The Centaur's Bride: A Steamy Shapeshifter Romance (Mates for Monsters Series Book 4)

When Renee returns home to sell the family ranch the last thing she expects is to find a sexy rugged cowboy. Black is an outcast from the horse shifter herd. A centaur, part man, part beast, 100 percent sexy. When Renee discovers a herd of horse shifters on the property, plans go awry. Lori the herd leader has other plans in mind and sets a plan to get rid of Renee and steal the ranch. Black is the only one who can protect her, and he will risk his life to do so. Plenty of action and Romance in this fast paced story. With a HEA guaranteed. A delightful read.

This author has potential, but needs to develop.In her stories, the couple hurry up and get together. My personal preference is for their trust to evolve, and to have a real relationship, rather than the insta-love that happens in 24 hours or a couple of days.In this installment, I liked the male character Black. He showed protective instincts, even if he was significantly cowed by the Alpha Mare, Lori. However, when she proposed that he marry Renee in order to cheat her out of her inheritance, at best, or murder her for her inheritance, at worst, he went along with it. That is a major character flaw. Since the entire story unfolds in a couple of days, with a brief afterward a week later, he does see the light. He briefly wonders at the extraordinarily unlikely circumstances of his grandmother's death, but doesn't have the backbone to even ask a question.Renee, meanwhile, is a trust fund child who blew every last dime partying with a rock star, literally. She never worked a day in her life, and wasted her money paragliding, etc. Again, this is not a character that I can really get behind. She did show some character development when she finally stood up to Stephanie, and later Lori.There were some distracting holes in this story that I think the author will certainly be able to improve on in future novels.For one, how did this ranch financially survive? What was its revenue generation that not only kept the ranch in the black for years, but also provided Renee with a large enough trust fund for her to live lavishly for years? It is not a cattle ranch. It is not a horse breeding or training facility. It is not a farm. It is not a tourist destination. How does it feed a seemingly limitless number of horses during the winter? I have horses, and hay costs around $26 a bale. Which will last a horse around 2.5 days, with the size of the bales in my area. Since modern hay is grown on nutrient poor soil, and many vitamins degrade when green grass or legumes is dried, then horses need vitamin and mineral supplements, too. It would have been much more interesting if the herd all worked in the human world during the day doing normal jobs, and then shifted when they got home. Or, do they need to graze all day like real horses do?Black went to veterinary school to gain some value to the herd. That means he'd have to go to elementary, middle, and high school, college, work for vets for at least the last few years of his schooling, and go through veterinary school. However, it is remarked that the only person to have ever left the herd was Black's mother. If they sent him to school, they would have done it when he was 5 years old, rather than much later when he first shifted into a Centaur. If no one else left the ranch, then they would all be illiterate (or equine home schooled?) Living a double life was a missed plot opportunity.Why is living as horse shifters hard? All it would take is a gated community and shifting in a barn. Why was the herd so destitute and helpless that it depended on a human man to save them, making his ranch the last safe place on the planet?For that matter, why would Renee, who grew up on a ranch until she was 8, not realize she couldn't wear sandals at the barn if she wanted to keep her toes attached to her feet? Why would she ever think she could ride in capris, which would leave her legs a bloody mess full of saddle sores? Why would she not know that a baby horse is called a foal? Why would she put her hand out to Millie as a mare, instead of knowing how to pet a horse? Honestly, if she rode a horse with stilettos she'd just get bucked off.If Steph really told her millions of followers that there was buried treasure at this ranch, there would be hundreds of treasure hunters hopping the fence and descending on the place. That did not make sense.Finally, Ley did not get horse behavior right. Yes, there is an Alpha Mare, or Lead Mare. She is at the top of the pecking order. She uses her experience to lead a feral band of mustangs to water at the right time of day. She knows which pasture to graze in. She leads the procession while the stallion nips up stragglers or watches for danger or rival stallions. When the stallion needs the herd to run on cruise control, he lets the Alpha Mare lead. She also instills order and reinforces her rank on her subordinate mares. All colts are booted by the stallion from the herd by age 2, or earlier, when they become sexually mature. Then they join a bachelor band and fight with each other, to practice for when they will challenge a herd stallion for his harem. Anyone who has actually ever been around a stallion would never, ever, think that he would be terrorized by mares. Well, OK, there was this one stallion who was kicked rather hard in the testicles who was, actually, quite worried about mares. But that's the only one I can think of. Otherwise, stallions dominate mares.In no way is the stallion subordinate to any mare. Mares can kick if they are not completely in season. But if the alpha mare wants to go to, say, Pasture A, but the stallion smells a rival stallion, then he hustles her butt to Pasture B. She has absolutely zero say on which stallion takes over the herd. She has no say over who she breeds with. Where they go if the stallion has a preference. She is only in charge of mare social hierarchy. In absolutely no way would an Alpha Mare like Lori even have been able to terrorize multiple stallions.It makes me think less of the shifter herd that they actually voted for an abusive leader, and let her stay in power. In addition, absolutely no one thought it was fishy the way that the prior Lead Mare and the ranch owner died? No one asked questions? Millie, in fact, knew about the crime and kept silent, which made her culpable. Saul was advised of the plan and agreed to murdering Renee. What the heck is wrong with these people/shifters? That just dissolved quite a bit of interest I had in any of them.Lori could have been fleshed out more. I was never clear if her plan all along was to sell the ranch herself for the gold. How could they possibly live there if she brought in a mining company?Finally, we had the same loose end that we had in the last one. What would the children of this pair be? Human, centaur, or shifter? Was Black a Centaur because he was half human? If so, then what would a 3/4 human kid be?Overall, this story had a lot of promise, but the characters were a bit of a turnoff.

