💖💙💚💛💜💗💜💛💚💙💖
One Last Note:
Some of those on my list I have read, reread, & even listened/re-listened so I've included the review posted in my latest read/listen. Also, those that are read/re-read as a series the latest review may be an overall series review. If any of the purchase links included here don't work be sure and check the authors' websites/social media for the most recent links as they can change over time for a variety of reasons.
RATING:
An Erie Collection by VL Locey
Summary:
You can now have all four of the MM Lake Erie pack novellas in this one reasonably priced collection! Included in the set are the previously released novellas An Erie Halloween, An Erie Operetta, and An Erie Garden Party. To round off this whimsical and romantic shifter set is a brand-new novella, An Erie Uprising!
It’s been one wonderfully romantic year since skunk shifter Templeton Reed met Mikel Lupei, the alpha wolf of the Lake Erie pack. During that year, the two men fell in love and worked side-by-side to solve some tricky murder mysteries. They also opened up Lupei Manor, Mikel’s familial home, to other LGBTQ mystical beings in the Erie area. Sadly, being gay in the supernatural world Templeton and Mikel live in can be a death sentence.
During the past year, the magical world has slowly been coming unraveled. Civil unrest now runs rampant through the community as the lesser breeds revolt against the hateful dictates of the Elder Counsel. The uprising will surely touch every person residing in the magical world beside Lady Erie. Will the flames of unrest and war consume everything and everyone Templeton and Mikel hold dear as well?
Originally Review October 2019:
I have no idea why I haven't read this sooner. VL Locey's An Erie Collection came to my attention last October but unfortunately I was unable to read it before Halloween, then I had selected readings for the centenary of the Armistice, then it was Christmas reads, and by the time the new year started it had got shoved down my TBR list that I'm ashamed to say it laid forgotten. Lo and behold the author had a new entry in the series this year and I suddenly remembered I hadn't read this collection. Well, no matter when you read it trust me when I say you'll love it! Erie is so much more than just a novella shifter series, it is a whole world of paranormal entities and the lives they live. Shifters may be at the heart of the series but trust me it is so much more than your typical garden variety shifting. Let's face it, who would expect a skunk shifter to be so lovable?
I won't go into specifics but let me just say that Templeton the skunk shifter(that's right I said skunk shifter) and Mikel the alpha wolf of the Lake Erie pack are as mismatched as you can possibly imagine and yet they are still a perfect fit. An Erie Collection is four novellas of the Lake Erie series by VL Locey following Templeton and Mikel as they navigate their relationship which is forbidden in the paranormal world and could mean certain death. Watching the pair and their pack, family, and friends who many also have things to hide from the Elders who rule the paranormal world is fun, dangerous, romantic, humorous, and all around entertaining.
Obviously this series collection is paranormal with shifters of many animal varieties, vampires, and so much more but it is also an intriguing blend of rom-com, mystery, and drama held together with plenty of heart. Erie is definitely not your typical paranormal world(that is if any paranormal story could be classified typical😉) it is however, one I fell in love with and hope to have many more to come but if this year's Nightside, an Erie Vampire tale(which I'll be diving into shortly) is the last the author writes I'll be re-visiting this universe for years to come because it is a winning combination.
RATING:
Homestead Legacy #1
When I started Hell & High Water I thought, hmmm Dex is interesting. Talk about an understatement. As a high school graduate of the Class of '91, I grew up with the music of the 80's, now I can't say they ever filled me with the "drop everything, sing, & dance" adrenaline rush that Dex brings to the team, but it made me smile every time he starts singing. As a life-long devoted Star Wars geek, I really loved Sloane's closeted geek side that he shares with Dex.
As for the mystery side of the series, to say it had me on the edge of my seat from cover to cover may sound cliche but its no less true. I won't touch on the plot as I don't do spoilers but let me say I could not put it down, when I finished one I immediately started the next. The characters just blend together so well, even when they are at odds, as in Dex and Ash, he is not a fan of Dex's fire or his love of everything 80s. As for the romance, well lets just say that its off the charts and the chemistry between Dex and Sloane is what we all hope to find.
