Clayton (The Wildflower Series Book 1) <— BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION because of a recent reader question, so many jumped in and LOVED IT, and sure enough… THIS HOOKED ME RIGHT FROM THE START!!! You guys were right!!
Ohhhh yes!! This has unrequited love IN SPADES!!! Along with a love triangle (or actually 2) plus the romance rejection comes in all sorts of ways, and oh my heart was on edge. And well… you know me, even though I’m not compelled to read paranormal romance as much as I used to (in this case, two neighboring wolf-shifter packs), I could NOT resist… because after all, they are part human too and THAT… I could relate to! 😀 And boy did I. For the most part. 😉
M.L.: Ooh…rejected mates are one of my fav tropes!
Rae: Just finished Clayton… Loved the rejected mate situation though. It finishes with Dallas.
Bec: OMG.i just all 3 (Clayton)books over the weekend. I don’t think I have cried 3 books in a row. Loved them. So thanks Wendy for the question and ML for rec.
Mona: I loved this question and response! I had never heard of Clayton before and couldn’t put it down! There is just something about books that make me cry that make them unforgettable!
Shaleen: I went ahead and read Clayton and I’m on my way to reading Cassius. I have to say paranormal is not my genre, but I really enjoyed this one, alot!! Rya, gosh, you Feel everything she is going through, Dallas is book boyfriend material and holy, but I sympathized with Clayton and let me just say I have a crush on the Silverback Alpha and he is not even our main lead. I swear I do not have daddy issues😂 but if there was a list for best book father – in law he would be my top 10.
Stephanie: Loved it!!!!
Kelly: Yay Maryse! It was so good. Well written and characters so fleshed out. Couldn’t put it down.
I absolutely loved the first half, the writing, the emotions, the description of their surroundings, the characters, their world (and their rules) was pretty incredible. Exquisite even. The hurt and the angst, and the cravings, and the need, and then… a possible light at the end of the tunnel that brought so much relief and hope. And yet, even with that, I seriously had NO clue how this was going to end (and who was going to get an HEA…if any of them at all).
Why? Because there are so many facets to their pasts, and their choices, and their lack of choice, which is something I absolutely LOVED. That their human side could choose and love someone that was not their wolf’s mate, yet their wolf side absolutely insisted on their one true mate. What a dilemma, and so much potential pain to come of it. And yes it did.
So what’s it about?
Rya knows that Clayton is her one true mate (actually everyone in their pack knows it), but Clayton outright rejects her. Why? He’s deeply in love with his beautiful girlfriend that he was raised with, and he wants no other, no matter that their nature, their wolves, are the only true mates for each other.
I went to him as soon as I shifted, knowing who he was to me. She was there; she has always been there since they could walk. He must have known I was his even before I shifted, yet he continued on with her. I begged him, pleaded with him to just give me a chance, making a scene for all to witness. He told me to go, leave. That she might not be his true mate, but she is the one he wants, regardless of what the moon thinks.
The rejection cuts her deeply, as well as her punishment for attacking his girlfriend in devastated fury, when the entire pack essentially rejects her too.
I did attack her, an escalation of words turning into violence between two females wanting the same male.
Except I am his mate, and she is his everything.
*oooooof* My HEART broke with hers. Hoping that “out of site out of mind” might help her get over Clayton (or at least ease the sting), she leaves for a few years…
I will not embarrass the people I love again. It was so much easier out of sight, out of mind.
Yet, when her pack calls her back, she must face him (and them) all over again.
Sometimes, on very rare occasions, I can feel his eyes on me. But, just as fast as I feel them, they’re gone. I try not to look at him anymore for fear he will be able to feel my gaze as well.
Two years I endure this. It’s a lonely, miserable life. It’s funny how you grow and mature and the body people see looks healthy and young, except for me it’s just a shell covering my emptiness.
Oh you guys. THAT WAS ROUGH ON ME!!!! And I loved that I had no idea what would happen. I love that it explored true human choice vs. innate nature and pack rules. And I loved that it didn’t back down when it came to the extremely conflicting emotions. Their wants vs. their needs and all of the destructiveness that came along with these two things NOT being the same thing. I WAS SO IN!!!!
