Category: M/M Supernatural Fiction

Barb, A Zany Old Lady Review: Dangerous Territory by Cari Z

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Dangerous TerritoryWhen Connor’s spinster sister, Millie, marries a scheming money-hungry man who immediately takes steps to control the ranch Connor and his sister inherited when their father died a month ago, there’s little he can do to hang on to his share of the ranch. His only choice is to get his share of the cattle to market before his scheming brother-in-law, Percy, takes the rest of the herd. And Percy has already secured passage on the barge that goes to the town where the annual auction will take place, so Connor’s only choice is to take his cattle through Mason Canyon. The problem is that it’s in the territory of the local shifter clan, and the canyon is heavily populated by very large, very venomous snakes.

Keena, his father’s longtime foreman, is half shifter and arranges for the son of the new clan chief to accompany Connor and get him through the canyon safely. Shifters aren’t known for being helpful to others but the new chief sees this as a test for his son’s abilities and finds it an opportunity to help a neighbor who has coexisted peacefully with the clan for years.

Along the journey, the very quiet Rani finally opens up to Connor when Connor offers to teach him to ride his stallion. Can the two men ever find a common ground when it becomes obvious they are attracted to each other? Can they get the herd through the canyon without casualties from snakes or flooding? And more importantly, does Connor have any future without his ranch but with the possibility of having Rani at his side?

It’s amazing that the author was able to build a complex story which took place in multiple locations and still build three-dimensional characters, who were tough, yet gentle, and apparent enemies who manage to become lovers—all within a short 56 pages. All of the above questions are answered and there’s even more drama than what’s mentioned. The shifter population was different from the usual, and the form Rani shifted into is quite unexpected and unique. I really enjoyed this couple and would like to read more about them in the future. This novella could easily serve as the first book in a very interesting series, and if it does, I hope we get to see more of Connor and Rani as they make a commitment to remain together against all odds.

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Cover art by Cari Z is a very clever depiction of a cowboy silhouetted against a cloudy, orange-tinted sky. When one looks closely, a very long snake can be seen in the background of the clouds. This is the perfect depiction of Connor who has to make his way through the dangerous snake’s territory.

Sales Links:   Less Than Three Press | ARe | Amazon | Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook, 56 pages
Published January 13th 2016 by Less Than Three Press
ISBN139781620046937
Edition LanguageEnglishsettingOklahoma Territory (United States)

A BJ Review: Mocker of Ravens (SPECTR 2, #1) by Jordan L. Hawk

Rating:  4.25 stars out of 5

Moker of RavensCaleb has spent the last six months adjusting to life possessed by the vampire spirit Gray. Unfortunately, after the events of Fort Sumter, the other agents of SPECTR view him more as a ticking time bomb than a co-worker.

The one bright spot is Caleb and Gray’s boyfriend, federal exorcist John Starkweather. But John has problems of his own. A supernatural killer is on the loose in Charleston, stealing the hearts of its victims to extend its own unnatural life.

With the help of a rookie agent, John, Caleb, and Gray must find the killer before it strikes again…or before they become the demon’s next victims.

Sometimes saving the world just isn’t enough… shakes head. After the events of the finale in series two, you’d think they guys would have found the respect of SPECTR. But no, it’s more like a tentative, tenacious acceptance, if even that. A new dickhead boss and more things for the boy to work though even as they are given a case up against a NHE with a seriously freaky power.

As I’ve come to do in the past books, its Gray the drakul who fascinates me the most. But the chemistry between all three partners in this unusual triad is palpable, vividly drawn, and sexy hot. They still have many things to work through, and we see some of them coming out nicely in this book. I never had noticed in the prior books that Gray’s parts are written in present tense and the rest of the POVs are in past tense. I believe I hadn’t noticed before because I read Hunter of Demons as a freebie, and there was not a great deal from Gray’s perspective in that one. The rest of the first ones were on audio. So noticing this point of view tense shift threw threw me a bit, but at the same time I do understand why its used. Gray is a creature that lives in the present rather than dwelling in the past or living in the future as humans do. Really rather cool when considered in that way.

