Acceptance

Tams eBook review...

Jaguar shifter Quincy Archer has been raised in a Pride that doesn't believe in destined mates. So when he met Miles Grant, Doctor for the Forbes wolf pack, Quincy pushes him away. The fates are never wrong though, and soon it becomes impossible for Quincy to fight the pull. The problem is, Quincy may have warmed to the idea of a destined mate, even if Miles is a Wolf shifter, his Pride though, not so much. When Quincy is injured by a couple of cats that make it seem like they were sent by his father, Miles and the Forbes wolves take him in while he heals. Fearing that he is painting a target on his mate's back, Quincy flees, only to have to return immediately when Miles is also injured, actually, almost killed by the same cats that attacked Quincy. His mates family, the Forbes shifters, stand behind Quincy and Miles as they scramble to find out exactly what's happening, who is out to see both of them dead.

When I read the previous story in this series, my heart broke for Miles when Quincy rebuffed him. So I was jumping for joy when he decided to stop fighting the pull. I loved the way the story played out in this book, the flow of the story was steady, things slowly revealed at the right moment perfectly timed to keep the reader engaged and intrigued. There was the added suspense in the form of these three cats that are literally hunting Quincy and Miles. While they stop at just seriously injuring Quincy, their intentions are made clear from the start, they are out to kill Miles. As these two mates uncover more secrets, expose more lies, the plot thickens and they start to doubt who they think is behind it all.

Definitely a must read series, especially for anyone that likes PNR or Shifter stories. The books must be read in order though to fully appreciate the characters and the inner workings of the pack(s).

Tams Audiobook review...

I really enjoyed reading Quincy and Miles story, the audiobook took my enjoyment to another level. I love, love, loved the cat like tone Boucher gave Quincy, absolutely perfect. And I swear there were times I could hear a purr in his tone, sexy times, if you know what I mean.

Boucher made sure each character got their own unique tone and voice and added emphasis to words where needed, poured emotion into his voice as required. Definitely a must listen! As I stated above in my eBook review, you have to read this series in order or certain characters and aspects of the storyline won't make sense.

What a story! This is one of my favorite books by Grace R. Duncan thus far. In Acceptance, Grace R. Duncan took three genres and braided them together beautifully into a compelling work of art. The romance, shifter, and crime/thriller aspects are all done so well, and combined make for a truly gripping, enjoyable story.

The romance in this book shines. Miles and Quincy's love story is at turns sweet, intense, and sexy. As characters, they are easy for me to relate to, despite my life being nothing like either of theirs. I appreciated how there's never any question of whether they should be together, because of how destined mates work in the Forbes Mates shifter universe. Throughout the book they know they belong together, and are fighting to stay together, and survive.

I love Grace's shifters. The interplay between their animal and human sides is really well done. It was also interesting to learn more about both wolf and jaguar social structures. And the belief systems of the different types of shifters, while interesting in their own right (involving ancient Roman gods for the wolves and ancient Egyptian gods for the jaguars), also are important because the characters' beliefs influence their feelings throughout the story. These details are included to a degree that I found enriching to the story, but not excessive.

The crime and thriller aspects of the story are exciting and I could feel the urgency, frustration, and fear the characters felt. That's a big part of what made the book so gripping.

Finally, I love the characters in this story. Not just the couple who are the main focus, Miles and Quincy (who are awesome and fun to read), but also the important secondary characters who already had the beginnings of their stories told in previous books: Tanner and Finley, and Chad and Jamie. There were so many times I got so angry at what the protagonists were being put through, both when we were uncertain of the identity and motivations of the "bad guys" and when we knew most of what was going on. The characters are multidimensional and feel like people that I’ve gotten to know well over the Forbes Mates series.

I highly recommend Acceptance to anyone who likes any of its subgenres, and definitely suggest reading the series in order to appreciate the character development and not miss out on plot points.

Acceptance is the third book in the Forbes Mates series by Grace Duncan. I would highly recommend reading this series in order as characters from the previous two books feature extensively in this book.

We previously met Miles and Quincy in the last book, where it was discovered that they are Destined Mates, and that Quincy is a Jaguar shifter. Previously the Wolves thought they were the only shifters around but now know that it's been hidden from them for ages.

Wolf shifters and Jaguar shifters have very different ways of living. This is the first obstacle in the way of Miles and Quincy and their bond. The second obstacle happens to be Quincy, himself. Hiding from his father because he doesn't want to be the next leader of their clan, Quincy has gotten very used to being alone. He doesn't want to tie himself to anyone when he's not sure what his family would do to a mate from another species, let alone another male shifter. To top it off most jaguar shifters, due to their solitary nature, do not believe in Destined Mates. Of course neither does Quincy even after meeting and feeling that bond start to form with Miles.

