The Dyslexic Who Reads

This was really an enjoyable book! I usually read books with more spice (🌶️🌶️🌶️ and up), this book was a totally 🫑!

That being said, it really grabbed my attention and kept me into the book! I read it in one sitting!

Things I liked about the book:

❤️ I loved the “silencer” that the shifters are born with to tame the beast inside of them. That was a new take on the whole shifter thing that was unique and well thought out.

❤️ Even though this is a shorter book (for me) the world building was fantastic! We get a feel for both Rydan and Minha’s histories and hurts.

❤️ I enjoyed how Minha falls 1st (or well more accurately, she admits it to herself first). Which is different from most of the books I read. The change was nice and well done.

❤️ I appreciated the character arc that Rydan went through. We go from when he was hurt, with the full understanding and relatable prologue. To him being angry and bitter, to redemption and a HEA.

Things that could have been better:

🤔 Personally, being who I am, I would have loved more spice!

Overall: You should definitely read this book! ❤️❤️

I got this ARC book from NetGalley for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for an advanced e-reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The Rogue King’s Mate by Aria Wolf had such an interesting premise. As someone who reads A LOT of werewolf/shifter romance, I had really high hopes for this one. While the storyline was intriguing - it felt very rushed and the haters to lovers romance happened so quickly. If you like a fast paced paranmoral romance then this is the book for you, however it didn’t hit the mark for me.

3/5 ⭐️
Goodreads review posted on: 08/12/20256
The Rogue King’s Mate was a decent paranormal werewolf read. Minha and Rydan went from enemies to lovers throughout the book but I did feel like there was a lack of real development for the storyline. It did flow decent and the plot line was present but just not deeply developed in my opinion.

The ending was a bit too anti-climactic for my tastes, considering the lineup through the entire story which would make the read expect a huge fight or confrontation due to the high emotions that Rydan had.

Overall, this was a 3/5 star read and thank you NetGalley for the arc read!

Very quickly I realized that this is a guilty pleasure read. It was urban fantasy, and it was at times a bit ridiculous. But I really loved it.

3.5⭐ 🫑
A FMC that never felt she belonged, and an MFC who was betrayed by the ones he thought were loyal.
This story has:
🖤Shifters
🖤High Angest
🖤Found Family
🖤Betrayal
🖤Strong FMC
**What I want to remember about this book:
*Loved that the shifters were born with Silencers that kept their wolf in check, and if removed they were considered rogue wolves.
*There was a yummy amount of angst that held my attention through the whole book.
*Loved that the FMC was secretly strong.

I don’t like to write negative reviews, as everyone has differing opinions. But the editing in this book was seriously distracting and interrupts the flow of reading.
The characters were immature and I felt like I was reading something written by a teen. Disjointed and chaotic.

This book didn't blow me away. While it wasn't all together bad, it’s missing something. I am a lover of shifter books and I usually prefer for MC to have dialog with their inner wolf. I think it just adds more banter and depth to the book. The end feels a tad bit rushed and their relationship needed way more time to develop out before declaring their love. Overall I enjoyed the story and would give the author another shot.

How 1 female kept hidden who she was until, a rouge king brings it out. But is it too late for them! A good shifter romance with suspense. Happy Reading

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you for allowing me to review

I actually really enjoyed this book! A twist on the traditional shifter romance with the introduction of the silencer, this book deals with betrayal, revenge, and a from enemies to lover romance. I love that the FMC is a strong character in a not so obvious kind of way! She is unbreakable, chipping away at the MMC macho exterior, moulding him into the perfect alpha.

The story was nice and easy to follow. The twists in the plot were a pleasant surprise, and my only wish was that there was a good old knotting! Kissing was as far as this couple went, and I am really hoping in the next few books of this series I get my wish!

The Rogue King's Mate is a quick and easy read that delivers an intriguing story of betrayal, power, and fated love. The novel follows Minha, a strong and resilient heroine, who is sacrificed to the ruthless Rogue King, Rydan. As she resists his control, a dangerous, yet undeniable attraction grows between them, leading to a fierce and fiery connection.

I enjoyed the character development, especially Minha's strength and determination despite her tragic past. The unique concept of a "silencer" that keeps the wolves' powers in check was an interesting angle I hadn't seen before. While I liked the chemistry between Minha and Rydan, I felt the buildup of their relationship was a bit rushed, and I would have loved to see more of their story together. The pacing of their connection left me wanting more depth and exploration into their growing bond.

Overall, this was a decent and easy read, featuring a blend of suspense, romance, and supernatural tension.

