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NEW RELEASE BLITZ: Essex Colony by Lia Cooper (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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BOOK BLAST: Little Red by Queenie Wise (Excerpt)
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NEW RELEASE BLITZ: Wren and Oak by Sam Burns (Giveaway)
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NEW RELEASE BLITZ: Sleigh Duty by L.M. Brown (Excerpt)
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REVIEW: Prophesy Book II: Bringer of Wrath by A.E. Via
King & Alpha: Prophesy Book II: Bringer of Wrath – A.E. Via
Shifter and Vampire True Mates story.
Alek’s older brother, Justice—the Alpha Zenith—was the first shifter to mate with a vampire in many generations, and it was believed the rare, fated pairing would stop at him. But, it hadn’t. Aleksei ‘Alek’ Volkov was second beta, next in succession to the most powerful shifter in the world. He was proud of his title and he took his duties seriously. It was all he had. Until his true mate literally showed up on his doorstep.
While his brother—the overachiever—excelled at having a vampire as a mate, Alek wasn’t that optimistic he would. He wasn’t averse to love, and he’d often thought of how different his life could’ve turned out if he’d ever experienced the emotion. His life was a mess and he’d worn a mask of stability for a majority of that time, only showing his siblings and pack what they needed to see—a strong Volkov alpha. Not the damaged man he was, with a tortured soul and a rogue wolf.
Alek dropped his heavy head in his hands.Now, for some reason, I’ve been granted a true vampire mate.And not just any vampire.The intimidating Belleron Liatos.Lord High to the King and the leader of his army.
Belleron ‘Bell’ Liatos had come to the states for one reason—his best friend and Vampire King, Chadwick Bentley. He certainly didn’t come to be pounced on by a wolf that could act independently of its master. Not only was his destined cherished a complicated and confused man; but he was also unaware of the powerful presence that lurked in the shadows of his soul. Bell didn’t know he’d be the key to unlocking an exceptional triad that would play a critical role in fulfilling the prophesy.
This story DOES NOT contain or even mention MPREG.
No multiple pairings. No cliffhangers. Ends with a very HFN.Warning:This book is M/M paranormal:If you DO NOT like alpha men shifting into large wolves, or vampires feeding from their destined beloveds, than this may not be the novel for you.
I liked this better. I wanted to like it more.
The second book of the King & Alpha series brought together the second-in-commands. Belleron is the bestfriend of King Bentley and Lord High of the Vampires. He is always impeccably dressed and strove to excel at all things. Aleksei was the second beta and next in line to the Alpha Zenith. He’s a genuine, down to earth guy who has a lot of inner conflict. Their story had more things happening compared to the first book, starting with Alek having multiple personalities.
Alek has his human self, his wolf self and something much darker within him. He can transition seamlessly between all three if they so willed. This created an interesting dynamic with his mate. It was, in a way, an MMMM love story involving two individuals. I totally loved how Bell embraced all of Alek’s selves unconditionally. Though, I kind of suspect his favorite is the dark one because that’s my favorite too.
Back in book one, Prophesy, Alek lost control of his wolf and latched on to Bell when the vampire showed up at their doorstep. Alek was filled with shame and was too embarrassed to meet Bell again. The second book started with Alek and Bell trying to get to know each other.
The first quarter of Bringer of Wrath was the exciting part. Bell had to go on a mission to London to apprehend rogue vampires raiding their tombs. His troops were overwhelmed and he was captured. Alek decided to go rescue him despite his natural shifter fear of flying. His younger brother and sister went with him. Things were pretty intense here.
I liked that this first quarter brought focus to bigger issues in the vampire/shifter world. But sadly, the rest of the book fell short. I wasn’t exactly bored but I wasn’t that excited either. It wasn’t a Mating 101 thing, like Wick and Justice. The romance was actually sweet and enjoyable but it took over the book and completely overshadowed the politics and the world-building.
