Category: Shifters, Weres

An Alisa Review: To Touch You (Mates #4) by Cardeno C.

Rating:  4.5 stars out of 5

 

“His name is Salvatore Rossi. He’s a vampire. And he’s my true mate.”

 

By not relying on anyone except himself, Salvatore Rossi escaped a dead-end existence and reached the height of corporate success. But just when he has everything he always wanted, fate throws Salvatore a challenge he can’t solve alone and a young wolf shifter comes to his rescue.

 

Since childhood, Yoram Smith’s family was certain he would grow to become Alpha and save their beloved pack from its slow demise. When the time comes for a new leader, Yoram is forced to juggle his duty to care for a splintering pack with his duty to care for an absent mate, and his own strength suffers.

 

Being turned into a vampire didn’t alter Salvatore’s life philosophy: if you don’t rely on anyone, nobody can let you down. But when the boy who saved his life becomes a man who needs his help, the icy vampire must find his humanity.

 

I enjoyed this book just as much as I have the others in the series.  Yoram is a very strong shifter and when he recognizes his true mate at the age of 7 and is then able to convince his family to help Sal when he is very sick.  As he gets older he will do anything to protect his mate even if than man doesn’t want him.

 

I loved Yoram’s unending love for his mate no matter what his mate wants he will take care of him.  Salvatore has always known that he has to protect himself and doesn’t rely on anyone else; when he realizes that he actually is relying on Yoram he just lets it happen and doesn’t actively acknowledge it.  For the longest time Yoram does all the bending but I loved Sal’s determination to help his mate and his pack once he fully understands and accepts his place at Yoram’s side.

 

For the first half of this book we see most of the story through Yoram’s eyes and see how accepting he is of his life and his determination to do what is right for his mate and also for his pack.  We begin to see more of Sal’s thoughts and in that we can see his confusion when it comes to what he was told originally and how he begins to feel as Yoram gets older.  We got to see the other characters in this series in the book more frequently than we have in others and I loved seeing how Yoram was able to finally bring Ethan back into his home pack after such a long time.

 

Cover art is wonderful and I love the visual of these two characters together.

 

Sales Links: Amazon | PayHip

 

Book Details:

ebook, 260 pages

Published: May 4, 2017
ISBN: 9781942184690

Edition Language: English

Series: Mates Collection

An Alisa Review: Hybrid (A Darker Hollow #1) by Shannon West & T.S. McKinney

Rating:  3 stars out of 5

 

Jax’s little brother Mason is all grown up and finds himself longing for a life of adventure. He finds it in a way he never planned late one night while walking home to the lodge beneath a full moon, when he is attacked, bitten and left for dead by a huge black werewolf. As he’s dying and all hope is fading, he is discovered on the trail and believes he’s being saved. Instead, he’s bitten a second time, and this time by a vampire.

 

Mason finds himself in the middle of an ancient war between the vampires and the Dire werewolves, and during a raid, he’s captured by the wolf who first bit him, a strong alpha named Finn. Finn is powerfully attracted to him, but Mason is changing, becoming something not quite wolf and not quite vampire—a new creature with powers of his own.

 

A hybrid is an interesting idea, made me think of Underworld, but I had some issues with how the characters acted throughout the story.  Mason has been feeling like something big was going to happen but he never expected it to be for him become something that has never existed before.  Valeran and Finn have been trying to destroy each other for as long as they can remember.

 

Valeran saves Mason after Finn’s attack and takes him as a lover and teaching him to hate werewolves.  When they finally go after Finn’s pack Mason is captured and Finn takes him as a mate and causes Mason to second guess his feelings for Valeran.  It takes a lot for Mason to start using his brain to examine his thoughts and actions.

 

We get to see all the characters’ points of view which should help to understand them better but most of the time I couldn’t help but think why is he doing that?  I didn’t like that Valeran and Finn tried to use Mason against each other for most of the book and Mason doesn’t even realize it until close to the end.  His seemingly acceptance that the essentially is suffering from Stockholm Syndrom but is determined to make everything work with both lovers is a bit wacky to me.  It takes until the very end of the story for Valeran and Finn to kind of accept their attraction to each other.  I am hoping that the series will continue with these three actually having a relationship and getting Finn’s pack back.

