A Paul B Review: Sealed With Honor (Signed, Sealed, Delivered #1) by Caitlin Ricci and A.J. Marcus

Rating 3.5 out of 5 stars

Sealed with HonorWhat should be a happy time for Cam is actually one of dread.  A fennec fox shifter from Morocco, his mating has been arranged to another shifter from the state of Washington.  According to the rules and traditions of mating, Cam must give up everything from his old life to begin his new life with his mate.  The one thing he will miss the most is his childhood and best friend Leo.  Cam hopes that his new mate will at least give him the right to contact Leo occasionally to keep up with him, but he does not hold out much hope.

On the night before his mating, Jenner is out with his best friend Taruk.  While partying, they are interrupted by a young male with what appears to be more spunk than brains.  They resume their evening after the young man’s bodyguard escorts him from the bar.  Jenner meets the man the next day and finds out that he is his intended mate.  Things get strange when the young man asks why Taruk is touching Jenner, contrary to mating customs.  Jenner chalks it up to jealousy.  This would become the first of several misunderstandings that the two encounter on the first day of their mating.  Cam wonders if his mate’s cluelessness is a bad sign that his mating will be one without love.

This is a good first book in Caitlin Ricci and A.J. Marcus’s new Signed, Sealed, Delivered shifter series.  The main focus of this book is the contrasting cultures the different shifter clans have developed, whether from the continent they come from or the species of each shifter.

Cam has spent his entire life protected from anything that might harm him so his father could get a high dowry for him.  Jenner has lived a carefree existence, doing wild things with his friends.  I felt sorry for Cam and Leo as they feel that this is probably the end of their lifelong friendship.  The misunderstandings of mating between Cam and Jenner seem like it comes from a screwball comedy.  You just wait for the lightbulb to come on for one of them so that they can resolve their differences.  I could see Lucy and Ricky in the scene where Cam hands Jenner the printout that he must read in order for their friends to interact normally with them.    The story has me hooked for the next book in the series

The cover art by Latrisha Waters shows Cam in both his human form and his fennec fox form.  It is nicely done cover for the book.

Sales Links:  eXtasy BooksAmazon

Book Details

ebook, 80 pages
Published March 14th 2016 by eXtasy Books
ISBN139781487406509
Edition LanguageEnglish
URL
SeriesSigned, Sealed, Delivered

Sealed with Honor (Signed, Sealed, Delivered #1)

A Paul B Review: Love Comes To Light (Senses #6) by Andrew Grey

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

love comes to lightArik Bosler receives a call from Ken Brighton offering him a two week fellowship to study art with him in Northern Michigan. Normally Arik would be ecstatic about this opportunity. However, he was injured six months ago, severely burning his hand, making it impossible to paint. Arik agrees but decides that he would go say hello to the renowned artist and thank him for the opportunity then take off. What good is studying with one of the modern greats if you cannot actually apply the lessons learned?

On his way, Arik stops at a gas station close to his destination. A huge intimidating man comes to fill up his gas tank. Being five foot nothing, Arik has always been scared of men who had some considerable height. However, this man also intrigues Arik despite his fear.

Reg Thompson is this man. He is a biker who belongs to the local motorcycle club. While he looks intimidating, he really is a giant teddy bear. He doesn’t mean to scare the cute man and tries to draw him out. He even puts his mechanic into place after the mechanic teases Arik about his height, or lack thereof.

After the two meet at a dinner arranged by Ken, the two men begin to talk and find out they have a lot in common. Both are artists who have had to deal with basically absentee parents. Arik grew up with drug addicted parents. Reg’s mother became distant after the death of Reg’s sister and the onset of mental illness. While Reg has dealt with the trouble of his parents, Arik has allowed the problems of his parents to fester.

As the two grow closer, Arik meets the rest of the members of Reg’s motorcycle club. While only there for ten minutes, Arik is convinced that Reg is no better than his parents and begins to distance himself from Reg. To make matters worse, Arik’s mother shows up wanting to talk with him. Arik must deal with his past if he wants a future that is happy instead of bitter.

This is the sixth book in Andrew Grey’s Senses series. These books can be read individually but having read the past books brings context to parts of the storyline. I absolutely love this series. Usually one of the major characters, if not several of the supporting characters has a handicap of one kind or another. However, this handicap does not define the character. It is a part of the character like being gay or blond. The most powerful character throughout the series, Patrick the opera singer who lost his voice, speaks the most powerfully. He, along with Ken his partner, help show Arik that he might not be able to paint like he used to, he still could develop other methods of expressing his creativity.

