Category: Shifters, Weres

A MelanieM Pre-Release Review: Enter the Dragon (The Bestiary) by Jamie Sullivan

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Since a ceasefire was called on the Dragon Wars, dragons and humans have lived in an uneasy partnership. To help humans understand dragons and prepare future dragon trainers, the Academy was created. Jac Conway is an eager student, long enthralled with all things dragon. But even he, with all his hopes and ambitions, never dreamed of just how close to them one night would bring him …

For a short story I found myself totally sunk into this world in a short amount of time.  The author throws us and Jae down a scary tunnel on mating night and the rest of the story just carries us away.  Yes, I wish to know more about the past history, how the dragons decided it was worth it to come together with humans.  The tantalizing elements here raise so many questions that a mere 50 odd pages can’t begin to answer.

But the promise, the characters, small and large, the glimpses I saw of something bigger…well, if this is the start of a series I can’t wait to see what the author brings next.  I hope to see these characters again as well.  What a way to shake up an  academy!

Cover art by Kirby Crow is pretty, but the blue is distracting.

Sales Links:  Pre order Links at Less Than Three Press

Book Details:

ebook. 56 pages
Expected publication: October 4th 2017 by Less Than Three Press (first published November 21st 2012)
ISBN13 9781684311057
Edition Language English
Series The Bestiary

Release Blitz for Saved (Breaking Free #1) by AM Arthur (excerpt and giveaway)

Title:  Saved

Series: Breaking Free #1

Author: A.M. Arthur

Publisher: Briggs-King Books

Release Date: September 12, 2017

Heat Level: 4 – Lots of Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 67,000 words

Genre: Romance, non-shifter Omegaverse, alternate universe, mpreg

Add to Goodreads

Synopsis

He didn’t want an alpha to save him, but fate had other ideas…

Braun Etting was raised to know his place as an omega by his alpha father’s cruel words and fast fists, and he expects nothing but violence from the alpha who may one day mate him. His older brother Kell mated a cruel alpha who abuses him daily, and Braun is terrified of that seemingly inevitable future. When Braun’s father dies in a car crash, leaving Braun an orphan, he’s sent to a halfway house for omegas. But on his fourth night there, he witnesses a horrifying crime that sends him fleeing to the streets alone—and edging into his first heat.

Tarek Bloom is settled in his workaholic, single lifestyle, even if it is somewhat embarrassing to be a twenty-eight year-old unmated alpha. He enjoys his job as a constable, helping people and solving problems, so he isn’t prepared for his life to flip upside-down when he walks into his beta friend Dex’s apartment to help with “a problem.”

The problem turns out to be an unmated, nearly in-heat omega orphan who Dex and his husband rescued off the street last night. The even bigger problem is that Tarek feels the mating bond for this terrified omega immediately—and he’s pretty sure the omega feels it, too. But Braun hates alphas as a general rule, and no way is he giving in to the bond. All mating leads to is violence and suffering, so no thank you. But Tarek’s gentle kindness slips under Braun’s emotional shields, and Braun begins to want. To dream. All Braun has ever known is violent alphas, but Tarek is determined to make Braun trust him—and to trust in the idea of their happily ever after.

NOTE: This is a non-shifter Omegaverse story with alpha/omega/beta dynamics, heats, knotting, and mpreg. In this world, omegas are second-class citizens with few civil rights and almost no protections under the law. Trigger warnings for physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. 67,000 words.

Excerpt

“Would you be able to describe exactly what you saw that night in detail?” Tarek pulled a notepad and pen out of his front pocket.

Braun’s entire body went rigid. “Why? Who are you really?”

“I really am Tarek Bloom.” For a moment, he actually seemed contrite. “What I didn’t tell you is that I’m also a constable.”

“Shit.” Braun bolted out of his chair and toward the front door, fork still in his hand.

In a flurry of movement, Tarek was in front of him, blocking his path to the door, and Braun lashed out with the fork. Dex grabbed his wrist and plucked the fork out of his hand, but that didn’t stop Braun from swinging. He punched Tarek in the chest. Twice. Panic settled in, overriding his common sense, and he tried to push past the brick wall of a man.

“Let me go! I won’t go back, I won’t!”