Miles is not going to give up on the possibility of Quincy accepting their bond. He's going to roll with the punches and hope that Quincy finally realizes that they are met for each other. After a series of events tosses them in very close contact again, Quincy realizes that he really is Miles' mate and he works on a way to make things okay for them to be together.

I have to say that Acceptance is probably my favorite of the series so far. Miles and Quincy are fantastic characters, there's a strong storyline which gets them together at all the right moments, and pulls in the previous two couples from the series as more than just secondary characters. The way Quincy basically melts into accepting the mating with Miles is one of the best parts of the books. And the way things resolve with Quincy's father was kind of the icing on the story-cake. There are some cute moments when they're all shifted that made me laugh out loud. There are also very sweet moments with Miles and Quincy along with the hot smexiness of their bond.

Acceptance and the rest of the Forbes Mates series are fantastic examples of the PNR genre within M/M books. I highly recommend the entire series, and particularly Acceptance as must reads if you love sexy shifters with a great storyline.

I've been jonesing for this third book in the 'Forbes Mates' series ever since I realized, at the end of the second installment, that in all probability the author was going to focus on Miles and Quincy. Based on the fact that Miles is a wolf, Quincy is a jaguar, and Quincy is supposed to lead his pride along with a nice female jaguar and a cub or two, I was hoping 'Acceptance' would be pretty exciting.

I liked Miles from the moment he first appeared and I was glad the author spent some time with his backstory, but I was much happier that she focused on Quincy. Why? Well, in this world very little is known about the jaguars as they do tend to isolate themselves. So it was great to spend more time with Quincy and learn about his pride, his family, the jaguars’ beliefs, and their overall lifestyles. I wasn't very far into the book when I started to have a nagging suspicion about Quincy and his issues with his father, the enforcers Quincy believes his father sent, and possibly some interference from another high-ranking member of a different species. It's not because the author was making it easy to see, either. I'm just a naturally suspicious person. *grins*

I loved that the author had Tanner, Finley, Chad, and Jamie right there, ready to help, being the kind of friends these six had somehow become. When the jaguars find Miles and give him a beatdown, it is the four wolves who get him to safety while they wait for Quincy to get there. These men have created their own little family even within the pack bonds and it's amazing to see. When it comes time to start hunting the men who are hunting them, it's only right that Chad and Jamie come along to help.

My nagging suspicion was very much correct, but the suspense the author held me in while the guys tried to figure everything out was done really well. I hope this isn't the final book but if it is, it's definitely my favorite of them all. Miles and Quincy were wonderful and the mystery suspense was exciting. I loved the epilogue as that definitely made me laugh. Thank you, Grace!

NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews

Reviewed by Morningstar for Diverse Reader

I have been waiting to read this book since book 2 Patience had come out because who wouldn't want to get more of Quincy and Miles!

Quincy and Miles are true mates we met in the epilogue of Patience. Miles was always open to his mate being either male or female but what he didn't count on was the gods picking a cat - more specifically a jaguar shifter - for him. What makes this even more difficult is two very important factors. One, his cat doesn’t believe in fated mates because cats are solitary; so how could they mate for life? Two, is that Quincy is on the run from his father the Tepey (leader) of the pride who wants him to take over for him when he passes it on. But Quincy doesn’t want it, all he wants his to draw and sell information.

I loved Miles. Right from the start he refuses to give up on Quincy even though he doesn’t see him because he is on the run. He was just that type of character that was sweet and sexy all rolled into one. He has a big heart and because of that he falls for Quincy hard and fast! Even during the whole on-the-run-in-hiding thing he is such a strong guy that you can’t tell, for the most part, that he feels completely out of his element. He makes the best of the situation and continues to push his loner mate Quincy to bond with him.

Quincy is so shocked that he has a true mate that at first he doesn’t believe it. He’s a CAT! Jaguars don’t have true mates but he does feel this pull to Miles that he can’t help. It’s that pull that initially gets him hurt by the bad guys because he can’t seem to stay out of town and away from Miles. Quincy realizes pretty quickly that because of these outside forces that are working to get him he cannot possibly stay away from Miles. It’s not because he cares about him...much.

The action/mystery part of this story takes a pretty significant part of the book but no in a bad way. There is always something for them to be doing so the flow of the story is steady and continuous; there is very little slow or down time in the story. I love that we get to have Chad & Jaime and Tanner & Finley from the previous two books playing a big part of this story as well. It’s always nice to get a dose of characters that we miss after their story ends. Quincy and Miles have this way about them that shows their love and care for each other in simply the everyday acts of random touches, conversations, and kisses. Oh, the tender sweetness of these two is beautiful!

If you loved the first two books of this series, Devotion and Patience, you will want to pick this one up! If you haven’t read them yet...well, why not? Go do it now!