The other characters that helps Arik is Bobby Jo, a young girl in the county children’s home who is facing another surgery to fix her malformed hand and Jerry, a young boy from a previous story who is stricken with a muscular disease that has curled his hands. I look forward, as always, to the next book in this series.

The cover art is perfect for the book. L.C. Chase has our young blond Arik standing a few feet away from Reg, who is wearing jeans and a leather jacket without a shirt. Reg looks like he is coming out of the bay to the garage of his service/gas station. They are what I thought they might look like.

Sales Links:  Dreamspinner Press | ARe | Amazon

Book Details
EBook, 206 pages
Published: March 18, 2016 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN: 978-1-63477-128-3
Edition Language: English
Series: Senses

Love Comes Silently (Senses #1)
Love Comes in Darkness (Senses #2)
Love Comes Home (Senses #3)
Love Comes Around (Senses #4)
Love Comes Unheard (Senses #5)
Love Comes To Light (Senses #6)

A Paul B Release Day Review: Patience (Forbes Mates #2) by Grace R. Duncan

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

PatienceJamie Ryan was almost ready to accept he’d never find his destined mate. They’re uncommon to begin with and same-sex versions downright rare. Since his gay best friend found a destined mate, Jamie figured he was out of luck. Until end of semester stress forces him to go through the full-moon shift early. Stuck in wolf form, he runs into none other than his destined mate. Who’s human.

Chad Sutton has always had good instincts. They served him well as a detective and continued on when he went private. Those instincts tell him there’s something about the dog that comes up to him while running away from animal control that isn’t quite right. He works to put the pieces together, but is unsuccessful until his dog turns into a human before his eyes.

Jamie has no idea what a shifter mate bite will do to a human. He’s terrified to try—and possibly kill his mate. They hunt together for answers while working together on a case for Chad. It’s easy to see they belong together, but Jamie fears the gods gave him someone he can’t keep.

This second book in the Forbes Mates series was enjoyable, even though I have not read the first book in the series. I thought the way that Jamie was stuck in his wolf form for three days after he met his mate was a unique twist. Jamie tries to everything possible to make sure he is around his mate, even if he has to resort to what most wolf shifters think is an insult—acting as a dog. The problems they have with the American wolf leadership sets up potential conflicts for later books in the series.

Also noteworthy is that the Roman pantheon of gods is used rather than the Greek one. Especially touching was the offering Chad and Jamie made in front of the shrine of Jupiter at the international wolf headquarters in Rome. The epilogue sets up an intriguing storyline for the next book in the series.

Reese Dante’s cover is a nice touch. It shows our Chad kissing Jamie on the forehead in the background with Jamie’s wolf watching in the foreground.

Sales Links:   Dreamspinner Press | ARe | Amazon

Book Details
EBook, 230 pages
Published: March 7, 2016 by Dreamspinner Press
Edition Language: English
ISBN: 978-1-63476-762-0
Series: Forbes Mates
Devotion (Forbes Mates #1)
Patience (Forbes Mates #2)

A Paul B Review: Love Simplified (Game, Set, Match #2) by Teegan Loy

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Love SimplifiedJalen Marten met the love of his life Austin Suter one day during high school when Austin Suter hit a tennis ball into Jalen.  A few months later, Austin made his professional tennis debut at the Australian Open.  Instead of immediately going on tour, Austin returned to high school and Jalen.  As graduation approaches, Austin leaves for Europe and to play in the French Open and Wimbledon.  On graduation day, Jalen’s mother surprises him with a ticket to Paris to join Austin at the French Open and the summer tennis season.

Although welcomed by Austin and his mother, Jalen’s appearance is not accepted by everyone.  Austin’s father and his publicist are afraid if word got out that Austin has a boyfriend touring around with him.  They do everything to make sure that Jalen is as marginalized as possible.  They ask Jalen not to sit in the player’s family box.  They ask him to disguise his appearance as much as possible.  However, the young men do everything possible to spend as much time together as they can, thanks in part to Austin’s mother.  She runs interference as much as she can.  The tipping point is when Austin has a fashion shoot with a famous designer.  A male model does not show up and the photographer drafts Jalen to fill in for him.  The photograph that is the center of the campaign ends up being one of the two men in a smoldering pose.