Arms wrapped around his torso from behind, pinning his arms to his sides. Serge’s comforting scent settled his racing mind a bit, but it was Tarek’s hand on the back of his neck that settled Braun completely.

“Calm down, firecracker,” Tarek said. His deep voice soothed Braun’s frazzled nerves, and his touch sent his pulse racing with delight. “You’re still safe, I promise. No one here wants to hurt you.”

“Why do you care?” Braun snarled. “I’m just some useless omega you’ve known for twenty minutes.”

“You’re far from useless, little one.”

Tarek’s other hand rose, nearing Braun’s face. Braun snapped at his fingers. “I’m only a womb to you.”

“Far from it, my firecracker.” The hand on his neck squeezed. “Far from it.”

The grounding touch made Braun want to roll over and show his belly, but he was done being passed around. Done letting other people control his life. He didn’t want to feel this mating bond to Tarek, but he also couldn’t turn it off. Even with the heat block, Tarek was under his skin, doing funny things to his insides.

Angry and confused, Braun dared look an alpha in the eye.

Purchase at Amazon

Meet the Author

A.M. Arthur was born and raised in the same kind of small town that she likes to write about, a stone’s throw from both beach resorts and generational farmland. She’s been creating stories in her head since she was a child and scribbling them down nearly as long, in a losing battle to make the fictional voices stop. She credits an early fascination with male friendships (bromance hadn’t been coined yet back then) with her later discovery of and subsequent love affair with m/m romance stories. A.M. Arthur’s work is available from Carina Press, Dreamspinner Press, SMP Swerve, and Briggs-King Books.

When not exorcising the voices in her head, she toils away in a retail job that tests her patience and gives her lots of story fodder. She can also be found in her kitchen, pretending she’s an amateur chef and trying to not poison herself or others with her cuisine experiments.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | eMail | A.M.’s Pot O Gold | Newsletter

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Victoria Sue on her new release The Alpha Heir (Kingdom of Askara #2) by Victoria Sue + Giveaway

The Alpha Heir (Kingdom of Askara #2) by Victoria Sue
Published September 4, 2017

Available from 

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to host Victoria Sue with her new release The Alpha Heir (Kingdom of Askara #2). Welcome, Victoria Sue!

Blurb

Man and wolf. Sworn enemies in the battle for Askara. Can hate and betrayal ever lead to love?

Caleb Harken has spent six years wrongfully imprisoned for his father’s treachery. Tortured and reviled by the very wolf pack he should have been leading as Alpha, he is not surprised to learn he’s finally to meet his death at the hands of the human rebel leader, Taegan Callan.

Taegan gave up his dreams of a life-mate and a family after seeing too many humans butchered at the hands of the wolves—even if Caleb doesn’t seem to be the bloodthirsty savage he expects, and even if he starts to long for a different kind of future with the wolf.

Can Caleb become the Alpha he was always meant to be and lead his pack, or will he finally realize that winning his freedom means nothing when he has already lost his heart?

Exclusive Excerpt

Silas looked at Taegan “What do you intend to do?”

A beat went by and Caleb turned to look at him. Taegan’s eyes were dark, stormy, and he took a breath. “According to the slave, the children are heavily guarded in the cellars under the pack house and freeing them from there is impossible.”

“You intend to take them when they are first released,” Caleb said instantly. It wasn’t a question.

“Exactly. The wolves will give the children some time before they shift or it would be over in seconds. They will be over-confident even when drunk, but two small children will still have no possible chance. My problem is how to get them away without the wolves having time to chase.” He paused. “And we would need some diversion.”

“Horses,” Silas mused. “But even then you will have to be quick. I can arrange for a special gift of wine to be sent. Dashel makes a blend that is so potent humans would be lucky to be standing after one glass, but it will take a while for the wolves, and there will be many gammas not drinking, even as over confident as they all are.”

“We still need another diversion though to give us time,” Taegan mused.

“Me,” Caleb said softly.

“Absolutely not,” Taegan retorted quickly and Caleb stared in confusion.

“Why? I wouldn’t need to fight them.” Mason would be overjoyed to get his chew toy back.

“We wouldn’t be able to get you out. I don’t know if or when we would get the chance.”

