Acceptance

Book – Acceptance (Forbes Mates #3)
Author – Grace R. Duncan
Star rating - ★★★★☆
No. of Pages – 236

Cover – So cute!
POV – 3rd person, dual POV
Would I read it again – Yes.

Genre – LGBT, Contemporary, Shifter, Wolf, Jaguar


** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK, BY THE AUTHOR, IN RETURN FOR AN HONEST REVIEW **
Reviewed for Divine Magazine


I looked forward to this story since the minute I read the first interaction between Quincy and Miles at the end of the previous book in this series. Not only does this one get straight into the action, with Quincy still on the run and separated from Miles, but it maintains a good pace throughout. The relationship is strained with the forced separation, but somehow they still manage to keep the chemistry and hope alive.

As main characters, Miles and Quincy are just as loveable and full of chemistry as always. Their interactions are both fun and full of heat, even as they go through the long road of trouble and chaos. Though they're different species, they find a way to be together, to work together and really learn about one another, even when they're not together or when things are hard.

I really liked that we got to see all the previous characters back together again – Finlay and Tanner, Chad and Jaime – as well as a few new characters of cats and wolves alike.

However, there are a few down points to this story. Though I loved all the previous books in this series, this one had some issues. There was no definition of memories; they were just included in the main text and because the entire story is in 3rd person past tense, there were times when you couldn't tell whether it was supposed to be present time or in the past. A clear distinction of the two would have helped eliminate this issue.

There were a few really annoying bugs where sentence phrasing, spelling/grammar and the tense weren't as they should be, making it read awkwardly. On top of that, the story slipped into present tense a few times; 1 – “being how they're supposed to be” – 2 – “having a mate near can help.” Neither of which are dialogue, which could have made sense or been excused. There are also some really odd placements of italics that don't read well or place stress on the wrong words for the meaning of the sentence. It's a little odd and made me question the meaning or re-read the paragraph a few times, to make sure I wasn't missing anything.

There's also a lot of repetition in the story – Miles being bisexual, expecting a male or female mate but never a cat; Quincy being shocked when his dad is nice; the story about Chad and the skunk and acting like a pup, while a new wolf. All of these are repeated more than once throughout, almost verbatim. It got a little tiresome at points, having to keep rehashing the same conversations over and again. There was also a lot of “tilted his head” which appeared to mean something to the characters, but was never really explained. It was some sort of secret code or animal instinct, from what I read, but it was never explained and only ever really deemed that one person should obey the other while somehow knowing exactly what they were thinking.

Consistency and description were also problems. Example; at one point, we start a new chapter/scene with Quincy flopping into a seat. But we don't know where this is, when it is or where the seat is (they've just left one room and may be in another, a hotel room or anywhere). It's not until we get to the end of the scene that we find out where this is. It was confusing, trying to pinpoint where they were, where they were going or why.

I found the epilogue just as confusing. I really don't want to give spoilers, but there was no explanation of how or why the epilogue happened. Let's just say that it has something to do with biology and some specific resemblance descriptions, that are never explored or explained.

I assume this is the final book in the series, due to the Epilogue being the first in the series that takes place years later. Though I was kind of hoping that the Scribe or Riley might get a story, I imagine this might be for the best. The series has been fantastic, but this one fell short on the editing side which was a problem the other stories didn't suffer from.

~

Overall, it felt like the editing was too slack for the exceptional series this has been. Hopefully it will be cleared up before publishing, as this was an ARC, but who knows.

The story and plot was fantastic, sticking to the great quality of the previous books. But there is definitely an issue with the editing, which is what the last star was docked for. With the characters and overall family feel of this series, it could run on for a long time and I'll read every book, because the stories never fail to grasp my heart and make me root for the characters. However, it will be sad to see the end of this series, if the Epilogue is any indication. The whole thing is wrapped up so cleanly, with everyone getting their HEA, that I can't imagine there are more on the cards.

It was a great way to end the series, though.

