Category: Shifters

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Rise and Fall Audiobook (Thirds # 4) by Charlie Cochet Narrated by Mark Westfield

Dreamspinner presents http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6600


Rise&FallAUDMEDBlurb

After an attack by the Coalition leaves THIRDS Team Leader Sloane Brodie critically injured, agent Dexter J. Daley swears to make Beck Hogan pay for what he’s done. But Dex’s plans for retribution are short-lived. With Ash still on leave with his own injuries, Sloane in the hospital, and Destructive Delta in the Coalition’s crosshairs, Lieutenant Sparks isn’t taking any chances. Dex’s team is pulled from the case, with the investigation handed to Team Leader Sebastian Hobbs. Dex refuses to stand by while another team goes after Hogan, and decides to put his old HPF detective skills to work to find Hogan before Theta Destructive, no matter the cost.

With a lengthy and painful recovery ahead of him, the last thing Sloane needs is his partner out scouring the city, especially when the lies—however well intentioned—begin to spiral out of control. Sloane is all too familiar with the desire to retaliate, but some things are more important, like the man who’s pledged to stand beside him. As Dex starts down a dark path, it’s up to Sloane to show him what’s at stake, and finally put a name to what’s in his heart.

Review

Wow. Just wow. This book is sooooo full of good feels.

Sloane and Dex are so wonderfully gushy and sweet in this book. Their relationship is definitely cemented by the end.

We get a peek into the mystery that is Hobbs and an amazingly sexy and funny scene between him and Calvin.

Ash is looking like less and less of a hard ass and more and more like the love of Cael’s life.

All of the relationship stuff is amazing. The dialog, like always is hysterical. The spying done is both naughty and funny. The danger… well this isn’t really that “tense” of a book.

The biggest “hurdle” in this story is Dex trying to avenge Sloane’s attack. Predictably, Sloane doesn’t want him involved, and in fact, the team has been ordered to stand down. But… Dex is determined to capture the culprit himself, in Sloane’s name.

I kinda wanted to shake Dex, and totally understood Sloane’s feelings about it. I liked, however, that this was the first time we saw Dex as the guy who might screw up the relationship, and Sloane was doing everything “right” for a change.

All in all this totally appealed to my every romantic sensibility and tickled my funny bone.

I can’t wait for the next installment and I really hope Calvin and Hobbs get their own book ☺

Audio

I really enjoy Mark Westfiled’s narrations. He does a great job differentiating the different and myriad characters. He adds extra touches like altering his voice for telecom and intercom communications. I love even his female characters and his accents are wonderful!

6 of 5 hearts

amazing

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LifeFlight by Alexa Silver


Dreamspinner Presents http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6557

Daily Dose Short Story

LifeFlightBlurb
When winged paranormal Dante is injured in a demon attack, he faces certain death unless he can reach a healing spring just off the Pacific coast. With his strength waning and the demon poison infesting his system, the spring is his only hope. He never expects to find salvation in the arms of the property’s caretaker, a much younger man. Bren is fascinated by the beautiful winged man who arrives at his family’s sanctuary. He’s determined to save Dante’s life, but he’ll have to find a way to help Dante heal without infecting himself with the demonic poison, and time is running out.
Review

Bren and his brother Owen are caretakers for a paranormal healing spa.  One day a large winged creature (Dante) flies in, injured, to use the spa as he’s been wounded in a battle.

Besides finding the spa the perfect spot to heal, he also finds his mate in Bren.  Together they take their LifeFlight, the first flight between mates.

Dante is a little older than Bren, both are over 30.

I loved this! It was short, but sweet, had fun world building, included a snarky brother(Pix/Owen), used lovely paranormal magicks, all in all simply wonderful.

The author really did a great job including so much with such a small word count!  This is a great example of how a short story can really tell a big tale.

I really hope we see more of this world with dear Pixel as the MC.

5 of 5 hearts

5

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Little Wolf (A Beings in Love Story) by R. Cooper

LittleWolfFrom Dreamspinner:

On the run from his old-blood werewolf family, Tim Dirus finds himself in Wolf’s Paw, one of the last surviving refuges from the days when werewolves were hunted by humans and one of the last places Tim wants to be. Kept away from other wolves by his uncle, Tim knows almost nothing about his own kind except that alpha werewolves only want to control and dominate a scrawny wolf like him.