Some work could have done to make the world-building much more solid, like providing more details on what exactly are these antagonists fighting for? Because for all appearances, Wick was a good king and so is Justice as the AZ. What is the say of humans in this scenario? Since gods were mentioned, what kinds of pantheons exist and how do they influence the world? And that damn prophesy. The book only paid lip service to it. You can take it out of the story and it would still work just fine. I’m guessing there’s a huge endgame in store so here’s hoping the prophesy aspect will be put to good use.
The strength of this series lies on the characters. Many characters stood out. I liked them all enough to make me want to follow their stories. The villains were throwaways though but I’m okay with that.
I was disappointed with the ending. I wanted Bell to have his moment but sadly his much awaited revenge was pre-empted by the introduction of a new character. Said character had the third brother, Mac’s hackles up. Their butting of heads almost made up for Bell’s lost moment.
Overall, Bringer of Wrath is a much improved sequel to Prophesy. It has similar issues when it comes to balancing the elements of the plot but it has more substance and more developments. I do wish the author strengthen the plots and the overarching threads because the backbones of the series is interesting. I want to find out more about what’s happening in the King & Alpha world so I’m still here for the next one.
P.S.
Prophesy review here
Rating:
3 Stars – not exactly setting my world on fire but I liked itSoundtrack: You Belong To Me
Artist: Cat Pierce
Album: CP1 -
New Release Blitz: His Unexpected Mate by T.L. West (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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REVIEW: Prophesy by A.E. Via
King & Alpha: Prophesy – A.E. Via
An Enemies to Lovers
Shifter, Vampire True Mates story.Justice Volkov is the youngest Alpha Zenith to ever lead the wolf shifters. Following in his father’s large paw prints was a responsibility he met head on. Now at age thirty-three, he is alpha of the alphas. As a direct descendant of the original Siberian pack, his wolf is bigger and stronger than Justice, himself is sometimes able to control.
His wolf howled long and hard but Justice kept it inside. It felt like a bass drum beating against his rib cage. The harsh breaths, angry snarls and the determined pacing inside him was overtaking him.
Justice takes his role of leadership and his legacy very seriously. He has little time for romance, not to mention a true mate. His packs are his priority. With a human government trying to regulate them, an uprising of rogue shifters, and a violent team of scientists trying to experiment on them, Justice has his hands way too full.
Chadwick ‘Wick’ Bentley is not enthusiastic when the captain of his escort tells him he has to leave his comfortable London home and go back to the States. As the Vampire King, he has no choice but to get his species back in line before they cause anymore chaos. At over one-hundred years old, Wick is no one to trifle with, but his smooth, charismatic manner makes him quite unique, despite the negative reputation vampires have. Wick has had nothing but time up to this point. He doesn’t feel the need to make issues pressing. Nothing is urgent in his life. Until he meets Justice. His beloved.
“Natural enemies can’t be mates.” Or so Justice thought. He knows his skepticism and rejection is hurting his mate, so while he fights their connection, Wick gets help from a source very close to Justice to help him win his beloved’s heart. Wick is a force all on his own, but when he’s blessed with a special gift from the Mother herself, not even Justice’s powerful wolf can prevent the prophesy from being fulfilled.
This story DOES NOT contain/mention MPREG.
No multiple pairings. No cliffhangers. It ends with a very HFN.Warning: This book is MM paranormal: If you DO NOT like hot, alpha men shifting into large wolves, or vampires feeding from their mates, this may not be your read.
Tsk! This could have been epic. This could have been the vampire/shifter series of my dreams.
Instead, it was so focused on Mating 101, it lost sight of the much bigger picture. That of the prophesy and IMHO, the more interesting vampire/shifter politics. I was mentally urging Justice and Wick to hurry up, sate their mate lust and focus on their duties at hand. As the Alpha Zenith and the King, they have jobs to do, for fuck’s sake.
Don’t get me wrong, I signed up because I wanted to see a vampire mate with a wolf. I was all hyped up for those hate-filled USTs. Their first meeting, holy hell, that was something! But after they got along and started resolving their tensions, I got bored. And that was practically what 90% of the book was about. It felt like nothing was happening.
It also felt like going through a checklist of shifter mating rituals. The sniffing, the mating, the marking, the possessiveness, the challenging and so on. This is fine. I get it. I could appreciate it. But can they please do something else too? Like deal with the threats to their world?
