Reviewed by: Sue Eaton

TITLE: Bad Mate: A Vampire and Cat Shifter MM Paranormal Romance

SERIES: Saint Lakes

AUTHOR: April Kelley

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 211 pages

RELEASE DATE: February 15, 2023

BLURB:

What do you do when your life changes in the blink of an eye?

Keaton finally has a family. Nothing good has happened in his life until he’s able to call Saint Lakes home. Meeting his fated mate should be good as well, but the shadows of his past come back to haunt him in the form a senator’s henchman.

Tim Pyke has turned over a new leaf. Since his son mated with a Somerset, it’s not like he has much of a choice. He’s part of the family after all. He still doesn’t intend to mate with anyone who isn’t a cougar shifter like himself. When he meets the prettiest vampire, he’s ever seen, his instincts toward his fated mate are too strong to resist.

Keaton is the only one who can save the clan, but he must get past his fated mate to do it.

REVIEW:

A welcome return to Saint Lakes, I’ve been a fan of this series from the beginning and I’m really enjoying that April is giving some of the characters we’ve met in previous books their own stories.

Tim a cougar shifter, who in previous books, was firmly against inter-species mating, who came across as a bigoted, hard, with my way or the highway attitude.  We got a glimmer of him changing when he came to help the Somersets fight.   This isn’t so much a redemption story, but more of an understanding of Tim’s motivations, why he held the ideas he had and his growth to

overcome his upbringing, finding his mate completely changes everything.

Keaton has had a tough life, abandoned as a baby, raised in the human foster care system, ending up as a sex worker until he helps Ladon and arrives in Saint Lakes.  He is street smart and savvy, and he has always used to instincts to help him avoid trouble.

Two very unlikely mates.

Tim has already had an arranged marriage which ended in Divorce and two adult sons, he is older but not necessarily wiser and has always done what has been expected of him.  You’d think that Tim being older than Keaton he would be the one calling the shots in the mating.  Keaton is only 23 but has lived experience which doesn’t necessarily make him wiser, it does make him able to stand up for himself and use his skills and abilities to identify and avoid trouble.  He has issues as no-one has every stayed for him and is used to being cast aside, he’s always wanted his mate but waits for the other shoe to drop and once again left on his own.

Theirs is the perfect mating, both have issues but both are determined to make their mating work.  Keaton sees a side of Tim that no-one else does, his caring nature, determined to be the mate that Keaton deserves.  Keaton is determined to go slow as he feels jaded from his previous work. The scenes where Keaton help out on the farm, talking to the animals and adopting 3 piglets are so sweet.  It was also really lovely to see the relationship Tim has with his sons, despite their past, it is obvious that Tim is a good father who only wants what’s best and he owns his appalling past behavior and has made amends.

Keaton’s past comes back to Saint Lakes and Tim struggles to let Keaton handle the situation, his possessive nature and certainty that Keaton shouldn’t risk himself, not even for the rest of the Pack, causes a rift between them.  Can Tim finally understand that Keaton can do what is necessary?  Can Keaton realise that Tim is his forever?

A lovely mating story and I’m still excited about the over arching storyline, will the evil Senator finally be stopped or is there more twists and turns to come.

RATING:

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