Caleb shrugged. He felt numb. He wouldn’t live long enough to worry about that.

Taegan carried on as if Caleb hadn’t spoken. “We need to be able to come up with a distraction to buy as much time before the wolves shift as we can possibly get. Do you have any idea what your aunt will do?”

Caleb shook his head miserably. “She visited me occasionally while I was being held. S-sometimes the gammas would hold me down and draw blood.”

“Blood?” Taegan repeated woodenly, and Silas’s head shot up.

“Blood?” he repeated.

Caleb nodded miserably. He rolled up the sleeves of his shirt and bared his forearms. They were ugly, crisscrossed with a myriad of scars. “The inside of my thighs are worse.” He didn’t want to look at Taegan. He was sick of seeing the looks of horror on people’s faces when they saw him. He glanced over at Silas. The wolf looked worried.

“Did she collect your blood or simply spill it?”

“Collect,” Caleb whispered. “Sometimes I wished she would just take it all.”

Taegan made a noise in the back of his throat and Caleb looked at him, realizing what he had said. He hadn’t meant to speak that last thought out loud. He sounded pathetic and needy even to his own ears and he was ashamed. He might not have a wolf but he was still his father’s son and he felt a faint glimmer of something resembling pride. And again, the feeling of something stirring inside of him. He had a chance to help — for the first time he had the chance to be his father’s son, and while the thought of being Alpha was nothing but a fairytale there must be something he could do.

They all looked up as Renee came back in carrying a bowl of something that smelled wonderful. She smiled at all three of them and placed the bowl in Taegan’s hands. “I want him to drink every drop,” she admonished and before either of them could respond Silas stood.

“I need to see if there are any mentions of blood-letting in the books I have.” He smiled at Caleb and followed Renee out. Suddenly the silence was uncomfortable.

“I don’t know whose bed I am in, but I understand if you need to tie me up.” Caleb glanced into Taegan’s blue eyes. “I know I am a prisoner.” Caleb waited and watched the blue eyes soften with amusement. He stiffened. Taegan was laughing at him. Caleb drew away from Taegan even though he hated doing so. It was a mistake to grow dependent on the man, and he didn’t understand his compulsion to be near the human.

“You need to eat,” Taegan said and Caleb looked at the bowl he held without interest. Taegan’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t understand why you don’t seem to want to eat. Why you’re not hungry when you’re obviously starving.”

Caleb didn’t answer. In the last few months he had lost all interest. Eating only kept him alive and prolonged his suffering. Completely stopping had led to slaves being beaten, while gradually eating less and less was never noticed. It had been his last desperate plan.

Taegan shifted closer to Caleb. “How about you try a few mouthfuls so I don’t get shouted at by my mom?”

Caleb stared in surprise at the teasing smile on Taegan’s face. He didn’t think he was laughing at him this time. He obediently opened his mouth as Taegan spooned some stew. “I can do it,” Caleb offered, but it was a token protest.

“Humor me,” Taegan replied.

• • •

Twenty minutes later Taegan rested the spoon in the almost empty dish and stared at the sleeping man. Caleb had struggled to keep awake after the first few mouthfuls and Taegan had no idea what to make of any of it. Six years. The horror of that was more than Taegan could imagine. His life was simple. He had a rebellion to run, people depended on him, and he didn’t have time to be a nursemaid.

That isn’t fair.

It wasn’t. He knew it wasn’t. Caleb could have fed himself. Whether he would have was a different matter. He had never heard anyone speak so matter of factly about death, as if that was all the future Caleb expected. Maybe that was why it had been so satisfying to see him eat. He sat and let his eyes rove over Caleb’s face. His greatest enemy? Taegan nearly laughed, but this time because the joke was on him. Even in one day he could see Caleb looked better, impossibly weak but his face wasn’t as gray.

Bonded? Were they, and what did that even mean? Silas had seemed so certain but he had said it was rare. He understood the compulsion in the wolf to be near others, but Caleb wasn’t all wolf and Taegan wasn’t any. Pack was a powerful force. All humans knew that pack was so much more than a family. Maybe when Caleb was physically better, he might be able to break or weaken this bond. Maybe they might be able to get him to Caedra. If what Mari said was true it sounded like things might be improving for the territory, then there might be a wolf that Caleb could bond with. He thought Silas was being a bit dramatic when he said the bond would only break with one of their deaths. And whatever the case, Taegan refused to be responsible for another person. He had enough to do.