The ‘things that were happening’ were unfortunately crammed in the last 10% of the book. There were humans who were experimenting on shifters and vampires and rebel packs working with them. It irked me that these were barely talked about at all, practically almost an afterthought. They were dealt mostly off-page. Meh.
And that titular prophecy. It should have been a big deal but the impact was minimized due to the aforemention non-events. Again, meh.
Rant, I did but I will read the rest of the series. This is me hoping things will get better as it progressed. And like I said, I do get a kick out of a vampire+shifter couple. I love enemies-to-lovers stories. Add paranormal elements and I am all heart-eyes.
So yeah *sigh*, I wanted to like this so much.
Rating:
2.5 Stars – far from hate but not quite a like -
REVIEW: Heartsong by T.J. Klune
Green Creek: Heartsong – T.J. Klune
All Robbie Fontaine ever wanted was a place to belong. After the death of his mother, he bounces around from pack to pack, forming temporary bonds to keep from turning feral. It’s enough—until he receives a summons from the wolf stronghold in Caswell, Maine.
Life as the trusted second to Michelle Hughes—the Alpha of all—and the cherished friend of a gentle old witch teaches Robbie what it means to be pack, to have a home.
But when a mission from Michelle sends Robbie into the field, he finds himself questioning where he belongs and everything he’s been told. Whispers of traitorous wolves and wild magic abound—but who are the traitors and who the betrayed?
More than anything, Robbie hungers for answers, because one of those alleged traitors is Kelly Bennett—the wolf who may be his mate.
The truth has a way of coming out. And when it does, everything will shatter.
THIS BOOK
Grass.
Lake water.
Sunshine.Robbie. Kelly.
My soft, soft boys…
At first, I thought it was a flashback.
It’s not.
Then I thought Ezra and his liverspots was a nice old man.
He’s so much more than that.
Oh, no. No no no!
T.J. Klune took us once again to Green Creek and the wonderful Bennett pack. But not before he tore a piece of them out yet again. Even the wolf mother, Elizabeth, started to think they were cursed.
Heartsong was a fight to survive. To find the mate who was stolen. To take back the memories that were erased. To restore bonds that were shattered. To heal hearts that were broken. To have a place to belong to and peace and love and happiness even just for now.
I howl for you.
Heartsong is packed with FEELS. It was fluffy and awesome and bittersweet and funny, also painful and shitshitshit I can’t look and oh my fucking gad how can you do that to them, TJ!!!
I.FELT.EVERYTHING.
P.S.
Heartsong is the third book of the mind-blowing Green Creek series. The books are best read in order because you’ll howl for them too.
T.J. Klune books here.
Happy Asexual Awareness Week, everyone!
I’m very glad to celebrate it with the amazing ace, Kelly, middle Bennett brother, Green Creek deputy and Robbie’s mate. These two are adorbs! Kelbie is my favorite Green Creek ship.
Carter as mayor is gold tho.
Rating:
5 Stars – absolutely perfectSoundtrack: I See You
Artist: Missio
Album: The Darker The Weather // The Better The Man -
REVIEW: The Wolf At Bay by Charlie Adhara
Big Bad Wolf: The Wolf At Bay – Charlie Adhara
Going home digs up bad memories, so it’s something Bureau of Special Investigations agent Cooper Dayton tries to avoid. When he’s guilted into a visit, Cooper brings along Oliver Park, his hot new werewolf partner, in the hopes the trip will help clarify their status as a couple…or not.
When Park’s keen shifter nose uncovers a body in the yard and Cooper’s father is the prime suspect, Cooper knows they’re on their own. Familial involvement means no sanctioned investigation. They’ll need to go rogue and solve the mystery quietly or risk seeing Cooper’s dad put behind bars.
The case may be cold, but Park and Cooper’s relationship heats up as they work. And yet if Cooper can’t figure out what’s going on between them outside of the bedroom, he’ll lose someone he… Well, he can’t quite put into words how he feels about Park. He knows one thing for sure: he’s not ready to say goodbye, though with the real killer inching ever closer…he may not have a choice.
