The Mating Game
Berkley
Contractor Tess Covington has spent her entire life as a regular non-shifter human, so after she lands in the Denver ER with flu-like symptoms, it comes as a complete shock to be told that, no, she’s not sick—she’s actually a late-presenting omega wolf shifter. With her family in dire financial straits and a contract for her own television show on the line, she can’t afford not to complete the renovation job she came for. And given that her newly emerged wolf is in danger of going into heat, she’ll just have to do her best to follow the doctor’s advice to keep away from alpha shifters.
Alpha wolf Hunter Barrett has spent most of his adult life living by a routine, and a big part of that involves staying clear of omegas after having one stomp on his heart. So when the tiny contractor shows up at his place smelling like the one thing he’s determined to avoid, he thinks it must be some sort of cosmic joke. But with his lodge on the verge of failing and this sweet-smelling omega his only hope to turn things around . . . he’s left with few other options than to grin and bear it.
Set on avoiding each other as much as possible, they find things unexpectedly starting to heat up between them enough to thaw even the frostiest of hearts. Though even with the pair going head over paws for each other, there’s no changing that their fling has an expiration date. The more time they spend together, the more they realize they’re playing a dangerous game—one where the only thing on the line is their hearts.
The Mating Game was a steamy romance with a very wholesome setting.
In a snowy small town, an up-and-coming home contractor gets much more than she bargained for. Tess Covington is in Colorado for a renovation of an old lodge, with hopes of using some of her footage to continue building her social-media-stardom, and land a tv show on HGTV. It’s a rough start on the job when she realizes the owner is not a fan of remodeling the lodge at all, and he definitely doesn’t like her… at first.
Hunter Barrett is the typical grumpy-sunshine alpha male, wolf. He’s immediately set off by Tess because she’s an Omega wolf. Readers unfamiliar with this world built by Lana Ferguson quickly learn that Omegas have certain traits that are easily recognized by an alpha. This is also unbeknownst to Tess, because she only learns that she is an Omega within hours of arriving at Hunter’s lodge. What he considers rude and negligent from Tess is actually what eventually brings them together.
Enemies, colleagues, friends, and lovers.
I wouldn’t jump to label The Mating Game as an enemies to lovers story. They learn to work together and find a mutually beneficial working relationship before calling each other friends. We all know what we buy this book for… when they finally give in and get spicy! Ferguson delivered on the sweet buildup of sexual frustration between the two and an ultimate “one-bed” kind of scenario. Only, it wasn’t quite a bed… but I won’t spoil why this scene was very next level one-bed scenario.
If you love a sweet and spicy shifter romance, definitely read The Mating Game!
Kristin lives in the PNW with her husband, and three kids. She loves to read YA fiction, fantasy, and romance. She enjoys a few side-hustles, including creating bookreels/booktoks for authors. The only shows she watches are re-runs, and if she’s not reading a book, she’s listening to one.
