Two Halves, One Brian

This is book 5 of the series. For our summary and review of the previous books, click the links below!

• Psycho Shifters, book 1
• Psycho Fae, book 2
• Psycho Beasts, book 3
• Psycho Academy, book 4

Book Stats

• Book 5 of the Cruel Shifterverse series
• Format: ebook (Kindle Unlimited)
• Chapters: 52
• Pages: 698
• POV: 1^st person, mostly from Aran’s POV. Occasionally from one of the other main characters.

Book Rating

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Spice: 🌶️🌶️/ 5

Summary & Review

Alright, here we go. Back at Elite Academy where we now know that Aran is Lothaire’s daughter and that he forced her to accept a slave bond that tied her to the kings. Lothaire didn’t know it was a slave bond, he just knew that it would add additional protection for Aran.

We learn more about the kings’ mate bond. Corvus is an Ignis, Scorpius is a Protector, and Orion is a Revered. The structure of the mate bond always includes 1 Ignis, 2 Protectors, and 1 Revered. The group is searching for their other Protector. And until their fourth is found, the mate bond can’t be completed.

The Revered is the heart and soul of the group. The job of the Ignis and Protectors is to cherish and keep their Revered safe, above all else. If the Revered is exposed to unimaginable pain, this can result in bond sickness, which affects all the mates. To avoid this, they always put Orion first in every situation. They would never intentionally harm him.

In this book, the High Court declares that Lothaire will host the Legionnaire Games at Elite Academy, where the 6 strongest groups in all the realms will be tested and evaluated.

The 6 groups include:

1. The Academy Legion – the group of assassins at Elite Academy
2. The Shifter Legion – Sadie and her harem
3. The Angel Legion
4. The Devil Legion
5. The Leviathan Legion
6. The Assassin Legion – previous students from the Elite Academy

So Sadie and her men are back in this book which was a fun surprise, even if they aren’t the main focus. Each group also has a substitute, approved by the gods, who will be subbed into a legion if a member becomes indisposed.

For the shifter legion, Jinx is the sub. For the academy legion, Lothaire claims the sub is making arrangements to be present but that it’s someone the group knows well.

The Legionnaire Games will consist of 4 competitions across a 40 day timeframe. If the gods don’t like what they see, the games will restart until they’re satisfied.

For every competition, only a few competitors from each team will be selected to participate. The gods typically choose who they’d like to see compete. Additionally, anyone who gets injured in the games must rely on their teammates to help them heal. They aren’t allowed outside help.

For the first competition, the gods choose Aran, Corvus, and Orion to compete. Each competitor must climb to the top of one post. Whoever doesn’t make it to the top within 1 hour loses.

For the second competition, the gods choose John, Scorpius, and Aran. This one is a simple race across a field. The last person to cross the line loses. Oh and anyone who remains on the lawn after 5 minutes will perish. As in, their body will explode. Also, while on the field there is a sound that can only be heard by the competitors, at a decibel level that is considered torturous.

Aran makes a decision that causes her to be the last person to cross. Her punishment is not only unfair, but a gross abuse of power by the gods. However, she does as ordered.

Between the second and third competition, we learn that the sub for the Academy legion is Luka, John’s twin. They’re identical, but while John is upbeat and jokes around a lot, Luka is quiet and intense. They have both been part of the assassin division for years but only one is present at a time, which is why no one had realized John was a twin.

For the third competition, the gods choose Aran, Vegar, Zenith, and Luka to compete. This one is a battle where only weapons manifested by a competitor’s power can be used. The goal is to draw the blood of all the other competitors. When their blood is drawn, a black X will appear over their head. The first team whose members are all injured lose.

For the fourth competition, the gods decide that each team captain will choose who will compete. However, they must choose between 2 teammates that have been decided by the gods. For Corvus, he has to choose between Aran, who’s competed in every challenge, or Orion, his Revered who he’ll protect at all costs. So basically, there is no choice.

For this competition, the goal is to simply remain within the arena bounds until 5am the following morning. Powers can be used if needed.

Of course the challenge isn’t as simple as hanging out and waiting for time to pass. A crazy storm rolls in, bringing with it below freezing temperatures. Then it starts to rain glass, which eventually transforms into fist-sized hail. Once the competition is over, the competitors also have to leave the arena themselves of their own free will.

The gods decide that the top 2 legions will compete in a showcase round. They choose the shifter and academy legions, as they’re the only 2 who haven’t lost any members and have consistently shown impressive skill. Their substitutes are also required to participate in the showcase.

For the showcase round, each competitor has to climb to the top of a post, where they are told to await further instructions. The gods then request that the 3 kings showcase their powers to ensure they’ll be able to fight alongside the shifter legion without casualties.

After unleashing their powers, Aran sacrifices herself to save a loved one, resulting in a pretty neat twist. She discovers more about herself and her potential skills/ heritage.

After all is said and done, Lothaire shows the academy legion a playback of the showcase challenge, where the kings realize a hard truth about Aran. 😉

I rated this 5 stars because it was fun and enjoyable. I would absolutely re-read this in the future just for the ridiculous quotes and inner monologue. Plus, many of the characters are growing on me.

I only gave this 2 chili peppers because there are many mentions of intimate scenes, but only a couple are descriptive. There are tons of dirty thoughts and inner monologue that could be considered borderline spicy, but only a couple actual scenes.

Favorite Quotes

• I recommend just preemptively euthanizing yourself. Your personality is messy, and I don’t see it improving.
• If I had any self-esteem, it would have been crushed. Good thing I had none.
• Normalize gaslighting men.
• Each day last week I’d woken up and said my morning affirmation: “I am the victim.”
• Mentally, I was a slut. Physically, I was terrified of intimacy. Spiritually, I didn’t like men. I was confused.
• Sometimes I was cool as shit.
• My new aesthetic was cozy, drug-dependent swamp monster. Not to brag, but I nailed the look.
• Last time I took a man seriously, I lost my will to live. Yes, it was my tutor when I was a child. No, I still had not gotten over it.
• My personality traits were: (1) spiteful, (2) bitch.
• Usually, I ignored the kings. Their opinions were like male thongs. Useless. Disturbing. And literally no one asked for them.
• Straight women were so weird. Yes, I was straight. I didn’t want to talk about it.
• Was I perfect? No. Sometimes I dissociated for days and murdered people. But did that make me a bad person? Yes. It definitely did.
• It had all started when I was born. After that, everything had gone to absolute shit.
• Was he having a breakdown? I hated to say it, but that would be the most relatable thing he’d done to date.
• I’d said it before, and I’d say it again: men were deranged, and they should all be shot. On sight. No questions asked.
• I’d forgotten that my friend had the endurance of an asthmatic suffering from tuberculosis.
• “You did not embarrass us,” Zenith said in a clipped tone. “For the most part.” I squirmed uncomfortably under the weight of his profuse praise.