Category: Vampires

An Alisa Audio Review : Prophesy (The King & Alpha #1) by A.E. Via and Nathaniel Black (Narrator)

Rating:  3 stars out of 5

Justice Volkov is the youngest Alpha Zenith to ever lead the wolf shifters. Following in his father’s large paw prints was a responsibility he met head on. Now at age thirty-three, he is alpha of the alphas. As a direct descendant of the original Siberian pack, his wolf is bigger and stronger than Justice, himself is sometimes able to control.

His wolf howled long and hard but Justice kept it inside. It felt like a bass drum beating against his rib cage. The harsh breaths, angry snarls and the determined pacing inside him was overtaking him.

Justice takes his role of leadership and his legacy very seriously. He has little time for romance, not to mention a true mate. His packs are his priority. With a human government trying to regulate them, an uprising of rogue shifters, and a violent team of scientists trying to experiment on them, Justice has his hands way too full.

Chadwick ‘Wick’ Bentley is not enthusiastic when the captain of his escort tells him he has to leave his comfortable London home and go back to the States. As the Vampire King, he has no choice but to get his species back in line before they cause anymore chaos. At over one-hundred years old, Wick is no one to trifle with, but his smooth, charismatic manner makes him quite unique, despite the negative reputation vampires have. Wick has had nothing but time up to this point. He doesn’t feel the need to make issues pressing. Nothing is urgent in his life. Until he meets Justice. His beloved.

“Natural enemies can’t be mates.” Or so Justice thought. He knows his skepticism and rejection is hurting his mate, so while he fights their connection, Wick gets help from a source very close to Justice to help him win his beloved’s heart. Wick is a force all on his own, but when he’s blessed with a special gift from the Mother herself, not even Justice’s powerful wolf can prevent the prophesy from being fulfilled.

This story DOES NOT contain/mention MPREG.
No multiple pairings. No cliffhangers. It ends with a very HFN.

Warning: This book is MM paranormal: If you DO NOT like hot, alpha men shifting into large wolves, or vampires feeding from their mates, this may not be your read.

So, this has been one of those books that I was unsure about when it first came out but figured the audiobook would be my best shot for actually finally try it out.  I really enjoy most of this author’s books and did enjoy this one (and I know there is a second book) but it just felt a bit unfinished to me, I am not sure why as I know the story arc is going to continue throughout the series but just felt that there was do much unsaid.

I loved that we got to see both Justice and Wick’s points of view and it helped to understand them more.  Now, I know there is the whole mates insta-love thing, which I love, but after a mate basically pushes the other away and suddenly changes their mind and is suddenly in love with their mate, I just had some trouble with that.  Justice means well and I know he has a lot on his plate but he just seemed to make a lot of small similar mistakes when it comes to the vampires’ way of life.  I felt more for Wick with how different and apart he felt from the other vampires but was so glad that Justice was there to help guide him though the changes he went through.  I unfortunately didn’t feel the love with the characters and didn’t feel their connection to each other.

This is my first book narrated by Nathaniel Black and he did a nice job.  His narration and the voices he used help me to keep track of the story and what was going on but I didn’t feel the emotion in his voice which I think was one of the reasons I didn’t feel the connection with the characters.

I liked how the cover art by Jay Aheer shows how different Justice and Wick are and it gives great visuals of the characters.

Sales Links: Audible | Amazon | Audiobooks.com

Audiobook Details:

Audiobook, 6 hrs 50 min
Published: June 19, 2018 by AE Via
Edition Language: English

Series: The King & Alpha Series #1

An Alisa Review: Gorgon in 69 Seconds (College of United Monsters #3) by C.B. Archer

Rating:  3.5 stars out of 5

What happens when you enroll in a monster college and finally meet your bitter rival face to face? Riding stuff. Riding stuff happens.

 

The once elite College of United Monsters (C.U.M.) is still having financial troubles. In order to stay afloat, it has been forced to allow humans to register. Humans, in a monster school? Preposterous! Also, monsters are real and that was probably a bigger shock to the world than one school of them allowing humans to enroll.

Nape MacGuffin is a regular, ridiculous human. A student in the suddenly popular Historical Pottery Studies course, Nape finds himself facing off against his class’s biggest rivals: the students of Automobile Theory & Repair, who are convinced the pottery class is out to destroy them. Naturally, they have to get to the pottery students first. But, honestly—with a name like MacGuffin, you know the entire reason he’s in this story is to get kidnapped later on to serve as a plot device. You did know that…right?

It serves him right for having a punny name and attending monster college.

This series has continued to be an entertaining read, even if there are times I get confused about what is going on.  This one had more jumping around than the first two so I had a harder time keeping up.

