Category: M/M Supernatural Fiction

An Alisa Audiobook Review: Until Forever Comes​ by Cardeno C and Charlie David (Narrator)

Rating:  4 stars out of 5

 

A sensitive wolf shifter and a vicious vampire challenge history, greed, and the very fabric of their beings in order to stay together until forever comes.

 

Plagued by pain and weakness all his life, Ethan Abbatt is a wolf shifter who can’t shift. Hoping to find an honorable death by joining his pack mates in a vampire attack, Ethan instead learns two things: draining his blood releases his pain and his wolf, and he has a true mate – a vampire named Miguel.

 

Over four centuries old, strong, powerful, and vicious, Miguel Rodriguez walks through life as a shadow, without happiness or affection. When a young shifter tells Miguel they’re true mates, destined to be together, Miguel sends him away. But Ethan is persistent and being together comes so naturally that Miguel can’t resist for long. The challenge is keeping themselves alive so they can stay by each other’s side until forever comes.

 

Ethan has always been an outsider to his pack and in his family.  When he is drawn to Miguel he realizes that he does have a true mate, the one thing he never thought he would have.  Miguel takes a little more convincing but Ethan can be more than stubborn enough.

 

This story is told from Ethan’s point of view so you can feel just how broken he feels with his family and how determined he is to make his home with Miguel.  He packs up everything he can carry so that he can leave his parent’s home to make a life with Miguel knowing that his mating will never be accepted by his pack.  Ethan is such a sweet heart and I felt connected to him throughout the story.  Miguel doesn’t quite understand Ethan’s connection to him but it’s the first time in a long time that he isn’t so hungry that he doesn’t need to drink more than enough for multiple vampires.  Ethan’s illness allows him to feed Miguel despite that shifter blood is usually poisonous to vampires.

 

Charlie David did a good job narrating this story.  I could connect with the characters through the voices and emotions he portrayed.  However, he didn’t seem to stay consistent with Ethan’s voice in the story, I always knew who was talking but his accent fluctuated and changed throughout the story.

 

Cover art is absolutely beautiful and gives a wonderful visual of these two characters together.

 

Sales Links: Audible | Amazon | iTunes

 

Audiobook Details:

Audiobook, 5 hrs 54 min
Published: September 22, 2015 (ebook, 2nd edition, published July, 15 2015)
Edition Language: English

Series: Mates Collection

A VVivacious Review: A New Beginning (Cascade City Pack #1) by Rebecca James

 
Rating: 5 Stars out of 5
 
River and his group of werewolves find themselves in Cascade City after wandering about trying to find a new place for themselves. But things are far from pleasant, for one, they have no place to stay and River’s refusal to accept help from humans could very well spell their downfall.
 
Meanwhile Josiah wants to help rogues once again though he is aware that his mate might be less then open to the idea given how the last time they took in rogues, it ended with them being ousted from their own pack.
 
While Jax, David and Brooks are battling all new problems… Brooks is pregnant and no one knows for sure if the baby is David’s or Jax’s but if that didn’t make things complicated enough, David’s wolf is being obsessively protective of Brooks during his pregnancy to the extent that he perceives Jax as a threat. What will these new developments mean for these three, will they manage to make it through together or will the strain of things make something give way?
 
This book just about killed me with the roller-coaster of emotions it had me on. This book is sooooo good. I mean books in this series truly just seem to get better with each new book. Hats off to the author for doing an excellent job.
 
This book is a sequel to the Third Mate which is the third book in the River Wolf Pack series and you can read this book even if you haven’t read Omega Arrival though that is also one awesome book.
 
The moment I finished this book I wished I could read it again for the first time. It was just so good and gave me the worst book hangover in recent times and urgh… just can’t wait for the next one. I read this book in a single sitting and I think what I loved the most about this book was that it was lengthier than its predecessors which meant that I was going to get extra time with all my favourite characters.
 
This book mostly follows David, Jax, Brooks, River, Josiah and Foster and is also told from the perspective of five of these six characters. I truly believe that the multiple POVs really work for this book because people have different priorities. Particularly in this book River is more concerned with getting the pack on track and David is concerned with Brooks’ pregnancy so when the perspective shift it’s just a new way of looking at the problem while simultaneously giving you another POV and storyline. Also the fact that you get to see all the important things happening in your beloved characters’ life is a definite plus point. There are two scenes in this book where the conversation between Jax and David happens off page and that really irked me out because those conversations were just something that I wanted to know so badly but since the book was at that time being told from River’s perspective I was out of luck, but this also drove home the point that had this book been from a single perspective I would have missed out on so much that was happening in other characters’ lives.
 
