shifter romance that features a non-binary wolf whose father, an Alpha, is stuck in the old ways of running a pack. In comes Heather, featured within the previous installment of the series, who doubts herself and has self-hatred due to her strained relationship with her mother. There are werewolves, witches, dominants and submissives. It's a slow building romance at first and then full steam ahead. For those who are triggered by self-doubt, you may want to pass this up as well as those who hate the mention of the phrase mate or my mate. It is a good second installment of the series with enough open ended content to have a third book on the horizon.

This book is unique in that it features a non binary character as one of the love interests in a book about queer shapeshifters which you don't see much. That being said I feel it suffers from the same issue that the first book in the series (Pack of Her Own) does which is the "love at first sight" trope. While it could be attributed to the trend of shapeshifter books having the characters instantly be attracted to each other because they are mates, I still had a hard time feeling the buzz between the characters because I didn't see development throughout their relationship from strangers to lovers. I did enjoy seeing how the nonbinary character dealt with their identity and their place as the child of the alpha of the pack. Still, I do encourage people to read it for themselves and determine for themselves whether or not the book speaks to them personally.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this exciting book

heather mckenna a cursed wolf shifter born of a human mother who managed to get her wolf bound by magic spent years wondering what was going on and feeling so different to everyone else

v raines is a knight in her fathers pack, who is the alpha..... his way or the highway but v tries her best and is hoping to change things from the inside

v is non binary and though her father tolerates this things are coming to a head....

v gets called to a hospital where a rogue wolf is about to break out

v and heather are about to meet and things are gonna get screwed up pretty quickly

an exciting read that kept me glued right to the end... hoping to catch up with this group again in the next book

I hadn't read the previous book in the series but I was still able to follow the story. The chemistry between Heather and V was very well-written, and the challenge of creating the build-up to romance when the characters' wolves already 'chose' one another at first sight was an interesting one. Heather's lack of self-esteem got a little too much for me at times but I enjoyed the pacing of the book, the various storylines were balanced well, and the spark between the lead couple was there.

Heat Factor: There’s some hanky panky

Character Chemistry: Our wolves know that we are fated mates

Plot: V and Heather mate-bond but V’s pack leader is not impressed (understatement)

Overall: This book is Doing Something, and I liked that

So, you know that wolf study from the 70s about “alpha wolves” that has since been debunked as nonsense? It hasn’t been debunked as the primary inspiration for how wolf shifters organize their societies in romance novels.

Until now.1

In this book, we see a wolf shifter pack that is organized around the alpha / dominance rubric so common in romances—and we also see a member of the pack who is fighting to bring the pack into the 21st century. Disregarding the feelings of so-called submissives and forcibly breeding them to the dominant wolves is not really a recipe for a healthy pack dynamic, you know? So, this book is about breaking away from toxic birth families and building a supportive community / found family. The parallels between being the shifter you are meant to be and being the queer person you are meant to be are explicit here, and I thought it was a fascinating take on the shifter romance and identity.

Let’s dig in.

Heather’s mother was not a wolf shifter, and was not too happy when she found out that her baby daddy had some…special abilities. So she hired a witch to place a curse on Heather to cage the wolf. When the book opens, Heather has broken the curse, but she’s still got some serious baggage. She can’t shift at will, she can’t communicate with her wolf, and she is wallowing in self-loathing. I personally struggle reading first-person narratives where the narrators are really down on themselves, so there were parts of this story that I didn’t enjoy; I felt that this dynamic dragged on, though I admit that it absolutely made sense for the character given her backstory.

V is the Knight of a pack run by their father. V thinks that the pack hierarchy is bullshit and is doing their best to change things from within, but that goes out the window when their dad orders them to mate with the pack’s Enforcer and pop out some wolf-babies. Now, deciding who others should reproduce with is gross under all circumstances, but it’s especially gross here, given that V is non-binary and attracted to women. There’s a lot of deadnaming.

When V and Heather run into each other, there’s the immediate scent recognition of true mate thing—and then these two need to deal with the fall-out. One thing that Abbott does really well here is establish both internal and external conflict for Heather and V to work through. We’ve got the internal conflict of Heather not being connected to her wolf, and therefore not being so sure about the whole mate-bond thing; we’ve got the external conflict of V’s pack being pissed and causing problems. The two sides of the conflict also compound on each other: Heather’s self-loathing and fear about the relationship means that she doesn’t want V to cut ties with their family to be with her.

Despite the difficulty I had being in Heather’s head, I enjoyed this book. I liked the way the author played around with shifter tropes to tell a queer story, and I look forward to reading more of her work.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review is also available at The Smut Report.

I was not able to get past the first few chapters of this book. I did not enjoy the writing style and found myself unable to connect with the characters and the story.

I am giving the book an average 3 star rating due to my personal preference and it doesn’t make it a bad book etc.

Really good second book in this series. This is the story about Heather whose a werewolf shifter who couldn't shift, but gets help from a witch and an alpha werewolf that brings out her wolf , but she goes rogue after shifting and runs. When Heather and V meet they know that they are each others mate, but there's problems from the beginning. There's a lot of violence, drama and angst in this story, so I would say buckle up for a wild ride.. I would definitely recommend this book and I look forward to what's next in this series from this author.

This was an enjoyable read with action. The story had depth and was quite interesting. I recommend.

Thank you NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books.

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This is my first shifters book and it definitely won't be my last. I also didn't realize it was a stand alone sequel. Now I have to go out and immediately read the first book by Abbott. Thoroughly enjoyed!

