This one, the third in the Mates series is best so far. A nice balance of sweet, drama, danger and completion. There is death, betrayal, loss and pain but it's balanced by a healthy pack, family and finally love. Samuel knows from a very young age that he will be the pack alpha when he is old enough and he takes that knowledge far to seriously. He never gets to be a kid, so busy pushing himself to be the best ever he doesn't learn empathy, friendship or connection. Instead he focuses on pack knowledge, rules, lore and law. He knows he is lacking, he just doesn't know how to fix it. No matter how much Samuel's parents tried to help him, he just couldn't understand how to relate to anyone on a personal level.There is a great line : "It was akin to describing the color yellow to someone who had been born without sight—all the descriptions in the world wouldn’t solve the riddle." Korban is the presumptive Alpha of the neighboring pack. He and Samuel met first when they were 8 and eleven. Korban is friendly, playful and nice, everything Samuel isn't so of course Samuel hates him.It's adorable getting to know Samuel as he grows up and his befuddlement at Korban's advances of friendship. So of course since he can't be confused about himself everything must be Korban's fault. “Love and hate.” He reached for my zipper. “They’re two sides of the same coin. Both emotions are powerful, visceral. If you don’t recognize one, don’t expect to feel it, then you might confuse it with the other.”Once we get to the tragedy, betrayal and loss the story of Samuel growing into manhood has pulled you so deeply in the pain is almost visceral. I really wanted to cry, but Samuel couldn't, the hits just kept coming. Thankfully, finally Korban was able to step in before Samuel lost his mind. We get to hear that Ethan & Miguel are still visiting with Ethan's family but unable to step on Miancarem pack lands. Zev is still a respected Alpha of the Eztagold pack and is able to help with some of Samuel's mate tied confusion. In the end I was well satisfied with an enjoyable read, no dragging annoyances or nagging issues. I'm not sure if the author intends to continue this series but there is room for more and now that he has apparently hit his stride here I'm looking forward to it. This book had a little bit of everything that I could personally want. So, why did I love it?1.It started with Sam and Korban meeting at certain points throughout their childhood. In my opinion, these meetings were reminiscent of Mr.Darcy and Elizabet Bennett in Pride and Prejudice. 2. By 30% I was bawling. I loved how the author begun by setting up Samuel to have and be worthy of a successful future only to take everything away from him by the 30% mark.3. The captor/hostage romance was hot for the time it lasted.4. Korban was adorable... and a bit of a sex expert? (he recalls a lot of porn)5. I'm going to risk coming off as crude, but C.C's rimming scenes never disappoint. Top notch. Just saying.
Do You like book In Your Eyes (2014)?
Full review on Booklikes and the blog. A solid 4 stars. Well done, CC.
—BrittneyMaxwell
