Nights With Roarsen

Couldn't really get into this story. It's part of a series or a short in connection with the Chosen Series, but it works as a stand-alone. It has the HEA, has a bit of fluff but mostly it doesn't take itself seriously and that was the problem for me. The subject matter of this book needed more serious. The trauma of Enid's past was pretty much what defined him and were his reasons for not wanting to get close to anyone yet it felt more glossed over than dealt with. There was a lot of I told Roasen things, but none of me as a reader witnessing these conversations. This is a short story and it felt like the opportunity to milk these nights with the Tiger thus making all the fluffy relationship stuff that much more rewarding was missed. It's called Night's with Roarsen but these nights never happen.

Secondly, you can't date a tiger. This tiger has never once shifted because Enid wouldn't let it happen. Yet there's a living breathing walking man who wants you. I felt the book was about to up the fluffy levels after the first date but it actually dipped into some sought of imitation love triangle. Decker, of course, being the tiger and himself it's not a real love triangle anyway. It was also a missed chance for him to come clean. The book promised low angst and high fluff. Yet the main character was constantly thinking about his troubled past and Decker when given the opportunity to come clean after the date meets him again that same night in tiger form to continue the deception. Then runs off leaving Enid calling after him all sad and well, angsty. It was a bit of an angsty drama combination this whole section.

I'm not a fan of fluff, so I mentally prepared for an overabundance of pet names and hugs and those ridiculous sentences full of so much sappy romance it could make anyone cringe. I didn't find that too much. There were a few roll my eye moments but that's it. Even the fluff wasn't as high as I went in anticipating.  It was also frustrating that the one thing, scene I know as a reader, the most important thing about his past, he didn't tell Roarson, so we end up with more drama when they make out and he sees the unfinished mate bite and, yeah not my idea of low angst. Enid was extremely anxious through this book.

Finally the ending was a big let down. After all this buildup about his past, fears, and whatnot, a simple tackle was the end of it all. No fight, no closure. Nothing. The subject matter of this book was, unfortunately, too deep to try to make it a fluffy romance and I always felt myself wanting more. With Enid's past, and Decker being a therapist, this story had the makings of awesome but in an attempt to be light it washed over the gritty stuff and unfortunately wasn't nearly sappy enough to make this work. It felt flat. Not enough sap and fluff combined with deep material that was underdeveloped left me feeling it was just okay. Not great, but not horrible either.

If you're okay with just being told there's a budding relationship with a shifter happening on a nightly basis without those conversations actually happening on the page, and if you're okay with that same past creating an odd triangle but not really love triangle situation and a good old fashioned HEA is all you need, this book will work. It has the smiles and even a few laughs but it isn't overabundantly fluffy. It's an enjoyable quick read that will fill the gap on those weekend days. Unfortunately for something I was expecting to be over the top fluffy and Drama free it did have too much of the latter and not enough fluff to get me fully invested in the story.