Category: Fantasy

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Julia Talbot’s Full Moon Dating Series

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Book 1  Aiden and Ben

aiden benBlurb

When Aiden goes to Wyoming on the dime of the Full Moon Dating service, he doesn’t really think he and country wolf Ben will be right for each other. He just wants some time off from city life.

Ben knows better right away. He and Aiden are meant to be together, despite Aiden’s city ways and cluelessness about being a werewolf. Can he convince Aiden to stay with him, or will Ben, and Full Moon Dating have to write this one off as a mistake?

Review

This is the first book in the series, so we get to meet not only the two MCs Aiden and Ben, but Harve, Stone and Ades – the folks at the service who match these unlikely men.

Ben is a tough, Alpha, strong wolf from the country. Aiden is a small, arty, city wolf who is not in touch with his animal side as much.

When Aiden and Ben meet, the mating instinct is strong, but Aiden doesn’t know how to handle all the new feelings – so he runs. Ben always catches him and helps him to understand – and in the end they get their HEA.

**

One of the things I really like about Julia Talbot’s shifter series is that her shifters are so animalistic at times. Not in a crude or sexy way, but in how they view the world. It’s awesome! So many shifter stories use the animal side to say “Mine!” and that’s the extent of it. So when Aiden runs away because he’s frightened, Ben doesn’t get all emo about it, he just goes to him like an older animal schooling a younger and soothes him, understanding his anxiety without human ego getting in the way.

What I didn’t like was all the spanking. I wish there wasn’t so much spanking in these books. But… the rest was awesome!

3.5 of 5 hearts

3.5

Book 2 Evgeny and Feng

ev and fengBlurb

Tiger shifter Evgeny worries that he’ll never find a lover who can stand up to his sheer size and strength. He’s scared off more than one man, which is why he turns to Harve and Stone at Full Moon Dating. He wants someone who can deal with his tiger self and not run away.

Acrobat and snow leopard Feng is all over Ev’s physicality. He’s used to working without a net, so he’s not afraid of anything Ev can dish out. Especially since Feng finds Ev far gentler than anyone would expect. They’re determined to make a two-city love affair work, so when Feng disappears, Ev will move heaven and earth to find him.

Review

This is tied for my favorite in the series! Feng is an acrobat and Ev is an artist. Ev has a hard time meeting men who can stand up to his fierce Tiger, even other shifters.

Feng is hyper and needs someone to ground him. Together they find they are perfect matches.

Most of this book is fun exploration of Santa Fe and sex, but there is a brief moment of angst when Feng is hurt and Ev must find him… so scary! But a very HEA.

What I liked most was how much fun these guys had together and NO SPANKING! Yay!

4.5 of 5 hearts

4.5

Book 3 Coy and Denver

coy denverBlurb

Coy is a big city werewolf who heads to mountain Colorado on the word of the team at Full Moon Dating, a paranormal dating service. He’s not sure Denver Allen is the vamp for him, but it can’t hurt to take a vacation and get a little hot loving in the process.

Denver knows Coy is the one for him when they meet, but there’s the whole issue of who the ultimate predator is between them. There’s also the problem of all that biting. Can Denver and Coy work out their troubles before it’s too late for both of them?

Review

Denver gets signed up by his butler for the dating service and is very skeptical at first that anything positive will come from the date.  Coy, once he meets Denver, pretty much agrees, two more different people couldn’t possibly exist.

But of course, our team at Full Moon Dating has it right and pretty soon Denver and Coy are biting and sexing it up with the best of them.

When Coy accidentally ingests too much of Denver’s blood and begins to burn up inside, experts are called in to see if it can be fixed and a surprising result ends in a HEA.

**

I loved this book as much as Ev and Feng’s story.  It’s terribly sweet under all the raunchy sex and the ending is wonderful.

4.5 of 5 hearts

4.5

Book 4 Gage and Hamish

gage hamishBlurb

Cat shifter Gage is an impossible bottom. No one has ever been able to tame him, even if he wants them to. He’s willing to keep trying, though, and when he finds out about the paranormal dating site Full Moon Dating, he puts himself in their hands. He longs for someone who will take him in hand and make him like it.

Hamish is a bear shifter who plays too rough for most subs. Gage sounds like just what he needs, so when Full Moon matches them up, he’s happy to see how they get along. Can he convince Gage that he’s the one to make the man toe the line?

