Book Reviews

Book Blurb

Alex Morgan has a mission set for himself-get justice for his Alpha Anax and come back the big hero.

Alex Morgan’s mission was simple—avenge his Alpha and come home a hero. But nothing about this hunt has gone as planned. Weeks of tracking the elusive Joshua Dobson have left him exhausted, lonely, and questioning everything he thought he knew about loyalty and love.

When Alex finally corners his target, the truth hits harder than any battle wound—Joshua isn’t the real threat. His broken, beautiful brother is. And that brother is Alex’s fated mate.

Now Alex must choose between vengeance and the man destiny has bound him to. Because protecting his mate means betraying his pack…and surrendering to a love that could destroy them both.

 

First edition published at Pride Publishing, October 2011. This book has been revised, expanded and rewritten into first person, present tense for a more immersive experience.

 

Book Review

'Rendered', the fourth book in this imaginative series, picks up the story of two men we have met before, both of whom I was really curious about. Both have a dark past, both have been hurt by the same brutal man (Joshua Dobson), and neither of them expected to have a mate. In fact, Alex initially rejects Sean, who is Joshua's brother, out of sheer stubbornness and stupidity, and the pain that causes Sean, who has been tortured by Joshua almost to the point of death – several times, is heartbreaking.

Alex was Marcus's captain of the guard before Marcus was abducted, and he still blames himself that he let that happen, even though Marcus doesn't. He was, after all, the one who ignored Alex's advice. Now, Alex can only think of one thing: revenge. He intends to kill Joshua and even Marcus's pleas to go easy on Sean fall on half-deaf ears. Alex grudgingly agrees not to kill Sean since he was the one who saved Marcus's life, at the risk of his own, while Joshua almost killed Marcus. Once Alex finds Sean, he is shocked to find out the man is his mate. It takes a bit of doing for him to realize how stupid that is. Seeing how badly Sean has been treated and wanting to protect him has a lot to do with it, the rest is up to the mate bond.

Sean is an amazing guy. Even beaten and tortured, he thinks of the others with him and wants to help them. He has survived his brother's cruelty for years, and his self-respect has been eradicated and then some. Typical for a victim, he still thinks he has to stay with Joshua, since he has nowhere else to go and since Joshua is, after all, his family and has to love him. Right? He couldn’t be more wrong. Joshua has his own dark reasons for mistreating Sean, and as they emerge, my heart went out to Sean even more. It takes a while for Alex and him to figure out how to be mates, how to trust each other and how to talk about the darkness in each of their pasts. But Sean is a lot stronger than he thinks, he wouldn’t have survived otherwise!

If you like this series, with its cruel villains, the intense, immediately loveable characters and deep emotions, you will probably like this book as well. And just like emotional trauma and physical deprivation was dealt with in the last book, it appears again here, showing how yet anther couple learns how to deal with the consequences of a level of abuse that no human (or shifter) should have to endure. I loved the characters (well, except for Alex in the beginning, he needed to get his head out of his you-know-where first) and their story is pretty powerful. I definitely look forward to the next volume!

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. The first edition of this book was provided by the publisher for the purpose of a review.

 

Additional Information

Format	ebook and print
Length	Novel, 240 pages
Heat Level
Publication Date	09-March-2026
Price	$4.99 ebook, $12.95 paperback
Buy Link	https://www.amazon.com/Rendered-Shifter-Enemies-Southwestern-Shifters-ebook/dp/B0GKVRFK15