Dex, Sloane, and Destructive Delta is the paranormal equivalent of Abigail Roux's Ty, Zane, and Sidewinder. Now, I am not saying its a copy, far from it! No, what I mean is the passion, anticipation, intrigue, excitement it sparks in me is similar to how I felt with the Cut & Run series. THIRDS is most definitely an incredible, emotional roller coaster all on its own and I can't believe it took me so long to check it out because now I'm waiting on tender hooks waiting for more of Delta's adventures.
RATING:
Jordan L Hawk
VL Locey
Alex Jane
After spending far too long creating stories in her head, Alex finally plucked up the courage to write them down and realized it was quite fun seeing them on the page after all.
Free from aspirations of literary greatness, Alex simply hopes to entertain by spinning a good yarn of love and life, wrapped up with a happy ending. Although, if her characters have to go through Hell to get there, she’s a-okay with that.
With only a dysfunctional taste in music and a one-eyed dog to otherwise fill her days, Alex writes and walks on the South Coast of England—even when her heart and spellcheck are in New York.
Charlie Cochet
Charlie Cochet is the international bestselling author of the THIRDS series. Born in Cuba and raised in the US, Charlie enjoys the best of both worlds, from her daily Cuban latte to her passion for classic rock.
Currently residing in Central Florida, Charlie is at the beck and call of a rascally Doxiepoo bent on world domination. When she isn’t writing, she can usually be found devouring a book, releasing her creativity through art, or binge watching a new TV series. She runs on coffee, thrives on music, and loves to hear from readers.
Amber Kell
RJ Scott
Hell & High Water by Charlie Cochet
End Street Volume 2 by Amber Kell & RJ Scott
Here at Padme's Library I feature all genres but followers have probably noticed that 95% of the posts and 99% of my reviews fall under the LGBT genres, so for this year's Pride Month I am showcasing 20 of my favorite M/M shifter reads in no particular order. All fall under paranormal but have a perfect blend of romance, drama, healing, and heart, creating unforgettable reads.
One Last Note:
Some of those on my list I have read, reread, & even listened/re-listened so I've included the review posted in my latest read/listen. Also, those that are read/re-read as a series the latest review may be an overall series review. If any of the purchase links included here don't work be sure and check the authors' websites/social media for the most recent links as they can change over time for a variety of reasons.
💖💙💚💛💜💗💜💛💚💙💖
Blind Tiger by Jordan L Hawk
Summary:
The Pride #1
1924, Chicago. Prohibition is in full swing and gang bosses rule the city with might—and magic.
When Sam Cunningham flees his small-town life to try his luck in the big city of Chicago, he quickly finds himself in over his head in a world of gangs, glitz, and glamour. Fortunately, he has his cousin Eldon to teach him the trade of hex-making.
Everything changes the night Sam visits The Pride speakeasy and meets grumpy cheetah-shifter Alistair Gatti. After losing his first witch to the horrors of the World War, Alistair isn’t interested in any new entanglements, romantic or magical. Especially when said entanglement comes in the form of kind, innocent Sam.
When Eldon is brutally murdered, Sam becomes drawn into the dark underworld of the Chicago gangs. Sam must find the missing hex Eldon created for one of the crime bosses—before whoever killed Eldon comes back for him.
Together, Alistair and Sam begin the search for the mysterious hex, diving deep into the seedy side of Chicago’s underworld while dodging rival gangs. And as they come to rely on one another, Alistair realizes he’s falling for the one man he can’t afford to love.
👀The Pride takes place in the same universe as the Hexworld books.👀
Original Review July 2021:
WOW! Just WOW! WOW! and WOW! again.
Okay, now that I got that out of my system, I can continue.