 

The cover art by E Keith is nice and gives good visuals of the Mason.

 

Sales Links: Painted Hearts Publishing | Amazon | B&N

 

Book Details:

ebook, 200 pages

Published: March 29, 2017 by Painted Hearts Publishing

Edition Language: English

Series: A Darker Hollow #1

A VVivacious Review: Lion’s Mate (Hell’s Creek #1) by Shannon West & T.S. McKinney

Rating: 3 Stars out of 5
 
Julian finds himself right up Hell’s Creek, literally, when a wrong turn ends up with him right in the middle of Crazytown, USA. He finds himself immediately assaulted by a group of people who keep calling him kitty and keep telling him that the consequences of him ignoring the treaty will be grave indeed. As a last ditch effort Julian runs and finds himself across an imaginary border, only to faint at the sight of a lion headed his way.
 
He wakes up to find himself tied to a bed with a person who calls himself Leo and claims that they are mates. Can Julian escape Hell’s Creek before the craziness catches up to him or will this venture not only lead him on the path to love but also to answers about himself?
 
I am kind of on the fence with this book. I really enjoyed reading the book, but there was always this nagging thought at the back of my mind that I should be enjoying this book more, which I think was because I had really high expectations with this book. I love shifter romances and I love how Shannon West writes shifter romance and though I have never read T.S. McKinney before, I was really excited to read this.
 
The first thing that I found a little unbelievable was how clueless Julian is prior to Leo’s reveal. Up till that point he meets up with a ton of people who call him kitty and have weird ass notions of mates and scents and, treaties and borders. Not only that his first introduction to this oddity is violent enough to leave an impact so how is that not even once does Julian have a what if moment, I mean I would have enjoyed one and it would have made the whole thing a little more natural even if the moment were to be followed up by a vigorous refute of the notion.
 
In the first chapter of this book I stopped reading the book twice but when I did pick it up for the third time I read it till the very end. I don’t exactly know why I would stop reading but I’m pretty sure it was because of the fact that I didn’t particularly like that chapter. I mean the fact that Julian doesn’t understand what the Canis are saying and the Canis don’t believe what Julian is saying, kind of grates on the nerves. Also there is a whole lot of posturing and promises of an ill fate like every TV villain ever but when things actually boil down to action it is over very fast. Also can I just confess here that Canis is a very awkward name, what happened to the good old canine shifters?
 
Also what is up with Chloe, I so don’t believe her explanation that nothing would have happened to Leo, the Canis seemed dead set on raping Julian, and I for one don’t believe that they wouldn’t have gone through with it because then why did he have to run for his life if it was all just for fun. Moreover she knew that Julian was a feline shifter then why didn’t she try to rescue him or help him before he had to run for his life. Because after this incident she was all sugary nice and that left a very venomous after taste in my mouth. Yuck!
 
Apart from these three things the rest of the book is exactly what I like in a shifter romance. There is an amazing romance between Leo and Julian and I loved how it develops. I loved how the authors showed us a little bit of how Julian’s psyche affected their relationship and how he doesn’t believe he can be loved and how Leo has to slowly break down his walls. These two were incredibly hot together.
 
I also liked the plot of this book though everything did feel a little last minute but I am definitely intrigued as to the future of this series.
 
Cover art by E. Keith. I liked the cover. It fit the book and the genre.

Sales Links:  Painted Hearts Publishing | Amazon

Book Details:
ebook
Published May 9th 2017 by Painted Hearts Publishing
Edition Language English
Series Hell’s Creek #1

Blog Tour for Surrender The Dark by Tibby Armstrong (giveaway)

 

 

Blog Tour for Surrender The Dark by Tibby Armstrong

As a provocative series of paranormal temptation begins, a vampire king seduces the supernaturally gifted man hunting him. But when the stakes are literally life or death, their struggle for control is no game.

