Let's start with that I didn't know this was a sequel when I picked it up. I'm not sure I would have if I had known. However, this is written so that you don't have to have read the first book. There is a lot of recap which might get annoying if you did read the first one (but since I didn't, I really appreciated it).
I really enjoyed this story. Once I started, it was hard to put down. I'm thinking of looking for the first book and keeping an eye out for the next one.
While this is a romance, there is a lot of action, fantasy, and mystery thrown in. I liked that the main female character could hold her own. Yes, she was rescued in the end but she was a lot stronger and tougher than many female characters in romance. Was she perfect? No - but she is a vast improvement.
I loved the world building in this book. The mythos is fascinating. If you are a fan of shifter stories, then I recommend picking this one up. Kari Cole does not stick with just werewolves.

I enjoy a good shifter romance with good world building, whether that setting be contemporary or fantasy. I also look for a sexy but plausible-feeling Hero and heroine. Touch the Sky, like its predecessor, Hunt the Moon, comes close. Vaughn is sheriff and beta of his wolf-shifter pack. He is a eagler/wolf shifter blend, which puts him on the outside of the pack, looked down on as a mixed breed. When Hannah, a witch/wolf shifter blend comes to town, the heat between them is instantaneous. I enjoyed the mystery of who Hannah actually is and why she's on the lam. The plot combines two storylines, suspense set on top of romance.

Sadly not for me.
A bit too slow and not enough chemistry.
The story didn't have a good pace to it, got bored far to often.
And the characters badly new each other, hard to create chemistry like that.
Not bad writing, just not exciting enough to make me want to read others books by the author either.

Hannah has stumbled into quite an ugly situation and is now on the run for her life. Turning to her cousin for help with her out of control powers, she meets the local Sheriff and finds herself in conflict. He’s sexy and attractive but he’s the law and she’s on the run. What’s a girl to do! Vaughn has struggled his whole life as a double-shifter, not really being accepted by either kind. Rejected by one, treated leery by the other has given him serious trust issues. His wolf and eagle are always bickering but they can agree on one thing: Hannah. While his attraction to Hannah is strong, he knows she is hiding something. To be together they will need to trust one another and that may just be the hardest battle.

Suspense, action and shifters – OH MY! I’ve really gotten into reading mysteries lately which means I’ve missed out on PNRs so when an author combines both, count me in. I just love a book that keeps me guessing until the end and Touch the Sky definitely delivered all three. Hannah being on the run and the reasons why, yeah I love how it wasn’t done all in one info dump. Her story is laid out thorough the book in layers, layers that had me guessing until the end. Some I had pieced together but others caught me by complete surprise. Vaughn I just adored from the beginning. Honestly, how cool is it to be a double shifter! Seriously, some shifters can be just so mean.

This book has everything that hit my reading pleasure buttons. The tension and build-up of both the growing relationship between Hannah and Vaughn as well as the secrets that Hannah harbored are perfectly matched. They steamy moments had me laughing one minute and panting the next. The cast of characters, from Frost and the shifters to the villains and their victims (622…EEK!), I just couldn’t get enough of. The mystery surrounding Sharon Beck and Raze have me begging for answers. Who are they really? What is their motives? Are they on the same side? Then there is 662. OHEMGEE! I am dying here! I need that next book NOW!

Whelp, taking a chance on a new to me author to read Touch the Sky was a complete win. While I missed out on reading the first book when it came out (Which I plan on backtracking to), I never felt lost. I thoroughly enjoyed Touch the Sky and now I’ll be sitting on pins and needles wait for the third book because I’m praying it’s about 622 and 617. Oh my gosh it just HAS to be about them!


I received this book from The JeepDiva with the express purpose of an honest review. The opinions, contents, and rating of this review are solely mine

reviewed by Jac

Vaughn defies the rules of weres. He the offspring of a wolf shifter and an eagle shifter, a rare double-were. Even his own pack doesn't completely accept him.
Hannah's on the run from some very bad dudes. She's only in Montana to talk to her cousin Jessie about how to control the psychometric talent that is suddenly causing her to have seizures despite the blocks she's had in place since her childhood. But there's some bad dudes experimenting on the weres and they're bringing the fight to Vaughn's back yard.
I really liked this book. Even though it was the second in the series, I didn't feel like I missed any of the world building.

Four stars
This book came out September 24
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

TOUCH THE SKY is book two in the Mated by Fate series by Kari Cole.