Nicely paced with just the right amount of sexy times, action, and angst. The guys get a new partner, Zahira, and I absolutely adored her. Hope we will get to know more about her.

Beautiful cover featuring John that is different enough from SPECTR #1 to set it apart and yet similar enough to tie it in. Well done with that.

Sales Link:  Amazon   Buy it Here


Book Details:  

ebook, 95 pages
Published June 16th 2015 (first published June 10th 2015)
ISBN139781941230121
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesSPECTR 2 #1

A Free Dreamer Review: Kanaan & Tilney: The Case of the Arms Dealers by Katey Hawthorne & J. Rose

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Kanaan & TilneyJohn Tilney–praeternatural pyrokinetic and mystery author–has noticed the bottom dropping out of the market for his usual gothic fare, so he goes to Lowell Kanaan, PI, for a crash course in noir. Lowell, the cranky wolf-shifter detective, isn’t sure why he agrees to let John shadow him–though it might have something to do with John’s weirdly endearing honesty… and pretty lips. John thinks he’s found the perfect detective novel hero in Lowell, but it isn’t long before he realizes he doesn’t want Lowell for his book, but for himself.

As they become entangled in a supernatural whodunnit involving the Zombie Mafia, black market body parts, and shady insurance deals, their partnership grows closer–and hotter. But when it comes down to the wire, Lowell’s wolfy protective side threatens to drive John around the bend, or at least out of the office. Good thing John’s as much sunshine as he is fire; hopefully it’s enough to help them catch a murderer before they end up in literal pieces, too.

 When I read the title, I figured this was going to be about an arms – as in weapons – dealer. Instead, it was about an arms – as in body parts – dealer. Definitely a very unusual idea, especially since the arms dealing business isn’t portrayed as evil here.

The authors created a delightfully insane and intriguing world here, with lots of interesting new paranormal praeternatural races/creatures. They obviously put a lot of thought into their world and that definitely paid off. I loved the variety of all those exciting new creatures and the authors’ new interpretation of commonly known ones such as shifters.

The world building was pretty good, even if one of the basics was missing for me. I never could quite figure out if there were normal humans in this world too and if so, whether knew about the praeternaturals.

At times, this was utterly hilarious. I love a book that can make me laugh without making the whole plot ridiculous. Sometimes the humour was a bit too much for me, but I generally prefer darker reads, so it might just have been me.

The mystery part didn’t play that big of a role in the plot, but since I’m more a fan of fantasy than mystery, that was fine by me. Just don’t expect extensive detective work.

What really bothered me was the relationship. It was so very insta. John confesses his feelings to Lowell, Lowell confesses his feelings for John, they make out, John confesses he’s demisexual, they have sex. A little build-up to the big confession and the following sex would have been greatly appreciated. It all seemed very sudden to me and I couldn’t really relate to their feelings.

I also wasn’t too fond of the categorical condemnation of the BSPD, the praeternatural police force. I missed an explanation as to why they were all so incompetent and unwilling to actually help.

I also wasn’t too fond of John. Sure, his powers were pretty cool, but overall he just seemed really weird to me.

Overall, this book was okay. The world was great, but the romance was kind of disappointing. If you’re okay with insta-love and enjoy unique fantasy worlds, then I’m sure you will like this book.

The cover by Dar Albert shows Lowell and John with the skyline of a big city during the night. It fits the story and the MCs match the descriptions in the book.

