Awakening the Alpha

Title: Awakening the Alpha

Author: Carolina Valdez

Publisher: Loose Id

Publisher URL: www.loose-id.com

ISBN: 978-1-68252-151-9

Genre: {M/M} Shapeshifters         

Rating: 4 Nymphs

Literary Nymphs Reviewer: Chocolate Minx

Former Navy SEAL sniper Blaze Canis finds out the hard way that trust is a part of love. Keeping secrets from his lover, Native American Logan Swift Rider almost destroyed their relationship shortly after it began.

Awakening the Alpha is a budding interracial romance. The setting is Yellowstone Park with some interesting history about the area including the dangerous animals the tourist is likely to encounter.

Blaze is an alpha werewolf who chose not to be the leader of a pack because he is gay. The thought of mating with a female was unacceptable for Blaze so he chose instead to join the Navy. Now that he has retired, Blaze misses the friendship of his military unit.   

Logan left the reservation to become an artist. Also being gay, Logan could not carry on the Shoshone’s expected tradition of marriage and fathering children. Logan continues to speak his native language at times as well as remembers some of the myths learned as a child. It is one particular native myth that caused a major misunderstanding between Logan and Blaze.

Carolina Valdez has created an amiable saga that I enjoyed. I found the Shoshone tribe history especially interesting.  

Claimed By Desire

Title: Claimed By Desire

Author: Skye Jones

Publisher: Liquid Silver Books

Publisher URL: www.lsbooks.com

ISBN/BIN: 978-1-62210-236-5

Genre: {M/M} Paranormal; Shifter; Series

Rating: 4.5 Nymphs

Literary Nymphs Reviewer: Rose Nymph

Aeron is a gay man who lives in a small town in Wales. He lives with his sick mother and has dedicated his life to caring for her. Aeron is struggling to earn enough money to care for the two of them though, as some of the local employers are less than supportive of his sexuality. When he gets a chance to work for the mysterious Dylan, helping out on his farm, Aeron is desperate to get the job and determined to keep his sexuality a secret. When he finally lays eyes on the brooding man however, he realises that it might be much harder than he first thought.

Dylan has kept to himself since returning to Wales, too busy mourning the loss of his mate Nikos and planning his revenge to care about what the locals think. When Aeron appears on his land however, Dylan’s wolf sits up and takes notice. He can sense Aeron’s attraction but is in no mood to get distracted from his plan to avenge Nikos. Aeron is like a dog with a bone though, and Dylan is finding it harder and harder to come up with a reason to fight Aeron off.

When an evil presence makes itself known in the village, Dylan is ready and waiting to fulfil his destiny, regardless of the consequences. But it’s not only Dylan that the evil wants. Dylan wants to protect those around him the only way he knows how – by pushing those who care away. Will he be forever destined to live a life of solitude and heartache, or will his wolf finally be allowed to come out and play?

Claimed By Desire is part of the author’s Wild Hunters series. I enjoyed the first book and had high hopes for this second instalment. I’m happy to say I wasn’t disappointed at all. I personally love a pairing where one is older and rugged, with the weight of the world on his shoulders, while the other is more youthful and full of energy. I couldn’t get enough of Dylan and Aeron. There is great chemistry between them and they share some very erotic scenes. Aeron is definitely the character I connected with the most. He is kind, caring, and there is an honesty to him that just makes you love him. Dylan is great too – gruff and hard but with an element of vulnerability that meant you were never going to be put off by his behaviour.

I absolutely loved the Welsh setting and the plot was thrilling. There is a real sense of urgency at the end as Dylan gets closer to finding closure to a very painful chapter in his life, but it is never predictable. Characters from the first book make a welcome appearance to help fight off a pretty scary foe in a satisfying conclusion. I highly recommend this series to fans of the genre and can’t wait for the next instalment.

Heart

Title: Heart

Author: Bailey Bradford

Publisher: Pride Publishing

Publisher URL: www.pride-publishing.com

ISBN: 978-1-78430-725-7

Genre: {M/M} Shifter Series

Rating: 3.5 Nymphs

Literary Nymphs Reviewer: Chocolate Minx 

This plot features three subject matters. Transgender, spiritual lost and a quest to discover an unknown identity. Shaman Rolly has returned home to his pack, bringing a catatonic patient named Lotu with him. Rolly has decided it is time to claim his mate. Rolly’s mate is transgender Erdwin/Edie, who has just come out of the closet and been accepted by the pack. Erdwin/Edie’s younger sister Rhea is on a mission to find her parental ancestry.

