This book has an absolutely fantastic, original premise. The setting is an alternate universe where your status in life does not matter if you are born male or female or how much money you have. It has to do if you turn out to be dominant or submissive, which you develop at puberty. And each person has several mates somewhere in the world, and they find their mates by direct skin to skin contact. Cool, huh? But the author didn't, in my opinion, use this great idea to it's full potential. We basically got half of a story about a stubborn sub rancher, hoping to keep his ranch from being bought out from under him by a big corporation, that just so happens to be owned by the father of his newly found mate. The story was interesting and I enjoyed the interaction between the MCs, but I had a HUGE problem with how the story ended. It didn't end in a cliff hanger as much as it ended with so many loose ends! I was greatly annoyed. I'll list them under a spoiler tag, if you are interested.

What happened to Skinner's mate? Why was she so powerful? Did Ezra recover? Was his dominant status affected by the damage Skinner's mate infected on him? What about Grant? Did he recover? And did he find his mate? I kept hoping he and Ezra would end up as mates, even though they were both Doms. I hate loose ends like unresolved secondary characters! What was the full backstory of Jake's parents? What happened to them?

I'm afraid I just can't recommend this story as it is written now. Maybe the author plans a sequel or a series at a later time? Maybe I'll be able to get behind that because I really do love this idea. ( )

3.5 stars bumped up to 4. Very good debut novel with an interesting world. I'm really hoping the author continues in this verse because there were a few loose ends and I want to see some of the minor characters get their HEA! ( )