I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First off, I really enjoyed this book. I really did. It was great seeing young love conquer all, and rooting for the underdog. It was also very accurate in how cruel people can be to each other because of their differences... but... there was only one problem I had. As Zac and Lyla are running through the city, if they are really as terrified as you imagine they would be, young new lovers or not, I can't believe they are going to stop in the middle of people trying to kill them, just to take care of the urge. That was a little hard for me to believe, even if they are fated mates. This is a good turn your brain off and enjoy it book, and it does have a wonderful storyline. You won't regret reading it, it is very interesting, and not just for the panty dropping moments. Get your copy and enjoy! ( )

This is a dystopian paranormal... I'm not sure exactly when it takes place, but its after large scale purges of the Shifter population by the "Elite" of society. The Elite live in New York City, and the Normals and Shifters are living on the fringes of society. The Elite are snobby, prejudiced, power-hungry asshats. Some of the Elite are out to eliminate all the Shifters, even though they share similar paranormal powers, and they also want to take out the Normals for some reason. There wasn't really any explanation given for this other than the Elite just thought they were better.

The heroine is Lyla, one of the Elite. She is betrothed her uncle, Oswald. Eeeeuwwww. This was so creepy that I had a very hard time getting past it. Lyla is only 19 and her life is being dictated by good ol' Uncle Oswald and her mother, Edith. She seems like a doormat for a good bit of the story. I could have used some more character development for Lyla because I never really connected to her.

The hero is Zac, a wolf shifter. After his adoptive father died, he has set off for NYC to find his father's daughter, Lyla. (Though this is not mentioned for the majority of the story, which I will discuss below.) Zac is somehow able to go through life with only his guitar, stealing when he needs to eat and sneaking into where ever he wants to go. He has a positive attitude and was okay as a hero, but I still would have liked more character development. This story had more dialogue than monologue so I felt like we didn't get to know the characters like we would if we had access to their inner thoughts. Both of the main characters were pretty one dimensional... and now that I think about it, I can't even tell you what they look like. Other than Zac is "scruffy" with man bits that look like an animal hiding in the forest (seriously) and Lyla is overly perfect in appearance. I need more details.

The story had potential, but unfortunately it hit too many of my "annoying" triggers (other than the lack of detail and character development). A few examples (without giving spoilers):

Zac is supposed to be searching for his sister, Lyla - daughter of Edith and Shay. He immediately meets a Lyla upon coming to the city, and her mother's name is Edith (which he learns of fairly quickly I think), but never once does that trigger that SHE is THE Lyla??? So there was some common sense lacking here.

There are A LOT of Too Stupid To Live Moments. Most of them revolve around sex. Oh, we're at war, no worries, let's get busy on this rooftop. Oh no, the enemy has caught us?!? How did that happen? Yeesh. Then again, the building is burning down around us but let me stop to give you a BJ because THAT is the most important thing in the world. Seriously!?! It happened, check it:

"She loved him. She wanted to pleasure him. She didn't care if the world was crumbling around her. This mattered more than anything else."

Then some of the conflict seemed kinda anticlimactic... particularly between Lyla and Oswald. Then Lyla commits the sin of all sins, running away without allowing her fated mate to explain. I seriously almost stopped reading it at this point... and it was like 98%. I sucked it up and finished and still felt like it was all very "meh".

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Unfortunately, this one just didn't work for me but my OCD kept me reading until the end. 2 stars / 3 flames. ( )