Fated Hearts

A Shadow Bound Novel

By: Garrett Leigh

Narrated by: Dan Calley

Length: 6 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's Summary

"He’s not a wolf." 

Devastated by the death of his best friend, Zio is a soldier with one thing on his mind: revenge. Consumed by a conflict that’s raged as long as he’s been alive, he’s had little time or inclination to learn the legends of the shifter world he was raised in. And he certainly doesn’t have time to deal with a shifter of a different kind, even if it’s for the good of the war effort. For the good of his pack. The fact that he’s already crossed paths with the new face in his unit is almost irrelevant. 

Almost. 

Do no harm. Give life not death: it’s the oath Devan was reborn to live by, so when he’s sent abroad to embed with a wolf pack as their resident healer, he doesn’t hesitate. In the supernatural world, some bonds are instant - soldiers become brothers, pack become family. But others run deeper and before long, Devan’s at the mercy of instincts he can’t control. 

Zio’s inner wolf is desperate to be with Devan, while Devan struggles to keep the pack safe. But as the war escalates, and new love is tainted by anguish and pain, the battles within might prove the toughest of them all. 

"I won’t let him die."

©2019 Garrett Leigh (P)2020 Garrett Leigh

Fresh new paranormal romance

4 Blue Roses
4 Blue Flames

Narrator Dan Calley beautifully delivered a stunning new and fresh shifter romance. Listeners will fall in love with this narrator. His smooth vocals and voice manipulation is fitting for the paranormal world filled to the brim with shifters and vampires. Dan was able to draw out the tension, I experienced the war and action scenes vividly. OMG, he does some smouldering hot sex scenes.

The author took old shifter and paranormal elements and made it all new. I loved how the book started and how we slowly learn Devan is not a wolf. I’m not going to say!

The only unanswered question I have is why did the war go on for years, while it could have been ended in a day or two, by helping the pack earlier, in the first place? That’s probably an answer for the next book 🤔. Stupid shifter mentality!

I absolutely recommend this audiobook.

Happy Listening

Not for me

Garrett Leigh is a master of writing stories about tortured souls, tackling mental illness and trauma and every kind of relationship. She’s written some terrific stories and when I saw she was branching put to the paranormal genre I was intrigued.

By now many of us have read countless of shifter stories and most of them tend to blend together, few bring something new to the genre. I do think Fated Hearts had some really interesting ideas and new twists and it made me want to find out more. At first the story was gripping and interesting, and I was eager to learn more. But it wasn’t long until that need fizzled out and I was just meandering along a world and story that needed more anchoring and fleshing out. There was so much of it that was either very superficial or didn’t really make sense, much that I had trouble connecting to a coherent picture. Too much of it was missing. It’s also why I’m having a hard time describing it more than in general terms.

A good narration can elevate a so, so story, just as a poor one can break the best of them. This time around it did neither, but was kind of on par with the story, both had their issues. The story failed to catch my attention and sadly the narration was the same. We all have personal preferences in terms of narrators and what we like and don’t. One listener will love a narration another just can’t cope with – just like readers will love and hate the same book. Personally Calley’s style of narration isn’t for me. I mean he is brilliant with different accents and he has a pleasant voice that is easy to listen to, but for me that just isn’t enough to carry the narration for the entire book.

Calley is a reader and not a performer and that’s all well and great. All narrators have their own style and way of narrate, but what I can’t get past is that he sounds bored with his reading, even during the intense moments and for me that’s a big problem. I also had a hard time following many of the dialogues and keeping track of the characters. They were all portrayed with the same voice and tone, and it was hard to distinguish one speaker from the next. I also missed a clear enunciation, it wasn’t uncommon for much of the dialogue to be mumbled so I had to really concentrate to hear what Calley actually said. Sadly it threw me out of the story and made me focus on all the wrong things.

I know Calley has a great fan base and many love his narration. I also wish I was among them - he has narrated some pretty great books in the past and I’d love to have listened to them. But sadly I think I have to pass on that. However, if you are a Calley fan, you have many books to look forward to.

A copy of this book was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review for Love Bytes.

Shifter destiny

I admit I don’t know a lot about shifters. There’s a huge market for the books, to be sure, but it isn’t one I’ve dipped my toes into very often. Since I love Garrett Leigh, Dan Calley, and the collaborations between the two, I was happy to leap on this book. I don’t regret having done so, but it didn’t capture my attention the way the contemporary books have. That being said, I’ll say a few things.