Blind Tiger ticks so many of my boxes:
Historical✅Post-WW1✅1920s✅Prohibition✅Chicago(Upper Midwest so it's sorta local-ish)✅Paranormal/Supernatural✅Romance✅Friendship✅Witches/Familiars✅Mob✅Mystery✅Mayhem/Danger✅Opposites Attract✅
It may seem there is almost too many boxes ticked but the author blends them all together perfectly.
Jordan L Hawk has not only started a new series but made it a spin-off(or next generation style) of one of my favorites, Hexworld. For those who have already read the Hexworld series, you know how amazing the world building is, taking a historical setting and making witchcraft and their familiars a known element, they don't have to hide who they are because the world knows, history incorporates paranormal as part of it's reality. To me that's harder than keeping the paranormal world a secret, blending the two to make an alternate universe or timeline. Genius!
Now having mentioned Hexworld and that The Pride is kind of a spin-off, don't think you have to read Hexworld first because even though it's the same universe, the same alternate reality, you won't be lost, you won't be left wondering "how did this happen?" "why does this work?". The author lays it all out for you but be warned, if Blind Tiger is your introduction to the Hexworld universe, you will want to go back and read it as well, this AU is addictive.
Now let's talk Alistair and Sam. Opposites attract probably puts it pretty mildly, completely different backgrounds and ways of life but once they lock eyes, you just know nothing is ever going to be the same for either. There were so many times I wanted to smack Alistair for not being open to the possibilities of happiness but also I wanted to give Sam a good shake to erase the self-doubt that often crept in usually in the form of his family's voices. Truth is there is probably just as many times that I wanted to wrap them both up in Mama Bear Hugs and tell them everything is going to be okay. For me, those warring emotions inside of me is what told me this is a journey worth reading and that their chemistry is off the charts.
And where would 1920's Prohibition be without a little murder? The mystery is the element that pulls everything together, brings(or perhaps "keeps") Sam into Alistair's world. They mystery may be secondary plot-wise to Sam and Alistair's journey but it is what weaves everything together and kept me guessing till the reveal.
I think I'm going to stop there before I'm tempted to give too much away. I'll just end by saying the blending of all the boxes I ticked earlier make Blind Tiger pop! I was not only sucked into the story and didn't want to put it down but I felt I was right there in the Gatti's club, The Pride and witnessing it unfold right next to me. Another brilliant bit of storytelling from an amazing author. Jordan L Hawk has brought another winner to the table.
Summary:
You can now have all four of the MM Lake Erie pack novellas in this one reasonably priced collection! Included in the set are the previously released novellas An Erie Halloween, An Erie Operetta, and An Erie Garden Party. To round off this whimsical and romantic shifter set is a brand-new novella, An Erie Uprising!
It’s been one wonderfully romantic year since skunk shifter Templeton Reed met Mikel Lupei, the alpha wolf of the Lake Erie pack. During that year, the two men fell in love and worked side-by-side to solve some tricky murder mysteries. They also opened up Lupei Manor, Mikel’s familial home, to other LGBTQ mystical beings in the Erie area. Sadly, being gay in the supernatural world Templeton and Mikel live in can be a death sentence.
During the past year, the magical world has slowly been coming unraveled. Civil unrest now runs rampant through the community as the lesser breeds revolt against the hateful dictates of the Elder Counsel. The uprising will surely touch every person residing in the magical world beside Lady Erie. Will the flames of unrest and war consume everything and everyone Templeton and Mikel hold dear as well?
I have no idea why I haven't read this sooner. VL Locey's An Erie Collection came to my attention last October but unfortunately I was unable to read it before Halloween, then I had selected readings for the centenary of the Armistice, then it was Christmas reads, and by the time the new year started it had got shoved down my TBR list that I'm ashamed to say it laid forgotten. Lo and behold the author had a new entry in the series this year and I suddenly remembered I hadn't read this collection. Well, no matter when you read it trust me when I say you'll love it! Erie is so much more than just a novella shifter series, it is a whole world of paranormal entities and the lives they live. Shifters may be at the heart of the series but trust me it is so much more than your typical garden variety shifting. Let's face it, who would expect a skunk shifter to be so lovable?