Review

Gage is a slinky, bratty cat shifter who wants to be dominated but only after he fights for it. Hamish looks like a big softie but he likes to be the dominator.

There is a lot of spanking and the two realize they are a great match, but only after Gage runs several times and Hamish has to “punish him” to make him feel wanted.

**

This was my least favorite in the series. It was too short to feel connected to the MCs and had far too much BDSM in it for my personal taste.

On the upside I loved seeing more about Harve and Stone (the guys behind the scene), they are absolutely adorable!

2.5 of 5 hearts

2.5

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Against the Grain (THIRDS book 5) by Charlie Cochet

Dreamspinner Presents
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6635

AgainstTheGrainBlurb

As the fiercest Defense Agent at the THIRDS, Destructive Delta’s Ash Keeler is foul-mouthed and foul-tempered. But his hard-lined approach always yields results, evident by his recent infiltration of the Coalition. Thanks to Ash’s skills and the help of his team, they finally put an end to the murdering extremist group for good, though not before Ash takes a bullet to save teammate Cael Maddock. As a result, Ash’s secrets start to surface, and he can no longer ignore what’s in his heart.

Cael Maddock is no stranger to heartache. As a Recon Agent for Destructive Delta, he has successfully maneuvered through the urban jungle that is New York City, picking up his own scars along the way. Yet nothing he’s ever faced has been more of a challenge than the heart of Ash Keeler, his supposedly straight teammate. Being in love isn’t the only danger he and Ash face as wounds reopen and new secrets emerge, forcing them to question old loyalties.

(Thank you to Karrie Jax for this beautiful fan art!)

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Review

Taking a slightly different turn, this book is about Ash and Cael (yay!) centrally and Dex and Sloane only peripherally. We get to learn a lot more of the back story about Ash and why he acts like he does as well as some of Cael’s (sad) romantic history.
Though the two have already admitted they love one another, Ash continues to balk at the intimacy he so clearly craves. Poor (sappy) Cael puts up with it over and over because he just loves Ash so much.

There is a little drama with Austen and the team’s boss and some strange Therian drug making the rounds and somehow Shultzon is involved (of course!).

Most of this was fairly low angst and low drama, relationship building and watching Ash work through his personal demons.

**

I love this series and find it hilarious! Charlie has a gift of creating this alternate world you totally want to live in and then giving us fully formed three dimensional characters with flaws and eccentricities who are lovable at the same time you want to strangle them!

I don’t think this was the strongest book in the series – possibly because both Ash and Cael made me crazy. I never quite understood Ash’s motivation for avoiding intimacy. He seemed to flip flop from admitting his interest in men from an early age – then having that bad experience – then finding Cael – so the “gay” part shouldn’t have been the issue – but allowing himself to act on it should have been. But he seemed relatively fine acting on it in private just not public and since when does Ash care what the public thinks of him? I didn’t get it… I might have missed a nuance, but it bugged me that I couldn’t figure it out.

Cael – who I love – I definitely wanted to strangle and then tell him to get a back bone. I would have at least shoved Ash out the door once if not a hundred times until he could prove that he wasn’t a dick! But Cael just kept accepting it and it made me frustrated!

I loved the back stories – especially the baby stories! I also can’t wait until we get to see more about Calvin and Hobbs’ love affair – Woot!

The other great part of this book was seeing the fully developed relationship between Sloane and Dex. It’s so NICE to see them happy for a change.

Overall I still loved this book very, very much and was psyched to read it but I didn’t love Cael and Ash as much as I love Dex and Sloane.

4.5 of 5 hearts

4.5

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Striped and Bear by Artemis Wolffe

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striped and bearBlurb

Matthew Bruner is a bear shifter destined for greatness. Or so, that’s what he’s always been told. As the next in line to become alpha of his clan, Matthew’s days of singlehood are drawing to a close. Long since committed to a prearranged mating, Matthew finds himself feeling trapped and, worse, afraid. In a desperate attempt to prolong his freedom, Matthew flees his family’s ancestral home and heads to the nearest city. It’s there that he meets Ezra Tier, a tiger shifter with a bad streak the size of a mountain.