The Rogue King's Mate opens with a compelling premise: an alpha betrayed by his own pack and beta, forced into exile after being framed for crimes he didn’t commit. In breaking his silencer, he becomes a rogue — feared, exiled, and cloaked in brutal legend. Then enters Minha, a young woman born without a silencer, treated as an abomination by her pack and eventually offered up as a sacrificial gift to the rogue king himself.

The foundation is rich with potential — a unique world, a brutal hierarchy, and a heroine shaped by isolation. But the execution unravels quickly. The writing is unpolished, with frequent grammatical errors and little attention to world-building detail. Scenes feel rushed, character motivations often contradict themselves, and the emotional arcs lack grounding. The romance moves at an implausibly fast pace: what begins as hostility leaps suddenly into love, without the tension or development to earn it.

Despite a strong concept, the story lacks structure and depth. The darker, emotional threads of betrayal, power, and survival are overshadowed by inconsistent pacing and shallow character work. There’s a sense of what this could have been — a gritty, magical enemies-to-lovers tale — but what remains is a shadow of that promise.

A disappointing read that doesn’t deliver on its potential.

Overcoming Vengeance ****
Minha, born without a "silencer," is an outcast in her pack. Rydan, an Alpha wolf, was accused of crimes he was framed for and ripped out his "silencer" to save his life. The silencer is what controls the wolf's emotion and wild nature. All wolves who had ripped out their silencers became rogues. The rogues had a reputation of being wild and violent. Rydan, who gathers a pack of rogues, has a wicked and violent reputation. Rydan's pack is attacking packs and taking them over. Minha's pack thought that if they offered her as a sacrifice to the Rogue King that the rogues would not attack her.. Rydan didn't trust others. Rydan thought that Minha was weak and wanted her to fight for herself.
What begins as mistrust becomes a story of resilience, growth, and learning to let go of anger and vengeance. No spice—just raw emotion, healing, and strength.

Wolves, Alpha betrayed, outcast wolf, fated mates - it all comes together with revenge, strength, and new trust! Some popular tropes done well in a fast romantasy read (<300 pages!). Book is just the right length, tired of 500+ page epics all the time, nice to have a story with all the action and slow burn that wraps up nicely and can read in a couple days.

Worked for a light read. The concept and story plot were interesting. The writing was very repetitive and could be more detailed. The characters were interesting. It would have helped to have been given closure on the general concept of the silencers. Overall it could be great if rewritten and polished.

Rating: 2/5
Spice: Closed Door (kissing scenes but nothing further)

I went into this hoping for a slow burn, shifter romance with an enemies to lovers banter, but instead, I got an underdeveloped, disjointed story that had potential but fell flat.

The Rogue King's Mate follows an alpha who’s been betrayed by his pack and beta, framed for crimes he didn’t commit. With no other choice, he removes his “silencer,” a move that marks him as a rogue and a so-called "beast." From there, legends of his ruthlessness spread—he becomes a figure of fear, whispered about like the boogeyman or grim reaper.

Then we meet Minha, the pack's outcast. Born without a silencer, she’s seen as an abomination because of this, and the pack bullies and isolate her. Eventually, they betray her too and offer her up to the rogue king himself.

The story was promising, but the execution fell flat. There were several questionable moments, and the writing lacked polish. Scenes often felt rushed or underdeveloped, and some character actions didn’t line up with how they were portrayed. For example, I liked that Minha decided she wasn’t going to be the punching bag anymore, but it made no sense for her to suddenly be the one initiating intimacy or falling so fast for someone who took her. Her shift felt unearned and the MMC hardly did anything to earn her affections. The MMC was also inconsistent. He’s supposed to be a terrifying rogue with a reputation that puts entire packs on edge, yet he's this 'hard on the outside, soft on the inside,' emotionally unavailable love interest who projects his feelings on her.
It didn’t add up. I was told one thing but shown a different thing.

Overall, the story lacked structure and quality. I was able to read it pretty quickly and found myself interested in the relationship between the FMC and MMC, but even then, the MMC kept playing mind games and rejected any efforts of the FMC. With a story where the main plot is a romance between characters and it still doesn't hit the mark, then there isn't much of a story at all. I thought this was going to be a slow burn, and it was, but then I found out that there weren't any spicy scenes, just a handful of rejected kissing scenes.

Would I recommend? No, save your time and energy and read a different shifter romance book.

Just okay. It was nothing ground breaking but was a nice paranormal palate cleanser. The tension between the FMC and MMC was well done. Thank you NetGalley and the author for the ARC.

The Rogue King's Mate contains some solid new material for the world of werewolves that is bogged down by the explaining/telling of all details and characters instead of showing.