Austin does well at both the French Open and Wimbledon.  His tennis star is clearly rising.  Jalen’s presence on tour worries not only Austin’s father but Jalen himself.  As the pressure from Austin’s father increases, Jalen knows his presence is causing tension in the Suter family.  Jalen leaves right before the biggest match for Austin—the final of the US Open.  He first heads home to talk with his mother, the leaves for Los Angeles to pursue his passion—music.

When he arrives in LA, Jalen meets a young man who finds him a job as a barista at a friend’s coffee shop and a place to crash if he agrees to help with general maintenance of the apartment complex he manages.  It appears that Evan has issues of his own to work through.  While Evan has his business ventures, the relationship he has with his father influences most things he does.  However, Evan proves to be a friend to Jalen and provides help by introducing him to a record producer.  However, the greatest assistance Evan provides comes at a holiday party for the complex.   With Evan’s help, Jalen’s previous doubts disappear and seems to head toward a happily ever after.

While I enjoyed this book, it was not quite the book that I expected.  The first quarter of the book started just about how I thought it would go.  But once Jalen leaves Austin behind in New York, the story diverted into more of a character study of both Jalen and Evan.  While being mentioned in passing several times, Austin does not reappear until the last 15 percent of the book.  Although its mentioned by Jalen’s mother or Austin’s mother that Austin’s game is suffering because of Jalen’s absence, it would have been nice to have some scenes of Austin while on the tennis tour without Jalen.

The book does portray the over-involvement some parents take in their children’s tennis careers that we have heard about in the media.  Personally, I would have preferred more time on tour with Jalen and Austin and a little less time of Jalen’s self-discovery in Los Angeles.

The cover art by Maria Fanning is perfect for the book.  It depicts Jalen and Austin above a tennis net and the Eiffel Tower.  It is well done.

Sales Links:   Dreamspinner Press | ARe | Amazon

Book Details

ebook, 286 pages
Expected publication: March 4th 2016 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN139781634770460
Edition LanguageEnglish

Series:  Game, Set, Match

Love Complicated (Game, Set, Match #1)

Love Simplified (Game, Set Match #2)

A Paul B Review: Stealing Dragon’s Heart (Lifting the Veil #6) by Susan Laine

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Stealing Dragon's HeartTen years after the Unveiling, Finn Greyson knows all about mythical creatures.  It has also made his life as a master thief a bit more difficult as security has increased with the new times.  When his fence offers him a job of breaking into a master collector’s suite and stealing the Earth Shard, Finn is reluctant to take the job.  New Shanghai has become a walled city with few if any escape routes.  Finn is already a wanted man in the city anyway.  Add in the fact that his fence only says that Finn would know the object when he sees it, the job seems almost impossible.  Considering the amount of money that could come his way, Finn decides that this could be his last job and agrees to the mission.

Cameron Feilong has possession of the Earth Shard.  It is one of five pieces of the Elemental Crystal, along with ones representing wood, water, metal, and fire.  Each shard is protected by a guardian.  If the five shards are reformed into one crystal, then dangerous things could happen.  The last time the elven race got an evolutionary advance while others devolved into more basic creatures.  Cameron is one of the five charged to make sure these objects are never together again.

Finn breaks into Cameron’s suite and is amazed at all the priceless objects that are stored on the multi-level apartment.  Pushing away ideas of stealing a couple of the priceless art pieces that he sees, Finn searches out for his bounty.  Strange things begin to happen to him after he passes a small dragon statue in one of the hallways.  When he starts dancing an Irish sword dance and singing nonsensical rhymes, Finn realizes that he has wandered into a dragon’s lair and his horde.  When confronted by Cameron in his dragon form, Finn tells Cameron the reason that he is there.  Cameron is alarmed and immediately goes to where he stores the Shard.  Noting that it is gone, Finn realizes that he has been set up.  When the New Shanghai police arrive asking about a murder in Cam’s suite, Cam also realizes that he is being set up to take the fall for Finn’s murder.  Together the pair must solve who is willing to kill both of them and prevent the mastermind from retrieving all five shards before it is too late.  But in the end will Finn be able to steal something even more precious than the shards of the elemental crystal?

This is the first Lifting the Veil book that I have read from Susan Laine, but I have read several of her other books.  As with the other books that I have read by hear, I totally enjoyed it.  What I really liked was the different settings that she built within her mythical world.  From the barren tundra home of the first lycan to the underwater world of the Undine, her descriptions gives the reader a sense of the worlds that these people live in.  Each of the four settings where we find a new guardian is brought to life.