Nape and Sthenny seem to be rivals but quickly band together when Nape discovers a negative plan for Automobile shop.  I didn’t really see these two as a couple though and felt they were just put together for the story.  I wasn’t able to get into their connection like I could with the first two books.

The cover art is great and I liked the visuals from the story.

Sales Links: Amazon | B&N

Book Details:

ebook, 57 pages

Published: April 16, 2019 by Deep Desires Press

Edition Language: English

Series: College of United Monsters #3

A Lila Review :Prophesy Book II: The Bringer of Wrath (The King & Alpha Series #2) by A.E. Via

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Shifter and Vampire True Mates story.

Alek’s older brother, Justice—the Alpha Zenith—was the first shifter to mate with a vampire in many generations, and it was believed the rare, fated pairing would stop at him. But, it hadn’t. Aleksei ‘Alek’ Volkov was second beta, next in succession to the most powerful shifter in the world. He was proud of his title and he took his duties seriously. It was all he had. Until his true mate literally showed up on his doorstep.

While his brother—the overachiever—excelled at having a vampire as a mate, Alek wasn’t that optimistic he would. He wasn’t averse to love, and he’d often thought of how different his life could’ve turned out if he’d ever experienced the emotion. His life was a mess and he’d worn a mask of stability for a majority of that time, only showing his siblings and pack what they needed to see—a strong Volkov alpha. Not the damaged man he was, with a tortured soul and a rogue wolf.

Alek dropped his heavy head in his hands. Now, for some reason, I’ve been granted a true vampire mate. And not just any vampire. The intimidating Belleron Liatos. Lord High to the King and the leader of his army.

Belleron ‘Bell’ Liatos had come to the states for one reason—his best friend and Vampire King, Chadwick Bentley. He certainly didn’t come to be pounced on by a wolf that could act independently of its master. Not only was his destined cherished a complicated and confused man; but he was also unaware of the powerful presence that lurked in the shadows of his soul. Bell didn’t know he’d be the key to unlocking an exceptional triad that would play a critical role in fulfilling the prophesy.

The Bringer of Wrath is a different type of shifter paranormal story. The intrinsic connection of Alek and Bell, and the other parts of their relationship push the reader to want more. The way the discoveries happened and how all it’s interrelated and separate at the same time shows the author’s ability to web not only the plot but the characters. Not much else I can say about this without spoiling how amazing Alek is 🙂 And Belleron is pretty feisty too.

The battles, the action, and the drama are well connected and have a reason to exists. The amount of detail can be overwhelming at times but reading the first book makes the most sense. The book can be slow at times but it’s easy to get lost in the Volkov’s legacy.

Preconceptions about shifters, vampires, and paranormal should be place aside. The prophesy is the base for these stories and provide all the information the reader needs to fall in love with the characters and the series.

I’m definitely looking forward to the rest of the books, and to know more about these characters. There’s a nice continuation from one to the other.

The cover by Jay Aheer is a perfect match for this series and the plot of this volume. Great way to catch the readers attention.

Sale Links:  Amazon | Via Star Wings

Book Details: 

ebook, 267 pages
Published: May 22, 2019, by Via Star Wings Publishing
ASIN: B07QQ2XH1Q
Edition Language: English

Series: The King and Alpha
Book #1: Prophesy
Book #2: The Bringer of Wrath

Review Tour for Prophesy Book II: The Bringer of Wrath (The King & Alpha Series #2) by A.E. Via

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Universal Link
 
Length: 87,000 words approx.
 
Cover Design: Jay Aheer @ Simply Defined Art
 
The King And Alpha Series
 
Prophesy 1 – Amazon US | Amazon UK | Universal Link (Currently only 99c/99p)
 
Blurb
 

Shifter and Vampire True Mates story.


Alek’s older brother, Justice—the Alpha Zenith—was the first shifter to mate with a vampire in many generations, and it was believed the rare, fated pairing would stop at him. But, it hadn’t. Aleksei ‘Alek’ Volkov was second beta, next in succession to the most powerful shifter in the world. He was proud of his title and he took his duties seriously. It was all he had. Until his true mate literally showed up on his doorstep.


While his brother—the overachiever—excelled at having a vampire as a mate, Alek wasn’t that optimistic he would. He wasn’t averse to love, and he’d often thought of how different his life could’ve turned out if he’d ever experienced the emotion. His life was a mess and he’d worn a mask of stability for a majority of that time, only showing his siblings and pack what they needed to see—a strong Volkov alpha. Not the damaged man he was, with a tortured soul and a rogue wolf.


