Rating: 5
Steam: 2
PoV: single, 3rd person
Series: Natural Magic #1
Genre: paranormal romance, MM
Main tropes: hurt / comfort, shifters, found family
He was too old to cry about this. Sometimes, he felt like life had weathered him into a shape beyond his years. Others, it was like he was stuck at ten years old, with fears that belonged to another age.
I didn’t pick this one up expecting to have my heart shattered, but oh my… Damien went through so much in this story and my heart completely broke for him.
It was so difficult to read about the abuse Damien suffered while in foster care, and I was so relieved when he found his place in the Salgado pack. There were still struggles, but I loved seeing him with Mia and her family, being safe and cared for. Though it was clear that Damien still felt a bit like an outsider, being the only human in a pack full of werewolf shifters, the Salgado’s still tried their hardest to include him in everything.
The pining in this story was fantastic – it was a true slow burn romance, with most of it happening towards the end of the story. Damien spent years pining for the older brother in the Salgado pack, Hakan, and had pretty much accepted that there would never be anything between them. I loved the way things happened between them, and I really wish that there were more of their relationship – they were utterly precious together!
The way Hakan reacted when he smelled another shifter on Damien? The possessiveness, the growls… So hot! And how Damien was totally clueless about why he reacted that way? Adorable! It was for sure one of my favourite scenes.
In This Iron Ground was a gorgeously written story, I love the way Marina Vivancos writes her stories and this one was no exception. It was a devastating read in a lot of ways, but it was also a moving and beautiful story about family and unconditional love, and definitely worth all the heartbreak and tears!
Even if Hakan didn’t return his feelings, it felt good to love somebody. To have someone in his life good enough to warrant that.
Book links:
Amazon | Goodreads | BookBub
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