Clawed

Urban Jungle

By: Espen Arcadia

Narrated by: Ryan Kraayvanger

Sometimes, all you need is a little courage....

Living in the forest outside Chicago, a small village of shifters has made it through the years in their own traditional way. Liam, a deer shifter, has grown up in the village and is, for the most part, happy with his lot in life. Respected and liked by the villagers, he’s well on his way to gaining an advisory role in a few years. His place is secure. All seems well.

Except for one thing, he’s in love with his best friend, Matthew.

As the son of the village leaders, wolf shifter Matthew has a lot to live up to. Torn between his fathers’ growing demands on him and his own desire to prove himself, Matthew finds himself constantly tripping up.

Feeling he has to do more, Matthew stumbles across a new plan that might just prove to his parents that one day he can be the leader they want him to be, that he needs to be. With Liam at his side, the two men stumble into a conspiracy no one knew existed. As threats loom all around them the two men are forced to face not only the truth about their world but what they truly mean to one another. But, is their friendship strong enough to survive?

©2020 Books Unite People, LLC (P)2020 Espen Arcadia

Engaging characters and plot

This was one of those books that the longer I listened, the more and more I liked it and the further I was sucked into the plot. I kind of wish it were longer, but not because of anything lacking, just because I was so sucked in. I'm guessing there will be a third book in the series & I'll definitely be reading or listening to that.

I found Matthew & Liam quite likeable, especially Liam with his way of providing balance. There was inner monologuing & angsting about for a time, but there was also action, (of the suspenseful dangerous type and of the hot sexual type), and conversations between the two men. Between everything going on during the period of time in which the story took place and the fact that the two had essentially grown up together, their relationship felt genuine. This is also a community in which same-sex relationships seem to be no big deal, since Matthew also has two dads who feature largely in the story. I found even the most minor side characters intriguing as well and am wondering who might feature in any future books in the series.

This was the first shifter book I read with a deer shifter and the author's description of how each type of shifter animal experienced their shift, along with the differences in behavior between a predator shifter & a large prey shifter, was quite interesting.

In case anyone wonders if this can be read as a standalone, I ended up listening to this one first and understood everything going on. I expected to be more out of touch when I first started, but the shifter world and characters were described enough that within a short time, I was able to roll with it all. Still, I have no doubt that reading the first one would give a fuller experience. It is not entirely a cliffhanger, but there is definitely more to be resolved in Matthew & Liam's village.

So far as the narration for the audio version, I enjoyed it. I think the narrator is Canadian, based on his pronunciation of certain words & there were also some words that seemed mispronounced, as if due to an accent or language difference, BUT I still enjoyed the overall performance and would listen to more done books with him as a narrator.

friends to lovers

Matt and Liam are so sweet, that I just wanted to hug the stuffing out of them. They were like yin and yang and balanced each other out. I liked watching the storyline play out and the two lovers grow together. Drama, betrayal, and steam. Live doesn't come easy. but I enjoyed their journey. I voluntarily listened to a free copy of this and am giving an honest review. The narrator did a good job.

A sweet short story of friends to lovers 💕

I was given a copy of this audiobook for an honest review, but having not read the first book, I went back and read it before listening to this one.

Yes, this is a standalone and can be listened too on it's own, but I will say since these are such short stories, reading the first book made me much more invested in the interesting world and beautiful characters that the author has created.

The story was mostly along the same time line as book one and told from another POV, the story was sweet and intriguing and I loved the characters, especially Liam, such a sweetheart. The romance was believable and natural even given the shorter nature of the book.

I was however, not a fan of the narrator. He was very monotone and it was hard for me to distinguish who was talking.

So, while I loved this world and the characters and stories Espen Arcadia has created and will likely follow their saga, I will most likely do it from my Kindle.

Clawed

I enjoyed this sweet story about two best friends who do not see what is right in front of them until it almost slips from their grasps. Will a journey to the city from their village bring Matthew and Liam closer or will it be the last straw that separates them?

Matthew is a good man, but he tends to act before thinking and Liam is more of a thinker and the calmness of the two. When their village is threatened the two are thrust into and adventure that becomes more than what they expected. As the two make their way to the city their lives are changed. Danger comes calling and the two must decide on where their journey will take them. I like the way Matthew and Liam work together. Their personalities were different but complimented each other nicely. There is good character growth and an engaging plot that keeps listeners interested. Narrator Ryan Kraayvanger brings emotion and life to these characters and pulled my right in to the story.

Answers to Questions from Book 1

If you read book 1 Mauled then you probably had some questions on what was going on the country shifter side of things during that book. This book answers some of these questions.

Clawed follows Liam a village healer and Matthew his impulsive BFF and son to the country shifters leaders. Liam and Mathew make a really good balance in life and although Liam has been in love with Matthew for years he's hidden it and Matt is just to blind to see what's in front of his face.

With back stabbing, careful planning, an attempted assassination, protective shifter Dads, and an an impulsive wolf with the deer who loves him following behind, this story is packed with things that make a book fun to read. I already loved the first book and can't wait to get my hands on more.

I Liked It

I liked this sweet friends to lovers story. I loved Liam's character, I only read one other book with deer shifter and it was very refreshing to see that in Clawed Liam was not the weaker partner needing protection, he was actually the stronger one IMO. I enjoyed the action scene and was on the edge of my seat worrying about Mathew and Liam. Narrator has a very good smooth voice, I enjoyed listening to him tell the story, even though his voices for characters were pretty similar. Overall this was a good listening experience and I am looking forward to more books by this author and narrator.