An original and refreshing shifter romance by Tamsin Ley. I did not know what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised at how I enjoyed reading the book.Well written, the story flowed well and has a good plot and storyline. There is a lot happening in this book for adults, including steamy sizzling scenes. It is fast paced, has love, mystery, murder and betrayal.At times the story seemed a little rushed nevertheless that does not deter from the storyline.The characters are well developed, both good and not so good, and there are good detailed descriptions to scenes and settings, especially that of the Ranch where most of the story takes place. Character dynamics and the dialogue between the main characters are excellent.An original and different type of shapeshifter as one of the main protagonists. An interesting book to read.

There is always room for improvement. With this story the only improvement I can think of is MORE! Just more!I'm not going to talk about the story itself, but:I love everything except that "wanting" that I feel for more to read of these characters & the world this author created for them. I was drawn in at the start and even after the last page I'm left wanting more! That has to say good things right there about the story.So, please give this one a chance to make a place on your "Read Again List" like it has on mine!!

This is my 3rd book by author Tamsin Let and it won't be the last. Her series "Mates for monsters" is really good. She describes things enough so that my mind can easily picture them. She doesn't overdo it by going into tiny detail so that you get lost in the words and your imagination can't run free. Truly enjoy her books. She makes the unbelievable a bit more believable.

This was my first read by Tamsin Ley and it definitely won’t be my last. It was a whole different take on the norm of shifters and I really enjoyed it. I loved Black. At first I wondered, but his character builds throughout the story and by the end he’s quite the catch. There’s a monster alright, but it’s not Black! I’m gladly volunteering to give this review. Can’t wait to get started on her next novella.

Wow… I enjoyed reading this story filled with intrigue, action and romance. The story line is a bit different from other shifter books that I’ve read—which caught my interest. I found it hard to put this story down and finished it in one sitting.

This was the most beautiful story I have ever read. It had all the elements I love. Shapeshifter. Love at first sight and the challenege of TRUE LOVE. This story revealed what true love really is real despite the difference of the person and the situation. The biggest part was the shapeshifter was a Centaur. OH I LOVE IT!!!!! This is a beautiful story. A must read and highly deserved 5 Stars!!!

