Saturday, July 13, 2019

Saturday's Series Spotlight: Jack Addison vs. A Whole World of Hot Trouble by KA Merikan Part 4


This serial, first published on the K.A. Merikan PATREON, focuses on Jack Addison, a young venator aka monster hunter, who learns about compassion, love, and the flexibility of his sexuality during exploits all over the globe.

πŸ“’POSSIBLE SPOILERS:πŸ“’
Themes: pride, dreams, self-discovery, tolerance, fame, monster hunting, interspecies relations

Genre: M/M romantic erotica, horror-comedy
Erotic content: Scorching hot, explicit scenes

πŸ’₯WARNING: This story contains morally ambiguous characters and scenes of sex that might be considered taboo.πŸ’₯


Jack Addison vs. Foxy Lies #7
Summary:
“Everyone deserves a chance. It’s not his fault his mother was a murdering beast.”

After one night of passion, Jack and Roux travel to Siberia to hunt down a mysterious monster that has crawled out of a deep mine shaft and keeps attacking the workers. With Roux regretful about giving in to temptation, the atmosphere between the two venators remains tense, but private matters need to stay in the background when the unknown being proves more deceptive than expected.

Something dangerous lurks in the blizzard, but how can they protect themselves when they don’t trust each other? When new truths about Roux are revealed, will Jack be able to man up and become who Roux needs him to be?

Jack Addison vs. Catnip Dealers #8
Summary:
“Catnip is nothing like tea or coffee. It’s a drug and should remain illegal.”

After finally getting together during their dangerous job in Siberia, Roux and Jack arrive in Paris. On the surface, Jack’s life has finally slotted into place, but the necessity of keeping secrets is choking him on the inside.

His father is in town to lead an anti-creature conference, and since he’s unaware of his son’s interspecies relationship and pro-creature views, he wants Jack to be the keynote speaker. Torn between his love for Roux and his family’s expectations, Jack attempts to play both sides and lie his way out of the conundrum.

But when they meet Roux’s old flame, a big, sexy chat who knows everyone in Paris, keeping a low profile might not be possible anymore.

Jack Addison vs. Foxy Lies #7
This serial just keeps getting better and better with each new entry and that's not something that often gets said.  Whether you classify Jack Addison vs. A Whole World of Hot Trouble a serial or series doesn't really matter, yes by definition the speed & regularity of release is serial but personally I feel its more of a series because despite facing a new "enemy" in each entry it really is an ongoing series.  And before you say it, a serial is also ongoing which is actually one of the things I love about these tales and that is it reminds me of the film serials from the 30s & 40s that my parents collect on DVD.  So as I first said, it doesn't really matter what label you give it, the greatness of Jack Addison is how he keeps growing in character and realizing what is truly important in life.

Now, as far as vs. Foxy Lies, we get to see Jack and Roux deal with the morning after if you will.  There's regret but there is also a realization that maybe opening his heart to Jack isn't so bad afterall.  Now as I've said before, this isn't a series for everyone, there are taboos that might not be upto everyone's tastes but if you like the "out there" kind of heat and characters that grow in strength but still never lose the ability of foot-in-mouth speak, then these are definitely for you.

Jack Addison vs. Catnip Dealers #8
vs. Catnip Dealers may be the shortest entry in this series so far but it's the one I've been afraid of from the very beginning.  Jack's father comes to town and Jack is trying to appease both sides.  Jack no longer agrees with his father's growing anti-creature views, in fact if father's behavior is bordering on fanatic, but he may not be quite strong enough to stand up to him yet.  I'm afraid the next one is the one that will really tell the tale of Jack's strength of character, you know where his heart is but going against family can be the hardest decision a person faces.

I often talk about how Jack has grown from the vain and egotistical venator we first met back in vs. Man-ravishing Spider but Roux has changed as well.  He opens his heart to let Jack in but will Jack break it?  You have to read for yourself to find that out but trust me, if you like the "out there" taboo-ness that this series delves into then this is a must for your TBR list.  We also get to learn a little about Roux's past and it certainly helps to understand his fear of getting to close to Jack.  As I said Jack Addison vs. A Whole World of Hot Trouble keeps getting better and better.

RATING:


Jack Addison vs. Foxy Lies #7
“Is that a yeti?” Roux whispered, and only then Jack’s brain snapped out of his infatuation coma.

A giant in furs stood by the small bar at the platform. Too big to fit through the narrow doors, he accepted a steaming mug through the window. Black, leathery fingers looked like gloves, but when the creature faced Jack and rose to his entire height, one glance at its face was enough to conclude it was not human.

“I-I think so,” Jack whispered, wondering if being stared at would annoy the giant, but he couldn’t look away, nonetheless.

“A specimen for your memoir?” Roux asked with a smirk.