I won't go into specifics but let me just say that Templeton the skunk shifter(that's right I said skunk shifter) and Mikel the alpha wolf of the Lake Erie pack are as mismatched as you can possibly imagine and yet they are still a perfect fit. An Erie Collection is four novellas of the Lake Erie series by VL Locey following Templeton and Mikel as they navigate their relationship which is forbidden in the paranormal world and could mean certain death. Watching the pair and their pack, family, and friends who many also have things to hide from the Elders who rule the paranormal world is fun, dangerous, romantic, humorous, and all around entertaining.
Obviously this series collection is paranormal with shifters of many animal varieties, vampires, and so much more but it is also an intriguing blend of rom-com, mystery, and drama held together with plenty of heart. Erie is definitely not your typical paranormal world(that is if any paranormal story could be classified typical😉) it is however, one I fell in love with and hope to have many more to come but if this year's Nightside, an Erie Vampire tale(which I'll be diving into shortly) is the last the author writes I'll be re-visiting this universe for years to come because it is a winning combination.
RATING:
The Arrangement by Alex Jane
Summary:Homestead Legacy #1
1895. New York.
Gabriel Webster’s pack is in trouble. His father’s failing health and his mother’s untimely death mean that the vultures are circling. It won’t be long before his family’s assets are stripped and his pack disbanded. When an offer of help arrives in the form of a marriage of convenience, he has little choice but to accept.
The arrangement would be the perfect solution, if not for one thing. Gabriel is to marry Nathaniel Hayward, the Alpha who was badly injured in the accident that killed his brother ten years before—and the man Gabriel has been in love with for as long as he can remember.
Trapped in a business arrangement masquerading as a marriage — in a strange, empty house with a damaged husband who barely tolerates him — isn’t what Gabriel expected from life.
But sometimes the last thing we want is the beginning of something more.
And an ending can be the start of something beautiful.
Original Review September 2019:
I'm going to start by saying this is my first experience with the author's Homestead universe and I absolutely loved it! I can't wait to go back and read the previous series. I am guessing there is some kind of connection to the original series, perhaps this is new generation or a secondary pack from the original or maybe it is a completely new pack and just set in the same universe. Either way I am eager to read the Alphas' Homestead series.
Let's talk about The Arrangement. In my reading experience, arranged marriages go one of two ways: perfectly done or dreadful, there really isn't a middle ground for me. Arrangement falls into the perfectly done category in my opinion. Are there any gaps in the world building as I would classify this as an alternative paranormal universe? Maybe a few as its a spin-off I would imagine the world building was more in depth in the original series but honestly they are so minimal that I really won't even comment further about them. Some might think "alternative universe" and "paranormal" kind of go hand-in-hand all the time and to a certain degree that is true but when it is a historical setting and the paranormal world isn't hidden then I feel AU is warranted. I won't go into details as I see that as spoilers but I will say that the author has done such a marvelous job with the setting, I found myself believing it was the history we grew up learning in school.
As for Gabriel and Nathaniel, there are nods to Beauty and the Beast in their tale but really for me it's so much more than a fairytale re-telling but I suppose it is enough of a nod that one could add "fantasy" to the genre tag but only just. I completely understand doing what one has to for their family and Gabriel marrying Nathaniel begins as that but we quickly learn that there is a shared past via Gabe's brother, Reuben who died ten years prior in an accident that also left Nathaniel scarred. Speaking of Nathaniel, he comes across as standoffish and a bit gruff due to his somewhat hermit lifestyle since the accident but he really has the biggest heart he just needed to open it again. Don't get me wrong, their journey is not an easy one but it is a believable one that will tear at your heartstrings more than once but you'll walk away with a smile.