I liked the instantaneous connection between Devan and Zio. Aside from the explosive hook-up, the men have little in common. One is an older reborn healer from a Slovakian pack – sent to care for a pack at war. One is a young soldier grieving the loss of a good friend – the pack’s former healer. The relationship between the two men is forbidden by both of their packs, but that doesn’t stop them from feeling the tug. The pull. The demand of their bodies to mate. I’ve read about fated mates and I think it’s a great idea. Love at first sight, right? Or, in many cases, first smell.

There is a lot going on in this book – from the politics to the pack dynamics to the actual war going on. Through it all, Devan and Zio fight their attraction. At times that makes them quite snarky – being horny will do that to a guy. And as for the shifting – I always wonder what happens to the clothes? Don’t mind me, I’m an eminently practical person.

I enjoyed this story and there are more to come, I assume. The war has expanded to vampires and I can only imagine the turmoil that will bring. Dan Calley is one of my favorite narrators and for a good reason. He has a deep resonant voice that is well-suited for the dark world these shifters inhabit. Be they wolf or tiger, the danger always lurks. I’ll certainly be interested in seeing where this series goes.

Strange new world

Fated Hearts piqued my interest in the beginning, and then it slowed down to the point that it kind of lost me. That and a significant lack of connection.
When it comes to this type of story, world-building can be a make it or break it thing, and I think this one broke it, at least for me. There is quite a lot of world-building, but unless I missed something, it came up short on cohesiveness. It's all there, but it doesn't come together like I would expect. It felt rather choppy to me. The story does pick up and it gets pretty exciting in the last quarter or so of the book, but I still had questions. Questions about why there was so much animosity as to cause a war, questions about why there was so much issue with Zio and Devan mating. I mean, even from the blurb we know that Devan was sent there to help, so I would think it's safe to assume that the two packs are friendly, so why all the rules and restrictions? I don't know, maybe I got distracted and missed that part or maybe it wasn't there at all, either way, it bothered me.
Then we come to the characters. Don't get me wrong, Zio and Devan are likable and interesting enough to make me want to more about them. The problem is we don't really get much about them, at least not in a paint a picture for the reader description. That surprised me, especially with the slow burn romance taking place. I would've expected at least some physical description, and I really missed that here. It made it quite difficult to picture these characters in my mind while listening. It was the same with all of the characters, so they all felt kind of like talking heads to me.
As this is audio, I have to give props to the narrator, Dan Calley. This guy has a voice like butter, and he's quite good with the accents. He also did a great job at making the exciting parts stand out, and I loved the way he did the different accents in conversations. I didn't notice a single slip up, and there was quite a bit of dialogue here.
In the end, there were things I liked and things I didn't, but I'm glad I gave it a listen. I'll certainly remember Dan Calley's name, and while this one wasn't quite my cup of tea, I enjoyed enough to check out other books from Garrett Leigh.

Hot shifter romance. Great story & world-building!

There are a lot of shifter stories out there, and standing out isn’t always easy, but Garrett Leigh managed it effortlessly with Fated Hearts. I loved the detailed world-building, the action and danger in this dystopian society and the combination of magic and science.

All the characters were intriguing and complex, making this the perfect basis for a very promising series. I so hope there’ll be more to come.

I loved the angst in this story, and the incredible pull between the MC’s. Zio and Devan are wonderful together, when they get there, because obstacles abound.

Narration: Dan Calley did an amazing job with his performance of this story, the pacing and emotional intensity were great and he brought a wonderful array of voices for all the different characters. Is it just me or are British accents just absolutely yummie? I also really loved the accent he did for Devan.

Fantastic story and great narration.

The only thing I can add to my original review from when I read the ebook (see below) is that Dan Calley did a superb job with the many voices and accents needed for this story. It was a wonderful experience listening the audiobook and remembering how much I loved this one when I read it.

Below is what I wrote when I reviewed the ebook back in September 2019:

I'm not even sure where to start with my review of Fated Hearts. I've read a lot of shifter stories dealing with fated mates but this one just seemed more to me. More heat between the MCs, more angst due to circumstances and more deep feelings that connected not only the two MCs but also all of the pack members.

I have to admit, though, that at first, I was a bit confused. I kind of felt like I missed the first book in the series. The Foreword by the author helped but I guess I wanted a bit more. I wasn't confused enough to quit reading, though and boy am I glad that I didn't quit.