This book just has an amazing story to tell. The pack is finding it hard to adjust to the city but just when everything seems down in the dumps, River comes through for his pack. River and Josiah’s storyline in this book is focused on restoring the pack to its former glory. Someone makes this observation about River and Josiah in the book that while they might fight they always find a way to make things right. Also I loved how the author approached the problem of River worrying about the fact that his mate had too much of a sway over his decisions, I mean this was the best way to solve the problem by making River see the truth and realizing that in a way it is awesome that there is someone there to help him and find a way through problems even ones where you wonder if he might be one. I loved how Josiah comes through for River in this book, it was amazing. Their relationship was a bit worrying at the starting of the book given the pressure they were both under but by the end I was simply amazed.
 
Foster has a short story line in this book which wraps up very quickly when he finds his true mate. I really don’t know what the author plans to do with Foster’s character in the future but I for one didn’t mind him being gone all that much for one because that meant he was with his true mate, though I loved how the author handled the goodbyes.
 
Now coming to the very best part of this book which is undoubtedly the relationship between David, Jax and Brooks. I love how the author writes these three and their relationship as something effortless. I loved the implication that Brooks was scared of loving Jax because he knew that while David would never leave him Jax could, which made him guard his heart a little around Jax which made me wonder if that is what Jax did with Brooks as well because the whole reason he wanted David to mate was so that David wouldn’t be alone when Jax left but this isn’t something explicitly stated in this book and that is because this book doesn’t offer Jax’s perspective. I really want a book from his perspective; in fact I need it, considering everything that happens in Jax’s life in this book I really wish the next book in this series would feature him in a starring role. For all I care it could be entirely from his perspective. But while Brooks and Jax are guarding their hearts around each other, David and Jax have kind of already committed to misery when they fell in love with each other fully well knowing that it may someday lead to a world of hurt. I simply loved David and Jax and their relationship in this book. There are two scenes that particularly stand out for me and these were two such amazing scenes, that they took my breath away and then that fact that was revealed in the epilogue seems to promising much more, hopefully. I just can’t wait for the next book because I can’t wait to know where David and Jax’s story is going to go from here.
 
Amazing amazing book. If you have been loving this series this book is one to be devoured and for people who haven’t gotten on the bandwagon yet this series is simply amazing.
 
Cover Art by Written Ink Designs. Love the cover.
Sales Links:  JMS Books LLC | Amazon
Book Details:
ebook, 257 pages
Published April 29th 2017 by JMS Books LLC
Original TitleA New Beginning
ISBN139781634863827
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesCascade City Pack #1

An Alisa Review: Threshold by Vivien Dean

Rating:  4 stars out of 5

 

Finding a gorgeous, unconscious vampire gives ex-Marine Max a new purpose in life.

 

Sutter is a vampire on the run. After barely escaping the hunter sent after him, he makes it all the way to Oregon before the approaching sunrise forces him to stop. He only intends to rest until dusk, but that plan falls apart when he’s found passed out on the bathroom floor.

 

Ex-Marine Max Rowell hasn’t had a purpose in life since coming home from the Gulf. Drifting through the days, he discovers an unconscious guy who looks like an angel but has clearly been through hell and finds new purpose.

 

Max isn’t letting Sutter go anywhere until he’s healed, but Sutter needs more than a warm bedside manner to get stronger. Though they strike a deal, the clock is ticking. Sooner or later, Sutter will need to run again, or risk putting Max’s life on the line when Sutter’s past catches up to him…

 

I really enjoyed this story.  Sutter is on the run and hoping that he can heal enough over night to keep going but Max patches him up and won’t let him go until he is better.  Both of the characters have to work together to move past their current existence to something more.

 

Max is just buying time trying to figure out what he wants to do now that he is out of the marines and not really getting anywhere, meeting Sutter begins to give him a reason to do something different.  He is shocked when Sutter explains to him that he is a vampire but still refuses to leave his side while he is healing.  Sutter doesn’t want to get an innocent person hurt because of his past but Max won’t let him push him away so easily.

 

This story is told from both characters’ points of view and we can see their struggles and how they seem to understand the other easily.  Max refused to give in to his desire for Sutter until he knows the man is healed, he has seen too much evil in the world and refuses to be that way.  Sutter is trying to be the bigger man but knows he can’t take care of himself quite yet.  These two characters are as different as they are alike and they played well off of each other.  I liked seeing them actually begin to build a relationship and get to know each other seeing them essentially ride off together in the end.

 

I love the cover art and how it depicts both of the characters.