Ezra Tier has spent the better part of his life not giving a damn. He goes where he wants, does what he likes, and answers to no one. Leading a life as a globetrotting rogue has its perks, and for Ezra one of those perks has been the ability to pick up and move on whenever things get too complicated and messy. So when he encounters a simple mountain bear shifter with broad shoulders and a shy personality, it’s all Ezra can do to maintain his unattached persona.

When a familiar and dangerous presence shows up in search of Matthew to bring him home, Ezra must change his ways in order to keep his newfound love by his side. Failing that, Matthew will be forced to go through with his prearranged mating and Ezra will lose him forever. Can these two shifters from different worlds come together in time to save their budding relationship? Or will the experience leave their hearts stripped and bare?

Review

Matthew is a bear shifter whose clan has him slated to mate for political/business purposes. He runs away because he can’t mate a female and doesn’t want to be tied down to the family business anyway.

On his travels he meets Ezra, his destined mate, and a tiger. Ezra and all tigers are footloose and fancy free, so at first he fights the mating because he can’t see himself tied down to a mate, especially bears who like to build a den and stay in one place.

In the end there is a grand battle with the evil father and the two mates end up HEA.

**

This is a very short, free read on Kindle Unlimited. The sex is super hot and the story pretty sweet.

I enjoyed it for what it was, a light, fluffy, fun read.

4 of 5 hearts

4

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Against the Grain (THIRDS #5): Charlie Cochet

Dreamspinner Press

BLURB: As the fiercest Defense Agent at the THIRDS, Destructive Delta’s Ash Keeler is foul-mouthed and foul-tempered. But his hard-lined approach always yields results, evident by his recent infiltration of the Coalition. Thanks to Ash’s skills and the help of his team, they finally put an end to the murdering extremist group for good, though not before Ash takes a bullet to save teammate Cael Maddock. As a result, Ash’s secrets start to surface, and he can no longer ignore what’s in his heart.

Cael Maddock is no stranger to heartache. As a Recon Agent for Destructive Delta, he has successfully maneuvered through the urban jungle that is New York City, picking up his own scars along the way. Yet nothing he’s ever faced has been more of a challenge than the heart of Ash Keeler, his supposedly straight teammate. Being in love isn’t the only danger he and Ash face as wounds reopen and new secrets emerge, forcing them to question old loyalties. 

REVIEW: This is book 5 in a series that is off the charts amazing. THIRDS is the FBI of sorts of law enforcement. This elite branch of law enforcement is specifically comprised of Therians and humans that was formed specifically to fight crimes that involve Therians. The first four books we saw the development of Dex and Sloane’s relationship with some really great action and adventures but in this we get to see Ash and Cael’s relationship development. 

Cael is the sweet Recon agent for Destructive Delta. What I really liked about this is that we get to know and understand him a lot more. He’s not as innocent as we originally thought in the first four books. He’s been through a lot and has emotional scars and secrets from his past that he hasn’t fully recovered from. 

Ash is the crap talking, bad tempered, tough, gruff, huge lion Therian of the team. Underneath his gruff and grumpy exterior is a man who like Cael, carries  deep emotional scars from his past. 

What you’re going to get in this book is action, suspense, intrigue, spies, covert operations with a developing romance between two agents. In this book, you see both Ash and Cael face their demons and fight them successfully. 

What I love about this series is that the author is able to strike the perfect balance of action and suspense, mystery, intrigue and humor. These agents aren’t mere colleagues; they’re family whose love and loyalty for each other is conveyed throughout the book. There are very few sex scenes written in but this is quite alright as the plot and storytelling more than makes up for it. This series is definitely worth picking up. In fact, I highly recommend it!

RATING: ???Amazing???

Buy links:

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press

ARe

  

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Noah’s Reward (Withowe Forest Pack 4): Violet Joicey Cowen

Siren BookStrand 

Blurb: Lion-shifter Noah Anderson is a broken man when he meets his destined mate, wolf-shifter Astley Donovan. Astley himself is still young, so they have years to get to know each other and for Noah to heal before he will be able to claim his mate. Someone has been watching though, who mistakes Astley for their own mate. When he sees his chance, he kidnaps Astley, leaving a devastated Noah behind.

Astley wakes in a strange place where time moves differently and with no sign of the one who brought him there. He has no idea how he will get back to his family or to the man he is growing to love.

