Burning Bright

Title: Burning Bright

Author: Rachel Wilder, A. Catherine Noon

Publisher: Samhain Publishing

Publishers URL: http://www.samhainpublishing.com

ISBN/BIN: 978-1-60928-526-5

Genre: {M/M}, {M/M/M/M}, Paranormal, BDSM, Series

Rating: 4.5 Nymphs

Literary Nymph Reviewer: Critter Nymph

After spending the night at a club with some friends, Sasha is ready to head home.  The problem is that he can’t seem to remember which direction his car is in.  Before he can figure it out, Sasha is accosted by a group of men and is rescued by Neal.

Burning Bright is the first book in the Chicagoland Shifters series.  This story is fast-paced and will pull the readers in from the first page.  While there are a lot of characters in this book, the story centers on Sasha and the men he starts to fall in love with. 

Sasha is a veterinarian, looking for a change and hoping to land a new job in Chicago.  But he’s more than that as Sasha is also an animal empathy and coven guardian.  Only in a world that does not always treat paranormals well, his gifts are something he allows very few to know about.  This is one aspect of the story I wish the authors would have expounded more on.  While it is mentioned a few times that Sasha is a guardian, they really do not go into detail as to just what he did, or how moving so far away would change that, if it did. 

Neal is a retired Marine that now owns and runs the Factory, a local bar/BDSM club.  Like Sasha, Neal and his men also have a secret, one they work hard at keeping others from knowing.  When Neal rescues Sasha, it is easy to see the connection between them.  The two men pair up immediately and, while they are limited as to how far they can go, that does not keep them from heating up the pages.  The men are so different that it is interesting seeing this relationship develop, especially when Sasha starts to have feelings for Steve and Carlos, two of Neal’s men. 

While Sasha struggles to come to terms with the changes in his life, he also finds himself the subject of curiosity by other paranormals in Chicago, thanks to his connection to Neal and the men of the Factory.  Not all the curiosity is good and the authors use this to really throw some twists and turns into the story.  I love all the action that ensues as it really keeps the story hopping. 

Burning Bright is a little different than most of the paranormal stories out there, but if you want a refreshing change then you really need to give this book a shot.  Readers should know that this is a series that will need to be read in order.