Strength of the Wolf

Title: Strength of the Wolf

Author: Kendall McKenna

Publisher: MLR Press

Publisher URL: www.mlrbooks.com

ISBN: MLR-1-02013-0136

Genre: {M/M} Military Shifter Series

Rating: 4 Nymphs

Literary Nymphs Reviewer: Chocolate Minx 

True Alpha in the making, Jeremy Wagner is out of control with raging hormones when he meets Marine Major Tim Madison. Thankfully military true alpha Noah is on hand and understands what Jeremy is going through. With Noah’s help, Jeremy learns to control his internal chaos. However, bonding with a mate is a lesson Jeremy and Tim must become skilled at together.

Strength of the Wolf is the second book in the Tameness of the Wolf series. The setting mainly takes place in San Diego, California.  The plot covers a wide range of issues. The characters are credible. Tim is appointed commanding officer of Marine Corps Werewolf Training. Tim’s mission, along with Noah and Lucas, is to fully educate the human marines about werewolf hierarchy, as well as the werewolves’ vulnerabilities to severe injuries. Tim is also dealing with an emotional separation from his younger brother Adam. Tim and his team are required to travel back and forth to combat zones which strain his relationship with Jeremy.

 

Jeremy, who is an architectural intern, was cast out of his pack before he came into his full alpha powers. But, challenging the current alpha is Jeremy’s fate.  Because Tim is in the military, Jeremy’s decision about the future becomes even more difficult. Nevertheless, Jeremy has completed his transition and must fulfill his destiny. 

Kendall McKenna has created another impressive addition to this series that I found intriguing as well as enjoyable. There are scenes of combat action, military jargon plus ample scenes of intimacy between Tim and Jeremy.

Designated Target

Title: Designated Target

Author: Laura Baumbach

Publisher: MLR Press

Publisher URL: www.mlrbooks.com

ISBN: 978-1-60820-7916

Genre: {M/M} Military

Rating: 4.5 Nymphs  

Literary Nymphs Reviewer: Chocolate Minx 

Sometimes keeping a promise can be difficult, but doing the right thing can often lead to unexpected rewards.

Designated Target is part of the Hostage anthology. It is an enjoyable heartwarming short story of grief, loneliness and hope for a better future. The main feature is the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy. China is an in-the-closet gay soldier. The plot illustrates that sexuality has no relevance regarding a person’s honor nor does sexuality have any influence concerning anyone’s ability to protect and serve.   Carson is struggling to live as normally as possible, considering he only recently lost his older brother Jim. However, Carson is not the only one suffering from the loss. China was Jim’s friend and as part of the Ranger team, he also feeling remorse. Sharing a brotherly love for Jim, as well as having an immediate mutual attraction upon meeting face to face, Carson and China forms a budding relationship. 

Magnus

Title: Magnus
Author: Jambrea Jo Jones
Publisher: Liquid Silver Books
Publisher URL: liquidsilverbooks.com
ISBN: 978-1-59578-627-2
Genre: [M/F] Contemporary
Rating: 4.5 Nymphs
Literary Nymphs Reviewer: Mystical Nymph

Colonel Joe “Magnus” Rivers joined the Marines after his father kicked him out of the house as a teenager and since then, his life’s revolved around the Corps. He believes in everything the United States stands for and lives to protect it and her citizens. When an attractive woman is unexpectedly assigned to his elite strike team, his world is turned upside down, threatening his composure, temper and career.

Emily Patterson isn’t a Marine; she’s an NCIS agent. Her mission is to infiltrate Mag’s team and discover who, in the group, is responsible for kidnapping foreign women and children and selling them into a sex slave ring. She’s been on undercover assignments before, but nothing in her experience has prepared her for the rigorous and often grueling routine Magnus puts his men through before each mission. Emily’s sore, tired and having trouble hiding her feelings for the hard-as-nails Marine. The question is whether she can clear his name before she tells him the truth and reveals her true identity.

Magnus is the first release in the new Semper Fi series by Jambrea Jo Jones and the only book by this author that I’ve read. Having lived with a former Marine for years, I can safely say, “Once a Marine. Always a Marine,” is a totally true and accurate statement. These dedicated men just seem to have a certain mindset, and Magus is a prime example of the type of men the corps puts out on a regular basis.

