Something is missing.
Garret Hoffman had the perfect life, back when he was human. He does not remember what happened the night he was Turned into a grizzly shifter, and he hates the snarling animal inside of him. The animal side of him stole his comfortable life and replaced it with one of chaos. He’s just trying to survive day to day without making a mistake that would bring the wrath of the blue dragon, but when a gorgeous crocodile shifter shows up at his doorstep asking for protection, he can’t tell her no. He wants nothing to do with the Cold Foot Crew, but he can’t get Raynah out of his head, and with a chance meeting in town, he finds himself intrigued by the rare beauty. He can be himself around her, bear and all. She is teaching him how to be a shifter, and the more time he spends with her, the more he wants to build a life with her. She feels like the missing piece, but Raynah is at a huge crossroads. She has been through something huge, and she’s in the middle of running away from the life she’s supposed to be settling into.

She doesn’t dare put down roots in Wreck’s Mountains.
Crocodile shifter, Raynah Furrow, has newly escaped from Cold Foot Prison, where the unspeakable has happened. The Cold Foot Crew has taken her in, but she’s struggling to connect with anyone anymore. The cabin she lives in is cold and empty, like her heart. She’s about to have a baby, but there are so many things that terrify her about the position she is in. When a familiar man witnesses a vulnerable moment, Raynah recognizes the grizzly shifter who saved her in the woods those weeks ago. Garret is even hotter than she remembers, and he seems genuine and sweet when he talks to her. It must be a trick. No man looks like that and has good intentions. She has plans to run from the Cold Foot Crew, but Garret is making her rethink everything. The longer she stays here, the more attached she becomes to the man who is slowly learning to protect her heart. Nothing has ever terrified her more than giving a man power over her again.

The only one who can end them is her.  And she must.  Destruction is all that she knows.

Titles in the Wreck’s Mountains series (part of the Damon’s Mountains universe) include:  Cold Foot King ~ Cold Foot Komodo ~ Cold Foot Croc ~ Cold Foot Cash ~ Cold Foot Curse ~ Cold Foot Sentry ~

This is an adult 18+ story that contains language, possible violence, and/or sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

Title:  Cold Foot Crock
Series:  Wreck’s Mountains #3
Author:  T. S. Joyce
Published:  March 15, 2025
My Rating:  4.5 stars

Cold Foot Croc is the third title in the Wreck’s Mountains series, part of the Damon’s Mountains universe, and brings us Raynah’s and Garret’s heartbreaking romance.  Yes, “heartbreaking” because things and events have happened to each that changed their lives as they once knew them.  Their lives are at a breaking point when they discover that they can be more, that they are better together… As mates, rather than running from what they could share for a lifetime.

We met Raynah earlier in the series.  She was part of the horrendous breeding program at the nefarious Cold Foot Prison.  Chosen to be part of the new crew at Wreck’s Mountains, she knows she should be grateful for a fresh start, especially since she’s pregnant, yet she’s empty inside and ready to run.

Garret is constantly fighting against his bear, having been turned against his will; he resents and hates the animal living inside him.  He feels a connection to Raynah, but by not allowing his bear any say in his life, Garret doesn’t fully realize that she is his mate or that she can help him to calm, and even accept this new identity that he never asked for.  Together, they could forge a future, lives worth living to the fullest, if only they could take the risk of trusting the other… if only Raynah stays.

My heart broke for both Raynah and Garret.  Neither willingly sought out the lives they are living now, and both must make adjustments to their attitudes for what fate has dealt them.  Watching them reach out to each other, even if reluctantly at times, was emotional.  Their journey isn’t going to be easy, but so worth the effort of staying for each other in the end.  If you love a well-written shifter romance with a couple who will break your heart, and slowly heal it once again, then you’d love Cold Foot Croc by T. S. Joyce.  This is my favorite story of the series, so far, making me cry and smile equally, discovering their connection, their future.  Yeah, it’s for this type of story that I read T. S. Joyce.

I read this title through my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

If you love this author, then be sure to visit our T.S. Joyce page for other series you might have missed over time.

This title is available at Amazon (affiliate link)