Taegan repeated that to himself slowly because he had an awful feeling it was an empty promise and somewhere he was sure — if the goddesses ever did as a lot of people believed, interfere with mortal lives — they were laughing at him.

About Victoria Sue

Wrote her first book on a dare from her hubby three years ago. Loves writing about gorgeous boys loving each other the best, and especially with either a paranormal or a historical twist. Had a try at writing contemporary but failed spectacularly when it grew four legs and a tail.

Is an English northern lass but is currently serving twenty to life in Florida – unfortunately, she spends more time chained at her computer than on a beach.

Loves to hear from her readers and can be found most days lurking on facebook.

The Alpha Heir – exclusive Amazon KU link https://goo.gl/b1s1Bf

www.victoriasue.com

@vickysuewrites

https://www.facebook.com/victoriasueauthor/– sign up for my newsletter and download a free story The Wrong Alpha

An Alisa Review: Broken Pieces by Ruby MacIntyre

Rating:  3 stars out of 5

 

Clint is a young but respected alpha of the Tillamook Pack, and he’s content with the life he’s built for himself after his tragic past. But after his son tells him of an omega being chased into their territory, Clint jumps into action, unaware of how his life is about to change.

 

Julian finally escaped from his abusive alpha, but the betas are hot on his tail. He has little hope of escaping, until a huge, black alpha wolf charges to his rescue. But there’s one problem–Julian doesn’t trust any alpha, no matter how kind or different Clint seems.

 

Julian hates alphas after what was done to him. Clint knows and understands Julian’s feelings, so why can’t he seem to stay away from the fiery omega? Julian doesn’t get why his wolf wants to submit to Clint, or why he’s so angry when Clint seeks affection elsewhere. Surely he doesn’t want the alpha’s attention…right?

 

This was an interesting story and I’m definitely interested to see if more books in this work come out.  Clint has worked hard to be a respectable alpha and raise his son right.  His son, Jacob quickly makes himself Julian’s champion after his rescue.  Julian doesn’t know what to do about how Jacob and Clint treat him, he has always been taught that all that ever mattered was the will of an alpha.

 

Clint and Julian’s biggest downfall was that they never just sat down and talked, they reacted quickly and then made assumptions based on the other’s behavior.  Clint is still dealing with his youth and PTSD but hasn’t really found the best way to do that and in the process ends up causing more pain for himself and Julian.  I felt for Julian in his confusion, his wolf was saying one thing while his brain was saying another and with his past experiences he had trouble getting them to work together.  For all that Clint was understanding and gentle he was also a jerk when something didn’t go his way, I was definitely not his biggest fan.  The missing omegas in the end gave the opportunity for this to continue into a series and I am definitely interested to read more and see if these two really grow together.

 

Cover art by Valerie Tibbs is nice and works well for the story.

 

Sales Links: Loose Id | Amazon | B&N

 

Book Details:

ebook, 175 pages

Published: July 24, 2017 by Loose Id

ISBN: 978-1-68252-382-7

An Alisa Review: Talk Bunny To Me (Hoppity Shifter #2) by A.R. Barley

Rating:  4 stars out of 5

 

When werewolf hunter meets bunny shifter, romance is the last thing either one of them expects to find… but

 

Benjamin Holland is a werewolf hunter–and a pretty successful one. He’s hunting a rogue wolf in Minnesota when he trips over a bunny shifter and takes the twitchy nosed little dude back to Illinois. It’s strictly catch and release. He needs to get laid, but after getting his heart crushed by his best friend Peter he’s not looking for a forever mate.

 

Mating is the last thing on Justin’s mind. He’s just escaped an arranged marriage to his warren’s next Rex. He wants to make up for lost time and build a life for himself in Chicago, but the more time these two spend exploring the city together the better they get along. When Justin’s ex-fiance tracks him down to the city, they’re going to have to decide if forever might just start with one magical night.

