Rejected: Shadow Beast Shifters, Book 1

C.R.

Not what I expected in a good way!

"I finished this book in about three hours. The novel focuses on Mera, an isolated shifter who was out casted with her alcoholic mother due the past sins of her father. She is often bullied and abused with dreams of finding her true mate and leaving the town of Torma behind. I was expecting the same old shifter rejection story trope but what I got was something that absorbed all my attention and not let me put it down. However, like life, rejection often puts a damper on that specific dream, and beckoning to the God of darkness for intimidation purposes doesn’t always work as Mera found out. The character development in this book was great. The snarky, carefree, & outgoing attitude of Mera the main character stood out to me and on more than one occasion made me laugh out loud. Combine that with the stoic, guarded, and arrogant attitude of Shadow combines to make a slow burn that you will never want to end. The story line is good as well, Mera, taken by Shadow Beast due to powers she cannot control is essentially being used to help further his goals. He wants her broken and obedient. She will not be broken by any man or demon. This story has a huge Beauty and the Beast feel to it and honestly a lot of twists turns that one would not expect. The descriptions of the different worlds were breath taking and so full of detail I could imagine being there. Definitely good for anyone who loves reading paranormal romances or fairytales. ["

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May 7, 2026 Verified Purchase

Red Dragon

Not Your Typical Wolf-Shifter Story

"I was really burned out on rejected shifter wolf-mate stories. Very worn out plots, mostly smutty, in and out type books. But I found this one to be exceptionally great. Loved the Dark Wolf God aspect. Very rich writing style, well-fleshed & deep characters, well-built imagery, biting humor, action, twisted plot! Loved the librarian! Loved the verbal sword play! The first book was so impressive, I bought and read the all 4 books of Shadow and Mera. Next I'll get the Simone and Samantha stories! ["

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February 23, 2026 Verified Purchase

Mia

❤️‍🔥 Really, really, good ❤️‍🔥

"I’m so happy I picked this up, I laughed out loud so many times I was riding a goofy-idiot-sandwich kind of grin and ROCKING it. This was a fabulous thing to sink my teeth into and NOTHING that I could have ever even imagined it being. There were so many details and characters and THINGS I could picture VIVIDLY and it was stunning bc it just made me fall in love with reading this more. I’m pretty sure the author was riffling around in my head deep inside the recesses of my “wildest dreams come true” pandoras box I thought I locked. 💗 For as much as I love this tho, I do have a couple of knocks but I’ll make them simple so I don’t give TOO much away. The first one being chemistry between our male and female leads. Other than the FL admitting that she had eyes and found the ML attractive (which, let’s be honest, who can blame her? WOW!) the ML comes off as being an older brother in a way. (Not the way he acts but kind of how their relationship feels) he’s objectively attractive in a way that reads “yeah that Gucci billboard model can DEFINITELY have my number if he ever walks out of that advertisement and straight into me” kind of way. Attractive but in an UNOBTAINABLE way to our FL. He’s doesn’t really show any interest in her, and the same can be said for her other than her acknowledging that she’s a red-blooded female with working ovaries. Neither of them give off real chemistry and in fact, I would argue out of everyone I would say I got the most tingles between her and another character with Jaxon. So their “build” up into maybe being something more our Male and Female Leads, is essentially lacking and non-existent. Which brings me to my second knock. The Spice. The Peppers. THE FUEGO. 🔥🔥🔥 WhErE!?! The scene, let me repeat that, THE. SCENE. Comes and I was left a little sad and lack luster. *spoilers ahead people* our FL comes like, 30 times with essentially no effort on either of their parts, I swear there was basically this point in the action that if he so much as breathed in the same general direction as her cl*t she’s coming again. All of the sensations, all of the feelings, all the deliciousness that comes from scenes like this was hollow, a bit forced, and a tad rushed. Like the whole scenario of them ending up in that situation in the first place, enough for them to finally call it “time out” on the faux enemy’s to lovers thing they’ve got simmering between them, was clearly a manipulation and plot by Shadow our crafty, information withholding, ML. And if it happens to be that, that WASN’T the case? -Well then it felt like it was and if that’s true then that whole scene felt a bit, how to say politely? A bit TOO ADVANTAGEOUS for our morally grey, what-is-he-to-us, ML, Shadow and again, his clever manipulations and puppeteering. I digress tho. And lastly, I swear, TIME. Keeping track of time is a bit wonky. And forget about the part where’s she’s somewhere else and time moves differently, I’m talking about when she goes on her first shadow creatures hunting mission in the throws of winter a couple of months after she’s taken by Shadow, then another shadow creature hunting trip puts them back in Torma where she runs into her Brick-for-Brains mate it’s now summer and everyone’s talking about how it’s been a YEAR since she left. But then finally when she’s BACK in Torma and it’s starting to get cold again and the winter solstice is around the corner but everyone’s saying she’s still been gone a year and not a “year and a half” or “two”. Idk, it just bugged me. Final thoughts tho is whoever read this review/ rant till the end, you should definitely read this. It’s fantastic. 💗✨ ["

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November 25, 2021 Verified Purchase

Brandi Berryman

Addicting

"I absolutely enjoyed this entire series & had a hard time pausing for work & sleep. Very descriptive makes great for your own visuals. The story line changes per book for the other characters & makes it the best! ["

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April 19, 2026 Verified Purchase

Amalie

I’ll be picking up the sequel for sure

"Rejected by Jaymin Eve was a wild and emotional start to what feels like a much bigger story. I wasn’t sure what to expect going in, but I ended up enjoying it more than I thought, even though some parts didn’t completely work for me. The book follows Mera, a wolf shifter who’s been outcast from her pack thanks to her father's past. Things go from bad to worse when her fated mate—Torin, the alpha’s son—rejects her in front of everyone. Heartbroken and desperate, she accidentally summons the Shadow Beast, a mysterious and powerful being who whisks her away into his strange and magical realm. And that’s where things really start to get interesting. Mera is a strong, sarcastic, and emotionally layered protagonist, and I loved her voice. Her pain, her fight, and especially her stubbornness made her easy to root for. And Shadow? Total enigma—in that “I hate you but I want to know everything about you” kind of way. Their dynamic was intense and slow-building, which I appreciated, even if I wished for just a bit more payoff in the romance department. That said, the pacing felt a little uneven. The first part of the book is packed with pack politics and emotional trauma, and then the story shifts into a completely new world with entirely different stakes. It was a bit jarring, but the world-building was creative and immersive enough to pull me back in. All in all, I’d say this was a solid start to a unique paranormal fantasy series. It didn’t blow me away, but it definitely piqued my interest—especially with that cliffhanger. I’ll be picking up the sequel for sure. Rating: ⭐⭐⭐½ (3.5/5) ["

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June 14, 2025 Verified Purchase