As I started with I have yet to read the author's Alphas' Homestead series that The Arrangement was spun from but I am eager to go back and discover the beginnings of the Homestead universe. Was I lost? No. Did I feel something was missing? Not at all. From other reviews it sounds like there was a cameo or two from previous characters but Gabriel and Nathaniel's journey has a beginning and feels completely new. Now maybe after I've read the original series I'll feel differently and say "oh, so that's why this was mentioned" or "that's where that came from" but right now The Arrangement is a lovely read in itself and I hope there will be more Homestead Legacy stories. So many paranormal stories tend to be contemporary, especially the shifter sub-genre that I read so it was extremely enticing to read a historical AU and as a history fan I was not disappointed. Some might say there are aspects that are glossed over for a historical, gay marriage being acceptable or so everyday norm it isn't even touched on, but that is one point that goes toward the AU sub-genre. Alex Jane combines the three(historical, paranormal, and alternative universe) into an amazingly real tale of romance, friendship, and family that I couldn't put down, highly recommend, and left me eager to check out the author's backlist.
RATING:
Gabriel Webster’s pack is in trouble. His father’s failing health and his mother’s untimely death mean that the vultures are circling. It won’t be long before his family’s assets are stripped and his pack disbanded. When an offer of help arrives in the form of a marriage of convenience, he has little choice but to accept.
The arrangement would be the perfect solution, if not for one thing. Gabriel is to marry Nathaniel Hayward, the Alpha who was badly injured in the accident that killed his brother ten years before—and the man Gabriel has been in love with for as long as he can remember.
Trapped in a business arrangement masquerading as a marriage — in a strange, empty house with a damaged husband who barely tolerates him — isn’t what Gabriel expected from life.
But sometimes the last thing we want is the beginning of something more.
And an ending can be the start of something beautiful.
I'm going to start by saying this is my first experience with the author's Homestead universe and I absolutely loved it! I can't wait to go back and read the previous series. I am guessing there is some kind of connection to the original series, perhaps this is new generation or a secondary pack from the original or maybe it is a completely new pack and just set in the same universe. Either way I am eager to read the Alphas' Homestead series.
Let's talk about The Arrangement. In my reading experience, arranged marriages go one of two ways: perfectly done or dreadful, there really isn't a middle ground for me. Arrangement falls into the perfectly done category in my opinion. Are there any gaps in the world building as I would classify this as an alternative paranormal universe? Maybe a few as its a spin-off I would imagine the world building was more in depth in the original series but honestly they are so minimal that I really won't even comment further about them. Some might think "alternative universe" and "paranormal" kind of go hand-in-hand all the time and to a certain degree that is true but when it is a historical setting and the paranormal world isn't hidden then I feel AU is warranted. I won't go into details as I see that as spoilers but I will say that the author has done such a marvelous job with the setting, I found myself believing it was the history we grew up learning in school.
As for Gabriel and Nathaniel, there are nods to Beauty and the Beast in their tale but really for me it's so much more than a fairytale re-telling but I suppose it is enough of a nod that one could add "fantasy" to the genre tag but only just. I completely understand doing what one has to for their family and Gabriel marrying Nathaniel begins as that but we quickly learn that there is a shared past via Gabe's brother, Reuben who died ten years prior in an accident that also left Nathaniel scarred. Speaking of Nathaniel, he comes across as standoffish and a bit gruff due to his somewhat hermit lifestyle since the accident but he really has the biggest heart he just needed to open it again. Don't get me wrong, their journey is not an easy one but it is a believable one that will tear at your heartstrings more than once but you'll walk away with a smile.
As I started with I have yet to read the author's Alphas' Homestead series that The Arrangement was spun from but I am eager to go back and discover the beginnings of the Homestead universe. Was I lost? No. Did I feel something was missing? Not at all. From other reviews it sounds like there was a cameo or two from previous characters but Gabriel and Nathaniel's journey has a beginning and feels completely new. Now maybe after I've read the original series I'll feel differently and say "oh, so that's why this was mentioned" or "that's where that came from" but right now The Arrangement is a lovely read in itself and I hope there will be more Homestead Legacy stories. So many paranormal stories tend to be contemporary, especially the shifter sub-genre that I read so it was extremely enticing to read a historical AU and as a history fan I was not disappointed. Some might say there are aspects that are glossed over for a historical, gay marriage being acceptable or so everyday norm it isn't even touched on, but that is one point that goes toward the AU sub-genre. Alex Jane combines the three(historical, paranormal, and alternative universe) into an amazingly real tale of romance, friendship, and family that I couldn't put down, highly recommend, and left me eager to check out the author's backlist.