I also liked how Finn, while seemingly the weakest of those searching for the shards, might actually be the strongest.  His persistent optimism might annoy Cam somewhat but it is what is needed to accomplish their mission.  When he has to make a couple of decisions that test his moral system, you can feel the pain he goes through as he is weighing his options.  Because of his actions, he lashes out at the guardians for not being there when he thought he needed them most.    At the end, he realizes that he might have been a bit harsh and hopes it is not too late to make things right.  I look forward to reading more in this series.

The cover art by Anne Cain is a pretty drawing of what I think is Cameron’s mountain retreat.  While it is a gorgeous cover, I wish the cover had more to do with either the elemental shards or the characters themselves.

Sales Links:   Dreamspinner Press | ARe | Amazon

Book Details

ebook, 240 pages
Expected publication: March 2nd 2016 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN139781634769723
Edition LanguageEnglish

Series:  Lifting the Veil

A Paul B Review: Nuts About You (Nutty Romances #1) by Kate Lowell

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Nuts to YouNathan works at the bulk store.  He particularly enjoys when one of the regular customers, Vince, comes to buy birdseed for his feeders.  He also feels a bit guilty.  The reason?  Nathan is responsible for Vince buying a lot of that birdseed.  He is a squirrel shifter.  Nathan’s favorite pastime and obsession is shifting into his squirrel form and watching Vince from on top of the bird feeders.  How can he deny his squirrel self some of the birdseed and nuts that happen to be in the bird feeder?  It is just an added benefit of watching this hot man walking around in his house half dressed.

One day, Vince catches the squirrel sitting on top of one of the feeders.  Tired of having the furry creature stealing the seed from the birds.  Vince throws a shoe at the squirrel, knocking him down to the ground.  Thinking that the little guy is seriously injured, Vince feels guilty and takes the squirrel inside.  Getting nowhere after calling a vet, Vince decides to nurse the squirrel back to health.  After the squirrel fails to escape through a window, Vince is surprised when Nathan emerges from his squirrel form.  Nathan wonders what Vince will think of him now that his secret has been revealed.

This was a cute short story.  The author brings us a different form of shifter and uses his nature well.  There is a focus on nuts in all shapes and sizes.  Nathan is as timid as his animal nature.  The scenes once Vince discovers Nathan’s secret are steamy and flavorful.  Vince’s occupation is put to good use.  The one thing that I did not like about this book is that neither character seems to have a last name revealed.  For me personally, I like characters to have full names.  It  seems to make them more real to me.

The cover art by Ana J. Phoenix is quite appropriate.  It shows a squirrel clinging to a trunk of a tree.  It is a very cute cover for the book.

Sales Links:   ARe | Amazon

Book Details

ebook
Published January 7th 2016
ISBN139780994857019
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesNutty Romances #1

Series:  Nutty Romances

  • Nuts About You (Nutty Romances #1)
  • Rise of the Alpha Squirrel (Nutty Romances #2)

A Paul B Review: Quentin Heart, Vampire Bounty Hunter by Amber Kell

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars               ★★★★★

Quentin Heart Vampire Bounty HunterQuentin Heart basically has no time for a social life. Between finishing up his wizardry degree and taking care of his mother who has had a relapse with cancer, life seems to pass him by. To make matters worse, bill collectors are demanding payment for his mother’s treatments, none of which seem to be working. Quentin spots a flyer advertising bounty hunting services for paranormals. As he is entering the wizardry lab at the university, his best friend Glenn calls him and demands that Quentin joins him at the club that evening. After several hours of research, Quentin leaves the lab building only to find a pack of bone wolves (werewolves made from the hides of dead animals) that lead him to the body of his friend Glenn. After dealing with authorities,

The next day, after guest lecturing for a class at the university, Quentin visits his mother at the hospital. She explains that his father was a fae who was part of the royal family. One of the wolves that has been following him around is actually his father trapped in a spell along with his uncles. Quentin next goes to claim the body of his friend to arrange for burial when he is informed that it is no longer in the morgue. It has walked away. Pissed that a reckless vampire turned his friend, Quentin decides to work for the bounty agency in the hopes of making sure no one else suffers Glenn’s fate.