I think sometimes you just have to be in the right mood to truly appreciate a book and sadly this didn't quite work for me. It's an ok story with good and bad guys and obviously romance although that for me was just too instant. I do for some reason feel reminded of another book I've previously read although the heroine came from a different background. Perhaps it's the ranch setting with the female inheriting it that feels so familiar because I know there are other books with this trope. Sadly I did find myself flicking through quite quickly so perhaps next time will choose something a little less real and much more fanciful by this author.

This wasn't bad. It was a pleasant enough read, although I found the heroine to be a little too shallow and annoying. I'm also not sure of the point of her friend who leaves after a while and is never heard of again. It was a good enough book to pass an afternoon.

Western romance stories are comforting, almost like apple pie on a cold night. This story turns the apple pie into a gourmet fusion treat while not losing the essence of the apple pie. Horse shifters in the American West - okay, I can see that. Centaurs? As cowboys? Definitely did not see that. Centaurs being discriminated against by horse shifters? Definitely not that either. Despite all that, this still comes together as a surprisingly sweetly steamy read.

Ho avuto il piacere di leggere questo nuovo romanzo, la sposa del centauro, di Tamsin Ley grazie una copia ARC.Che dire è la prima storia che leggo su un centauro e su una mandria di cavalli mutaforma. Mi ha incuriosito già da quando avevo visto la copertina in anteprima chiedendomi chissà quale storia avrebbe coinvolto i protagonisti di questa storia. Non riuscivo a capacitarmi di come un’umana e uncentauro potessero interessarsi l’uno all’altro e a far scattare la passione. Nessun film che mi ero fatta in testa rispecchia comunque quello che poi ho letto. Non mi era passata per la testa la possibilità davvero geniale e unica che la sua forma centaura sia solo una trasformazione.Sono rimasta subito conquistata da Black che non appare come il classico alfa che comanda su tutti, ma viene inquadrato sotto una luce più problematica e difficoltosa, che me l’hanno reso subito caro e mi hanno fatto provare un’incredibile tenerezza.Il suo corpo umano formicolava per il desiderio di trasformarsi, e il castrone sotto di lui si muoveva di traverso come se avesse la sensazione di un imminente cambio.Black è un centauro ma praticamente si tratta di un mutaforma come tutto il resto della sua mandria, con l’unica differenza che gli altri alternano la forma umanoide a quella equina, e lui è l’unico invece che non riesce a compiere una metamorfosi totale. Da qui si innesca tutto un substrato psicologico di non accettazione, quel senso di isolamento che pervade la sua figura dalla notte dei tempi, che ora lo fa sentire né carne né pesce. Nonostante questo Black sa essere dolcissimo, pronto a farsi in quattro per aiutare tutti.Renee non può far altro che restare colpita da lui che non è solo un cowboy ma anche un veterinario, mentre lei si accorge di non aver concluso nulla nella vita e di aver sperperato tutti i soldi che le erano stati lasciati dalla madre restando paurosamente al verde.I suoi addominali erano come le increspature delle pietre, la sua pelle liscia e calda. Lei lasciò scorrere le dita scorrere sopra i dorsali finchè lei non raggiunse il petto di lui...Il ritmo narrativo è stato incalzante e avrei voluto bruciar pagine alla velocità della luce per scoprire come si sarebbe conclusa questa storia emozionante.Aspetto un nuovo lavoro di questa autrice che sa sempre stupirmi ed emozionarmi in questi romanzi brevi dedicati a creature fantasy veramente poco usate a cui dà quel tocco di originalità davvero particolare. L’unica pecca di questo romanzo è che avrei voluto leggere molte più pagine! Spero che Tamsin ne scriverà un altro quanto prima e con almeno trecento pagine.FabianaLe Cercatrici di libri

Really love this book. If your into shifters and like reading paranormal books, you'll love reading this one. It's about horse shifter who finds out what it means to stand some for himself and some he loves. You'll enjoy every heart throbbing moment and tear jerking second the book has to offer.