Hell & High Water by Charlie Cochet
Summary:THIRDS #1
Action. Comedy. Romance. And that one weird guy.
When homicide detective Dexter J. Daley's testimony helps send his partner away for murder, the consequences - and the media frenzy - aren't far behind. He soon finds himself sans boyfriend, sans friends, and, after an unpleasant encounter in a parking garage after the trial, he's lucky he doesn't find himself sans teeth. Dex fears he'll get transferred from the Human Police Force's Sixth Precinct, or worse, get dismissed. Instead, his adoptive father - a sergeant at the Therian-Human Intelligence Recon Defense Squadron otherwise known as the THIRDS - pulls a few strings, and Dex gets recruited as a Defense Agent.
Dex is determined to get his life back on track and eager to get started in his new job. But his first meeting with Team Leader Sloane Brodie, who also happens to be his new jaguar Therian partner, turns disastrous. When the team is called to investigate the murders of three HumaniTherian activists, it soon becomes clear to Dex that getting his partner and the rest of the tightknit team to accept him will be a lot harder than catching the killer - and every bit as dangerous.
Original Overall ebook Review for Books #1-4 October 2017:
I'm going to start by saying that some of my most trusted book lover BFFs have been singing the praises of Charlie Cochet's THIRDS for ages now, I've even had the first two in the series on my Kindle for nearly three years. With it coming up on October, I decided it was a perfect time to give it a read for my paranormal posts. Simply put: THIRDS is BRILLIANT!When I started Hell & High Water I thought, hmmm Dex is interesting. Talk about an understatement. As a high school graduate of the Class of '91, I grew up with the music of the 80's, now I can't say they ever filled me with the "drop everything, sing, & dance" adrenaline rush that Dex brings to the team, but it made me smile every time he starts singing. As a life-long devoted Star Wars geek, I really loved Sloane's closeted geek side that he shares with Dex.
As for the mystery side of the series, to say it had me on the edge of my seat from cover to cover may sound cliche but its no less true. I won't touch on the plot as I don't do spoilers but let me say I could not put it down, when I finished one I immediately started the next. The characters just blend together so well, even when they are at odds, as in Dex and Ash, he is not a fan of Dex's fire or his love of everything 80s. As for the romance, well lets just say that its off the charts and the chemistry between Dex and Sloane is what we all hope to find.
Dex, Sloane, and Destructive Delta is the paranormal equivalent of Abigail Roux's Ty, Zane, and Sidewinder. Now, I am not saying its a copy, far from it! No, what I mean is the passion, anticipation, intrigue, excitement it sparks in me is similar to how I felt with the Cut & Run series. THIRDS is most definitely an incredible, emotional roller coaster all on its own and I can't believe it took me so long to check it out because now I'm waiting on tender hooks waiting for more of Delta's adventures.
Original Audiobook Review October 2019:
I'm not going to say I forgot just how amazing Dex, Sloane, and the whole Delta gang was because let's face it: how could anyone forget them even way back in the beginning? The humor, the wit, the danger, the heat is still absolutely off the charts and Mark Westfield brings that all to life beautifully. Obviously there are different voices for different characters but what I really loved was the added elements that showcased the communication devices, the inflections that technology does to one's voice. It was these little things that really made Hell & High Water stand out in the audiobook department that isn't often used in other stories. I can't say anything more that wasn't in my original review other than I still love THIRDS and can't wait to listen to the rest and look forward to future re-visits.