It was the first time Roux had mentioned the topic since the Transylvania fiasco, and it made Jack’s heart skip a beat to hear that Roux was able to find humor in it. Even if Jack was the butt of the joke.

Jack cleared his throat, noticing the glimmer of beads at the trim of the yeti’s clothes, and when the creature walked past them, the slenderness of its body was noticeable under the fur. “I think it might be a woman,” he said and rubbed his hands together, because they were freezing despite the gloves.

Roux pulled on the hood of his thick jacket. The emblem on the back proudly announced to the world that he was an accomplished venator, yet all Jack could think about was Roux’s bare feet freezing in weather he wasn’t accustomed to. He’d gladly rub them warm.

“Not your type then.(…)”

Jack Addison vs. Catnip Dealers #8
“Catnip is nothing like tea or coffee. It’s a drug and should remain illegal. Of course chats would like to do nothing but chew on it all day, lazing around, but who’s gonna pay for their keep? Were this our country, it would have been you and me,” Father said, wiping his lips with a napkin.

Jack watched him, busy chewing the tastiest fillet mignon he’d probably had in his life, but also one that he couldn’t enjoy.

The restaurant was fancy as hell, with crystal chandeliers and giant windows mirrored by glass on the other side of the room. Its walls were decorated with plant motifs and gold paint, but he would have rather have had dinner at a shabby Parisian bistro as long as he didn’t have to listen to this nonsense.

But he said nothing and stuffed his face more. He knew for a fact that not all chats used catnip, because Roux had been extremely offended when asked about it.

“Don’t they pay taxes too?” Jack said eventually, frowning over his food when that thought hit him.

Father stilled with the glass of red wine in hand, his forehead wrinkling. He was still quite handsome, and the intensity of his life seemed to have kept him youthful, but in this moment, Jack didn’t feel at all comfortable about them having similar facial features—something one of the waitresses had commented on earlier.

“As they should. But their little autonomous region gets money for nothing, and plenty of them don’t bother to earn enough to pay any tax. Since when are you a defender of hairball-spitters? Living here, you should know by now how useless those creatures are.”

Jack cleared his throat, thinking back to Roux’s tail swiping across his body earlier. This whole conversation made him deeply uncomfortable, as did the fact that Father had come to France for some kind of anti-creature event, but it was to take place outside of Paris. Maybe it would all blow over.

“I just think we should look at both sides of this argument,” he said, feeling cold as he cut off another piece of the meat without looking up from his plate.

Father seemed contemplative. “That is fair, son. You’ve really grown. There is no way to dismantle their arguments without knowing them first. Back in Florida, I’m fighting for the rights of humans to have their own beaches, separate from the scalies, because the last thing you want when going out for a swim is spotting one of them under you. Gives me the creeps.”

“But what is it that they do?” Other than exist.

“They scare children out of the water. What are you even asking about? After all your years working in Europe, you should very well know what they do. Speaking of which, I’ve reserved a spotlight talk for you at the Versailles Symposium on Creature-Human Relations. I’m always so proud to tell people of your work.”

Jack was about to swallow the chewed food, but suddenly got nauseous and spat it into a napkin. “What? No, I’m not good at speeches.”

His brain was already coursing through stormy waters. So he could just ignore his father’s attitude, but there was no way in hell he’d speak against creatures. Not anymore. Not when his lover and son were not human.

Father waved it off as if what Jack was saying didn’t matter. “Oh, don’t be modest, you’ll do just fine. You always had a way with words. I just need you to talk about your adventures and the variety of monsters you’ve slayed to protect humanity. It will be a good opportunity to advertise the new Addison device too. Your sister’s designed a version an average person could keep at their home so that they’re alerted if an interdimensional crack appears in their area. It’s gonna sell like crazy.”

Of course. Yet another one of Dad’s businesses. Too bad most of them were anti-creature, and promoted ideas Jack’s own views no longer aligned with. While his own stance had become increasingly liberal, Father’s had radicalised. After Jack actually got to know nonhumans, he found it impossible to see them as anything but people.

When Jack had still lived at home, among other people like himself, and had only seen creatures in sideshows and pictures, he’d believed that was where they belonged. He also used to believe that everyone thought this way.

He briefly thought back to the insulting way he’d treated Roux when they’d first met, and shame squeezed his stomach. No wonder his face bore scars as a result of that meeting. “I--I’ll see if I can make it,” he said, though he already planned to bail on Father. There surely was a very important contract to excuse his absence during the conference.

“Fantastic!” Father beamed at him. “Everyone will want to hear about that kitsune you killed last year.”

But before Jack could tell him that it was actually a Japanese venator who’d sealed that deal, Father was already ordering them dessert. Jack wouldn’t say no to that. 


Saturday's Series Spotlight 
Part 1  /  Part 2  /  Part 3



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 



Jack Addison vs. Foxy Lies #7

Jack Addison vs. Catnip Dealers #8

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