Benjamin Fuller is a hunter, born and bred. Blinded as a child by the vampire who slaughtered his family, he’s blessed with a second sight that allows him to catch and kill his quarry. What his gift can’t help him see coming is his fierce, almost carnal attraction to the mystery man who claims to be a fellow hunter and whose touch triggers both lust and revulsion. When he gains the upper hand, Benjamin vows to bring his enemy to his knees.

After many years spent in exile, the only one who can help restore Tzadkiel Dragoumanos to his rightful place as War King is a blind hunter with golden curls, a lithe dancer’s physique, and distinctive facial scars—scars Tzadkiel gave him two decades ago. The mere scent of Benjamin Fuller provokes an unwelcome rush of insatiable desire. Yet to win an all-out supernatural war, Tzadkiel must resist the ravenous hunger to possess his prey—for now.

Purchase:

Kindle – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01D7CJ3Z0/

Nook – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/surrender-the-dark-tibby-armstrong/1123563499?ean=9780399593352

iBooks – https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/book/surrender-the-dark/id1139530733?mt=11&at=1001lmSp

Kobo – https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/surrender-the-dark-1

GooglePlay – https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Tibby_Armstrong_Surrender_the_Dark?id=1ajFCwAAQBAJ

EXCERPT Copyrighted 2016

Benjamin jerked back at the contact with Tzadkiel’s mouth and attempted to shove the vampire away. Tzadkiel, however, was quicker. Hand gripping Benjamin’s nape in a way that spoke of centuries—perhaps millennia—of practice, Tzadkiel held him immobile. The royal purple aura flashed and brightened with something Benjamin’s hunter-senses recognized as desire. Flesh, warm and supple, not marble hard and cold, met Benjamin’s lips.
The vampire kisses like a human.

Benjamin’s first thought struck him as absurd, and then he couldn’t think at all. Lips that had begged him for water, for silence, for life, now demanded passion. Sparks of white and deep mauve obscured the subterranean world around him, focusing his attention on the flash-bang of his arousal. As before, contact with the vampire blew him apart from the inside. Adrenaline, fear, animal instinct, all combined to light his nerves with an awareness he’d only experienced when fighting the heinous creatures. In short, he felt alive.

Lungs burning, Benjamin gasped when Tzadkiel let him up for air, then pulled his nemesis in for more. Drunk with lust, he barely registered voices in the tunnel, or the polite cough and tap on his shoulder. Taste. He needed to taste. Plunging his tongue into a rough and tumble battle with Tzadkiel’s, he tasted his own blood on the vampire’s tongue. Tzadkiel growled and clamped his hand more insistently on Benjamin’s nape, forcing him to open his mouth until every spare inch of his world was filled with a different kind of mayhem. Tinged with smoke and salt and a warm earthy essence, Tzadkiel tasted of nightmares laced with forbidden desire. A one-hit addict, Benjamin couldn’t get enough of the resulting rush.

The cough and tap came again, more insistent this time. Benjamin shrugged it off, refusing to rouse from this wonderful dream, and attempted to fall back to sleep—to fall back into to Tzadkiel’s embrace.

RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY: https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/ee67c24230/

About Tibby

Tibby Armstrong has been a romance reader since the age of eleven, when she snuck a very bad historical from her aunt’s shelves. In her late twenties, she fell in love with paranormal romance and urban fantasy. Now she writes LGBT contemporary and paranormal stories with strong relationship threads and a healthy helping of steam.
Website: http://www.tibbyarmstrong.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Tibby-Armstrong-1609473992626766/?ref=hl

An Alisa Audiobook Review: In Your Eyes​ (Mates #3) by Cardeno C and Charlie David (Narrator)

Rating:  4 stars out of 5

 

Two very different men with a tumultuous history must overcome challenges from all sides and see past their society’s rules to realize they are destined for one another.

 

Raised to become Alpha of the Yafenack pack, Samuel Goodwin dedicates his life to studying shifter laws, strengthening his body, and learning from his father. But despite his best efforts, Samuel can’t relate to people, including those he’s supposed to lead.

 

When Samuel meets Korban Keller, the son of a neighboring pack’s Alpha, he reacts with emotion instead of intellect for the first time in his life. Resenting the other shifter for throwing him off-balance, Samuel first tries to intimidate Korban and then desperately avoids him. What he can’t do is forget Korban’s warm eyes, easy smile, and happy personality.