I'm not going to say I forgot just how amazing Dex, Sloane, and the whole Delta gang was because let's face it: how could anyone forget them even way back in the beginning? The humor, the wit, the danger, the heat is still absolutely off the charts and Mark Westfield brings that all to life beautifully. Obviously there are different voices for different characters but what I really loved was the added elements that showcased the communication devices, the inflections that technology does to one's voice. It was these little things that really made Hell & High Water stand out in the audiobook department that isn't often used in other stories. I can't say anything more that wasn't in my original review other than I still love THIRDS and can't wait to listen to the rest and look forward to future re-visits.
Graphic Novel Review April 2020:
As for the story itself, nothing has really changed from my original ebook and audiobook reviews for Hell & High Water, Dex and Sloane are still absolutely amazing, brilliant, fun, sexy, intense, and all around lovely. As for this graphic novel/magna edition, well it is brilliant! I'm talking HOLY HANNAH BATMAN! THE FORCE IS STRONG WITH THIS ONE! Brilliant! To be honest, I've never read magna before, I've read many Star Wars comic book collections which are often labeled "graphic novels" but never actual magna. I've seen pictures and screenshots from some so I knew what to expect as for the artwork(and to all those who think "comic books" aren't artwork, well you haven't actually read any because they have to tell a story in short dialog and miniaturized pictures so it truly is artwork). There is so much that goes on in Hell & High Water I was unsure how they would be able to capture the true nature of the journey but you know what? Charlie Cochet did it! I can't imagine how much time and energy went into choosing the moments that best told the story, being able to "cut things out" for brevity or space but it works. As much as I'd love to see the whole THIRDS universe in magna form, I know it's a one off because well, I expect she'd probably not get anything else done for at least a couple of years if she tried to accomplish it.
One last note: I'm not familiar with the illustrator, Son Gaepi, but HOLY MOLY! Amazing work, really captured Dex, Sloane, and the whole Delta gang pretty darn perfectly.
RATING:
As for the story itself, nothing has really changed from my original ebook and audiobook reviews for Hell & High Water, Dex and Sloane are still absolutely amazing, brilliant, fun, sexy, intense, and all around lovely. As for this graphic novel/magna edition, well it is brilliant! I'm talking HOLY HANNAH BATMAN! THE FORCE IS STRONG WITH THIS ONE! Brilliant! To be honest, I've never read magna before, I've read many Star Wars comic book collections which are often labeled "graphic novels" but never actual magna. I've seen pictures and screenshots from some so I knew what to expect as for the artwork(and to all those who think "comic books" aren't artwork, well you haven't actually read any because they have to tell a story in short dialog and miniaturized pictures so it truly is artwork). There is so much that goes on in Hell & High Water I was unsure how they would be able to capture the true nature of the journey but you know what? Charlie Cochet did it! I can't imagine how much time and energy went into choosing the moments that best told the story, being able to "cut things out" for brevity or space but it works. As much as I'd love to see the whole THIRDS universe in magna form, I know it's a one off because well, I expect she'd probably not get anything else done for at least a couple of years if she tried to accomplish it.
One last note: I'm not familiar with the illustrator, Son Gaepi, but HOLY MOLY! Amazing work, really captured Dex, Sloane, and the whole Delta gang pretty darn perfectly.
RATING:
End Street Volume 2 by Amber Kell & RJ Scott
Summary:
The Case of the Dragon's Dilemma #3
Dragons, battles, a deal Sam may come to regret, and a Siren attack, leave Sam and Bob in danger, and Mikhail finding a mate.
Bob and Sam take their kind-of-adopted-now vampire daughter, Mal to look round new schools.
Mikhail is left to babysit the last remaining rescued child whilst they are away. When Sirens appear to steal her away he is left facing the attack alone until a mysterious hero comes to his aid.
Ryujin, or Jin to his friends, is a dragon shifter and his role as Captain of the Dragon Guard puts him in direct conflict with Mikhail.