I am currently on a shifter binge and Charlie Adhara’s wolves are my favorite wolves. Hers are simultaneously very wolfy and also not.
Case in point: Oliver Park. Proving that the seasick werewolf is the best werewolf.
Hints of him being not only just an alpha but quite possibly The Alpha. He did very alpha wolf things, like intimidate the other wolves into submission. That includes dogs. He’s also afraid of water, not good with boats and needs reading glasses he’s too embarrassed to wear in public. A refreshing change from the usual indestructible, tough guy specimens we normally get.
As much as I would like to see major wolf action (shifting, marking, etc), I also enjoyed the novelty of having a shifter book focusing on realism rather than the paranormal. The book felt like a very low-key commentary on the genre. They are serious about the whole werewolf business but there’s also a sense of not taking it too seriously. Cooper and Oliver constantly exchanged repartee that, among many things, made fun of wolfy stuff including the mate aspect. Which is probably what I would do too, if I suddenly find myself in the company of supernatural creatures.
Said exchange of repartee is what made the The Wolf At Bay come alive. I live for Cooper and Park’s banters! I could listen to them all day. Park is a normally taciturn person and I enjoyed the moments where Coop drew out his playful side. They just CLICKED!
“As you pointed out before, I’ve made my feelings clear. So.”
Silence. He glanced up and was caught in Park’s slow smile.
“What?”
The smile widened. “Papa, no! I luurve him,” Park said dramatically, and put a hand to his brow.
Also, ♡ porcupine ♡!
Obviously, I love Park. The man is a sweetheart. He’s good for Coop. I like it that they’re also really good friends aside than whatever else they were. And, yes!!! been waiting for it, the story shed some light on his background. Not too much but enough of a teaser for the third book. Still not fully shifting tho.
Cooper is more difficult. But I get him. I get the anxiety and the fears. He and Park talked about anything and everything, constantly dancing around the thing they actually wanted to talk about. Coop took baby steps. I wanted to hurry him along but these things need to be taken at one’s own pace. And Park, ever patient bless him, never failed to let him know he will be there every step of the way.
So here I am at the edge of my seat, on high alert for any tiny gesture or small words that spoke volumes of how they really felt. Until they finally took the plunge and it was all very ♡✧。(◍＞◡＜◍ ⋈ )。✧♡!!! (And in keeping with the character of the series, they joked about that moment later on too).
Like most book twos, The Wolf At Bay is a transition to the next installment but there’s so much more to it. It’s a story about coming to terms with the past and the present. Also a cleverly written mystery and just cleverly written overall. There were major strides in character development, romance and family relationships. The dialogues were sharper and wittier than ever.
The case was a really good one. I was completely in the dark until the end. It was complex and multi-layered, unearthing not only a literal skeleton but many other skeletons of the Dayton family and the rest of the neighborhood. It made you question, how well do you really know the people you grew up with?
This dreaded hometown visit was a long time coming. It took Park, and us, on an awkward tour of Cooper’s childhood. Coop had to confront childhood monsters, adolescent crushes and his own brother and father. There were ghosts that needed to be exorcised. The air (desperately) needed to be cleared. Everything eventually tied in with the werewolf business and it only got messier. Yikes!
All in all, The Wolf At Bay is a great second book. I loved it better than the first.
P.S.
Big Bad Wolf should be read in order. Book one, The Wolf At The Door here.
Other paranormal/shifter series you might be interested in:
Flesh And Bone
Hexworld
Soulbound
Green CreekRating:
4.5 Stars – perfection is only half a step awaySoundtrack: I Love You
Artist: Under The Influence Of Giants
Album: Under The Influence Of Giants. -
REVIEW: Bleed by Joel Abernathy
Flesh And Bone: Bleed – Joel Abernathy
Vengeance.
My purpose, carved deeper into my soul than their names carved in my flesh.
Dominic.
The man who took everything from me, my own personal devil in shifting flesh.
Ursache.
My pack. The high-born family of wolves I’ve sworn my life to protect, even if my dying breath is pledged to another.