Why me? Why can’t I just feel numb to him? Why does he affect me so much? How do I not affect him? How can he fight this so easily?
Ohhhhh but easy… It is NOT.
It’s as if I’m the mistress, hell-bent on destroying their made-up bond.
Yep… I know. I hate to admit that I become seriously invested when characters emotionally tortured. I want their HEA so bad for them, but at the same time, I really like to work for it! I mean… for them to work for it. Er… in books. ONLY IN BOOKS!!! 😂
Maryse: WHAT I’M READING ➔ I just started “Clayton” (the unrequited love book that everyone was loving after a reader question brought it to light). She was rejected by her true mate (and he chose another)… *oooooomph* OH MY. I just finished chapter one and I’m already SO HOOKED. This is incredible and I’m loving her writing and the details and being in her POV. I think this one is going to rock my world!!
Tasha J: Found it! I think I saw it earlier and I thought, Wildflower series? No it can’t be that. But, it was! Thanks!
Maryse: Yep!! That’s the one. Sometimes the writing is incredible and sometimes, it lacks just a little, you know? BUT!!!!!!
The actual scenes and emotions and intensity of the unrequited love, and possible love triangle and possible becoming the other woman (when essentially SHE IS THE MATE!!! And should NOT be considered the other woman…) *ooooomph* And the rejection… On many counts. INCREDIBLE.
I have no idea yet… still reading, but all sorts of issues and potentials.
Nancy: Clayton is heart-wrenching!!😭
And while the second half still had me so invested, it did get a little melodramatic and over-the-top, and in the process, the writing became a little less “tight” (including the characters and flow of the story), which had me disconnecting somewhat.
Also, I seriously struggled with one character in particular – a side character – that I can’t see as anything other than abusive and awful. Some scenes made my stomach turn, and I had to keep reminding myself that it was part of the “shifter-world” even when they were in human form (rules, and hierarchy etc…). Ugh… still had me cringing in fury.
Still, I really enjoyed this one, and while it does end of a cliffhanger (or more of a gasp-worthy reveal), LUCKY US… all the books are out so we can effortlessly move on to the next, to get relief.
‘Cause yep… while I have a much better idea of the “coupling” in this one, I still don’t know how it’s going to end. 😉
Kelly: THANK YOU FOR THIS BOOK! I sat down to read Clayton this morning at 10am and read straight through. I LOVED this book. My heart hurt throughout but Dallas! OMG!! Added him to my new book boyfriends list. Thx so much. …it is one of my fave this year. The title of the book has me confused but I’m hoping it goes where I hope it does.
Cody: I just read these too, because of the previous post and there were times where I was GUTTED!!!!! Whew, what a ride! Loved the first two, wondering if the 3rd is just as good. 😍
4 STARS <— 5 stars for the first 50% and 3.5 to 4 stars for the second half.
P.S. Keep sending me those reader questions!! They introduce us to awesome new ones we might not have known about. Like this one!! 😀
➔➔➔ Looking for more of my must-read recommendations? Browse my 5 star and 4.5 star and 4 star reviews. 😀
➔➔➔ Love this trope? Browse more unrequited love features and reviews on my blog. 😀
I am glad you loved it. Rachelle makes a world of her characters. It’s flesh and bones.
Love,
A wildflower!
🌻
YAY Aman!!! I love that you’re a wildflower. 😉 And I LOVE the one you chose.
It’s my favorite. And Rachelle too. She has other books also. Especially ‘Thirst of a lesser god’ is something that makes you think about what you knew so far in real life. It’s like nothing else I have ever read. And I have literally read hundreds if not a thousand so far in my 7 years of being an avid reader. Its so much more worth than I can explain.
At the beginning I was so invested in the story and I felt all the grief and angst of the heroine and I hated Clayton. But the second half of the book was just not what I thought it would be. I wasn’t even prepared for Dallas’s change from the shy doc to this powerful alpha.. it all sounded rushed and I never got my Rhya/ Clayton conclusion!!!