If you missed my last KU review on Shadow City: Silver Wolf, you can find it here.
I am back with another Kindle Unlimited review. Today’s book is Sacrificed by Bella Klaus, and it is part of the Rejected Mate Trilogy. Or at least what seems to be a trilogy. I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, it has a decent story, but it has some elements that just drive me up a wall. This is one of my shifter books.
In the book, we meet Lydia, a former alpha child whose father was murdered, and the victor inherited the pack. Mondo, the new alpha, was horrible; eventually, another wolf, Beowulf, killed Mondo and took over the pack. Instead of being raised in level within the pack as she should be, Lydia remains at the bottom of the bottom, with even Mondo’s twins being more respected than she, and they are in the same boat.
The Wolf Moon Mixer is happening, and Lydia wasn’t supposed to go but got invited by a visiting alpha’s son, Dolph. Dolph is of the Norse tribe, but it seems all the wolf shifters in this world worship Fenrir, but some understand better than others, like the Norse. At the mixer, it comes out that she is the alpha’s, fated mate. That goes awry, and she ends up dead and with Fenrir. He wants out of his imprisonment, and she wants revenge. They work together to reach their goals.
There are positives and negatives to this book. This world has many kinds of shifters as well as what are called Neutrals. The Neutrals are children of shifters with no animal half. They are usually witches and shamans. I like that different kinds of mythological beings are represented, but some don’t make sense. There is a supernatural counsel that whoever is the alpha of Lydia’s pack is the king or queen of all the shifters and, therefore, part of the council. On this council are Hades, a demon king, and Lucifer. Hel (the Norse goddess) is a player in this book but not part of the council. All of these people have their own pieces of Hell if I understood what was going on correctly.
I like that Lydia is a strong character and is able to take care of herself and her mother. She is still able to be kind even after being treated like crap. Beowulf is a very unlikable character, so that was done well. Frida was well written, too, to be as unlikable as she is. Fenrir is a problem. He is a panel of light switches. Hot one second, cold the next. Mean and grumpy goes to softer and understanding without warning. He doesn’t hear anything. It’s more than a well-written character flaw, in my opinion. It slows the book down. Fenrir isn’t just dominant. Although there are parts with him issuing commands that work well, there is no yield with him, and it makes him unlikable when he is who Lydia is supposed to be working with.
Another superficial pet peeve about this book is the names. Beowulf especially. The names in that vein aren’t widely used in society today. In this book, there is magick and current technology. Make the names fit the times.
The spice level in this is pretty good. On a scale of one jalapeno to five jalapenos, it scores about 3.5. A scene requires a possible SA trigger warning at the mixer. But beyond that, the level is good. On the other hand, the book as a whole out of five stars, I give it two.
The first book cuts off in a way that even if you aren’t overly crazy about the book, you want to keep reading because you gotta know, which is smart. It gets you to the next one. The next two books are Outwitted and Vindicated. I started on Outwitted, but I don’t know if I will finish it. Fenrir gets under my skin, and so does Lydia’s mother. That and there is just too much in the story, too many things going on, and the book focuses on all of them, making it messy.
Next week I will bring you another trilogy from Shadow City. Have you tried KU? Have you read this trilogy? What are your thoughts on either one? Let me know in the comments below. Until next time, have fun storming the castle!