Will the mates ever be reunited? And if they are, what will happen? Because in the time Astley has been gone, everything has changed…

Review: This is book #4 of the Withowe Pack series and finally gives us the story of Noah, a lion shifter and his mate, Astley, a wolf shifter. Noah was introduced in the book one as one of the shifters rescued from a group of individuals who experimented and tortured paranormals. He meets Astley, his mate, at the alpha’s house.

At this time, Astley is a mere boy so of course, Noah waits until Astley’s of age for them to live their lives together as mates. Astley’s taken to another dimension by someone who thinks that Astley should be with him.  In this place, time moves a lot faster and Astley of age to finally be with Noah. 

This story took an unexpected but creative and acceptable turn to move Astley’s age along.   As usual, the author took great care in referencing events from previous books. This enables you to be able to keep up with what’s going on with each character from one book to the next. She also did a wonderful job of maintaining order when writing multiple POVs. You never once lose track of what is going on with either character.  What I also enjoy about this series is that this pack is made up different species and live together, love and respect each other as a family.

If you’re a fan of shifters and vampires with a touch of magic thrown in, this series is for you.

Buy Links:

Amazon

Siren BookStrand

Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️

  

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Shadow’s Dagger (The Princes of Nilan’dane 2): Violet Joicey-Cowan

SirenBookstrand

Blurb:  How can an assassin be Prince Belden’s safest choice? When Prince Belden of Nilan’dane picked his husband at the traditional gathering of men, known as The Choosing, he thought he had made a safe decision.

Sent by a mage who plotted the downfall of the royal family of Nilan’dane, Barli was supposed to get close to Bel’s family and then kill them all. However, when Barli looks into the eyes of the vulnerable Prince Belden for the first time, something changes, and he knows he will never be able to do anything that would hurt this man. But how is he ever to confess the truth of why he was at The Choosing when Bel now carries his child?

Barli has to teach Bel that, though he is a prince, submitting to Barli is what he really needs, and what Barli needs, is to believe in Bel’s love.

Review: This is the second book in the Hari series and in it, VCJ tells us Bel’s story. We got a glimpse of the two in the first book but now the story is being told from Barli and Bel’s perspective. 

An assassin by trade, Barli is hired to kill the Princes. He infiltrates the Choosing ceremony and ends up falling for and being chosen by one of the Princes. They’re married, have a child and travel to a neighboring kingdom to sign a peace treaty. The characters and events in this book tend to drag just a tiny bit in this book but it was so short that it didn’t at all deflect from my overall enjoyment of the story. 

Barli’s character kind of surprised me. Here you have this man who dresses and acts a bit feminine but you realize he does it for survival. Underneath all of those fine frilly women’s clothes is a cold and calculating assassin. 

I’m enjoying the series so far and this is surprising since this is so not my category; this medieval fantasy type category. But as I’ve stated in my review of the first in the series, I was pleasantly surprised. The only time flaw is the misunderstanding between Barli and Bel dragged out a little too long but other than that, this story will hold your attention. I really like how everything wasn’t given away in the stories; you’re left wondering what’s going to happen next. As always, her characters are fully formed, the plot is really quite good and her writing style is neat and organized. 

I am really looking forward to read Glare’s story.

Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Amazon

SirenBookstrand

  

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Prickly Business (Portland Pack book 1) by Piper Vaughn and Kenzie Cade

Dreamspinner Presents http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6530

PricklyBusinessBlurb

Some people might call Avery Babineaux a prick. He’s a hedgehog shifter from an old-money Louisiana family with a penchant for expensive shoes and a reputation for being a judgmental snob. His attitude is why he and his fated mate are estranged. Not that Avery cares. He doesn’t want to be mated to some blue-collar werewolf anyway. Or so he keeps telling himself.

No werewolf likes to be looked down upon, least of all Dylan Green. He doesn’t need a mate, especially not some snotty hedgehog who sneers at his custom motorcycle shop and calls him a grease monkey. But when Avery gets into trouble with a shady loan shark, Dylan can’t stand by and let him be hurt—whether he wants the brat or not.

Yet once Dylan steps into Avery’s world, he realizes there’s more to Avery than his prickly exterior, and that unexpected vulnerability calls to Dylan’s protective instincts. The sassy little hedgehog needs a keeper, and despite their horrible first impressions, Dylan starts to believe he might be the wolf for the job.

