[Emily’s Review]: Star-Crossed Betas (The Northern Shifters #1) by Emory Winters

Connor: Ending up in an arranged marriage with the man who ripped my heart out of my chest and put it through a blender - was not on my bingo card this year. Yet what did I expect when I made the most cliched mistake of falling in love with the son of the enemy pack? If we don’t find a way to coexist and build a pack together, we’re in breach of the peace agreement. But how do you forgive the unforgivable?

Phoenix: Regret should be the title of my memoir. One secret spilt to the wrong person toppled my life like a house of cards. I’m desperate for Connor to forgive me, but too much is at stake if I tell him the truth about why I betrayed him. How are we supposed to build a life together on a land filled with bitter-sweet memories? The last pack on this land died in a series of fires fifty years ago. I only hope that Connor’s fiery temper doesn’t lead us to the same fate.

Star-crossed Betas is an MM Wolf Shifter romance set in the North of England.

I received this book for free from Author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I really enjoyed this book.

The romance drama was the absolute most.
Rejected Mates, Fated Mates, Forbidden Romance, Star crossed lovers, Werewolves (obvs), Sneaky magic, Pack politics conflict….
All things i absolutely love in a shifter novel.

Connor and Phoenix are both shifters, both betas, and both have lives that have been planned out for them since they were pups.
Their packs have been at war since before they were born. But a chance encounter while out for a run turns into a forbidden romance. A forbidden romance that has to be kept secret, for years.
Responsibilities and just the nature of becoming adults proves difficult but the boys persevere and the love they have for each other only grows stronger.
Until a chain of events out of their control tears them apart and breaks their hearts irrecovebly (?)
I CANT TELL YOU MORE OR IT WILL RUIN ALL THE THINGS

Basically just read this book, it’s gay, it’s sweet, it’s sexy, it’s exciting, it’s just overall a good read.

Here is a list of what I loved about this book, in no particular order, and also not including a lot of the things I loved in order to avoid spoilers.

1. I loved that BOTH main characters made the other one work for redemption.
2. I loved that the mate bond was never out right rejected.
3. The pining and angst was TOP TEIR.
4. I liked the EU setting, very fun.
5. Every character (except the bad guys) was likable for their own reasons.
6. The set ups for the next novels in this series had me in a chokehold- i am so invested.
7. Romeo and Juliet vibes [ Romeo and Romeo 😉 ]
8. Cliffhanger…. but not really <3
9. SO SEXY, like sexxxxualllll, but it was such a sweet build up to it.
10. this romance takes place over YEARS, which I loved. The flash backs were sweet and spicy and full of love and just made so much sense with the present tense chapters.

It was a little long for me (I think the romance plot could have been the first book, and the pack politics could be the second all on its own- however I do see how the pack conflicts are going to be the overarching plot that carries through the entire series.)

I was sort of getting bored there around 70% and then it picked back up around 85%.

Anyway- I hate to give too much away but I really really loved it.

Emily

Emily is a coffee loving, cat snuggling, hairstylist and book-a-holic.
Having always been a voracious reader and devouring books at a breakneck speed, joining the bookish and blogging community seemed like a natural next step. She loves giving recommendations to friends and family and then very gently (and not forcefully at all) asking for their opinions after they complete each chapter.
Her reviews tend to be goofy, a little sweary, on the more impassioned side and maybe sometimes a little self deprecating.
Emily typically enjoys reading almost every genre, including (but not limited to) monster romance, literary fiction, rom-com, contemporary, LGBTQ+, low/urban fantasy, paranormal, dystopian, sci-fi, gothic romance or basically any book that will make her cry.