Obsession: The Mate Games, Book 1

Before I even go into the review, if you do not like paranormal romances, reverse harems, Smex scenes, somewhat questionable heroes, and a female lead who is growing into their own, then this is not the book for you.Obsession begins with Sunday Fallon leaving behind her oppressive and sheltered existence and starting her life at Ravenscroft University. There she meets a plethora of characters, which include a stalker vampire prince (Noah), the alpha a-hole mate she rejected (Kingston), a flirty and mischievous Norse demigod (Alek), a vampire priest who also happens to be her instructor (Caleb) and a future coven leader (Moira) who will have you wishing she was real and your best friend too. At the surface this book is about Sunday meeting her mates and the romance of it all and learning to navigate the real world without any barriers. Beyond that there is something more sinister at work and this becomes much more evident in one of the character’s POVS. It is this plot, that you realize is subtly manipulating the surface plot and the character choices forward.Now onto the characters. It is imperative that a reader realize Sunday has been sheltered and ostracized all her life. She has been starved of any sort of affection, and when you go into a new place, and finally get to experience the world, it may get to you. Like in the real world, Sunday deals with the trauma she has gone through in her own way. It manifests in the form of her thoughts and actions aka attitude and choices. Her motivation at first is always to protect herself, because she learned very early on that now one would. Now onto her mates...All of them provide something for Sunday that she never knew she needed. And you can begin to see those threads in Obsession. I will start by saying I love Kingston. I know that will be an unpopular opinion given what he does, and trust me, that was me at first. However, as you read, you truly begin to see that he is quite literally a wounded puppy, who lashes out at everyone to protect himself, and that includes Sunday, though even when he is madder than a hatter he is always there. Noah, well damn, he is every bit self-loathing emo kid who is a romantic that my teenage self would have loved. He checks them all and best of all he doesn’t glitter. With him, Sunday is fully able to voice her wants and needs without the need to feel shame for it. Alek is the dream that every girl has about someone who is built like one of the Chris’ but is the sweetest man with wicked streak in him. He provides a sense of laughter, and brightness for Sunday that she never experienced before. You try being straight faced when you have a hunk that in your corner. As for Caleb, oh, he is forbidden love interest who we know will break us, and we can’t help but fall for him anyway. He is also the one who she knows will not sugar coat when she is being brat or when she needs to wake up and listen.Another relationship outside of the mates that we need to talk about is, Moira. Moira is that ride or die that EVERYONE needs. They are the voice of reason when you need them, they are the ones who will kick ass with your or will bring the shovel and night vision goggles for you know what. A badass in her own right, in my opinion, she is truly the first person who shows Sunday that she deserves to be loved, cherished, and protected, and it’s not in the context of a romantic partner.A word about the narration. Do yourself a favor, get the audiobook for the book as well. Trust me, while I whole heartedly believe that this series could stand on its own in print, the audio, holly hell just brings it to a different level. Every single narrator is perfect for their roles. If you had a thought in your head about how each of these characters sound, trust me, its them. Stella Hunter brings that sass with a hint of vulnerability in full force as Sunday. Not to mention she voices all the female characters! Jason Clarke will blow your mind with his deep Irish accent and will have you in your feelings about Caleb. J.F. Harding will have you melting with his smooth and buttery drawl for Kingston. James Joseph’s smoky and smooth as leather British voice will have you blushing like your first crush just kissed ya. Aaron Shedlock husky mix of a British plus Nordic accent will elicit a slight grin that will only increase when he growls.You’re welcome.

First my thoughts on the writing aspect of the book. The writing seems pieced together which may be on account of it being two authors, although I have read books written by more than one author and it doesnt seem as choppy as this.I didnt do the audible, I read the actual book so where some say it jumps around without indication, I agree but only to a certain extent because when you actual read the book you see the symbols for a break which indicates a change in either time, place, etc. This, however did not take away from the story nor make it unbearable to read.Now my thoughts on the story:This is a fast paced story that I found very fun and easy to read despite there not being much world building involved. There are various incidents that the female MC, Sunday, encounters that put her face to face with each of her intended harem as well as her best friend. The book is progressing but not really moving but the fact that it is funny and interesting it doesnt make things too bad. We are shown how she has feelings for each of the guys and they her but none really explained except for the wolf bond with Kingston. Her mother is also introduced but only when she is unconscious and is warning her that someone is after her and she must unlock her powers, indicating that there is more to Sunday than we know and she knows, which to me is interesting.  Her last warning given to Sunday in this book is to choose the Blackborne as her mate....not suspicious at all. But because our heroin has been sheltered and doesnt really know what to do she heeds the advice. The story ends on the second seal being opened to the apolocalypse and the priest, Caleb being tasked to handle the cause.I am eager to read the next book, which appears to mainly focus on Kingston. So needless to say I am interested to see how their relationship is reconciled.

Ohh wow, what did I just read !! What an amazing story ! I'll finish this review another day cause now I have to run and read the next one !!

OMG!!!! Where do I even start with this book? It had me hooked from the first page. It's got the brooding alphas. So much spice and the lead female character that dosnt disappoint with her back chat and her confidence.

This was my first PNR romance and just WOW! I really enjoyed it. I grabbed me from the start and I continued on to read all 4 books.

I really liked the first book of this series. And I thought I would enjoy the rest of the series too. For the most part, I did enjoy them. Although from the third book of the series, there were things that didn't sit well with me.The first book is totally worth reading, though.

Stars given on level of engagement;5 stars - amazing! Less than a day to read because I cannot put it down and obsessed about after finishing it. I only give 5 stars if it has managed to engage extra emotions from me - extreme lol moments or real teary moments etc. A 5 stars book tends to have me raging about cliff hangers and stalking the author for release dates.4 stars - really good. 2 days to read or less. A book that I have really enjoyed reading, feisty MC and some racy scenes with thier romantic interest. I would definitely follow a series and author for 4 star books.3 stars - enjoyable. It takes around 2/3 days to read, by the end the end I have enjoyed the overall story and would read any sequels.1/2 stars not given, as I have usually returned it without finishing as I'm not engaged. .