Zio is a rather young wolf. He was bitten when he was an infant. He's never paid too much attention to shifter lore so he doesn't understand his hyper-awareness of Devan when they first meet.

Devan is sent by the Shadow Bound clan to help Zio's pack whose healer has died. Devan isn't a wolf shifter and he isn't crazy about being sent to live with a wolf pack but he obeys his Alpha's orders. He does realize what's happening between him and Zio but doesn't tell him.

The connection that Devan and Zio have with each other leaped off the pages of this story and melted my heart. Garrett Leigh has done a fantastic job of world building with this story and I can't wait to see where she takes the series next.

A copy of this audiobook was provided to me but my review was voluntary and not influenced by the author.

***Reviewed for Xtreme-Delusions dot com*** (Posting on May 6, 2020.)

Mmmm...shifters, I believe they are growing on me.

Ok, so I actually checked on my bookshelves and sure enough this is only my third shifter story this year, so I think I'm still fairly safe saying 'shifters not so much a big deal for me' but Garrett Leigh..yeah,that's a big deal for me. So when I was asked 'would you like to review a couple of audio books by Garrett Leigh...you bet I was all over that..although I have to admit I did hesitate for a nanosecond over the whole shifter genre...but, then I said

"It's Garrett Leigh, how can I possibly go wrong with this?" and I was right I couldn't.

'Fated Hearts' isn't a 'love at first sight' story but there was definitely some 'lust at first sight' and really given the whole premise of 2 souls being destined for each other...well, it's all got to start somewhere doesn't it?

When Devan's alpha ask him to not only become the resident healer for a wolf pack, but to become part of the pack with the assurance that if he truly wants to come home he will be brought back to the clan. It's with very little hesitation that he says yes. There's a war going on and it's vital that Zio's pack survive and without a healer things aren't looking good.

Zio's a warrior and he's mourning the loss of his best friend and his pack's healer when Devan arrives...so needless to say while the logical part of him knows they need a new healer the part of him that's loyal to his friends memory is less than happy.

This is a world where humans have full knowledge of the existence of shifters and while there may be a tentative peace between humans and shifts that's not necessarily the case between the wolf shifter packs.

Unlike my previous shifter stories this year 'Fated Hearts' was not a story laced with humor and fun times and I while I do enjoy a story that can bring some humor into my day, sometimes it's good to read/listen to something that's not necessarily light and fluffy.

While Zio and Devan were very different in some ways...Zio's a warrior and right now he's pretty much consumed with thoughts of vengeance and he's one angry wolf. He's close to his pack mates and more than a little resistant to newcomers. While Devan's a healer who's whole demeanor is pretty chill...except for where Zio's concerned these two both feel a very undeniable attraction to each other but in their own way they're each determined to ignore it because nothing comes before pack and it seems that everyone is in agreement that a matebond between Zio and Devon probably not a good idea...it would seem that Devan's 'NOT A WOLF!!!' and the only other thing I'll say to that is Devan is my favorite kind of shifter...I was such a happy little soul when his shifter form was revealed...yep, happy, happy, happy and no he's not a dragon...because damn, that would have been epic and awesome.

I was definitely intrigued with the shifter war and the world that's being created here. There's still a lot that I want to know but I have to admit for me the other main attracion was ...the relationship of course.

I loved Devan and Zio as a couple. For me they worked. Their connection was there and it wasn't that they were trying to deny it so much as resist it because for both of them it came back to what was best for the pack and with most shifter stories...especially wolf shifters pack is everything. It was the little moments that filtered into the story that gave Zio and Devan's connection that added touch of intensity that given the reality of their world helped to make things fall into place for me.

'Fated Hearts' is the first book in the 'Shadow Bound' series and while it laid out a fair bit of the ground work for this series in terms of setting, characters and world building there are still some gaps to be filled but I'm confident that those pieces will get added as the series progresses.

Now the final and rather important part of what made this such an enjoyable audio book was Dan Calley...this is only my second audiobook by this narrator and coincidentally my first one was also a Garrett Leigh story and just like that first audio book I was once again left with character voices that felt right to me and suited the individual characters giving them each their own unique voice.

While Zio and Devan's story felt complete for me it also felt like this world had so much more to share with me and I'm hoping that I'll be able to discover more of it soon...maybe even more about the 'Shadow Clan'...please!!! I mean no offense to Zio's pack or anything but I'd really like to see Shadow Clan get a lot more attention.

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A copy of the audio book 'Fated Hearts' was graciously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.