Sales Links:  Loose id | All Romance (ARe) | Amazon | Buy It Here

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 206 pages
Published October 26th 2015 by Loose Id LLC
ASIN B0178F3JPM
Edition Language English

A Barb, the Zany Old Lady Review: Horsefeathers by Caitlin Ricci

Rating: 2 stars out of 5

HorsefeathersWhen Justin arrives at the mustang roundup run by the Bureau of Land Management, he’s dismayed to see that none of the mares or geldings meet the requirements his boss had given him for his next purchase. But he’s fascinated by a dark gray stallion, one with unusual forest-green eyes. The first time Brother Mustang sees Justin, he’s rightfully fearful and wants to charge the man, but Nohatu, the human who lives side-by-side in Brother Mustang’s mind is able to keep the stallion calm. Unfortunately for them, Justin makes the purchase, and Nohatu and Brother Mustang find themselves taken far away from the land they’ve known.

Caitlin Ricci took an interesting twist on shifters with this story. Each half lives within the current form, but they are not one and do not always agree. In addition, the human prefers being in the shifted form, even though he’s often in a subjugated position. We learn rather quickly that Nohatu prefers sex with men because as soon as he’s found in the stallion’s pen, he’s shipped off to the bus station, and on the way, he manages to seduce Justin into stopping for a quick blowjob. It turns out that sex is the means by which they pass on the spark to shift when they meet someone who appears to be of “their kind.” And they believe Justin is. The way the background is filled in is via storytelling by Nohatu of the tale of his own turning. It’s a clever way to impart a lot of information in a brief way.

Overall, the story was very short, but it was packed with a lot of information. On the negative side, there was no time for a romantic buildup, and in fact, it felt like there wasn’t even a romantic element promised for the future. The story ends with a HFN and actually felt as if might have been an introduction to some future series or novel.

There also wasn’t enough time to fully develop any of the characters, and although I felt a little sympathetic to Justin, I lost that when he made his decision at the end. And because Nohatu and Brother Mustang were at odds with each other throughout most of the story, and neither had a likeable personality, I couldn’t manage any empathy toward their joint or individual well-being.

Since it is so short and does display a clever and interesting treatment of shifters, I’d recommend the story to those who enjoy paranormal shifter stories with a different twist.

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Cover art by Natasha Snow features a leafy background on which is the head of a white horse, looking down, with some of his mane flopped forward. If I look closely, I can see a hawk-like bird instead of the horse—one ear a beak, one a body, and the horse’s mane the full wingspan of a hawk in flight. It may be an optical illusion, but due to the content of the story, I suspect the artist did this purposely, and if so, she did a remarkable job.

Sales Links:   Less Than Three Press | All Romance (ARe) | Amazon | Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook
Published January 13th 2016 by Less Than Three Press
ISBN139781620046920
Edition LanguageEnglish
URL settingColorado (United States)

Its Greek Gods and Rock n Roll with ‘The Backup’ by Erica Kudisch (guest post and giveaway)

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The Backup by Erica Kudisch
Published by Riptide Publishing
Cover Artist Jay Aheer

Read An Excerpt/Buy It Here

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have Erica Kudisch here today to talk about her latest novel, The Backup, along with the music and a touch of mythology.  Welcome, Erica.

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Hi all! Erica Kudisch here, promoting my debut novel THE BACKUP, queer urban fantasy with a side of myth and music. Thanks so much for keeping up with the blog tour! Be sure to swing by the other stops for awesome multimedia content and a $50 prize package giveaway!

Nik’s Latest Album: LAST AGAINST THE PRECIPICE

CD Cover_FINALCD Back Cover_FINAL

Nicole Peterson of Inappropriately Adorable has graciously supplied the cover art for Nik’s new release!

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About The Backup

I’m supposed to be better than this. I’m supposed to have a tenure-track job teaching music history to undergrads, writing papers about Bach, and proving to kids like me that you can work your way out of Harlem. I’m not supposed to be following a rock star around the country, fetching his mail, making sure his groupies are of age.

I’m definitely not supposed to be sleeping with said rock star, who claims to be the Greek God Dionysus. At first I thought it was a load of crap. Nik’s fans might think his music captures their hearts—and souls—but I knew better. Until one of Nik’s orgiastic concerts gets out of hand and I don’t know which is worse: that he might be a god after all, or that he has a body count.

