Reviewed by Jen
TITLE: Comfort in Chaos
AUTHOR: River Winters
PUBLISHER: Self published
LENGTH: 206 Pages
RELEASE DATE: February 21, 2025
BLURB:
Eliot’s world shatters when he wakes in a dark basement, far from the life he once knew. Humans have taken him, and now he’s trapped in a cell with a boy who’s been there for years. But this boy isn’t ordinary. There’s something about him—something Eliot can’t ignore.
Eliot finds a strange bond forming between him and the boy. Pain, fear, and danger lurk in every corner.
What happens when the line between captive and ally blurs? And what will it cost to survive?
REVIEW:
This story starts out really strong with Remi already in captivity and Eliot being thrown in with him, so we get thrown into the thick of things pretty quickly. We see things from Eli’s perspective, the captive boy who has been through so much abuse in his life. From growing up in abusive foster care families, to ending up being the experiment for evil humans, all before the age of 18. Then, Eliot comes into his life. Another boy who has been different than all the previous ones the captors have put in and taken away.
Remi and Eliot are shifters, but they have special attributes that have been hidden by magic to protect them from other shifters. We learn more about Eliot being a beta/omega and why that makes him a sought after prize, but we really don’t learn much about Remi’s. Regardless, even though these two are forced to do things to each other, they quickly realize they share a special bond. They are controlled by some sort of magic wrist cuffs, but they are aware of what they are being forced to do. After only a week in captivity for Eliot, they are rescued, and the intensity of the story eases quite a bit.
From here on out, the boys heal physically and adjust to being “home.” They have continual fears of being separated, of learning about their bond, and learning to trust others, i.e. Eliot’s Grams, etc. The issues of acting on their bond when Eliot is dealing with what he was forced to do to Remi, and not wanting Remi to feel forced into the mating take some time to get through. They also have parental issues to deal with. Remi not having any and his foster issues were understandable, but Eliot suddenly having a father appear out of nowhere felt a little out of place.
Overall, this was a really enjoyable story about two young wolves who, through really unfortunate circumstances, find each other as fates mates, and are able to help each other deal with their shared trauma. It was often easy to forget how young these two were, but their connection and bond was easy to see. I would definitely be up to another shifter story from this new-to-me author in the future.
RATING: 
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