 

When a battle between their fathers ends tragically, Samuel struggles to lead his pack while Korban works to break through Samuel’s emotional barriers. Two very different men with a tumultuous history must overcome challenges from all sides and see past their society’s rules to realize they are destined for one another.

 

This is another great story by Cardeno C.  Samuel has worked his entire life to become the alpha of his pack but he has never been able to connect with his pack mates and is continuing to have problems with shifting back from his wolf.  He has been drawn to Korban since first meeting him but since he has no frame of reference he is sure that it’s to hurt him or show him up.

 

This story is told from Samuel’s point of view so we know what he is thinking but I still had a hard time connecting with him, however I think that was more because of his standoffishness that needed to be counteracted by Korban’s happiness.  Samuel tries so hard to be what he is supposed to be but can never seem to get farther.  Korban is so understanding and sweet; he has been waiting years for Samuel to realize that they are fated mates.  When Korban is brought in place of his father Samuel loses control for the first time in his life and claims him and seeing Samuel struggle to come to terms with his actions and feelings is heartbreaking; when he makes Korban’s safety as a priority he finally gives them a chance to talk and figure everything out.

 

Charlie David did a great job narrating this story.  I could connect with the characters through the voices and emotions he portrayed.  I loved that he kept Korban’s voice quieter to show how calming and understanding he was.

 

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

 

Sales Links: Audible | Amazon | iTunes

 

Audiobook Details:

Audiobook, 5 hrs 59 min
Published: October 26, 2016 (ebook, 2nd edition, published July, 15 2015)
Edition Language: English

Series: Mates Collection

In Our Supernatural Spotlight: Forest of Thorns and Claws by JT Hall (giveaway/Riptide Publishing Tour)

Forest of Thorns and Claws by J.T. Hall
Riptide Publishing

Cover by: L.C. Chase

Read an Excerpt/Purchase it at Riptide Publishing

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to host J.T. Hall here today talking about her latest story, Forest of Thorns and Claws.  Welcome, J.T.

✒︎

Hello and welcome to the blog tour for Forest of Thorns and Claws! This M/M shifter (weretiger) romance is a standalone novel set in the rainforests of Indonesia. The book features a lonely veterinarian and wildlife conservationist from the UK, Dr. Donovan McGinnis, who meets a man from the local Sumatran village, Kersen, after rescuing a snared tigress. I hope you’ll read on to learn more about Donovan and Kersen’s adventures.

Also, remember to leave a comment on this post… one lucky winner will get a $15 Riptide gift card!

About Forest of Thorns and Claws

Donovan McGinnis, a veterinarian and conservationist at a research center in Sumatra, is fighting to save the rainforest from poachers and politicians alike. One day he discovers a tigress trapped by a snare, and while treating her injuries, she bites him. He becomes ill with strange symptoms that leave him feverish and dreaming of the jungle and blood.

Kersen and his family are part of the Siluman harimau, a clan of tiger shifters hidden away in a secret village near the rainforest. When Kersen’s sister is caught, he knows he must free her before she infects someone with their magic and reveals their secret.

But Donovan has already been turned, and only time will tell if he can control the tiger within. Kersen must help him, but will the fierce attraction between the pair bring ruin to them all? With the rainforest under threat from outside forces, they may be doomed anyway, unless Kersen and Donovan can find a way to defeat the danger from inside and out.

Now available from Riptide Publishing. 

About J.T. Hall

J.T. Hall has been writing for many years under this name and others, and has appeared in magazines, anthologies, and online books. She earned her BA in creative writing from the University of Arizona, her Master’s in education from Argosy University, and works as an independent technical writer for state and federal programs. In her free time, she volunteers for the LGBT community and is active in the leather scene. She has a teenage daughter and a partner of over ten years. They live in sunny Arizona with three adorably cute dogs, three black cats, and a hamster who loves peanuts.

Connect with J.T.:

Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Forest of Thorns and Claws, one lucky winner will receive a $15 Riptide credit! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on May 20, 2017. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

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