~

Favourite Quotes

“Hey, I wonder if we can buy exploding pens at Staples...,”

Quincy is introduced in the second book of this series, and I’ve been (im)patiently awaiting this book since then! Discovering that his jaguar self is mated to a wolf is a shock to his system, especially since the cats don’t believe in fated mates. Miles is a wolf and a doctor, happily working in the ER of the hospital where he can intercede on behalf of any more-than-human patients who come in, but all he really wants is his mate, a cat who refuses to stay near him because of the danger proximity places Miles in.

When Quincy gets the stuffing beat out of him and is taken to Miles’ ER, he can’t help but feel that he’s creating problems for the doctor, yet he also is drawn to the comfort only the wolf can provide. Unfortunately, Miles isn’t exempted based on distance, and Quincy quickly learns that together is better. But just who is conspiring against Quincy, and to what purpose???

This was a wonderful and solid plot with spot-on pacing. The main characters are flawed and fearsome and loving and snarky, and I thoroughly enjoyed their interactions with each other as well as with the peripheral cast of characters. Speaking of the latter, they really enrich the world created by Ms. Duncan, and I found myself laughing out loud at the interactions with Dee, Dumb, and Dumber (who were so appropriately monikered!) The slow-build chemistry leading to the main event created a wonderful tension, and while the epilogue was a touch too sweetly sugared, I must admit that it really rounded out the book well. I sincerely hope there are more of this series coming, and I most definitely recommend Acceptance!

This is the 3rd installment of the Forbes series by Grace. I was really looking forward to Miles story. He finds his mate but it is a jaguar shifter. At first Quincy stays away from Miles. Jaguars are usually alone and don't believe in destined mates plus he has lots of family drama going on. He realizes he cant stay away from Miles and comes back into his life. They meet again under some interesting circumstances and Miles doesn't want to let him go again. So they work together along with their friends to see who and what is coming after Quincy. There is action in some who don't it in this story and it pulled me in. I couldn't wait to see who the culprits were. these 2 guys were a great couple and their chemistry is sizzling once they finally claim each other. This is a great addition to this series and cant wait to see what grace has next. Received an ARC from Publisher for an honest review. Reviewed by Jodi for Alpha Book Club.

In this third installment of the Forbes Mates Series by Grace R. Duncan we are back in the middle of shifter action that is full of romance, passion, and mystery. As we found out in book two, Dr. Miles Grant has found his true mate – a jaguar shifter named Quincy Archer who is slated to become leader of his pride. Quincy however doesn’t want anything to do with being leader of anything and has been on the run hiding from his father who is trying to bring him back to their pridelands so he can be in line to take over. This has caused the relationship of Miles and Quincy to be put on hold and their mating to be delayed which as you know does not make any shifters wolf happy. Needless to say Miles has been working himself to the bone in an attempt to keep his wolf at bay while they wait for their mate to come to them and accept them as their mate. Neither Miles nor his wolf was ready for Quincy to be wheeled into the busy emergency room with what would be life threatening injuries on any normal person and Miles had to hold his wolf back from both seeking out who harmed his mate and claiming him once and for all.

Quincy knows he is asking a lot to keep putting his mate off and he doesn’t want to do it, there is nothing more his cat would like that to curl up with his nice warm wolf and sleep the day away after a nice long run in the woods and some cat and wolf play – however, someone is out to either kill him or get him to come home and he can’t risk getting his mate involved. So even though he doesn’t want to he leaves again, leaving a perturbed Miles Behind – underestimating that anyone would actually harm Miles.

When Miles is attacked by cat shifters Quincy can no longer bury his head in the catnip he knows he has to come home and protect his mate if only to get the focus off his mate and back on himself while figuring out who is after him, is it is father or is it someone else? Who else would want Quincy to come back to the Pridelands and to step in as head of the Pride?

This story is full of lots of action and mystery that keeps the reader intrigued. I was a little frustrated that Miles and Quincy kept putting off their claiming of each other but it just added to the reasons to keep reading the book. The sex in this story once they did actually get to it – H.O.T. Of course, being the greedy book tramp that I am, I wanted more! I enjoyed catching up with the characters from the first two books in the series and seeing how they are doing, and the epilogue was to die for – loved it! Although I am sad to see this series end I cannot wait to see what Ms. Duncan brings us next and maybe we will get to see some shifters from her again in the future as she writes them wonderfully. 4 Stars ~ Maybe we’ll get to see these guys again down the road!