Alek dropped his heavy head in his hands. Now, for some reason, I’ve been granted a true vampire mate. And not just any vampire. The intimidating Belleron Liatos. Lord High to the King and the leader of his army.


Belleron ‘Bell’ Liatos had come to the states for one reason—his best friend and Vampire King, Chadwick Bentley. He certainly didn’t come to be pounced on by a wolf that could act independently of its master. Not only was his destined cherished a complicated and confused man; but he was also unaware of the powerful presence that lurked in the shadows of his soul. Bell didn’t know he’d be the key to unlocking an exceptional triad that would play a critical role in fulfilling the prophesy.


This story DOES NOT contain or even mention MPREG.
No multiple pairings. No cliffhangers. Ends with a very HFN.


Warning: This book is M/M paranormal: If you DO NOT like alpha men shifting into large wolves, or vampires feeding from their destined beloveds, than this may not be the novel for you.

 

Read Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Review here. We highly recommend it.

 

A.E. Via has been a best-selling author in the beautiful gay romance genre for five years now, but she’s no stranger to MM. She’s been an avid reader of gay lit for over fifteen years before she picked up her laptop to place her own kiss on this genre. She’s also the founder and owner of Via Star Wings Books, having published a couple great new up and coming MM authors.


A.E. has a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from Virginia Wesleyan College that she used to start her own paralegal firm after she graduated in 2008. She spent five years preparing and filing bankruptcy petitions for struggling blue collar workers who couldn’t afford to file with a lawyer. It was a rewarding and satisfying career… but another path called to her. Writing.


A.E.’s writing embodies everything from hopelessly romantic to adventure, to scandalous. Her stories often include intriguing edges and twists that take readers to new, thought-provoking depths.


Now that she’s gotten over her 10 books published hump, she’s kind of known now for her hardcore, play rough and love hard, bad boy, alphas. However, she does like to push herself to step out of her comfort zone, exploring different tropes, but she won’t push herself into a whole other genre. She’s head over heels for gay romance and she has tons of more hot stories to tell.


Be sure to visit Adrienne on her social media pages and subscribe to her newsletter to never miss another release date! Go to A.E. Via’s official website http://authoraevia.com for more detailed information on how to contact her, follow her, or a sneak peak at upcoming work, free reads, VSWB submissions, and where she’ll appear next.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway
https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Hosted By Signal Boost Promotions

 

A VVivacious Review: Eight Lives: (Match Made in Hell #1) by Autumn Breeze and Ashley Chamblee

Rating: 5 *give me more* stars out of 5

Edmund is a human who has spent the past century as a cat and as a companion to the vampire, Anselm. Anselm is a centuries-old vampire whose only connection to life is Edmund himself. Their contented life together is thrown into disarray when the curse on Edmund starts to weaken and Edmund becomes human again.

With Anselm encountering Edmund as a human for the first time, there is a whole lot of new dynamics that come into their relationship. It soon becomes clear that a simple return to the way things were earlier is not an answer with seemingly every day bringing Edmund closer to his demise while Anselm remains immortal.

I want more.

The first thing you need to know about this book is that it is part of a series and I am cautiously optimistic that we will get to know more about Anselm and Edmund.

These two are such fascinating characters and the story is written in such a simple fashion with a plot that is so captivating that despite the fact that this book must be a hundred and fifty pages plus easily, it felt much shorter.

This book sets a very unhurried pace which complements the immortality of these characters. Anselm is a vampire so old that he makes Edmund seem like a child which is amazing given that Edmund himself is at least a hundred years old. I really liked Anselm. He was in the unique position of having lived so long that he had tired of it and the only thing keeping him alive is his relationship with Edmund.

Edmund has been cursed to live nine lives as a cat but when the curse that keeps him a cat starts to weaken Edmund shifts to a human form with cat ears and tails. Edmund was an immensely likeable character. He is so caring and worries so much about Anselm that it is quite clear that he feels quite deeply for Anselm. Being human after a century unlocks a whole new potential and direction for their relationship to develop. It is interesting to see how they both react to this new development.

The shift causes Anselm and Edmund to gain new perspectives on their feelings for each other and it was so fascinating to see these two embrace these feelings and experience them differently than they had before. I really liked the pace and the idyllic tone of their story because everything seemed magical.

I am very excited to read more about these two especially with what happens at the end and I can’t wait. Fingers crossed for book two.

Cover Art by Raven Brooks. I really liked the cover for this book, it really captured the tone of the book. Loved the use of the colour green in the background and how the cat’s startled blue eyes stand out.

Buy Links

Universal Link

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Book Details:
Kindle Edition, 112 pages
Published May 20th 2019
ASINB 07RT6XYK7