Nik doesn’t care what I want or what I should be. He wants to tear down the world I’ve built, warping all I am, until his music is all that’s left of me. I can’t let him do that. I shouldn’t believe in him. I’ve seen what happens to the people who believe in him.

But I can’t get his song out of my head.

About Erica Kudisch

Erica Kudisch lives, writes, sings, and often trips over things in New York City. When not in pursuit of about five different creative vocations, none of which pay her nearly enough, you can usually find her pontificating about dead gay video games, shopping for thigh-high socks, and making her beleaguered characters wait forty thousand words before they get in the sack.

In addition to publishing novellas and short stories as fantastika-focused alter-ego Kaye Chazan (What Aelister Found Here and The Ashkenazi Candidate, both available at Candlemark & Gleam) Erica is responsible for the BDSM musical Dogboy & Justine, and serves as creative director and co-founder of Treble Entendre Productions.

She also has issues with authority. And curses too fucking much.

Connect with Erica:

TheBackup_TourBanner

The Giveaway

To celebrate the release of The Backup, Erica is giving away iTunes and Riptide credit totaling $50! Your first comment at each stop on this tour enters you in the drawing. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on January 30, 2016. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. Entries. Follow the tour for more opportunities to enter the giveaway! Don’t forget to leave your email or method of contact so Riptide can reach you if you win!

A Mika Review: Thorns and Fangs (Thorns and Fangs #1) by Gillian St. Kevern

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars 

Thorns and FangsNate is caught between two dangerously hot vampires who can compel people to do whatever they want and a ruthless necromancer who wants Nate for all the wrong reasons—and that’s only the start of his problems.

Escort Nate prides himself on two things: his ability to please his clients and his normality – living in the monster capital of the world, ordinary is rare. Hunter, a darkly charming vampire with more charisma than is good for him, decides Nate is just what he needs. Nate’s sympathetic nature and skill in the bedroom are put to the ultimate test. But Hunter wants Nate for someone else – his brother, Ben. Nate is immediately attracted by the control with which Ben holds his sensitive nature in force. Too afraid of becoming a monster to allow himself to feel, Ben struggles to resist Nate’s generosity of emotion. As a vindictive necromancer makes Ben his target of revenge, Nate discovers that making people feel good doesn’t compare to making Ben feel. As Nate’s normal world crumbles around him, and he desperately searches for a way to save Ben, Nate is unable to escape becoming the necromancer’s latest victim.

But Nate’s death is only the beginning. Coming back to life in the bathroom of Gunn, a Department Seven officer who hates the vampire family that Ben and Hunter belong to, Nate doesn’t know who to trust or even what he is. As the necromancer’s trap pulls tighter around himself and Ben, Nate is forced to let go of normal and embrace powers he doesn’t fully understand. In defiance of Ben’s vampire sire and hunted by Department Seven, Nate and Ben finally learn to trust and rely on each other. But when the necromancer succeeds in capturing Ben, Nate alone can come to his rescue.

  DNF at 69% **raises fist to the air** I tried!!! I tried so hard, I tried to read this book for 5 days. I got a little further and further. As I did get further, my frustrations got bigger and bigger. The writing was good. I liked Nate and Ben, I just didn’t understand the story. Honestly the writing was good for me, the dialogue, the conversation and back story is what is lacking.

In the beginning it was good, I kind of pushed through those “what does she mean?” moments. It was too many of those moments for me. I found myself trying to figure what happened, or what does it mean. A lot of the dialogue between the characters felt like they were abruptly ended. Most of the time, I felt like they were talking in code. It seems like it needed a prequel and maybe that might have worked for me. I honestly think the world building needed more sustenance. It needed to be explained a lot more for me.