Mason…
My everything. Friend, confidant, enemy, lover. Most dangerous of all, he would become the reason I lived if I let him. He is the one thing I won’t allow Dominic to take from me. Love is not a luxury I can afford, but the sweetness of revenge has nothing on the taste of him…
I knew I would like this so much better than the first book!
If ever there was a time to use the expression “my heart was ripped to pieces“, this is it. Very apt cover there.
First, a fair warning. The MCs were tortured on and off-page, there is implied sexual abuse, transphobia, consensual knife-play, among others.
Also, very, very angsty and emotionally wrenching because circumstances were harsh and brutal but the person who was harshest to Mason was Mason himself.
Bleed picks up on the Ursache pack life 5 years after Exhale. Nicolae and Jack has established their family but Mason still felt like the perpetual outsider. He was constantly out of the loop and has yet to earn his father’s respect despite being his second after so many years. His relationship with his father was strained and antagonistic because Nicolae couldn’t spare him the affection he showed his other children. Here again, the Ursache Alpha made himself unlikable until the last part where they had the talk.
Like most Ursache, Mason is arrogant, authoritative and excelled at many things. And just like his father, at first, second and third glances, he’s a hard to man to like. Witness book one, where even the usually nice Jack called him The Prick (in fairness to Jack that was before he knew his stepson). Though nobody could deny he would do anything for his pack. What nobody knows is that he is secretly in love with his bestfriend Vasil. Secret because mating between two male alphas is frowned upon by the very traditional wolf society. What they also don’t know (and what I sensed from the get go because with a dad like Nicolae) is that Mason needs a hug. Like yesterday.
Vasil is the Ursache pack enforcer waiting for his date with the devil. It was 15 years ago, when he was a young soldier in a pack war and was caught and tortured by a mysterious sadistic psycho named Dominic, who killed his entire family. He was rescued by Nicolae and since then, he’s biding his time when he could finally have his revenge.
Unlike Mason, Vasil is well-liked by all. He is a genial fellow, a very tough soldier, a skilled fighter and trusted bodyguard. He is a loyal friend, confidant, rival and Mason’s second in the pack. The two men have been friends since childhood.
Vasil never entirely got over the nightmare and felt like he would never be whole again. He has his dark secrets which were indeed fucked up given what he had gone through but that’s the way they are, him and Mason.
“Creepy and kind of fucked, but…sweet.”
I grinned. “Is there any other way to describe our relationship?”
“Probably not,”
Hugging them both. (つˆ⌣ˆ)つ⊂(・﹏ # ⊂) ⊂(・﹏・⊂)
Bleed is almost epic in its scale. It is a story of vengeance, betrayal, family, love, friendship, responsibilities and loyalty. It is a well-conceived, well-executed friends-to-lovers romance told in both Mason and Vasil’s POV where the internal dialogues were raw and pain was a tangible presence permeating everything. And that was before actual pain was inflicted.
Bad enough that their relationship was up in the air. Worse that Mason had to sacrifice his personal happiness to save his stepsister, Ellie, and the pack. The devil came calling for Vasil, who was all ready to kill or be killed because he had nothing to lose. That’s what he thought. He was dead wrong.
The story then proceeded to earn its horror tag. Not just with one but two monsters! And it went on for months! If I thought Jack had the raw end of the deal before, fate was just downright cruel this time.
ノಥ,_｣ಥ)ノ彡┻━┻
The story didn’t end with the rescue. There was the aftermath to deal with. Battered bodies to patch up and a lifetime of scars bear.
But speaking of health concerns, how are they having sex in the shower when one is fresh out of surgery and no longer has the wolf healing ability?
That boggled me slightly but who cares. This has one of the hardest earned HEAs I’ve ever read and the boys can take whatever happiness they can get.
P.S.
Bleed is not a standalone. Flesh and Bone should be read in order. Exhale review here.
Other paranormal/shifter series you might be interested in:
Big Bad Wolf
Hexworld
Soulbound
Green CreekRating:
4.5 Stars – perfection is only half a step awaySoundtrack: Scars
Artist: IAMX
Album: Everything Is Burning (Metanoia Addendum)
