chosen prideRating: 4.5 stars
Buy Links: 
 Amazon | All Romance | Amazon UK
Length: Novel


Lion shifter Jon Slade met his mate last year, and it should have been the start of a wonderful life together. But wolf shifter Kelvin MacCurdy had duties to his wolf king and did not accept the mating, leaving Jon alone and pining for the man who should be his other half. Jon has keep busy working for Roman at L’Ange, living with other shifters and trying to move forward, but the pain of the loss of his mate is still deep. Now Kelvin is returning to L’Ange with the king and a wolf delegation and Jon must prepare himself to come face to face with the man who rejected him.

When Jon sees Kelvin, however, he learns that giving up his mate has been just as hard for Kelvin as it was for Jon. Kelvin has realized that even though he was born and bred to be fenrir, what he most needs is to be with Jon. Breaking his obligations is not easy, however. His king isn’t thrilled about giving up his chosen fighter, and there are others equally angry to see Kelvin abandoning his position. But Kelvin is determined to do whatever it takes and bear whatever trials are required in order to be with Jon. Even with Jon and Kelvin’s commitment to be together, however, the arrival of the wolves brings more problems. The king comes bearing secrets and a challenge for Quade. Now the family of shifters that Roman and Quade have built at L’Ange is threatened and they all must fight to ensure the pack they have created can continue to be a refuge for them all.

Chosen Pride is the third book in Mary Calmes’ L’Ange series, and it nicely ties together with the first two books. We met Jon before earlier in the series, and we know he has been suffering with the loss of his mate. Now, we get to see the resolution of that plot line, as well as get a chance to see all six men pulling together in times of need, and the way they have created both an nontraditional pack, as well as a family, at L’Ange.

The main focus of the first part of the book is Jon and Kelvin reuniting and acting on their bubbling over mating lust. These guys have been pining over each other for a year ther relief at finally being together is palpable. Expect lots of sexy heat, mating instincts, posseiveness, and claiming of one another. The story has a pretty standard take on fated mates and these guys are all about the possession and belonging to one another.

The second focus of the story is the politics involving the visiting wolf clan. Kelvin has a key position working for the king and it is not one to be given up easily. Not to mention that he is currently betrothed and was supposed to be mated soon to someone else. On top of the that, the king brings news that shakes things up for the gang at L’Ange. Through all the issues these guys face, we get a nice sense of the family they have become. We can see that Quade has become a true Alpha, that each of these men has an important place in the family, and that they have all become fiercely protective over one another. I will admit that at times I found the world building and politics a little hard to follow. Understanding the different rules, the positions, and the implications of various actions got confusing at times. But overall I thought this side of the story brought a nice balance to the romance end and served to showcase the connection between all the characters we have met thus far.

So Chosen Pride was another enjoyable story from Mary Calmes. I really liked the connection between Kelvin and Jon, and if you are into hot, possessive mating, you are going to want to be all over this one. The story is nicely balanced between the main couple and the larger world building, and it ties the three books nicely together. I have definitely enjoyed this series and would recommend all three books.

A review copy of this book was provided by Dreamspinner Press.

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