I enjoyed Vaughn's character in book one, so was excited to see him start his journey to his HEA. Hannah was new to me, but I was intrigued with her character from the opening of TOUCH THE SKY and enjoyed learning about her story.

There was a lot of action in TOUCH THE SKY and the danger the characters were put in made for some thrilling scenes. There was a nice pace to the story and the mystery was easy to follow.

I wasn't feeling the romance. I wish the main characters would have spent more time together in TOUCH THE SKY. They knew nothing about each other and there wasn't a whole lot of time to learn about the other. It made it hard to feel their connection. With the previous two characters, they spent more time together than apart and I felt like their connection grew with their learning about each other. I just didn't feel it in TOUCH THE SKY.

There are still plenty of characters I would like to get to know in this series.

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

TOUCH THE SKY is a thrilling paranormal romance with an engaging plot, that while fun, tended to drag a little. I think my issue was that absolutely everything was resolved at the last one-third of the book and pretty much not an inch of information is given up until then. Granted the mysteries were good enough for me to want to push through some of the slog. I liked the series plotline involving kidnapped shifters and while I've definitely read this type of plot before, it didn't feel like you mentally were checking off plot points that happen in these stories. There were enough twists and key worldbuilding elements that made it feel somewhat fresh.

Hannah's mysterious past was interesting except for the fact that I had absolutely no idea what was going on with her and that was an odd feeling because typically with a main character in a paranormal romance you know more about them as you are in their headspace. We get a little bit at the beginning and then we are rushed months into the future trying to figure out just how much time had past for the first part of the book. I liked Hannah and Vaughn as both are struggling with their own paranoia and issues which felt very human and relatable. Though Hannah's issues could have been resolved if she had just explained things to Vaughn but I get why she didn't due to certain trust issues.

Aside from the frustration of everything being found out together at the very end, TOUCH OF SKY was fun and had characters with compelling backstories that made you really sympathize with them. Reading the previous book, HUNT THE MOON, might be a good idea a lot of what happens in this book is pretty directly related to what happened previously.

Gieselle Staub <gigis0426@gmail.com>
12:18 PM (1 minute ago)
to me

Keep to yourself. Focus on the job.

Sheriff Vaughn Ellis’s very existence as a rare double-shifter defies the natural order. It also makes it extremely difficult for him to get close to anyone. To trust anyone. It’s nothing Vaughn can’t handle, until a seductively sweet woman arrives in Black Robe, and suddenly he can’t think about anything but her.

The product of a witch/werewolf pairing, Hannah Cochran gets the odd-wolf-out thing. But when she uncovers a major threat to the lycanthrope world, she finds herself playing nice with the sexy sheriff. Abiding by the law isn’t usually Hannah’s style, but nothing catches her breath quite like the commanding attraction she feels toward Vaughn.

Working closely together only intensifies their fated connection, making it impossible to deny—or resist. Hannah fears that getting involved puts Vaughn in danger. But when she becomes the target, it’s Vaughn who’ll have to decide which rules he’s willing to break to save the woman he can’t live without.

Review:

In this story we have Hannah, who is running for her life from a group of mysterious people testing on shifters and she holds the key to exposing them. When she comes to Vaughn's town, he comes to her rescue.

This is an exciting story from page one, with Hannah running for her life and trying to get her power under control Then the constant barrage of attacks from them on Hannah and the town. I really liked Hannah and Vaughn together, they are both strong and vulnerable in different ways, which make them more interesting. They have great chemistry and the intimate scenes are excellently written. I really liked the supporting characters.

If you are looking for a good shifter romance, then I would highly recommend this one.

4Stars
*I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this book provided by the publisher.*

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Dawn – ☆☆☆☆
I've loved Vaughn from the first book. I'm so glad he got his own book.

Hannah was a character that I've never really seen before in shifter books, a mix between witch and shifter. I loved that she just wanted to protect everyone, especially Vaughn.

The story is still unwrapping itself and it just keeps getting better, I really can't wait to see where it goes.

I'm not going to lie though, my favourite character is Frost and I really hope we see more of the strange little wolf in future books.


Erica – ☆☆☆
3.5 Stars.

My favorite character goes to Frost, who isn't a narrator. Runner-ups, the two tikes who shifted into wolves. Adorable.

Touch of Sky is the second installment of the Mated by Fate series, and I don't believe it is a good idea to read it as a standalone, as there are common ties threading the series together. There would be too much confusion.