Tim isn’t in Wolf’s Paw an hour before he draws the attention of Sheriff Nathaniel Neri, the alphaest alpha in a town full of alphas. Powerful, intimidating, and the most beautiful wolf Tim has ever seen, Nathaniel makes Tim feel safe for reasons Tim doesn’t understand. For five years he’s lived on the run, in fear of his family and other wolves. Everything about Wolf’s Paw is contrary to what he thought he knew, and he is terrified. Fearing his mate will run, Sheriff Nathaniel must calm his little wolf and show him he’s more than a match for this big, bad alpha.

Marieke’s thoughts:
Tim, aka Little Wolf is on the run. He’s a wolf shifter but only half and that makes him smaller and weaker than most full wolf shifters. He came to Wolf’s Paw because someone he trusted sent him there. But the first day he arrived he made a foo out of himself with the Sheriff. Luckily Sheriff Neri is his mate, and a very powerful yet controlled wolf. He tries to show Tim that he can be patient and trustworthy.

Tim slowly gets used to Nathaniel, even starts to look forward to his visits to the café/ souvenir shop where Tim works. He’s still scared shitless though, and freaks out with every little thing that happens.
But when his room is breached by magic, he runs straight to Nathaniel––without knowing why. Nathaniel takes him home, stating can protect him better there.

Of course then the whole ‘starting to get to know each other’ begins, and Tim learns a lot about Nathaniel but also about himself. He lets himself shift for the first time in years, which is quite the victory for him. The sexual tension is overwhelming and the two end up having sex. But that’s not the end of the problems Tim has.

I loved how Nathaniel cares for Tim, even if I sometimes wished he’d just hurried up and claim the guy already. Tim is frustratingly slow in understanding anything to do with shifters, and I often wanted to hit him on the head. But when you hear his story, you understand why. He’s in denial and his brain won’t let him out of that.
It’s a slow burn book, and you really have to love that to be able to read this. I happen to do love it, so this book was great for me. If you like action and fast paced stories, you better skip this one though.

Little spoiler alert
In the end there is action, and suspense so you do get it. But you have to wait for it. Tim’s uncle, who you think is the evil bastard in this story, ends up kind of stealing my heart….kind of, because he’s still an ass. But, not an asshole like his right hand, who I truly wanted to end up dead…alas, that wish didn’t come true. Thank God he did get some sort of punishment.

In the end, this was a very pleasant read for me, even if it sometimes was a bit too frustrating that Tim was so clueless and Nathaniel so reluctant to force the issue. Another good story in this series that I adore.

Rating: 4

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Kick at the Darkness by Keira Andrews

KA Books Presents http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YD5XLP4/ref=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_0

Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000038_00067]Blurb

College freshman Parker Osborne is having the worst day ever. He humiliates himself trying to pick up a cute guy, he hasn’t made any friends at school, and his stupidly hot jerk of a TA gave him a crappy grade on his paper. He’s going to drop Adam Hawkins’ film class and start fresh tomorrow after he’s had a good sulk.

But Parker’s about to find out what a bad day really looks like—if he can survive the night.

A virus is unleashed, transforming infected people into zombie-like killers. After these quick and deadly creepers swarm campus, Parker only escapes thanks to Adam swooping him onto the back of his trusty motorcycle. Now they’re on the run—and stuck with each other.

When they’re not bickering, they’re fighting off the infected in a bloody battle for survival. Their only hope is to head east to Parker’s family, but orphaned Adam has a secret he’s not sure Parker will accept: he’s a werewolf. Can they trust each other enough to find some light in these dark days?

Review

When I read the blurb I said – what? Keira Andrews? Yes! Zombies? Heck Yes! Werewolves? Eff Yes!

(I used a different word than heck and eff but…)

I was NOT disappointed.

This story captures your attention right from the beginning.

Parker is an uptight, insecure freshman at Stanford. He’s used to being the big fish in a small pond and now he’s … not.

He meets his TA Adam over a bad grade in what is supposed to be a super easy class. Adam, of course, thinks the course is important and not just “filler” so he’s offended by Parker’s disdain.

It isn’t too long before the two accidentally meet in the quad on the day the “creepers” (zombies) take over the university. In a move that changes both their lives, Adam rescues Parker on the back of his bike and rides off with him to safety.

In the beginning there is a lot of sexual tension – Parker thinks Adam has a girlfriend. Adam has a secret he’s trying to keep from Parker. But both are really attracted to one another.

Of course at every turn they are also battling this unknown element – the virally infected hordes who mindlessly try to eat you if you get in their way.

Over the course of days and weeks they head cross country, trying to reach Parker’s family on the East Coast, and stay alive through both creeper invasions and vigilante challenges.

When Adam gets bitten it looks like their time together may be over or at least changed, since nobody knows how the disease is transferred. Luckily they meet someone who can help with that information.