Review

Avery is a hedgehog shifter who has decided to leave his home territory of Louisiana and move to Oregon after falling in love with the state during college. Shifter law dictates that he must join the local wolf pack since Portland falls in that jurisdiction. Though his family has always looked down upon wolf shifters, Avery doesn’t care a bit, and happily joins the pack.

Avery finds his mate, a wolf, and in a drunken mistake, throws him over for not being “good enough”. Dylan is of course hurt, and somewhat glad, because he doesn’t ever want a mate anyway.

Two years go by, and the mates avoid each other at all costs. It isn’t until Avery ends up in trouble because of some gambling debts that they spend any significant time together.

Luckily, the time spent together, coupled with some important new ways of looking at things, shows them that they do have something in common and a future together.

**

This is a bit longer and a little different than the average “shifter” romance. For one, though the instant attraction is there, it isn’t acted upon until much later in the story. In addition, the side stories – Avery’s gambling problems first and later a missing female wolf shifter – take up a lot of the book.

The world building is excellent and the character development is also well done. I enjoyed the romance between Dylan and Avery but I was disappointed by how little time they spent together.

I wish we’d had more of them working on the crime solving together and had seen more of them developing their romance more.

The writing was really good and I am definitely interested in seeing more from this series.

4 of 5 hearts

4

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What No One Else Can Hear by Brynn Stein Blog Tour

WhatNoOneElseCanHearFS

Young Stevie Liston is diagnosed with autism, but is really an overwhelmed empath who mentally called out for help. Jesse McKinnon heard him in a dream from clear across the country, and that dream sent him on a six-year search to find Stevie. Once they meet, they think everything will work out and Jesse will help Stevie cope.

Stevie does improve immensely, but a disgruntled coworker of Jesse’s conspires with Stevie’s estranged but politically powerful father to keep Stevie and Jesse apart with trumped-up legal charges claiming Jesse sexually abused the boy. Jesse must watch helplessly as Stevie loses all the advances he’s made.

If it wasn’t for his growing relationship with his coworker Drew Ferguson, Jesse knows he wouldn’t have the strength to fight for his rights and Stevie’s future. Drew just might be the real thing, but with the very real possibility of serving jail time for a crime he didn’t commit, Jesse’s hopes for a future with Drew might be doomed

Pages or Words: 220 pages

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Excerpt:
Prologue
I COULDN’T believe it. I stood in the doorway of a child’s room on the third floor of the Lynneville Center for Children with Autism after having been hastily hired and sent up here. At first I was shocked to see dozens of expertly drawn pictures of me taped up all over the walls. Then I noticed the four worried-looking adults in the room, their attention focused on the bed. In that bed, seemingly catatonic, was the very boy I’d been seeing in my dreams for almost six years.
I had been looking for Stevie all that time, but now that I had found him, I realized that until that moment I’d always had the smallest doubt that he was real—almost a hope that there wasn’t a suffering child who needed me, whom it had taken me so long to find. All my energy for six years had been focused on finding him, yet a niggling doubt had remained … until I stepped through that doorway.
“Stevie,” I whispered. “I finally found you.”