I generally liked Ben and Nate together. Sure, I got tired of them trying to protect one another. I didn’t understand the references Nate kept making regarding his Dad. I’m glad he thought about them, but it didn’t make sense at all. It fell very flat to me and I liked the premise of where it was going. Though the blurb is a little misleading, I don’t think Hunter plays that big of character towards Nate. I think he was all about Ben. This just didn’t work for me.

 I like the cover, but I did feel like it was misleading, the whole m/m/m trope isn’t really how it happens, but I did like the feel of the world on the cover.

Sales Links:  Amazon  |   Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook
Published January 18th 2016 by NineStar Press
ISBN139781911153184
Edition LanguageEnglish
URLhttp://ninestarpress.com/product/thorns-and-fangs/
SeriesThorns and Fangs #1

A MelanieM Review: End Street Detective Agency Volume Two (End Street Detective Agency #3-4) by Amber Kell & R.J. Scott

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

End Street Detectives Vol 2The Case of the Dragon’s Dilemma

Dragons, battles, a Siren attack and a deal Sam may come to regret leave Sam and Bob in danger…and result in Mikhail finding a mate.

Bob and Sam take their kind-of-adopted-now vampire daughter Mal to look at new schools. Mikhail is left to babysit the last of the remaining rescued children whilst they are away.

When Sirens appear to steal her away, he is left facing the attack alone until a mysterious hero comes to his aid. Ryujin, or Jin to his friends, is a dragon shifter and his role as Captain of the Dragon Guards puts him in direct conflict with Mikhail.

The minute he sees Mikhail he knows what he wants. Now if he can only get Mikhail to see the same.

The Case of the Sinful Santa

Zephariel, the Angel of Vengeance, Nick Klauson, nephew to Santa, Christmas magic, zombies in the school and a necromancer causing chaos…and at the centre of it all-Mal.

Zephariel is the Angel of Vengeance and is tracking down his cousin Danjal for misuse of brimstone. When he walks into a bar and finds Nick Klauson drowning his sorrows, he is instantly drawn to him. Could this be his fated mate?

When Nick and Zeph join forces to deal with zombies in Mal’s school, sparks fly. Add in a demon, a wolf and a necromancer, and Sam and Bob have a hunt on their hands.

For purposes of this review, I am only going to deal with The Case of the Dragon’s Dilemma (book#3) as I have already reviewed The Case of the Sinful Santa here.  The case starts with the remnants of the last one, as most of the stories do.  Here it is one of the remaining kidnapped children that they have been unable to figure out what species she is and where she belongs.  Unfortunately the Sirens are determined to  recapture her and in the attack, her identity is revealed.  She is a dragon.

I absolutely loved the world and myth-building that went on in this story.  Amber Kell and RJ Scott went far deeper into this world, exploring the subtleties of the dragon culture politics and shifting current loyalties.  Sam and Bob, more Sam here and his familiar go along to help see the dragon child home, along with Mikhail, the half vampire/half siren (cousin to Bob) and Captain of the Dragon Guards, Jim, who recognizes Mikhail as his mate.  Mikhail?  Not so much.    The descriptions of the dragons make you yearn to see them and in fact, this whole story make you want the authors to separate it out into their own series.  Its that good.

Perhaps they will, they certainly left us with a huge, well not cliffhanger, but certainly a character in need of a  solution and a heart in need of mending.  That story has yet to be told.  I can’t wait.  This series and its characters has stolen my heart and I eagerly await each new case that arises.

Have you found this series yet?  Are you a lover of the supernatural or paranormal?  Like a mystery or two or three thrown in for good measure?  This series has got it all.  Pick them up and get started today.

Cover art by Meredith Russell.  I like these covers. The design is really beautiful, excerpt that is not my idea of a dragon, and they pull you in.

Sales Links:  RJ Scott Blogspot | All Romance (ARe) | Amazon | Buy It Here

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 183 pages
Published November 3rd 2015 by Love Lane Books Ltd (first published January 24th 2014)
ASINB017KW05SC
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesEnd Street Detective Agency #3-4

SeriesEnd Street Detective Agency #3-4