The ending is… well… appropriate. I’m not sure if she’s setting us up for a sequel (Please, please, please!) or if a Zombie Apocalypse only has so many endings… but … it’s a definite HFN for their survival and HEA for their love.

**

What I loved about this book was the many different layers. Both Parker and Adam have felt marginalized in their lives – for different reasons. The fear of the unknown pushes them together faster than normal, but it still feels very organic and real. The human nature shown by the mobs of scared people felt real and the reaction to a possible cure brought up some real moral questions that struck a cord.

I loved Keira’s Rumspringa series and was so happy to see that her writing chops are well prepared to cover this entirely different genre.

In fact – maybe even better?

I highly recommend this book and give it 6 of 5 hearts!

*More more more!!!

amazing

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The Altered 2 by Annabelle Jacobs Tour with Excerpt and Giveaway

TheAltered2-final2-RGB (1)A remote farmhouse in Cornwall seems the perfect place for Ash to settle into his recently altered status. Starting a new life there with Sam—the shifter he can’t stay away from—should be easy this far from London where they faced so much danger. So why does adjusting seem impossible?
Sam has issues of his own. He has to get used to his human form again after living the last eight years as a wolf. It’s hard when human worries weigh so heavily on his shoulders. Life is much more straightforward from a wolf’s perspective, until Ash needs his human support.

Ash’s problem is simple: he’s fearful of shifting fully. How can he believe he won’t hurt Sam when his genes were altered to create a killer? Despite repeated reassurance, his anger and resentment increase. Only one thing is certain: if Ash can’t learn to trust himself soon, he’s in danger of proving himself right.

Pages or Words: 37,000 words (approximate)

 

Excerpt:
Ash knocked twice, only pushing the door open a little when Sam howled softly for him to come in.
“Oh, hey.” Ash stuck his head around the door, frowning when he saw Sam. “Um… Keira said today was a human day. But… er….” He came fully inside and closed the door behind him. “Don’t you fancy it?”
Ash walked over to Sam’s bed and sat down on the bottom corner, propping his elbows on his knees.
Sam sighed and padded over to sit next to him, placing his head in Ash’s lap. As soon as Ash’s fingers were in his fur—stroking back and forth—Sam felt a hundred times better. The soothing touch spread warmth throughout his body and Sam closed his eyes, letting it chase away whatever had been bothering him earlier.
Ash’s touch always had this effect on him. Sam had known what that meant from the very first time they’d met.
Ash was meant for him.
Everything about Ash: the way he looked, his scent—which drove Sam crazy sometimes—and even his voice, made something in Sam settle. Something he’d been missing for years. It was that feeling that had helped Sam to shift back in front of other people for the first time in eight years. That, and the fact that some fucking guard had a gun pointed at Ash’s head.

Sales Links:

Amazon US – http://www.amazon.com/Altered-2-Lycanaeris-Annabelle-Jacobs-ebook/dp/B00XYVOC8S/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Amazon UK – http://www.amazon.co.uk/Altered-2-Lycanaeris-Annabelle-Jacobs-ebook/dp/B00XYVOC8S/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
All Romance ebooks – https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-thealtered2-1810421-145.html

About the author:

Annabelle Jacobs lives in the South West of England with her husband, three rowdy children, and two cats.

An avid reader of fantasy herself for many years, Annabelle now spends her days writing her own stories. They’re usually either fantasy or paranormal fiction, because she loves building worlds filled with magical creatures, and creating stories full of action and adventure. Her characters may have a tough time of it—fighting enemies and adversity—but they always find love in the end.

Where to find the author:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ajacobsfiction
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Annabelle-Jacobs-Fiction/458768424158896
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJacobs_fiction
Website: http://www.annabellejacobs.com

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25469030-the-altered-2
Publisher: Annabelle Jacobs
Cover Artist: Natasha Snow
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Rafflecopter Prize: A book from Annabelle’s backlist
Rafflecopter Code:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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The Altered by Annabelle Jacobs

TheAltered-f

Twenty years ago the UK’s water supply was contaminated with an experimental pathogen, Lycanaeris, causing widespread panic across the nation. Terrorism was suspected but never proven, and when nothing happened–no epidemic, no unexplained illnesses–the whole episode was written off as an elaborate hoax. But Lycanaeris was selective. Only those of a certain age, and with a specific gene in their DNA were infected. Time would reveal the pathogen’s true nature, when those susceptible grew up Altered.

Daniel is one of thousands forced to hide his altered status by living a quiet life. He’s not like the others, though. Daniel can’t help looking so distinctive or being able to see every altered for what they really are. To those abducting altereds, that skill makes him valuable.