He didn’t move; he only blinked on reflex. He simply lay on the bed, so still, and stared at the ceiling. I knew I could help him. I moved to his side, nudging the doctor out of the way, and touched his hand.
“Come on, man. Come on back now.” I put my hand on his head, and Stevie immediately turned his head toward me. Though his eyes were still a little unfocused, he had no trouble recognizing me.
“Hi, Bear,” he said and reached out to be hugged, as he always had in my dreams.
It was so natural for Stevie to talk to me and hug me that it didn’t occur to me it might be strange for the staff gathered in Stevie’s room. They were suddenly doing the best imitations of goldfish I had ever seen. The doctor and the other man had comically wide eyes, while the two women looked almost ready to cry from shock or maybe just relief.
The older one, a lady in her forties, seemed to recognize my confusion. She came to stand close to me and said in a hushed voice, “That’s the first time we’ve ever heard him speak.”
He always could, of course.
He spoke to me all the time in my dreams.
He finally let go and looked at me. “Bear, you’re here? You’re really here?” His gaze scanned the room. “Not in the forest?”
“No, buddy.” I laid him back down and rubbed his hand as I spoke. “Not in the forest this time. We’re right here, in your room.”
Stevie yawned and looked exhausted.
“Go to sleep, big guy. I’m working at the center now, so I’ll be waiting for you when you wake up.”
He smiled and was asleep almost immediately.
By that time the staff’s shock had worn off and curiosity had set in with a vengeance. We barely stepped out of Stevie’s room before the never-ending string of questions began.
“Bear?” “Forest?” “Stevie can talk?” The questions bombarded me simultaneously.
We all took seats in the living room area and I set about answering their questions. I was hoping what they had just witnessed would keep them from laughing me out of the room. The story I had to tell them was pretty spectacular.
Dottie, the lady in her forties, started things off by introducing me to the others. Dr. Brown was the physician on staff and had been watching Stevie decline over the last several months with no idea how to help him. Hank and Stacy were the other staff members who had been in Stevie’s room. They, along with Dottie, were support staff for the students who lived here, providing whatever assistance they needed, with supervision and compassion. Other people working on the hall that night wanted to hear as much of the story as possible, so they came and went, working when needed, listening when they could, as did Dottie, Hank, and Stacy.
“I don’t even begin to know where to start asking questions,” Dr. Brown finally admitted.
“The beginning is always nice,” Stacy said.
I smiled and thought Stacy had a good idea, so I told them about my first meeting with Stevie.

Sales Links:
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=What+No+One+Else+Can+Hear&x=0&y=0

http://www.amazon.com/Brynn-Stein/e/B00MTKYYDS/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1436750430&sr=1-2-ent&pebp=1436750459775&perid=16Y29FM329QXG8TRVXZ3

About the author:

Brynn has always loved to write about strong male characters and their close friendships. When she found the world of m/m fiction, she fell in love. Finally, a way to bring those strong male characters together and let those emotional connections spill over into deeper relationships. Sometimes her characters go through the emotional wringer, but they always have each other.

Where to find the author:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brynn.stein
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/brynnstein2
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrynnStein
Other: http://brynnstein2.wordpress.com

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&query=brynn+stein
Publisher: Dreamspinner
Cover Artist: Reese Dante
Tour Dates & Stops: July 27, 2015
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Masked Booby (Peckers #3) by Jacques N. Hoff

Dreamspinner Presents http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6485

MaskedBoobyBlurb

Mickey, Keyser, Clyde….

He goes by many names, calls many different countries home, and has a wardrobe that rivals most professional theater companies, but some days it’s impossible to remember who he really is. It’s the price he pays for the adrenaline. The Masked Booby. A man torn between his instinct to survive and his bird nature of taking a dive.

Irwin Stephens is in love—in love with life, his home, and the animals he watches over every day at work. He doesn’t have a man to call his own, but everything else is so perfect he can’t complain. Except maybe about the scratchy khaki uniform all zoos seem to require with fiendish glee.

When Mickey meets Buff Zookeeper, it should be a one-night love nest, but something besides peckers is up in the land down under.

Review

Irwin works in a zoo and is trying to rescue a puffin shifter he’s found being drugged and kept in captivity. He stumbles upon Undercover Peckers and asks them for help. They send in the crew, including Mickey the masked bandit and all kinds of shenanigans ensue.

Mickey sees himself as a loner, a one and done kind of guy, so he resists the pull Irwin has on him. Irwin is just plain attracted to Mickey, clueless to the internal struggle, and insulted by Mickey’s actions.

When all is said and done, the crew manages to save the puffin and Mickey and Irwin find their HEA.

**

As usual there are a lot – A LOT – of hilarious puns and ridiculous dialog. The pace of the story is quick and the reader must follow closely to keep track of all the players.

I enjoy the mind games of these stories and the light hearted romance. I think, compared to the other two books in the series, that the “story” took precedence over the romance and I missed it. I wanted more time spent with Mickey and Irwin and maybe a bit less building around the rescue. For me this detracted from my enjoyment, but I’m still a fan and will definitely look forward to the next installment.