 

This was a great follow up to Chasing His Cottontail.  Benjamin has been dealing with the rejection of his best friend but can’t help but want to protect another bunny shifter when he rescues him.  Justin is running away from the man he has been promised to and the violence he has been living in.

 

Justin will do anything he can to prove to Benjamin that he is a worthy mate while at the same time Benjamin loves to take care of Justin.  I loved Benjamin realizing that is he had ended up with Peter it would not have been right so there was no reason for him to be upset.  They definitely look forward to their future together and making a family.  We get to see glimpses of Peter and Luke too which was nice.  I couldn’t help but think that Justin would want to see his family but maybe after being promised to an abusive jerk he doesn’t feel the need.

 

The cover is wonderful and gives a great visual for Benjamin and Justin’s bunny.

 

Sales Links: MLR Press | Amazon | B&N

 

Book Details:

ebook, 100 pages

Published: July 13, 2017 by MLR Press

Edition Language: English

A MelanieM Recent Release Review: Justified (Magnified #2) by Mell Eight

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

The world of vampires and werewolves is in upheaval. The magical community is under attack by a great evil power trying to destroy them all and their strongest fighter is oblivious with his nose glued in a spell book. Yani has given up hope in getting Aaron back on track. He knows he instead has to focus on his own future and the lives of those he loves, even if it means losing Aaron, the love of his life, forever.

Yani’s life isn’t the only one in flux. As the battle heats up and lines are drawn, the rest of his friends must fight for their own survival in a world with no answers to the terrible magic attacking them.

The Magnified novels, starting from the first story, is an amazingly complex and immensely mysterious series that’s getting increasingly horrifying by the book.  It’s also  quite wonderful, full of unexpected elements I’ve not seen in other tales.  Mell Eight is combining mysticism with vampires, Nazis, Kabbalism, dragons, faeries, werewolves, horror, M/M romance and it all works.

The first story, Magnified, sets up the introduction and the couples and should not be missed. It’s a gripping story. Without it, Justified floats without its foundation material.  This is not a standalone novel.  With Magnified as the backhistory for the couples and the situation they find themselves in, the reader can settle into the drama that is unfolding here in Justified.

That group of friends (and couples within) has just fought a major battle and barely escaped.  We now see the effects that it’s had on certain members, and there aren’t healthy ones.  Aaron has withdrawn into his books looking for knowledge and Yani is despairing over the loss of their closeness and perhaps their relationship.  The cost of that most recent battle is high indeed.

Mell Eight weaves her many plotlines (the overall series thread and the sub storylines) with great care, popping and pulling various elements in and out of the current scenes.  Could be Yani’s Jewish family and his ties to the vampire world and the Kabbalah or maybe we are heading into werewolf territory or even pandas, you never know.  It will be in pursuit of an evil so horrific that you are happy that Mell Eight has left some of the descriptions of that villain’s deeds less than vivid.  And terrifying to know that this series is continuing because it means only one thing has happened.

Justified (and the Magnified series) is full of fascinating, multi-layered characters, which include several here outside of the main group that I grew to love and hope to see again.  This small group of fighters seem like underdogs battling overwhelming odds with only one that stands a chance against true evil.   It started out as a gripping story and is growing into a powerful one of determination and bravery.  I can’t wait for the next book in the series.  The only reason it doesn’t have a higher rating is that you absolutely need the first book as a foundation for this one.  Together?  They have the makings of a 5 star series!

Cover art by Aisha Akeju.  I like this cover with the simple object that has its part to play within the story.

Sales Links:  Less Than Three Press | Amazon

Book Details:

ebook, 147 pages
Published August 9th 2017 by Less Than Three Press
ISBN139781684310500
Edition LanguageEnglish
Series Magnified

Magnified (Magnified, #1)

Justified (Magnified #2)

Blog Tour for Inhuman Beings by Richard May (excerpt and giveaway)

IB banner

Title: Inhuman Beings
Author: Richard May
Release Date: June 15th 2017
Genre: Gay Fiction, Fantasy, Paranormal, Sci-Fi, Erotic

Inhuman Beings-Front cover

BLURB

Fall in love with a shapeshifter in San Francisco, a ghost in Scotland, or a vampire in Russia. Time travel to 1920s Mesopotamia, 1600’s Africa, or to ancient Greece before time even existed. Find yourself on a distant planet, in love with a creature whose very being can destroy you, or in a post-apocalyptic world, drawn to a mutation created by the destruction of Earth.

