Review of Finding Claude by Mrs. Tessa Stone

“You remind me of Lyra—a constellation. Small but powerful. Named after the lyre, a symbol of harmony and artistry. It’s about balance, strength, and grace. That’s you, Claude.”

Finding Claude by Mrs. Tessa Stone

Claude of the Ash Clan, the only living female Dragon Shifter (and the first Female Shifter to get her own story) finds her mate

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

star read

If you follow me on social media, you know that I am a frequent visitor of Wintermoon, ever since I read Mrs. Tessa Stone‘s Taming Kane.

A little background on Wintermoon

Wintermoon is a place established by shifters, after they came out of hiding when the 1000 year curse was lifted. As you can imagine humans have a very adverse reaction to this… Because you know how humans react to differences… Very welcoming 😒… Nope… Radicalization…😮‍💨 Sounds familiar right?

That storyline however is continued in the Fated Mates series (Highly recommend btw).

Wintermoon Shorts

Finding Claude takes place in the Wintermoon shorts series, with its focus on them finding their fated mates 🥰. Claude is the sister of Valek (Ash Clan’s Alpha) and Sam, who we got introduced to in Stalking Lauren, and I absolutely adored.

Dragon shifters played a huge role in the establishing of the 1000-year curse, making shifters unable to find their mates, reproduce or age.

This resulted in the Ash Clan being the sole surviving Dragon Shifter Clan, or so they thought.

So backstory (semi) done, let’s dive in… Because I had thoughts… A lot of them… 😅

“I am Tyrion of the Stormscale Clan…
My clan was wiped out, executed during the Great War by King Amir for treason.”

Finding Claude by Mrs. Tessa Stone

Tyrion is Claude’s mate they find each other. Ash Clan’s hatred for the position they (Claude and Tyrion) find themselves in at the hands of the Stormscale Clan, makes Valek AND Sam..

SheReadsaLot: Let me interrupt right quick… Remember I said that I was really fond of Sam? 😒 😮‍💨 Let us continue…

react very harshly to Fates’ paring. The very same Fate that they believe can’t do no wrong. Living by the rule that no one can take a mate from it’s mate…

If I stay with him, I’ll lose everything. I’ll lose Ash Clan, my brothers, my home. I’ll lose Lauren and Tiffany—my sisters in all but blood, the ones I’ve grown so close to. Kenya, Valek’s mate, who’s been nothing but kind and warm to me. Tobin, my nephew, the light of our family. I’ll lose them all. I can’t do it. I can’t.

Finding Claude by Mrs. Tessa Stone

Resulting in Claude actually rejecting Tyrion at first.

SheReadsaLot: When I tell you I was side-eyeing Mrs. Claude over here???? *phew* Let me go and continue with my thoughts, ’cause this situation right here??

What I loved about Sam and the Ash Clan, was that they found themselves dealing with consequences not at all of their own making, and still continued to help and care for those same judgmental Shifters, without begrudment.

(Sounds familiar 🤔) 

Somehow… I thought that them being in that position, knowing how it felt, would look at Tyrion’s situation with compassion. Knowing that he wasn’t complicit.

Well I was wrong 😅

The staggering hypocrisy of it all, made me almost fall out of my chair (I was at work 🫣… Yeah, I know I shouldn’t have been reading 😅… But I did, and will continue to do so 🤭)

I’m going to stop right here, and will continue with some overall thoughts.

The overall themes of radicalization, politics,  othering, racism, discrimination were very much present in Finding Claude.

I love some perspective with my reads 🤭. That is one of the main things I love (besides the Fated Mates, Shifters, Dragons, and Spice aspects) the parallels with the “real” world. What they are dealing with as shifters is so similar to how people who are Othered are treated and their experiences. Making it that much more harrowing to see the most marginalized group exacting the same treatment that they experienced on an innocent party.

All in all, however this was balanced out with Forgiveness, Love, Understanding and Compassion (and of course the spice involved as well)  and the education about the stars 🥰. I left this read feeling content.

So… if you like Fated Mates, Shifters, Dragons, and Spice, I would most definitely recommend. Do remember that this is a Dark paranormal romance, and this read moreso than others is highly political.

The digital version of Finding Claude can be found on Amazon. Physical copies can also be purchased through Mrs. Tessa Stone‘s own website. On there you can also find free bonus scenes (that turn the spice all the way up)