 

Sales Links: MLR Press | Amazon | B&N

 

Book Details:

ebook, 113 pages

Published: April 14, 2017 by MLR Press

Edition Language: English

A MelanieM Review: Wolf in King’s Clothing by Parker Foye

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

 

An exiled shifter. His alpha mate. And a desire so intense it could be the death of them…

York, England, 1912

Kent was a pack outcast. His shifter instincts cruelly muted, he was collared and kept as a stray. Until he was offered his freedom—for something in return. He must rescue Hadrian, an alpha held hostage in the wolf highlands. It’s a pleasure for Kent to follow the captive’s scent, one so wild and virile it gives him a rush. Though he despises being treated like a mutt called to heel, he’ll gladly fall to his knees for an alpha like Hadrian.

Hadrian has never met anyone like this damaged wolf warrior. His savior who licks the blood from his wounds and who arouses in him feelings he doesn’t understand or want to control. But Hadrian suspects that more than desire binds them. It’s betrayal. Pawns in an elaborate and feral deceit, they’re now caught in the deepening maze of a vengeful shifter world, where navigating the mysteries of the heart could prove just as unpredictable and dangerous as the enemies they face.

I thought Wolf in King’s Clothing by Parker Foye had many terrific elements to it.  Foye’s  writing was able to engage me in Kent’s situation and his need for Hadrian.  In fact, Kent is the best thing about the story.   He’s almost feral, a wild being yet one we are able to connect with.  Foye’s decision to make him a berserker was a good one that plays out against his size and constant state of disorder and more.  We feel compassion for Kent and that allows us to come to his side of the story and remain there.

Hadrian is more of a shadow character, elusive as we don’t have as much background on him and honestly, I didn’t believe in his character as I did Kent’s.  Or the ugly people and beings that surrounded Kent, they were very much alive.

I found it odd that  Foye decided to place his story in York, England, 1912.  There didn’t seem to be any firm reason for that.  This could have been any fantasy world or alternate world, there was nothing or no real reason other than to bring the Titanic into it (and that was sort of absurd).  Anything else, avalanche, earthquake, bomb, could have been used to the same effect…get rid of a bunch of leaders in one place.  Because the reference disappears and you really don’t care when the story is placed again.  It’s merely an oddity and a jarring one at that.

The pathos at the end of the real is real.  It tugged at my heart.  I felt for both characters.  But again, with the good comes the bad.  I was also let down because there was no comeuppance for the person who put Kent through all that.  It was “oh well, that happens”.  I’m all about the revenge here.   Ah well.

As I said, there were some good elements here, enough that overrode the bad that I’m giving it 3 stars.  The writing made me connect to one of the main characters, enough to pull at me at the end when it looked like he was going to die.  I only wish the author had built on the  good elements they had going, and scattered the others away.

 

Cover art is just so so.  Doesn’t speak to the era or  show the interesting characteristics of the MC’s. Could be any book.

Sales Links  

Carina Press – Amazon: CA / COM / UK – Kobo

Book Details:

This book is approximately 32,000 words\ebook

Expected publication: May 15th 2017 by Carina Press
Original TitleWolf in King’s Clothing
ISBN139781488078521
Edition LanguageEnglish

Release Blitz – Laurent and the Beast by KA Merikan (excerpt and giveaway)

 

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK


Length: 135,000 words


Cover: Natasha Snow


Blurb

Nothing can stop true love. Not time. Not even the devil himself. 


1805. Laurent. Indentured servant. Desperate to escape a life that is falling apart.

2017. Beast. Kings of Hell Motorcycle Club vice president. His fists do the talking.

Beast has been disfigured in a fire, but he’s covered his skin with tattoos to make sure no one mistakes his scars for weakness. The accident not only hurt his body, but damaged his soul and self-esteem, so he’s wrapped himself in a tight cocoon of violence and mayhem where no one can reach him.

Until one night, when he finds a young man covered in blood in their clubhouse. Sweet, innocent, and as beautiful as an angel fallen from heaven, Laurent pulls on all of Beast’s heartstrings. Laurent is so lost in the world around him, and is such a tangled mystery, that Beast can’t help but let the man claw his way into the stone that is Beast’s heart.

In 1805, Laurent has no family, no means, and his eyesight is failing. To escape a life of poverty, he uses his beauty, but that only backfires and leads him to a catastrophe that changes his life forever. He takes one step into the abyss and is transported to the future, ready to fight for a life worth living.

What he doesn’t expect in his way is a brutal, gruff wall of tattooed muscle with a tender side that only Laurent is allowed to touch. And yet, if Laurent ever wants to earn his freedom, he might have to tear out the heart of the very man who took care of him when it mattered most.