There are many examples of this but it would be hard to show without telling some spoilers. In vague terms, we are repeatedly told that the MMC is scary and ruthless, but it is only shown maybe once. We are told the MMC and FMC have dark chemistry, but never see it build, and quite suddenly, we are told the pack loves the FMC when they have hated her for the last 200 pages. We need to read these things without being told them. To feel them in the way they interact with each other and other pack members. It felt like the characters did a 180 instead of natural character development. The climax that the story and the MMC's (Rydan) life have been building to is swept away within 10 pages, and the resolution falls flat.

Okay, the ending redeemed the entire book for me. I wasn't expecting my heart to squeeze like that at all. I wasn't sure what to expect, walking in, but I'm so glad I gave this book a chance. I do have a few issues that were knocking around in my mind but I'm not so sure they were all that negative.

For some reason, I wasn't expecting a wolf to think "oh my god" but it still shocked me. It was at the end of the book but still. lol I was expecting the wolves of this book to have their own pantheon of gods or something, not this. lol Not that this is necessarily a detraction.

I also wish we had gotten some smut but we didn't. Every other wolf book I've read with an A/B/O setup has smut to the nth degree. This one only had kissing, which shocked me quite a bit. I don't know why it shocked me but here we are.

I also found the MMC to be INFURIATING. Like, he fought his feelings for the FMC so hard, I wanted to knock his skull around a bit. I wanted to ask him why he was acting like such a fool. After reading the book in its entirety, however, I see why this was set up the way it was. I get it now.

All in all, I would recommend this book, especially if you're looking for a monster romance without the monster smut. This book is right up your alley. However, I'm not sure if the others books in this series have smut since this was the only book I've read in this series.

I struggled with this, the main characters motivations are one dimensional and the romance is based on very little. There was just lacking any world building or expansive plot. If you're looking for a quick fun read this is for you, but unfortunately it wasn't for me.

“claws unfurled”. Claws … don’t work like that. They’re not a roll of carpet or a bolt of fabric rolling out with a flourish.

“My wolf was restless, agitated, languished.” One of those words doesn’t belong, one of those words isn’t like the others, and one of those words doesn’t mean the wolf is angry and ready to fight but instead weak and feeble. Dictionaries are our friends. People should read them.

Wolves in this world are born with magical symbols on the back of their neck — and you’ll never forget where those silencers are, on the back of the necks, because it gets mentioned. A lot. — and I have no idea why. And if a Silencer is meant to limit a wolf’s abilities, why would being born without one make our main character viewed as weaker rather than stronger and more dangerous? So the pack bullies her knowing she has no restraint on her strength or temper for no other reason than to make the main character a victim.

Almost every point the book thinks is important is repeated several times in a chapter, in case you hadn’t picked up on the point in the first, second, or third time it was mentioned, such as Mihna’s lack of reaction to being sacrificed by her people. And how she was sacrificed. And she has no emotions even though she’s sacrificed. And surely someone who is sacrificed would have more emotions. This book is so heavy handed I think it gave me bruises.

Minha’s pack just ignores the threats of rogues — as well they might since they’re easily bribed — and does nothing about the wolves living right next door to their territory. I’m assuming their neighbors since Rydan’s pack doesn’t move on after picking up Minha, nor does her old pack move on after tossing her out. Likewise the evil pack is within a day’s walking distance from both Minha’s pack and Ryden’s for … reasons? Probably just to make it easier for Rydan when Minha is kidnapped. Don’t get me wrong, I still think it’s stupid that all of these packs live so close together — for resources if nothing else — but at least waging war on your neighbor is easy when he’s only a mile or so away.

Minha is utterly passive. She does nothing, reacts to nothing, she is just carried along by the plot like a limp, listless leaf on a slow, lugubrious stream. She’s boring. She’s bereft of character. She is an energy vampire. Rydan, on the other hand, is the faintest pencil sketch of a character, but that’s at least something! Yes, he’s based one every other alpha trope, yes his two emotions are confused or angry, but compared to Minha he stands out like a lighthouse in the night. It’s just … not enough.

There is an attempt here that almost works. The pack dynamics were almost interesting, but the author never followed anything to its conclusion. The rogues are more violent, fighting often for rank and position … and? Nothing is done with that. Minha defeats one, so how does that change their opinion of her? Oh, because it’s Minha, she has to be a victim, so they have no opinion of her. A human walks into camp, so will we learn about the relations between humans and wolves? Nope.

Any of these things could have been fleshed out and turned into something, but the story was so dead set on trying to set up a romance between the main couple that it ignored anything and everything so we could see Minha become a victim again. There are Tshirts and IVs, and yet wolves live in tents. Humans exist, but that’s all that I know about them.

What I do know for a certainty is that this book is a solid pass. I do not recommend this. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC.