Sunday, August 12, 2018
Sunday's Safe Word Shelf: Gray's Shadow by KA Merikan
Title: Gray's Shadow
Author: KA Merikan
Series: Kings of Hell MC #4
Genre: M/M Romance, Paranormal, Adult
Release Date: August 11, 2018
Cover Design: Natasha Snow
Summary:--- There can be no shadow without the man to cast it. ---
Gray. Lost his twin. Will never be complete. Works alone.
Shadow. Monster? Human? Exists to be Gray’s one true companion.
After losing his twin brother, Gray has devoted his life to the Kings of Hell MC. He will do anything to protect his family and that means anything.
Even sell his own shadow to the devil.
Following a fire that left him without one arm, Gray feels pushed to the sidelines. In order to prove to his club that he is still capable of completing dangerous tasks, he will have to team up with the strange creature from the Other Side. Tall, inhumanly strong, and menacing despite the handsome exterior, Shadow is just the tool Gray needs.
The moment Shadow lays his eyes on Gray, he wants to crawl under Gray’s skin and make the human his.
Gray on the other hand isn’t willing to get attached to a monster destined to do the devil’s bidding and disappear once his time is up. Rejected, Shadow has to do everything in his power to convince his human that they belong together.
But as the clock ticks away precious minutes of Shadow’s existence, Gray will have to choose between his loyalty to the Kings of Hell MC and responsibility for the creature he brought into this world.
*****
“Do you feel me running through your veins?”
Gray nodded.
*****
POSSIBLE SPOILERS:
Themes: motorcycle club, alternative lifestyles, demons, monster, tattoos, secrets, crime, gothic, grief, mourning, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, fish out of water, opposites attract, demisexuality, gentle giant
Genre: Dark, paranormal M/M romance
Erotic content: Scorching hot, emotional, explicit scenes
Length: ~150,000 words (Book 4 in the series)
WARNING: This story contains scenes of violence, offensive language, and morally ambiguous characters.
Gray's had a bit of a rough time lately: he lost his twin brother, his arm, and made a pact with the demon, Baal. Because of Gray's pact, Shadow has been given the chance to live inside a human form but does that make him human or monster? Gray has devoted his entire life to the Kings of Hell but now with only one arm he finds himself having to prove he is still worthy of his position. Reluctantly Gray finds that Shadow may be his chance to keep his place amongst his brothers but will he be willing to give his heart to him nowing the clock is ticking against Shadow?
OMG!!! I say that with complete honesty because I am so NOT an OMG-kind-of-a-gal. I enjoy a good motorcycle club story but I'm the first to admit they aren't exactly what I'd classify as my go-to-trope so when I first had the opportunity last year to read Laurant & the Beast I thought it sounded interesting so I decided to give it a go. It was amazing and one of the best books I read in 2017. Each entry in the Kings of Hell MC series has been amazing and although I don't think any of the pairings quite reached me as much as Laurant and Beast, I have loved them all. Well, Gray and Shadow are no different.
So lets take a look at our two main guys. I knew Gray's story was going to be emotional just because he seemed to be a bit of a conundrum throughout the first four. You could tell he had a warm loving heart but he was also ruthless and determined when it came to getting the job done. Having formed that opinion of him already I knew he was going to be a tough one to find happiness especially with what he lost. I wanted to hug him and tell him he was still the same Gray he always was and having lost his arm didn't change that but then I also wanted to kick his ass with how he first treats Shadow. Okay that's not entirely true because Shadow is here because of Gray's pact with Baal and that makes him suspect and he does some not-so-good stuff but he's also new to his human form and needs guidance. I guess what I'm saying is even though I wanted to give Gray a knuckle-rap to the head more than a once I also understand his thought patterns.
As for Shadow, well I won't give too much away but I will say that his innocence is endearing even if some of his early actions are not. I have read vampires, shifters, demons of all kinds who survive on pretty much anything imaginable but I have never read a character(demon or otherwise) that survives on rats, creepy crawlies, and rotting, moldy food and still want to wrap him up in a huge bear hug because he's so adorable. Yes, you read that correctly. Shadow is adorable. How Gray is able to stay away for so long is beyond me.
In Gray's Shadow, we get to see the characters that we have come to love in the previous installments, to see where they are and how they are adjusting to their situations which sometimes can take away from the main story but not in this series. KA Merikan has created a world with Kings of Hell MC that is unforgettable and will grab you from the very first page. If asked whether you can start with Gray's Shadow, I would have to say no. Yes, each entry features a different couple with their own troubles but each one is a part of an ongoing journey but personally, I would not recommend starting anywhere but the beginning, not too mention these are some of the most amazing and well written stories I've ever read, you don't want to miss them. If you haven't started Kings of Hell yet but don't like to wait between books than you might want to wait until the concluding story, In the Arms of the Beast, is released but I highly recommend placing this series on your TBR list and near the top, but if you are like me and have been reading them as they come out then you don't want to wait another minute to read Gray and Shadow's journey. This is literally an edge-of-your-seat kind of story.
RATING:
Shadow opened one eye, watching the water as if it were toxic waste, but in the end he followed Gray’s request, and stepped in with one foot. His slouching shoulders rose at once, and the ruby eyes glinted in wonder. “It’s warm,” he said and packed his massive body into the tub with no lingering hesitation.
Gray shut his eyes when scented drops hit his face. “Well, yeah. And it smells nice, doesn’t it?” he asked before mentally chastising himself for talking to the creature as if he were a child.
Shadow gathered the water into his hands and poured it over his head time and time again until his thick hair ran straight down and into the water. He seemed to love splashing about, but while soaking in scented water was a good start, he still needed a wash. “It does. I was scared it would be freezing like last time,” he said with a genuine smile.
Right. Last time. When Gray had blasted Shadow with an icy shower as punishment for the attack. Being alone with Shadow had Gray on pins and needles, but he had since decided Shadow’s behavior shouldn’t be measured against that of humans. Still, it was hard to comprehend that a creature who killed two men less than an hour ago could be ‘scared’ of a cold bath.
“Back then, I was angry at you. Needed you to cool off,” Gray said.
The red eyes were pinned to Gray’s face, hungry for knowledge. “Why?”
Gray leaned on the edge of the tub, watching the strands of hair float close to the surface. He was glad he’d chosen to use the bath milk, because it gave the water a tint that obscured details of Shadow’s anatomy that he shouldn’t be wanting to see.
Gray shut his eyes when scented drops hit his face. “Well, yeah. And it smells nice, doesn’t it?” he asked before mentally chastising himself for talking to the creature as if he were a child.
Shadow gathered the water into his hands and poured it over his head time and time again until his thick hair ran straight down and into the water. He seemed to love splashing about, but while soaking in scented water was a good start, he still needed a wash. “It does. I was scared it would be freezing like last time,” he said with a genuine smile.Right. Last time. When Gray had blasted Shadow with an icy shower as punishment for the attack. Being alone with Shadow had Gray on pins and needles, but he had since decided Shadow’s behavior shouldn’t be measured against that of humans. Still, it was hard to comprehend that a creature who killed two men less than an hour ago could be ‘scared’ of a cold bath.
“Back then, I was angry at you. Needed you to cool off,” Gray said.
The red eyes were pinned to Gray’s face, hungry for knowledge. “Why?”
Gray leaned on the edge of the tub, watching the strands of hair float close to the surface. He was glad he’d chosen to use the bath milk, because it gave the water a tint that obscured details of Shadow’s anatomy that he shouldn’t be wanting to see.
Author Bio:K.A. Merikan are a team of writers who try not to suck at adulting, with some success. Always eager to explore the murky waters of the weird and wonderful, K.A. Merikan don’t follow fixed formulas and want each of their books to be a surprise for those who choose to hop on for the ride.
K.A. Merikan have a few sweeter M/M romances as well, but they specialize in the dark, dirty, and dangerous side of M/M, full of bikers, bad boys, mafiosi, and scorching hot romance.
EMAIL: kamerikan@gmail.com
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