His first assignment is to bring in the leader of the local vampire clan. Quentin marches into the clan’s mansion, casts a spell and transports the vampire to the local police station. The clan’s second, who has now become leader due to Quentin’s actions, thanks Quentin for getting rid of the leader nobody liked. Jakinson, the new leader, states that since the bounty hunter has done him a favor, he owes a favor in return. He gives Quentin a necklace that Quentin would later find out marks him as Jakinson’s mate. Quentin must now deal with a very possessive vampire on top of finding his wayward newly made vampire friend, the rogue vampire that attacked Glenn, and deal with his mother’s declining health and the bills that are associated with her care. If you throw in somebody who seems to be after him, life just got a lot more complicated for Quentin.

Amber Kell is one of my favorite authors and this book did not disappoint me. She has a way with books about powerful wizards. Quentin Heart is your typically preoccupied nerd researcher that has his world turned upside down but circumstances that are beyond his control. He shows his strength in that he makes Jakinson realize that he will not be the submissive mate that most vampire leaders expect. He is faced with some tough decisions that involve his family but comes through them in the end. I also enjoyed the fact that the author has given Quentin enough possible enemies that there should be several more books in the series to come. I highly recommend the first book in this new series.
The cover art by Meredith Russell shows our hero wearing his glasses holding one of his spell balls with the city landscape in the background. It is how I would picture Quentin would look like. It is an excellent cover for the book.

Sales Links:  ARe  | Amazon

Book Details

EBook, 314 pages
Published: January 29, 2016
Edition Language: English
ISBN: 978-1-311-09104-8

A Paul B Review: Golden Son (Tidal Crest #2) by Jeff Erno

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Golden SonThere is but one heir to the throne, one Golden Son.

At thirty-two, Ari loves his life in small town northern Michigan, running his aquatic pet store, but he’s always yearned to visit a coastal state. Inexplicably, he’s felt a connection with the ocean his entire life, and when his cousin Todd calls to ask him to be his best man at his California ocean-side wedding, Ari jumps at the chance for a much needed vacation. When he arrives in San Diego, however, he makes some discoveries about himself and finds love in the process. He also finds himself embroiled in a disturbing murder mystery that he ultimately helps to unravel.

Golden Son picks up about two weeks after the end of Deep Dive ends.  Sam and Prince Percy are wrapping up their honeymoon and facing the fact that they must return to reality.  Meanwhile, their friends Todd and Amy are preparing for their own wedding.  Todd calls his best friend Ari, who lives in Northern Michigan.  Ari, who has always had an attraction to the sea, decides it is about time he visits the ocean and accepts Todd’s invitation to be his best man.  Todd wonders once Ari has fulfilled his lifelong dream if he will return to his home on Lake Michigan.

As Sam and Percy visit the castle in the underwater city of Palaemon, an assassin tries to kill Percy’s father, the king.  His life is spared when one of his bodyguards jumps in front of the bullet, killing him.  Unbeknownst to anyone, the crown that determines the next ruler of merpeople was stolen during the confusion of the assassination attempt.  It also causes the royal family to return to their home on the California mainland for their protection until this mystery is solved.

Richard arrives on shore near Todd and Amy’s beachfront home.  Armand, the guard that was killed was his best friend and lover.  He goes to Todd’s place to grieve his loss as both his and his lover’s families are celebrating the sacrifice that Armand in protection of their king.  However, when he reaches the shore, he finds Ari.  He feels pull to Ari that is stronger than the one he had with Armand.  While Ari feels the attraction too, he realizes that Richard is hurting and gives him space to grieve.  The two must deal with their budding attraction while helping those around them figure out the reason Armand lost his life.

Jeff Erno has built upon his mer world with the second book in his Tidal Crest series.  The concept of three distinct classes of mermen sets up conflict within the species.   This allows expansion of the series as the three classes of mermen live in different parts of the oceans.  Overall, I thought this was a stronger book than the first.   It has strong soap opera plots to it to help the story move along.  I was a little put off on how quickly Richard got over his lover Armand and began to take up with Ari as these are not fate mates that most shifter books have.  But otherwise the story was quite enjoyable.

The cover art by Angela Waters shows a shirtless merman with his golden tail.  It fits the description of the title and book well.

