Perfect Mate by Aubrey Rose

The Basics:
Perfect Mate by Aubrey Rose
eXcessica Publishing
Erotica, Romance
Published September 25, 2013

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Publisher's blurb:

The standalone romance novella which follows the #1 Bestselling Shifter Romance Blind Wolf!

Julia always thought that she was human. When the blind leader of a pack of straggling misfits claims her as his one true mate, she accepts that she is in love with Damien despite their radical differences.

But after another shifter wolf attacks them, he points to her as he dies and utters words that will change Julia's life forever:


"...she's not what you think she is..."

What worked for me:

For a short novella, there's an actual plot here. It wasn't just a bit of fluff to satisfy readers with a happily ever after ending or to give us an x-rated follow-up to a tamer tale.*

There's definitely a big reveal in this story, and it makes me wonder how that plays out in the third book. 

I liked that Damien is a non-traditional hero. He's blind, and the book embraces that. Julia's also apparently a curvy woman, though I didn't really get that vibe in the novella. She *did* have a moment of self-consciousness and self-doubt but I didn't realize it was motivated by issues regarding her weight.

I liked Grandma Dee once I got to know her beyond her overprotective-without-upfront-explanation behaviour. It's hard not to like a tough, old broad though, right?  

What didn't work for me:

Possibly because I hadn't read the first book - Blind Wolf - I didn't really care for Julia. She seemed pretty passive in this book - maybe she was more active in the previous book? Or maybe she grows into being a more active character in the third book?

The erotica component was pretty tame, which was a bit of a disappointment for me. There was a connection between the two that allowed Damien some insight into what Julia was feeling, which I thought could have been used to even greater effect. Still, the sex wasn't poorly written, so this wasn't a big negative.

Bottom Line:

If you read the first book, Blind Wolf, and enjoyed it, I imagine you'll enjoy this as well. If you're looking for tame erotica, this might also be for you - there's no kink here, so it's not a bad place to dip your toes! 

3 stars
For fans of Blind Wolf, tame erotica, werewolves

*I don't know whether Blind Wolf was tamer or not. And, to be clear, I *thought* that Blind Wolf was actually a full length novel, with this novella as an add-on. Knowing now that it was roughly the same length, I'm curious about what the content of the first book was like.