3 of 5 hearts

3

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Gage and Hamish by Julia Talbot Tour with Excerpt and Giveaway

RC

 

Excerpt:
Gage checked his shirt before he headed into the sushi place. Boulder had the best downtown, charming and upscale, but not formal. Not as hipster as Austin or Portland, not as redneck as Denver or Dallas — it managed to be clever and casual all at once.
He totally approved.
Now if he could only approve this date. A bear? Him?
Gage was as far from low-key twink as they came. He was… challenging. Doms dumped him regularly.
A bear seemed so. Oh, he didn’t know. Sweet. Goofy.
He glanced around, wondering if he was early.
He tended to be early.
He liked being early.
There. Back in the corner where the bar bent around. That has to be his date. A huge man with shaggy, dark brown hair and a sunbaked face with lots of smile lines.
He looked a little like a lumberjack. It was adorable. So not his type, but cute.
The guy stood, smiling, making his oddly light brown eyes light up. “Hey! You must be Gage. I’m Hamish.” He pronounced it “hay-mish”.
“Hamish. Hello.” He found a smile to offer back. How could you not like a guy who grinned like that?
“Hi. I hope you like sushi.” Hamish waved to the seat next to him at the bar.
“Fish, salty peppery yumminess. What’s not to like?”
“Right?” Hamish was a big guy. Not fat at all, but he overflowed his personal space into Gage’s, warm and spicy smelling. At least he didn’t stink. That was always hard to get around. “Anyway, I got a little hungry before you got here, so I got mussels and carpaccio. In case you hate mussels.”
“Mussels are good. Tuna is my favorite. Cliché, but true.”
“They have an amazing hamachi appetizer.” Food was a great social equalizer.
“I’m totally in, man.” He nodded to the waiter, got his attention.
“Excellent. So, what do you do?” Small talk. Again with the cute.
“I’m a software designer. I create weird little things that people don’t know they need. You?”
“I build shit. Right now I’m very into tiny houses. For other people. I need square footage.” He grinned.
“Tiny houses? No shit?” Okay, that was cool. Not sexy, but better than software designer.
“I’ve done some work for local architects, and I love carving on a large scale.” Hamish held up his hands, scarred and callused.
He took one in hand, hoping for a zing, for a flash of lightning, but there wasn’t one. Just a warmth. Sweet. Steady.
He looked at the palm, fingers tracing over the calluses. “I approve.”
“Thanks.” Hamish grinned. “It’s good work.”
“That’s sort of how I feel about mine. It’s computer work, but there’s a lot of design involved in it.”
“Sounds neat. Keeps you from getting bored, right?” Hamish flagged down a waitress to order their hamachi.
“It does.” He ordered a couple of honey wheat beers.
“So…”
They both said it at the same time, then laughed. “You go,” Gage said.
“I was just wondering what made you go to Full Moon.”
“I’ve been searching for something and I’m beginning to think that I’m doomed, that I’m too much to handle.” And now he was sitting with a big teddy bear. “What about you?”
“Oh, you know. Everyone thinks I’m a big marshmallow. No one wants to play rough.” Hamish’s cheeks went pink.
“No one? That totally sucks.” He was touching Hamish’s wrist now.
“I know! I mean, this is a cosmopolitan place, kinda. Boulder, I mean. You’d think I could find someone not afraid to bait the bear.”
Okay. Okay, now there was a hint of promise there. “What are you into?”
“All sorts of things.” Hamish met his gaze, golden eyes alight. “I love bondage. Spanking. Some discipline, though not deep domestic or anything. And I like rough stuff, when someone will fight me, make me work for it.”
Well, now he got it, why they were put together. He was, at best, a pushy little bottom. Still, Hamish seemed so… laid-back. Could there really be an opportunity?

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About the author:
Julia Talbot lives in the great Southwest, where there is hot and cold running rodeo, cowboys, and everything from meat and potatoes to the best Tex-Mex. A full time author, Julia has been published by Torquere Press, Dreamspinner and Changeling Press. She believes that everyone deserves a happy ending, so she writes about love without limits, where boys love boys, girls love girls, and boys and girls get together to get wild, especially when her crazy paranormal characters are involved. Find Julia at @juliatalbot on Twitter, or at http://www.juliatalbot.com.

Where to find the author:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juliatalbotauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/juliatalbot
Website: http://www.juliatalbot.com
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25940518-gage-and-hamish
Publisher: Torquere Press
Cover Artist: Kris Norris

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