Series Info/Source: This is a short story in the Cambio Springs series (there are three books in this series and two short stories). I borrowed this as an ebook through Kindle Unlimited.

Thoughts: This short story sets things up for focusing on two side characters from the first book. Although we meet Alex and Ted in the first book, and spend quite a bit of time on them, the focus isn’t really on them. This short story visits the two (Alex and Ted) on five different mornings over the years and gives us the background on how they ended up where they are when you meet them in the first book, “Shifting Dreams”.

I was surprised at how much emotional impact this short story had on me. It’s a tiny little thing but watching Ted and Alex through the years was incredibly engaging and impactful. I hurt so much for them and this made me incredibly eager to read the second book in this series and watch their full story unfold.

Both Ted and Alex are incredibly driven people who want to really extend themselves to make things better for the small town of Cambio Springs. Ted is doing this by pushing herself to get a medical doctor degree, a very time-consuming and challenging process. She hopes that having a local medical doctor will help out the shifters and tribes of Cambrio Springs. Meanwhile, Alex starts out working in construction but quickly grows a huge real estate empire that he hopes will bring real money into Cambrio Springs to save the town from poverty. Unfortunately, their drive to succeed and help the town slowly tears them apart and it will tear your heart apart to read about it.

As with all of Hunter’s stories; this is incredibly readable. The writing flows well and the story and characters really pull you in, making you feel like these are people you actually know and care about in real life. I enjoyed this immensely and am very happy I read it before jumping into the second book of this series.

My Summary (5/5): Overall this was a fantastic short story and an excellent prequel that leads very nicely into “Desert Bound”, the second book in the Cambio Springs series. I enjoyed this immensely and would highly recommend the Cambio Springs series if you are looking for a good paranormal shifter series with some romance, mystery and characters that are a bit more mature and kind to each other than your typical paranormal reads. ( )

Wow, what a rocky start to what will likely be an explosive relationship between Alex & Teodora (Ted). Looking forward to reading Desert Bound!
( )