Heart is the fourth book in the Spotless series. The series features the various breeds of mainly cat shifters. The Spotless series is linked to the Leopard's Spots series.  In the Spotless series, starting with Hide, the stories feature the mixed breed children of a fanatical leopard shifter’s forced breeding with all of other cat species. 

As a whole, Heart is an enjoyable saga. I particularly enjoyed the emotional importance of acceptance for Erdwin/Edie.  However, I found all the chaos illustrated a little bit of overkill. Also there is quite a bit of character profile repetition, which I found tedious.     

Dawning of Light

Title:  Dawning of Light

Author:  Tami Lund

Publisher:  Liquid Silver Books

Publisher URL:  http://www.lsbooks.com

ISBN/BIN:  978-1-62210-171-9

Genre:  {M/F} Fantasy, Fairies, Paranormal, Shifters, Suspense

Rating:  4 Nymphs

Literary Nymphs Reviewer:  Amethyst Nymph

Cecilia Druthers is a lightbearer, who leaves the coterie to unwind from time to time. Sometimes a girl just needed a little freedom, so where’s the harm in that?  Thanks to a protective king and friends, Cecilia is assigned a bodyguard, who acts more like a babysitter.  He’s the most obnoxious and rude shifter alive and his sole purpose seems to be ruining all fun for Cecilia. 

Finn Hennigan had never met anyone who was more of a danger magnet than Cecilia.  She did whatever she wanted with no concern for the consequences and then yelled at him for doing his job.  Finn wasn’t happy about being assigned to “Cecilia duty”, but something about her made him curious.  Finn always imagined he’d wind up with another shifter, so why was he feeling drawn to the one lightbearer who wasn’t even his type?  Cecilia was driving him insane, in more ways than one.

Coterie life had changed and the union of lightbearers and shifters was becoming more acceptable, but not by everyone.  Finn and Cecilia had to deal with the prejudice of their families but also the threats from hate groups.  Finn doubled his efforts to keep Cecilia safe and to keep his hands off her, but failed on both counts.  Cecilia came to terms with the fact that she wanted to be mated to Finn.  Now all she had to do was convince Finn, while at the same time figure out who was trying to kill her.

Dawning of Light is the second book in the Lightbearer series, and it seems that Tami Lund stepped up her game with the suspense in this story.  There are some big reveals that kept me guessing and left me shocked.  Both Finn and Cecilia had family issues that made me angry.  I was disgusted by some of the family actions and couldn’t believe the things a parent would do to their child.  The come- backs and arguing between Finn and Cecilia was nice foreplay and it made their union very spicy.  If you enjoy couples who don’t see the forest because of the trees, you have to read this story. 

Hunted Guardian

Title: Hunted Guardian

Author: M.D. Grimm

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Publisher URL: www.dreamspinnerpress.com

ISBN: 978-1-63216-290-8

Genre: {M/M} Shifter Series

Rating: 4.5 Nymphs

Literary Nymphs Reviewer: Chocolate Minx 

Bravery, along with being constantly on the alert to danger, is two of the traits a guardian must have. Con does his best to live up to these traits. Nevertheless, Con’s best is not enough to escape the brutal attacks until he is rescued by Quincy.

Hunted Guardian is the seventh book in The Shifters series. The setting is England plus the beginning of an American shifter settlement, the year is 1784. The plot is a romantic suspense. The main characters, Con and Quincy are both guardians and their enemy is a witch disguised as the Countess Blackburn.

Hunted Guardian is also the first book of the second part of this series, as well as the first introduction to the legend of the ancient scrolls, which are part of a weapon that can annihilate shape-shifters. Con is a peregrine falcon charged with guarding two of the scrolls. He has been on the run for two years. Every time Con thinks he has gotten away, the evil witch finds him. When Con is attacked by the countess’s hawk, Quincy rescued him and kept Con safe until Con was strong enough to fly again. It was during Con’s recovery that he discovered Quincy was his mate.

Although Quincy is an alpha wolf, his weakened leg prevents him from running with the pack. Quincy works hard to prove he is valuable, but the pack considers Quincy as almost useless. Being the alpha’s nephew, as well as being appointed the pack guardian, was the only way to establish Quincy’s importance to the pack. His duty is to guard the manor house and the other wolves not participating in the hunts. Not only is Quincy very astute, he is also incredibly compassionate regarding injured animals.

M.D. Grimm has created a thrilling saga that I enjoyed immensely. There is plenty of deadly combat on land plus a dramatic rescue during a storm at sea.