Excerpt 

Hound’s alarmed growling was coming his way, along with whines, when he reached the right door and opened it, only to have the massive Rottweiler’s body rush past him and into the corridor. Beast expected his pet to rush toward the room where the accident happened just minutes ago but Hound looked back at Beast, as if signalling he wanted to be followed, and rushed the other way, stirring the worst of feelings in Beast.

Was there an intruder somewhere in the house? With the sheer size of the former asylum that has served as the Kings of Hell Clubhouse for the last fifteen years, it was easy to overlook things happening in the disused parts of the property. They once had a bunch of teenagers who came over wanting to spy on the orgy. That thankfully didn’t end in blood, and out of the whole mess they got Jake to join their ranks.

Beast wondered whether he shouldn’t go back to the armory and get himself a gun but ultimately decided against it. There would be police and emergency services coming for Davy, and he didn’t want to run around with a firearm, no matter how good their relationship with the local police was.

Hound moved as if he were following a clear trail, but Beast couldn’t smell anything apart from dust and dampness. They were leaving behind the shouting and even the sound of the ambulance approaching, and eventually entered a corridor so disused it had a thick layer of dust on the floor. Now even Beast could see faint footprints in the dust, and next to them, dark droplets that could be blood.

Hound smelled the traces, looked back and broke into a run, which had Beast following him with the worst of expectations as to what he would eventually find. His heart beat faster as they ran down the dark hallway.

The building was a labyrinth, and this far away from where they all lived and worked, it wasn’t even wired anymore, so he breathed in the smell of mildew and followed Hound through the darkness in hope he would not stumble.

Windows in the doorless rooms on both sides of the corridor were the only source of light, now delivering a faint red and blue glow of the approaching ambulance. For all Beast knew, this could have been a gothic castle, something out of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, with bloodthirsty monsters waiting for their next victim in one of the endless hallways, and yet he only ran faster, listening to the steady tap of Hound’s paws.

Without any hesitation whatsoever, Hound rushed inside one of the rooms and gave a growl so vicious something inside Beast mourned his decision not to take a gun with him. But no one shot at him when Hound let out a single bark. Beast pushed past the empty doorway, jumping over a fallen chair, only to see someone hiding in the shadows.

Judging by the long, wavy hair and small stature, Beast at first thought it was a woman, but then the person spoke with a distinctly male voice.

“I… I’m not certain where I am.” The stranger took half a step out of the shadow, and into the flashing light coming from outside. His accent was distinctly foreign. French maybe?

Beast took him in with a scowl. Blood covered the stranger’s face, hair, dripped from his chin, from the tips of his trembling fingers, and stained the outfit that looked as if he’d stolen it from the set of a costume drama. Knee-high boots, fitted pants, a vest worn under a tailcoat.

“What the fuck are you doing on our property, boy?” hissed Beast, watching the soft features of a very young man. “Whose blood is this?” he asked, still cautious. In his experience, a non-threatening presence could hide an adept fighter, so he was not taking any chances as he joined Hound in front of the stranger, who was so short in comparison to Beast’s own six foot five form that his red-stained head only reached Beast’s pecs.

The stranger backed away into the corner, whimpering in fear the moment Hound growled at him again and lowered his head, but Beast wasn’t having any of it and grabbed the boy’s arm. “Is the blood yours then? Someone attacked you? Where?” he asked, not hesitating to pat the intruder down, to make sure there were no weapons hiding under the fancy coat.

The boy tried to weasel out of his grip, but he didn’t seem adept at using force. “N-no. I don’t think it’s mine. I don’t know. Is this hell?”

Beast groaned, staring at the silly-looking young man, whose white shirt was completely drenched in red. Someone must have died to produce this much blood.

“You will explain yourself to King.”


 
 
Author Bio

 

K. A. Merikan is the pen name for Kat and Agnes Merikan, a team of writers, who are taken for sisters with surprising regularity. Kat’s the mean sergeant and survival specialist of the duo, never hesitating to kick Agnes’s ass when she’s slacking off. Her memory works like an easy-access catalogue, which allows her to keep up with both book details and social media. Also works as the emergency GPS. Agnes is the Merikan nitpicker, usually found busy with formatting and research. Her attention tends to be scattered, and despite pushing thirty, she needs to apply makeup to buy alcohol. Self-proclaimed queen of the roads.

They love the weird and wonderful, stepping out of the box, and bending stereotypes both in life and books. When you pick up a Merikan book, there’s one thing you can be sure of – it will be full of surprises.

 

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