The first page starts with a common blast of military life…a dressing down by the unit commanding officer, in this case, Magnus. How appropriate for the opening. That’s one of the things that I enjoyed so much about this story; the raw reality of military life. The numerous scenes dealing with the members of the unit, training for their upcoming mission, are nicely handled as was the intensity and danger of the mission and the possibility of being shot. Overall, I felt these scenes were accurate and had a nice flow to them, with good emotions and vivid descriptions. The story backbone…the sex slave investigation, was very strong and filled with gut-wrenching emotions, which helped suck the reader into the story. However, danger is only part of this tale. It’s also filled with determination, dedication, strong moral and personal convictions and love between Emily and Magnus. Despite the inappropriateness of their involvement, these two burn up the sheets and when Emily is kidnapped…Magnus is willing to do whatever it takes to get his woman back and make the bad guys pay.

Big Diehl

Title: Big Diehl
Author: George Seaton
Publisher: MLR Press
Publisher URL: http://www.mlrbooks.com/
ISBN: 978-1-60820-115-0
Genre: {M/M} Contemporary Military
Rating: 5 Nymphs
Literary Nymphs Reviewer: Chocolate Minx

Sergeant Diehl’s usual morning arrival at the Fort Polk Company headquarters is anything but usual this day. Summoned to the Captain’s office, along with other personnel, Diehl watched the 9/11 attack unfold on TV. Shortly after military plans were set into place, Diehl is deployed to Iraq where he gets a first hand look at the horrors of war.

Big Diehl is an intuitive story created to raise awareness of the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell; a law that gives the impression of federally endorsed gay bashing as well as exterminating equal rights. Intelligence and ability to do the job should be the foundation of armed forces. Diehl is gay, and thanks to his friends, he is conscious of the downside of military life. On the other hand, the army is a way to escape the squalor he grew up in, as well as give him an opportunity to come to a decision concerning his future. The realistic plot features Diehl’s life as a soldier, his romantic attractions and his poignant observations of life. Although this is a short version of a future novel, it makes a powerful statement from the perspective of gay men in the military. George Seaton conveys an outstanding and expressively rational saga that I extremely enjoyed and I look forward to reading the upcoming longer version.

Out Of The Blue

Title: Out Of The Blue
Author: Josh Lanyon
Publisher: Liquid Silver Books
Publisher URL: www.liquidsilverbooks.com/
ISBN: 978-1-59578-578-7
Genre: {M/M} Military Historical
Rating: 4.5 Nymphs
Literary Nymphs Reviewer: Mystical Nymph

It’s 1916 and the world is at war. Thousands of soldiers are fighting in the trenches of France, and hundreds of British and German pilots are battling to the death in the air over the once fertile fields below. The strain of living on the edge of death, hoping to survive while watching friends and comrades die, leads to tension, poor choices and more than a little reckless behavior. When a piece of Captain Bat Bryant’s past is threatened with exposure, he lashes out in anger, fear and panic, accidentally killing the man trying to blackmail him. What he doesn’t expect is for his actions to have been witnessed by another pilot; the huge and handsome Texan, Cowboy Cooper. Initially Bat doesn’t know what to expect from the other pilot, but it’s not long before he discovers Cowboy has his own reasons for agreeing to help.

I guess I can blame being a sucker for war stories on watching too many John Wayne movies while growing up so when I discovered Mr. Lanyon had written a novella set during “The Great War”, I was thrilled. I can honestly say I’ve never been disappointed with a book from this talented author, and Out of the Blue is no exception. It’s well written and plotted, filled with accurately portrayed historical details and has an exciting, realistic premise. All the characters, especially Bat and Cowboy, are vividly described, and the action, both on the ground and in the air, sucks you into the story from the very first sentence.

Cowboy didn’t start out as a likable man; he saw what he wanted, in this case, Bat, and he was willing to do just about anything to get it. It wasn’t long though before Mr. Lanyon’s portrayal of the huge Texan changes, showing Cowboy to be caring, tender and protective. I initially found Bat to be a little confusing. For a military pilot and the captain who was the glue holding the squadron together, he tended to be a little uncertain and over-emotional. Yet, his attitude and unrest was understandable, considering recent events. These two couldn’t be more dissimilar in personal backgrounds, but it’s not long before their desire to defeat the Germans and to find solace in each other’s arms, pulls the men together.

It’s a story that shows the fragility of life and the depictions of the new, young, naïve pilots who often didn’t make it past their first flight, sad and depressing. In truth, there’s a lot about this story that pulls at the heartstrings…the pilots depression, the fear, confusion, the suicidal flights in bad weather, and the deaths of comrades each time the squadron takes off. All these added with Cowboy, Bat and their new relationship makes this historical M/M book not to be missed.