Thank you to Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley for providing an eARC for an honest review.

This book is a sequel to A Pack of her Own focusing on Heather McKenna who has a human mother and werewolf father. Heather is trying to get in touch with her wolf side which until recently was bound behind a witches spell. After an emergency call from her sister, Heather races to the city to be with her mom in ICU.
V Raines, daughter of the city’s Alpha, is dispatched to the hospital to find out why a rogue werewolf is in their territory. Attraction flies off the scale when the two meet.

Abbott is bringing the werewolf legend into modern times. V is non binary in a pack of dominants and/or submissives. They are a rebel against the old way of Alphas deciding who mates with whom. They want a more open culture in the pack with submissives being treated with equal respect to the dominants.

Heather has always been an outcast and is now in an accepting pack. My biggest pet peeve with this novel is the unnecessary repetition of Heather’s lack of self confidence and her taking on blame for everything. Her backstory in the first book along with a the refresher in this one gives the reader all they need to understand the where and why of Heather’s self hate and inner wolf phobia.

I enjoyed the telling of the story for the most part and I do recommend this novel to all the werewolf loving fans out there.

I received an advance review copy from Bold Strokes Books through NetGalley. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

3 stars - This is the second book in the Elena Abbott Shifters series.

In Book Two, we get to know Heather McKenna. She was cursed by a witch, paid by her mother, so she couldn’t shift. Heather was told her whole life that being a shifter was abnormal and made her a monster. She was made to feel ashamed and unworthy. She didn’t find acceptance with her human family or with other wolf shifters when she finally left to forge her own path in the world. Her pack put her at the very bottom of the hierarchy and treated her poorly because what good is a wolf shifter who can’t shift?

When this book starts, we learn that Wren, her new Alpha, has helped her release her wolf from the curse. Heather is having a difficult time accepting herself and finding peace with her wolf. She receives a call from her sister informing her that their mother is in the hospital and she needs to come. Their parting wasn’t on good terms. Heather hopes to find closure with her mom and sister and decides to go, despite Wren’s objections.

V is a member of the Raines pack and also the child of the pack Alpha. Just like in the first book, we discover that this pack is governed by a strict hierarchy of dominance and submission. The Alpha’s word is law. V and their father do not see eye to eye. V’s non-binary identity and attraction to women are not respected by their father, who insists that they mate with Sinclair, the pack enforcer. As one might expect, Sinclair is terrible, and V wants nothing to do with him.

V and Heather meet when V is called to the hospital to handle a potential rogue wolf, who turns out to be Heather. She is struggling to control her emotions and her wolf during the full moon. V immediately recognizes that Heather is their true fated mate. However, it takes Heather, who is not as in tune with her alter ego, a bit longer to come around.

I enjoyed the story, but I must admit that it dragged a bit for me because Heather’s self-esteem is extremely low. She believes she is unworthy of anyone’s love or respect. She thinks she is broken and burdensome. She takes responsibility for and apologizes for everything, most of which she is not responsible for. One of my least favorite tropes is one-sided decision-making, like when a character decides, “I am not worth all the trouble I am causing. They can do better than me. I am doing them a favor by leaving.” Then they leave without giving the other person in the relationship a chance to make any decisions for themselves. Heather’s negative self-talk persists for at least half the book. I found myself skimming through these internal monologues because my tolerance for them is low.

The book picks up in the second half, and I enjoyed the action scenes and the ending. I love how Wren’s new pack is starting to fill up with like-minded wolves, and I look forward to the next installment in the series.

Thank you Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for the ARC and the opportunity to leave a review.

This is a story about Heather McKenna who has had a troubled life. She’s not able to connect with her wolf. Her birth mother has treated her terribly and because of that she has zero self esteem. Later on she begins to get her emotions under control with a new wolf in her life.

This part two book, of the Wolf Pack series, was very repetitive for me with Heather’s constant self doubt being mentioned throughout half of the book. Ugh…. The plot was ok but Heather’s character didn’t work for me. I like the first.book in this series (A pack of Her Own) much better.

ARC received from Net Galley for a honest and voluntary review.

2.5

I requested this on a whim to get into the spooky season and try out shifter romances. I was hesitant about the shifter thing, but I figured if anything could make me like it, it would be as a sapphic romance.

Unfortunately this appears to be a sequel, which I was not aware of when I requested it. The plot mostly stands on its own as this follows a different relationship and the couple from the first book appears as side characters; however, I struggled with the beginning because it was summarizing the events of the first book and felt like it was relying on those events to make me care about the characters from the first book.

I appreciated the conversations about breaking from outdated traditions and the growth of both of the main characters. Heather is overcoming trauma from parental neglect and learning to accept being loved, and V is struggling to be themself in a patriarchal society. Be warned there is a ton of deadnaming, misgendering, and general transphobia from members of V’s pack, including by their father.

That being said, I think this confirmed my hunch that shifter romances are not for me. I think it would work much better for others.

this one felt too surreal and the characters were a bit hollow but it was also king of enjoyable
thank you netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review

This was my first book by this author. I enjoyed the premise of the book, but I found it lacking.

Heather is a wolf but didn't know for a long time and moves away from her hometown only to come back years later to try and find closure.

V is nonbinary which was cool as not many books have nonbinary characters that I've read. She is with a pack but doesn't agree with the customs and etc.

She meets Heather, who is her true mate and it moves very fast from there. The whole book seemed to span only a few days, which moved too quick in my opinionated was a little hard to follow.

Overall, not a bad book, but not one I would recommend.

I received an ARC from Netgalley for an honest review.