I need to preface my review by stating the format is not my favorite, but it did not affect my overall rating. Why am I doing so? In case others read as I do, I'm giving them a heads up to decide if they wish to read the novel.

When a novel has too many narrators, my ability to form an emotional connection is lessened. My other issue, seeing inside the bad guys' machinations removes all the mystery and suspense. It becomes how the reader knows everything and the main characters know nothing. I'd much rather have the mystery unveiled organically, learning beside the main characters, as this forms a connection between reader and characters.

Also, and I'm not sure why, the only mystery I felt was via the main characters, where they purposefully withheld information from the reader, when we were literally inside their head. This made me feel as if they were unreliable narrators.

With this format, as the reader, I knew too much about the bad guys and nothing from the main characters, whom I was supposed to be rooting for. Hannah was so locked down, even during inner musings, I never got to know her.

It was hard for me to connect to Hannah and Vaughn's romance when they knew nothing of one another, other than how much they loved how the other looked or how it felt to be near one another.

The lies, evasion, never opening up and truly connecting, for the sake of 'mystery' the reader already knew, formed a disconnect between me and the main characters and the main characters with one another. By the last quarter of the book, Hannah still hadn't told Vaughn her name yet – he just revealed his dual-natured wereanimals, and that was the perfect time for her to tell him she was also a shifter and a witch. Nope. I got frustrated with the purposeful withholding of information for the sake of mystery, a mystery the reader already knew, so therefore it was just frustrating, disconnecting, and a series of purposeful miscommunications.

While I enjoy the series as a whole, enjoy what little I got to know of the characters, and look forward to what comes next, I am left feeling frustrated.

Even with the threads of mystery/suspense, I tried to read the novel in a lighthearted nature, for the sake of romance that is not too deep, and not take it too seriously.

Hannah’s mother asked her what she was doing in the private bathroom in her father’s law office. She said she would be out shortly. Then her mother told her to hurry up as her father’s guests were arriving. Hannah had never been so sick. She couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her. Werewolves didn’t get viruses. Every since her afternoon coffee fix she had gotten worse. It was the law firms annual holiday party and it required all hands on deck to charm the clients into more billable hours. Her father introduced her to a new client - Macon Crawford and she wanted to shake hands with him. His ring pressed against her skin and seared her flesh as if he’d electrocuted her. When Hannah shut her eyes horrors she couldn’t explain invaded her mind, her mouth flooded with bile. She couldn’t speak or scream , then her whole world went black. Eight months later- Vaughn Ellis was at The Golden Claw where shifters and humans went. They all scrambled out of Vaughn’s way as he managed to intimidate everyone. Vaughn was the sheriff and he represented his pack as well as the whole county. His mother and aunt Veronica gets mad when he scares their customers. Vaughn was the offspring of an eagle and a werewolf. He wasn’t supposed to exist as different wereanimals weren’t supposed to have children together. Four months ago a company named Apex was behind a land grab -Vaughn told his Alpha -Luke in the packs territory Apex had brought in soldiers and incited a group of traitors within the pack. Among the many crimes that could be laid at their feet - the traitors had murdered Luke’s father and Vaughn’s uncle- the previous Alpha and Beta. Since then Vaughn has been trying to track down the werewolf who led the rogues anyone connected to the company. Hannah had a full grown timber wolf Frost at her side. A few months back Hannah would have joined in the fun. But now she was in thrift store clothes and no money Then her mother’s cousin Jesse saw and came up to Hannah. Then Hannah told Jesse she needed her help. She needed to know how to control her abilities. Her mother had basically made Jesse leave when Hannah was twelve. Hannah tells Jesse her gran had left her a letter after her gran had passed away with Jesse’s address and phone number. Hannah had psychometry. It made her pass out if she wasn’t careful and see things benign and terrible. Psychically is reading the history of objects, it can be intense even horrible but having to wear leather gloves? Hannah said she was trying to control it but it became uncontrollable. Then Hannah was introduced to Rose while talking to Jesse. She heard a noise and then knew they had found her, she dove to the floor and after the gun exploded pain ripped through her right side. Then someone stepped on her arm, her hair, and skin. A tennis shoe collided with the side of her head. Then a huge man came up to her and told Frost to shut up and he did. The male had storm colored eyes and pressed a cloth to her side and Hannah passed out. When Hannah came to she tried to get up a healer came in and told her she was going to end up ripping out her stitches if she didn’t stay still then Sarah would have to put them back in. The guy who had sent Hannah all her fake paperwork had been adamant she always have matching documentation. Discovery was less about skill of a tracker, more about the stupidity of the runner. Of the runner. Luke said she’s hiding something but Vaughn already knew that. When Vaughn was working he hunted the traitor werewolf and Apex. Caine’s sometime partner and his only equal in Apex was Jackson Knoll. Dr Hermann was working on the serum, running tests on shifters. The submission factor was proving problematic over a prolonged period when combined with the factors for enhanced abilities and strength there was a significant instability. Dr. Hermann said they were closer than ever to recreating the previous serum and perfecting one for mass use. Once Hannah got to Jesse’s house she got on her laptop and Raze had typed Where have you been? Hannah had not met Raze in person she didn’t know if he was human or what. He assured her Apex didn’t know she was there yet but she had better hurry and learn what she needed to. Raze kept her one step ahead of Apex and it’s hunters. There was a pack run and Hannah had been invited to attend by the Alpha for jumping in and defending Sarah the healer and her pups. Dean was the Beta of the pack and Sarah’s mate and one oh Vaughn’s deputies. When Hannah got there Vaughn showed he other single male wolves she was his and for the first time ever both eagle and wolf agreed on a woman. Hannah was having sexy thoughts about Vaughn and he her. Vaughn and Hannah were being playful then they slipped away to be alone.
I really liked this book. I liked the plot a lot. This did drag for me at times. I advise you to read the first book in this series for a smoother read. I loved Frost in this book and felt he really added to this book. I think Hannah should have told Vaughn she was a witch and a ware when he told her he was a double shifter. I loved the intrigue and suspense. I would have liked to know a little less about the bad guys so there was more mystery. I felt bad for how Vaughn was treated for something from no fault of his own- being a double shifter. I loved the characters and the ins and outs of this book and I recommend this.