Enjoy these 18 erotic stories about romantic encounters between men and not men–monsters and myths, gods and demons, science fiction and fantasy. Each story is the stuff of nightmares–and of dreams.

Add Inhuman Beings to Goodreads

Paperback Purchase: Amazon US | Amazon UK *The paperback version has 3 new stories*

Ebook Purchase: Amazon US | Amazon UK | MLR Press

REVIEWS

“With Inhuman Beings, May seductively crosses the boundaries of time and space, the real and the imaginary, in these spellbinding tales of love and lust and things that go bump, not to mention hump, in the night.”

– Rob Rosen, editor of the Best Gay Erotica series

“Inhuman Beings is an enormously imaginative, genre-crossing work in the tradition of Peter Cashorali’s groundbreaking Fairy Tales but with greater breadth and franker eroticism; an impres­sive achievement.”

– Michael Nava, author of the Henry Rios novels

“Inhuman Beings represents a seminal work in gay male erotic literature that draws on the threads and yarns of our cultures and civiliza­tions. Tales from many countries and eras transport you across the globe and through the years, making this book one that will stand the test of time.”

– Wayne Goodman, author of Better Angels

“Richard May’s new collection of short fiction contains an international menagerie of legendary creatures. There’s a Hindu god, a Native American cyclone spirit, a Chinese rain dragon, a moody Jewish golem, a sadistic Iraqi jinn, and more. Fans of the homoerotic melded with the speculative and the paranormal will savor every page of Inhuman Beings.”

—Jeff Mann, author of Country and Consent

“The beauty of this collection lies in its imagination – May is doing nothing less than writing a gay mythology, complete with monsters and fairy tales, imagined futures and refreshed pasts. His bold infusion of desire into mythology and encounters with the paranormal is unique, bracing and insightful. Inhuman Beings is full of a kind of sacred frivolity.”

—Trebor Healey, author of Faun and Eros & Dust

EXCERPT

Clocks told me it was after midnight, the new last day for the Daberleys at Enscombe. I climbed the central staircase, thinking of all the feet which had trod before me.

My father’s bedroom felt freezing so in quick order I stripped, not bothering to hang my clothes, and slid under the heavy blankets. Sleep came quickly but I was awakened soon after, or so it seemed, by the sound of footsteps in the hall outside my room. I was groggy and pulling myself into sitting when the bedroom door opened and the shadow of a tall man stood in the doorframe.

“Aren’t you afraid?” he asked in Stephen Taylor’s voice.

“No,” I lied, jumping out of bed and turning on the lamp, only belatedly covering myself with underwear tossed aside.

“But I do want to know what you’re doing in my house in the middle of the night.”

“I come here often,” was all he said as he entered the room and closed the door. I made ready for him as he came across the carpet but he just sat, slumping in the armchair.

“He killed me, you know.”

Giveaway: Comment on this post for a chance to win a copy of Inhuman Beings

About the Author

Richard May

Richard May’s short fiction has been published in his collections Inhuman Beings and Ginger Snaps: Photos & Stories (with photographer David Sweet), his series Gay All Year on Amazon Kindle, in anthologies like Never Too Late, Best Gay Erotica, and the Lambda Literary nominated Outer Voices Inner Lives, and in literary journals, including Bay Laurel, Chelsea Station, and Hyacinth Noir.

Rick also organizes the monthly Perfectly Queer book reading series with his partner Wayne Goodman in Oakland CA at Nomadic Press: Uptown and in San Francisco at Dog Eared Books Castro, individual LGBTQ Pride Readings for visiting authors, the annual literary festival Word Week in Noe Valley CA, and an online book club Reading Queer Authors Lost to AIDS.

Rick is from Sacramento CA and Brooklyn NY and now lives in San Francisco. He has red hair and truly believes in all things ginger. Another genetic stunner: he is 19th cousin to Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain.

Please follow him on social media at facebook.com/richardmaywriter, @rickmaywritr on Twitter, and richard.may1313 on Instagram.

Links: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

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