Mate Claimed

Mate Claimed
4.5 Stars

Iona Duncan is a half-shifter raised as human and taught to keep her wildcat identity secret. Unfortunately, she has entered the transition stage and her animal instincts are raging out of control. Shiftertown leader, Eric Warden, not only recognizes Iona, but is well aware of the fact that her failure to accept her true nature will have disastrous consequences.

Not only is Eric and Ione’s story a huge improvement on the previous installment, but it rescues Ashley’s Shifter’s Unbound from the approaching series chopping block.

Eric and Iona’s romance is intense and passionate. In fact, they have some of the best sexual tension and chemistry I’ve encountered in PNR, and it enhances rather than overshadows show more their emotional connection.

The plot revolving around the machinations of a dangerous human foe is intriguing as it introduces several new characters with definite potential. The first is the Alpha of the wolf pack that has been forced to relocate and challenges Eric for leadership, and the second is a severely damaged tiger shifter who has been subjected to horrendous experimentation reminiscent of Lora Leigh’s Breeds series.

There are also updates on couples from the previous books and it is fun to catch up on Liam and Kim.

In sum, Jennifer Ashley is a wonderful writer and the her world building in this series is captivating. I look forward to seeing the new directions she is taking the shifters’ story. show less

Read: March 2015
The Couple: Eric & Iona

Mate Claimed is another riveting book in the Shifters Unbound series. This time human politics have interfered with the running of the Las Vegas shiftertown by announcing their intention to shut down a nearby shiftertown and merge into the Las Vegas one. This leads to several clashes as the new shifters try to figure out their places in the established order. On top of this the Alpha leader of the Las Vegas shifters is intrigued by Iona; a half-human, half-shifter who is living under the radar and uncollared, passing as a full human.

I love re-visiting the shifter/fae/human society that Ashley has created and this book does not disappoint. Iona was likeable and sympathetic in her struggle to find a show more place between two worlds and Eric was a good match for her, helping her to discover who she really is. The merging of the two shifter towns has introduced some more intriguing new characters, including the surly former Alpha of the disbanded shifter town Graham (who gets his own book Wild Wolf later on in the series).

Anyone who loves paranormal romance with strong, complex characters set in a fully realised and complicated world should be reading the Shifters Unbound series!

Rating: 4/5 stars. show less

Read for Fun (Library)
Overall Rating: 4.50
Story Rating: 4.50
Character Rating: 4.50

First Thought when Finished: Mate Claimed by Jennifer Ashley moved the world forward A LOT!

Story Thoughts: Mate Claimed was a game changer. Let's start with the romance which I thought was strong between Eric/Iona. It was nicely paced and I liked the resistance that Iona gave to Eric. The world change was also strong. There is a lot that goes on in this story and probably will go down as one of my favorites. It is slow, methodical, and very much on point for what is happening. Can't wait to see where the story goes from here!

Character Thoughts: Oh Eric! I knew I liked him in his sister's book but now I am a-swooning! He is just all alpha in the perfect show more kind of way: giving, caring, stubborn, and patience. Iona took a little bit to warm up too but that is only because of my love of Eric. Her decisions really did make total sense given herb background. The side characters were my favorite because of how they played into the world building.

Final Thoughts: Have I mentioned how glad I am that my library had all of these :) show less

I think my reading preferences are narrowing toward shifter novels because my own shifter characters have been yammering at me to start work on their novel.

Anyhow, I digress. I will do my best to keep this review spoiler free. Now, with that being said, let's chat, shall we?

It was the title that got me to pick this one up. I figured that if there was mates to be claimed it would be a very knock down, drag out fight for the male fighting for the female.

I won't tell you what happened in that regard, but, by the time I got to the end of this book, I was pleasantly surprised with the mix of shifters, Fae, magic and technology that I'm going to check out more in this shifters' series.

The romance and the heat index was off the chart, but I show more expected no less for shifters. I liked the main leads and their backstories which made them both completely relatable. Especially to someone who has to hide some of who they are to be able to fit in with everyone else.

I would recommend this book to others. Now, time to go find the next book and read it. show less

I was ecstatic when I was given Mate Claimed to read and review! Jennifer Ashley’s Shifter Unbound series is one of my favorite’s paranormal romances. She has such fascinating characters and a unique shifter plot line that I just gobble up her books.

Mate Claimed focuses on Eric and Iona’s developing romance. Eric is a widower and the leader of the nearby Shiftertown. He discovers that there in an uncollared shifter living among the humans one night while visiting a bar. Only Iona’s mom and sister know that she is a half shifter so she is shocked when Eric approaches her. What she doesn’t know is that without a shifter family to guide her, she could become feral and dangerous. It is up to Eric to show her that life with a show more shifter mate is just what she needs before it is too late.

I love the sense of family and camaraderie between the characters. Jennifer Ashley is a wonderful author and has created such a fascinating world for us to visit in her books. If you love Paranormal Romance you have to read this series.

And the teaser chapter for Tiger Magic is something that has to be read several times… I cannot wait until it is released! show less

This is my favorite book in the series. The chemistry between Iona and Eric rocks! The romance in the book is either very romantical (sorry I know it's not a real word), very sweet or, VERY HOT!

The plot was great, it got a little crazy in the end but it was still great. I think I just loved the relationship that was built between Iona and Eric.

Paranormal may just have to become my thing - I cannot love this series and keep stating in my reviews that I don't go for that!

Leader of Shiftertown find his mate, an uncollared half shifter. Helping her and dealing with influx of new wolves and threats on his clan. I liked revisiting Shiftertown and the layering in of future stories