Kari Cole has done it again! TOUCH THE SKY was one heck of a Paranormal Romance read that kept me hooked from the very first page. From the characters (LOVE Vaughn and Hannah!) to the current plotline of Hannah's danger, to the over-arching Apex plot. this book had it all and then some. The romance is off the charts hot, but it's not bogged down with instalove. Instead, the progression is realistic considering just how much baggage the two were carrying. Very well done romance and plot!

The only thing that kept me from rating this book a solid five was due to some pacing issues throughout the middle. I just felt like Hannah's past was kept unnecessarily shaded from the reader, and would have helped pacing if things had been revealed at least to the reader sooner. I understand the need to hide the truth from the hero for plotline purposes, but I just felt like the knowledge could have been shared with the cousin earlier as to not feel like a contrived wool over the reader's eyes. But that's just my opinion and take it with a grain of salt. The book was utterly fantastic otherwise.

It is extremely impressive to note that this is only Kari's second book. To be honest, her writing style and plotlines of danger mixed in with romance feel very much in the vein of Nalini Singh's Psy-Changelings. Considering just how much of a powerhouse writer Nalini is, trust me, this is a HUGE compliment for Kari. I cannot wait to see how she grows as a writer. I think there are many great things in store and I can't wait to get my hands on the next book!

The second story in the Marked By Fate series is an exciting and touching romance that grabs readers attention and refuses to let go. Sheriff Vaughn Ellis as an eagle – wolf hybrid intrigued readers in Hunt the Moon and now he’s enthralling them along with the witch – wolf hybrid Hannah Cochran who’s in major trouble and sinking fast. These strong, bold characters are easily connected to and reader can’t help but feel for them as they struggle with their emotional and trust issues, the intense situation, prejudices and their sizzling attraction. Fate won’t stand back and let them ignore the chemistry so it builds to red hot proportions that causes their connection to intensify as they work end up having to work closely together if want to survive.

Thrills and adrenaline pumping suspense keeps readers on the edge as Hannah tries to stay ahead of the bad guys while trying to discover their secrets so that she can stop their evil deeds. Vaughn and Hannah’s relationship adds to the tension filled, fast paced and smooth flowing plot that has few surprising twists along the way that keeps everyone on their tender hooks. The social interactions between the pack members also adds drama and emotional turmoil as well as strife to the story and the author does a fantastic job of building the atmosphere of the story that readers can practically feel all the strain and turbulence that spills from the pages of this story which also means that they feel the good emotions as well. So, far Kari Cole is promising to be another favorite for me as I have become quite captivated by the world and the members of this pack.