For Jordan, shifting from human to wolf means living under the radar to avoid unwanted attention. Meeting Daniel complicates matters. Daniel’s existence is a threat to Jordan and his friends, but Jordan can’t seem to shake the strange connection between them. When danger threatens, there’s little time for Daniel and Jordan to work out their feelings before lives are at stake.

One minute Daniel was looking at a tall dark-haired, really hot man, and in the blink of an eye he’d changed into a huge black wolf, fangs bared in a snarl—clearer than anything he’d seen before.

Kimi’s Thoughts:

This was a very interesting spin of the shifter mythos. Someone has bio-engineered a pathogen that is dumped into a water supply and no one really knows why but we are given a glimpse that it might be government weapons related or possibly someone else doing illegal bio-warfare research. The mystery festers just beneath the surface of the new societal shift the emergence of shifters and those who can see the shifters’ inner animals thanks to their own variation of the  body alterations caused by the pathogen.

The pressure is on for those who shift and those who can “see” the shifter’s animal counterpart while theya re in human form as someone has begun bringing in  those who can see the shifters and using them to unmask shifters, who have been mysteriously disappearing all over the city. The sexual tension between Daniel and Jordan sizzled as does the animosity of his small “pack” as they fear the risk that Daniel’s existence brings to them. Daniel and Jordan are not ready to give up though, and when someone they care about is taken, the pair take action.

The result is the beginning to an excellent suspense thriller filled with shifters, sexy men and plenty of romance, and gritty writing. I look forward to reading the next of the series.

Buy from Amazon

Rating: 4

kimisig

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The Happily Ever After Mating Agency: The Dragon Prince by Jane Wallace-Knight

Siren-Bookstrand Presents http://www.bookstrand.com/the-happily-ever-after-mating-agency-presents-the-dragon-prince

jwk-happilyeverafterdragonprince3150326_0336Blurb

Kai Hayashi, heir to the earth dragon clan, already lost his mother to the rebels threatening to overthrow the council. When his grandfather suggests an arranged mating with not one, but two men, each with certain skills to help protect Kai, the young dragon prince doesn’t exactly need persuading.
Retrieval expert and leopard shifter Jace Dashwood has worked for the Hayashi family for a year now, helplessly in love with his employer’s grandson. Kai is all the things that Jace could never be, innocent and gentle. He had thought to keep his feelings to himself until the dragon king made him an offer too good to be true.
Having worked as a mercenary for too long, bear shifter Ted Graves finally decided to put down roots. He thought that joining a mating agency meant he was going to get the normal life he thought he had been craving but instead he got an offer he couldn’t refuse.

Review

The Happily Ever After Mating agency is designed for shifters who haven’t found their mates and want to settle down. In this case Kai’s uncle uses it to help find Kai the right mate to protect Kai as well as mate him.

Jace has already been working with Kai’s family and his uncle identifies Jace as a mate/protector right away.

Ted is tired of being footloose so he signs up to the mating agency and is pleased to hear from Kai’s family. He’s a bit surprised to find out it’s to be a three way mating and that his alternate duty will be protection but after meeting both men he’s very willing to continue with the plan.

Jace and Kai have been mutually crushing on one another for the last year, but not acting on it. When their third joins them they all acknowledge a mutual attraction that sets them on fire.

In addition to the immediate bonding that takes place, there is danger. Someone wants to take Kai out of the picture and replace him as the future dragon king. There is also the pesky little thing about Kai maybe being more than “just” a dragon shifter…

**
This is one of those surprise reads that you stumble upon every now and then. (I have to admit a weakness for cheesy shifter romances – the ones where the plot is thin but the sex is hot and the storyline light and usually full of fun. Nothing too angsty and nothing too stressful.) I thought this was one of those, but it is surprisingly more. There is a rich story line and compelling drama but also some real emotion and depth to the love story as well.

I thought the ménage was very believable and though I could feel bad for Ted at first- he seems odd man out to the couple of Jace and Kai – it was quickly made clear that he was integral and equal and definitely well loved.

I really enjoyed this and the others in this series and highly recommend them!

5 of 5 hearts

5

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Healing Hunter’s Heart (A Little Bite of Love Book 2) by Charlie Cochet

Dreamspinner Presents
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6246

HealingHuntersHeartBlurb

Months after being forced to leave his lover and mate Ari Jannsen behind, Hunter Devin settles into his role as Enforcer for the newly formed Deagan Clan under the rule of his new Alpha and best friend Tristan “Trip” Hagan. Along with Hunter’s brother Boone, their nephews, sister, and mother, Hunter finally has the family he’s always wanted, but without his little rebel Ari, his heart is incomplete.