Sales Links:  eXtasy Books | ARe | Amazon

Book Details

ebook, 111 pages
Published February 1st 2016 by eXtasy Books
ISBN139781487406219
Edition LanguageEnglish
Series Tidal Crest

  • Deep Dive (Tidal Crest #1)
  • Golden Son (Tidal Crest #2)

A Paul B Review: The President’s Husband by Michael Murphy

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

The President's HusbandDoctor David Hammond holds the bible as his husband Grayson Alexander is sworn in as the first openly gay Vice President of the United States.  Three hours later, the newly sworn in President is killed by an assassin’s bullet, making Gray the first gay President.  Thrust into his new role, Grayson throws himself into being the most powerful man in the free world.  David is also thrown for a loop as he is now thrown into a spotlight he would rather not be.  As a professor of medicine and practicing physician at Georgetown University, he much prefers the world of academia and healing people than his new role as First Gentleman.  This is especially the case as Gray works long hours trying to set up his new government on the spur of the moment instead of the two months that most new presidents get.  This puts a strain on their relationship.

When a health crisis needs Grayson’s attention, he calls his husband into the Situation Room for his candid advice and expertise.  David decides to help out the situation by providing onsite medical assistance to prevent a possible outbreak from spreading into the United States.  Despite taking all precautions necessary to protect him from the disease, Grayson goes along with his chief of staff to force a mandatory 21-day quarantine on David.  David, knowing that the quarantine is not necessary, is livid. When Grayson forgets about an important milestone that occurs while David is locked away, the relationship reaches a breaking point.  Will the First Couple survive to make it to the end of Grayson’s term?

The first thing I would like to comment on is that I enjoyed the last part of the book. (spoiler).  I just wish that Grayson had acted more like this than like the asshole he is portrayed in the first half of the book.  Yes, we know the job of President is a difficult one and being thrust into the position unexpectedly like Grayson was is especially tough.  But to ignore your partner for the better part of three months is going to extremes.  And while I liked that David gave Gray time to adjust to the new situation, he also comes off as a bit stubborn when he completely ignores his role as First Spouse.

What was missing from the book for me was the political ramifications of not only having the first gay president but also that of a sudden change of the presidency.  It was mentioned that Gray was more liberal than his running mate and had the opposing party leading congress.  How did this play out in the first few months that made Gray work those long hours?  How did David and Gray keep their separation from the ever-present 24-hour news cycle?  If these issues were addressed I believe it would have added some depth to these characters and this novel.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read but had potential to be more.

The cover art by L. C. Chase shows David and Grayson in business suits in the top half of the cover with the White House in the bottom half.  It’s an appropriate cover for the book.

Sales Links:  Dreamspinner Press |  ARe | Amazon |

Book Details:

ebook, 220 pages
Published January 29th 2016 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 1623803896 (ISBN13: 9781623803896)
Edition LanguageEnglish

A Paul B Review: Passion’s Storm (Elemental Passions #1) by A.J. Marcus

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

5067passionsstorm510web-500x750Dan, also known as the superhero Torrent, is shaken when his boyfriend for the last five years decides he has had enough. Having been kidnapped several times by both Dan’s arch nemeses and want to be criminal, Burt decides that the last time was once too much. The heartache is so much that he creates a major storm that engulfs Bay City. He responds to a call from his team The Elite to help take down the latest threat to the city. When he meets his arch nemesis the Blaze in battle, he thinks of his ex being tortured by the Blaze. Dan nearly beats the Blaze to death. He is suspended for a month for his actions.

When Dan returns to the team, Dan learns that he must mentor one of the new recruits to The Elite. Corann, also known as Redwood, can manipulate plant life like he does the weather. Dan is instantly taken by the young protégé. Thoughts of Burt grow more distant as he realizes the man is not coming back. Corann sympathizes with Dan as they begin to explore the attraction they both feel for each other. However, being heroes means that they must put themselves in danger. What neither man knows is that the greatest threat to the two of them might just come from within.

This first book in the Heroic Passion series by AJ Marcus struck the right balance between romance and super hero action. The action scenes felt like I could see either the comic book panels or the scenes playing out on your favorite hero TV series or movie. While the heroes’ and villians’ powers feel familiar, the author puts enough of a twist on them to make them seem new. The romance between the two characters did not seem as rushed as one might think. And the author makes the heroes have human characteristic and flaws just like their mortal counterparts.
It will be interesting to see where the author takes this series in future books.

The cover art by Latrisha Waters has our two heroes kissing with their backs to us. Instead of clothing or skin, we see a turbulent storm brewing across their backsides. It’s an inventive cover for the book.

Sales Links:   eXtasy Press |  Amazon

Book Details

EBook, 80 pages
Published: January 15, 2016 by eXtasy Books
Edition Language: English
ISBN: 978-1-4874-0608-0
Series: Heroic Passions