Series: Offbeat Shifters
Volume: 2/4
Publisher: Independently published
Genre/s: Supernatural M/M Romance
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Read in: English
Review copy format: epub
Rate:✮✮✮✮✮✮
Jesse and Isaac can finally be openly together, thus they plan their future and undertake joint ventures, the first of which is buying a house in which they can make their dreams come true. Unfortunately, after the beautiful beginning of their life together, the first problems appear, the most difficult of which are undoubtedly Jesse's troubles with getting pregnant. Both Jesse and Isaac must deal with what fate has in store for them. However, finding balance and accepting the new situation is not easy. For Issac and Jesse it's probably the most important test of their love and strength of their relationship.
"Openly Yours" is the second installment in "Offbeat Shifters" series by Colette Davison. Reading this novel we quickly notice that in some respects it differs from the previous one in terms of its vibe, and this is because it is much more focused on home and family compared to the first volume. The author has added a bit of mystery to "Secretly Mine", while in this installment in the series we can see a lot stronger connection with books revolving around slice of life theme. Or at least, this is how I perceive this story, which in "Openly Yours" focuses on hardships and drama of everyday life. What's important, we can, to a great extent, identify our everyday life in our real world with all the problems we read about in this story. While the plot of this book focuses on everyday hardships in the omegaverse world with mpreg expansion, these are essentially universal topics that we know from our own lives. Undoubtedly, this is a great advantage of "Openly Yours", which is connected with the previous volume and at the same time shows our characters from a different angle.
Speaking of which. In "Openly Yours" our beloved characters have the opportunity to get used to their new everyday life that they are about to lead together from now on. And that's what I love about this novel. Jesse's and Isaac's life is changing dramatically, and they have to get used to it in many different ways. While accepting some of the novelties of life is not so difficult, there are also some that can be really hard to swallow. In "Openly Yours" we find a lot of both major and minor changes, some of which are a source of joy for our heroes, while others are the reasons of their dilemmas or even internal fight to accept the new state of affairs. After all, every action triggers a reaction. Importantly, all the positive and negative experiences related to their new life are just like ours, when we struggle with a situation similar to that of our characters'. It's the best evidence that Jesse and Isaac are just like us, despite being shapeshifters.
I have no doubt that the greatest advantage of "Openly Yours" is the problem of infertility raised and developed in the novel, as we rarely see it in mpreg books. Just think about it. How many novels in which the protagonist has major problems with getting pregnant or is infertile can you name? And how many books are you going to name if asked for those in which one of the characters got pregnant by accident? Exactly. So now you can definitely see for yourself how important "Openly Yours" is for the mpreg genre. I think it should also be mentioned that Colette Davison not only touches on the topic of infertility in her novel, but also shows us the external and internal reaction of the characters to this problem, their need to change their own expectations, as well as attempts to adapt to the situation taking into consideration the partner. But the most important is probably the fact that in "Openly Yours" we see our boys trying to accept the situation they are facing and how they approach the alternative they have. In fact, we can write a lot about this topic, as well as the way in which the author presents and develops it, but we can describe it all using one word - perfect.
To sum up, "Openly Yours" is a really fantastic second volume to a truly great series. Our characters struggle with serious problems of everyday life, their relationship is undergoing some great tests, and the reader can see Jesse and Isaac as their soul mates even more than before. This is a really great book that you must read. You won't regret it. You will fall in love with it. I promise.
SPOILERS ALERT
Headcanon: The story of how Jesse and Isaac met and fell in love is their children's favorite bedtime story.
Fanfiction idea: It's date night for Jesse and Isaac, so Austin stays with the kids. The little ones do whatever they want with him - they braid his hair, even though it is short, and even do his makeup using paints.
AU idea: A world dominated by shapeshifters. Tiger and Monkey clans fight each other for dominance and power over their territories. But despite the turmoil of war, love is born...
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Here's some more about:
Book Title: Openly Yours (Offbeat Shifters Book 2)
Author: Colette Davison
Cover Artist: Colette Davison
Release Date: March 2, 2021
Trope/s: shifters, mpreg setting but there isn’t pregnancy or childbirth in the books, age-gap, pop-stars
Themes: The price of fame, treatment of omegas in the pop industry
Heat Rating: 4 flames
Book 2 is a direct follow-on from book 1 and will not have the same impact without having read book 1.
Add on Goodreads
Buy Links - Available in Kindle Unlimited
Universal Link | Amazon US | Amazon UK
Falling in love was the easy part. When we have to face more tragedy, will it bring us closer or drive us apart?
Blurb
Now the tour is over, Isaac has to adapt to depending financially on someone else for the first time.
When my world gets thrown into turmoil again, I need to learn that relying emotionally on others isn’t a bad thing.
We have to face our biggest challenge together—creating a different dream from the one we had envisioned.
Openly Yours is an m/m paranormal romance with a loving tiger shifter, a sweet monkey shifter, enthusiastic family members, and lots of cuddles. Whilst it is set in an alternate universe where omegas give birth, there are no pregnancy or birth scenes in this book.
Trigger warning for scenes revolving around infertility.
Excerpt
“You had news. Is it about the Arches?”
I grinned, unable to keep it from him.
“They accepted our offer?”
“Yes.”
Jesse bounced up and down in my arms, squealing excitedly. “That’s fantastic!”
“We’ve got to get all the building and land checks done and a survey, so it’s not a done deal yet. But all being well, our youth centre is one step closer to opening.”
Jesse grasped my face and kissed me hard. “It’s exciting, isn’t it?”
“Very.”
His eyes widened. “You should invite your dads to come and stay so we can show them the Arches.”
“I’d been thinking about that.” I carried him over to the sofa and sat down with him on my lap. “Maybe it’s about time we moved out of this flat.”
Jesse tilted his head to the side. “Why?”
“Well, right now, if we want to invite my family down, they have to stay in a hotel.” I paused, measuring my next words carefully. “And at some point, we’re going to have a family, Jesse. There’s not going to be room for children in a one-bedroom flat.” I stroked my thumbs over his lower back. “You wanted a house filled with music and the patter of tiny feet, remember?”
Jesse nodded, but he didn’t speak. His eyes were brimming with tears, and his chin wobbled.
“And I wanted a big bath.”
That made him laugh. “We need a huge bath.”
I stared into his dark eyes. “I want to find our forever home, Jesse. And I want to get married.”
Jesse frowned. “We can’t, not until—”
I silenced him with a kiss. “We know roughly when your heats will be. We can plan around it. We’re already mated. You know I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Now I want to show everyone else that—your family and mine.”
“And the world?” Jesse asked. “Because we’re not gonna get a cosy little wedding.”
I smiled. “The whole world. I’m yours, Jesse, now, always, and openly.”
Jesse gasped. “I’ve got it!”
“Got what?”
“The title of the song I’m going to write for you.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Will you share it with me?”
He smiled mischievously. “Nope. I think I’m gonna keep it a secret.”
I tickled him until I reduced him to a giggling, writhing wreck on my lap. Then I flipped him onto the sofa and lay over him, tickling him more until he was gasping for air.
“Now are you going to tell me?”
He put his hands around my neck as his breathing slowly returned to normal. “‘Openly Yours’.”
I nuzzled his nose with my own. “That’s beautiful.”
“So are you.”
We looked at each other, my heart filling as I saw how much love radiated from his eyes and smile. I kissed him, teasing his mouth with my tongue. “Let’s set a wedding date and start looking at houses.”
Jesse nodded. “Okay.”
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