The Hagan Clan is unable to accept the Deagan Clan’s betrayal for walking away and taking the clan’s pups with them. War looms. As both clans plan their attack, a greater enemy plots against them. But Hunter is determined to get his Ari back. Bonds are put to the test and unexpected alliances are made as Hunter and his clan set out to protect their own and end the spreading heartache.

Review

First – you MUST have read book one for this book to mean much to you.

We met Hunter and Ari in An Intrepid Trip To Love, the mates who couldn’t mate because of politics and were then separated by an evil mother and a clan war.

This book is about their back-story and their coming together.

**

Charlie Cochet has to be one of my favorite authors! She is so witty, so giddy and yet careful with her dialog. I adore her characters and find her creativity astonishing.

I was so glad to see that she didn’t keep Ari and Hunter apart for long in this book and was grateful for the back-story – it was sexy and hilarious at the same time.

The evil in this book is REALLY evil and I am looking forward to seeing more about this clan war and possibly another match with our wolf leader in the future.

PS I loved the Epilogue- Yay Trip and Boone!

5 of 5 hearts

5

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An intrepid trip to love (A little bite of love book one) by Charlie Cochet

Found Here: http://www.mmromancegroup.com/?p=2588
(Free!)

an intrepidBlurb

Tristan ‘Trip’ Hagan is a Husky shifter who was born to be the Hagan Clan’s next Alpha, a position of honor and nobility, a position he never wanted and was all too happy to pass onto his younger brother. But when they discovered his brother couldn’t have pups, the responsibility of continuing the Hagan Alpha line fell back to Trip. Under the weight of the Hagan Council’s demand to fulfill his duty, Trip settled down and produced an heir, but after years of struggling to uphold his family’s traditions, Trip found the courage to do what no other Hagan Alpha had done in the history of the clan: he came out.

Five years later, and Trip is living a happy life with his cheeky pup and their own little makeshift family. True mates within canine shifter clans are very rare, but Trip has had one since he can remember. Despite losing his heart to Boone twenty years ago, Trip holds little hope of ever getting to bond with the sexy Enforcer, as it’s against clan laws for pure-bloods to bond with half-breeds. With the call from their feral halves to seal the bond growing stronger by the day, can Trip and Boone find a way to be together without losing everything?

This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group’s “Love Has No Boundaries” event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story.

Review

This is a lovely and hysterical and hot romance! Trip and Boone are mates, but can’t recognize that publicly due to archaic clan laws that could result in banishment or even death.

When the pressure gets too much, twenty years later, they finally give in to temptation and are given a wonderful surprise.

Charlie Cochet is great for giving us witty dialog and hot smexy times wrapped around interesting characters involved in intriguing drama.

5 of 5 hearts

5

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The Chase by Nessa Vincent

Loose ID presents http://www.loose-id.com/the-chase.html

the chaseBlurb

Previous book: The Catch

Halym knows better than to trust humans. Even though he’s a dragon at the top of the magical food chain, he just can’t get any respect from humans–particularly not from a magician like Merrick Leigh, who has the audacity to steal Halym’s soul.

Merrick has good reasons for taking the dragon captive, though it leaves him holding the proverbial wolf by the ear. He wants to use Halym’s powerful magical abilities to work an important spell, but Halym has other plans. Something about this magician piques Halym’s curiosity and whets his sexual appetite. Once Halym gives chase, Merrick finds he doesn’t have the will or the wiles to fend off the dragon’s advances. Although the dragon is under Merrick’s control, Merrick realizes he’s not the one in charge…and he likes it that way.

But everything changes when Halym steals back his soul. Now that Halym is free to leave, he isn’t sure he wants to. Yet staying with Merrick means not only learning to trust humans, but becoming one.

Review

Merrick wants to find a way to return his lover to the land of the living and captures the most powerful magical creature in Europe to help, Halym the dragon.

Halym doesn’t want to help Merrick at first because he’s a lowly human and dragon’s are far superior, then he doesn’t want to help because he’s fallen for Merrick and doesn’t want to lose him to the past lover.

In a fit of selflessness Halym gives Merrick what he thinks he wants only to find out that you can’t go back in time, no matter how much you might want to.

**

This is a good book. The dialog is witty and the banter between Halym and Merrick is great. The magic and the mix of old and new world technology is fascinating.

I found the writing to be bulky at times, but mostly good. I never felt the connection that I wanted to between Merrick and Halym, the old lover took up more space than felt comfortable.

Overall I liked this book and would recommend it to lovers of dragons and magic.

3.5 of 5 hearts

3.5

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