Touch the Sky by Kari Cole is book Two in the Mated by Fate series. This is the story of Vaughn Elli and Hannah Cochran. I have read the previous book, but feel you can make this a standalone book if you wish to do so.
Hannah found her self in a bad situation that made run for her life. Hannah meets Vaughn who is the Sheriff in this new town for her. Vaughn is a double shifter which has cause issue for him sometimes. Both are special shifters which with trust and time things start to come out that opens them more to their growing feelings.

Touch the Sky is the second book in Kari Cole’s Mated by Fate series. I did not read book one and, though some things are referenced, don’t feel like I missed anything. As a werewolf/witch hybrid, Hannah Cochran has always had a touch of psychometry, but almost a year ago her ability morphed into something out of control. She can’t touch anyone or anything without seeing their entire lives, past and present, flash before her. She’s on the run with a stolen flash drive several agencies are trying to find when she ends up in Montana. Her cousin is a witch and Hannah believes she can help her get a hold of her psychometry, but more is happening behind the scenes than she knows and it isn’t long before she and everyone in the Montana pack is threatened.

Sheriff Vaughn Ellis is a loner. As a dual-shifter – Eagle and Wolf – he’s been shunned pretty much his whole life. Though he’s been sheriff for several years, he still holds part of himself back from the pack, because he knows they disapprove of him. Hannah – or Cassandra as he knows her – accepts him for who he is. But she’s hiding things, and he’s determined to get to the bottom of what.

I liked the writing and the premise. The world was interesting and grabbed me from the prologue. Cassandra/Hannah got on my nerves now and again with how cagey she was and I didn’t like that her past 10 or so months were kept such a mystery to the reader. I had already pretty much figured out what happened. Why it had to be hinted at but not explained didn’t make sense. I liked Vaughn more, but his waffling about his feelings was kind of frustrating, too.

Still, the second half of the book picked up and I ended up enjoying the story. Enough that I’m looking forward to the next book and I may go back and read the first.

3.5 out of 5

Intriguing story with interesting characters. Enjoyed that I hadn’t seen Hannah’s story before and liked Vaughn. Struggled a little with the story/mystery as at times it felt like things happened to drive the story, not necessarily to develop the characters or the romance. Still find myself engaged with the world and want to learn more about the young shifters who escaped.

This was so bad, I didn't like it at all. I honestly thought I would have enjoyed it, but I didn't. I read the first couple chapters like hmm okay... but then after that It was just getting worse for me, I couldn't get into the character Hannah. The writing wasn't bad, it was good. but I think it took WAY too long for it to be finish. This is part of a series, I wasn't too confused but it is what it is.

Touch the Sky is the second book in the Mated by Fate Series and can be read as a stand-alone novel. Touch the Sky follows the story of Hannah and Vaughn. Hannah has always been different. She is the product of a rare shifter paring. In order to take down the threat to the lycanthrope world, she'll have to keep what she is a secret. That proves easier to be said that done. What Hannah wasn't planning on was Vaughn. She can't fight the pull she feels towards him and working together to solve the mystery only proves to make that fight harder. Will Hannah and Vaughn be able to stop the threat to their species? Will Hannah and Vaughn be able to resist the pull they feel towards one another?? There's only one way to find out....

I thought this book was an ok read. I really liked the concept of this story and found it interesting and original. I loved the blending of the different paranormal species, seeing other shifters besides wolves and bears. I loved the idea of a werewolf/witch combination and couldn't wait to see what that paring in Hannah would bring. Speaking of Hannah, I really enjoyed the push and pull between Hannah and Vaughn. They both tried pretty hard to fight it, but fate had other plans for the two of them and I enjoyed watching the two of them fall. 

However, the pacing of this story just killed it for me. It started out pretty good in the beginning and I'll be honest, I don't mind a slower pace in the beginning of story since we're setting the story up. But, I do like the pace to pick up after 30% of the story. In this case, it never picked up, which was disappointing because it made the story feel like it was dragging on and that I wasn't making much progress with it. There was a few times where I wanted to just put this book down and walk away. However, I am not a quitter and I did finish this book. And I gotta tell you, I'm glad that I did. While this book wasn't a 100% hit for me, I'm glad I got to see how the story played out and get some type of resolution. 

Overall, I think Mated by Fate will be one of those books that you're gonna either love or you're gonna hate. And for me, it was just an ok read. This story-line is really interesting and the characters are very likable. I do think this series has some great potential, the pacing just needs to be improved. This is my first book by this author and while it wasn't a 100% hit for me, I'd be open to checking out more from her in the future.