The minute he sees Mikhail he knows what he wants. Now if he can only get Mikhail to see the same.
The Case of the Sinful Santa #4
Zephariel, the Angel of Vengeance, Nick Klauson, nephew to Santa, Christmas magic, zombies in the school and a necromancer causing chaos...and at the centre of it all-Mal.
Zephariel is the Angel of Vengeance and is tracking down his cousin Danjal for misuse of brimstone. When he walks into a bar and finds Nick Klauson drowning his sorrows, he is instantly drawn to him. Could this be his fated mate?
When Nick and Zeph join forces to deal with zombies in Mal's school, sparks fly. Add in a demon, a wolf and a necromancer, and Sam and Bob have a hunt on their hands.
Original Read October 2016:
The Case of the Dragon's Dilemma #3
I don't think I've ever read a story with dragons or dragon shifters before but after reading this, I'd love to read more, who knew dragons could be so sexy and good? Once again, one case leads into another. I won't touch on the case itself but I will say that Sam the human-non human and Bob the vampire continue to grab hold of my heart and crack me up at the same time. You can't help but cheer them on in this crazy world that Sam has found himself thrust into.
The Case of the Sinful Santa #4
When a series like End Street happens, there is the potential for new characters with each entry but you don't expect them to all carry over from one to the next. I mean when a case concludes so should the clients, right? Well not in this series and neither does it get crowded, each character has his or her place in their world and in the continuing story. Who knew Santa's family could be so interesting? Well, you will after you've read Case of the Sinful Santa, which in itself is a bit of conundrum, Santa(or his family at least) taking part in anything that involves sin, what a devilish idea and RJ & Amber handle it interestingly.
Re-Read March 2017:
I never thought I'd be able to re-read a book(or series in this case) less than 6 months after my initial read but I did and loved it all the more. Still get a laugh out of a vampire named Bob.
Original Overall Series Review October 2016(1-5):
How had I not read this series before? It should have been a no brainer considering how much I love RJ Scott's work not to mention that it's a collaboration with Amber Kell. Oh well, it's always nice to stumble onto an unexpected surprise and that is definitely what you get with End Street Detective Agency, surprise blended with humor, drama, mystery, paranormal, and of course underneath it all and entwined throughout is love. Ghosts, vampires, sirens, wolfs, dragons, faes, gargoyles, familiars, demons, and the list goes on. Who knew so many paranormal entities could not only co-exist but even work, live, and love together? No matter how many books RJ & Amber decide to write in the End Street universe, I have a feeling that it will be a very real probability that it's a series I'll revisit often and most likely every Halloween. A must read if you are even the slightest bit of a paranormal fan.
Blind Tiger by Jordan L Hawk
1
The rumrunner waited for them behind a burned-out building just north of Chicago.
Philip steered the Model T truck over the bumpy ground, every pothole jarring Alistair’s spine. Doris sat in the wooden bed behind them, the occasional lights reflecting in her eyes. The moon had set with the sun, clouds blotting out the stars. The electric glow of the city tapered out a mile back, the only illumination from the headlights.
They pulled up beside the rumrunner’s truck and climbed out. The rumrunner strode toward them, her hair hidden under a cap and her clothes—and no doubt weapons—mainly concealed by a long overcoat. The nights still held a definite chill in April, and Alistair had to resist the temptation to stick his hands in his pockets. No sense in making anyone think he was reaching for a concealed gun.
“About time you showed up,” she said, shooting a glare at Philip.
“We’re right on schedule, Camille,” Philip replied. He was a big man, solidly built in contrast to Alistair’s own lean ranginess. The headlights washed out his pale, almost colorless hair and gleamed in his yellow-gray eyes. “Do you have the goods?”
One of Camille’s men flung back the tarp covering the crates stacked in the back of their truck. “Straight down from Canada,” she said. “Do you have my scratch?”
Alistair removed a thick envelope from inside his jacket and passed it to her. She looked inside, quickly thumbed the stack of bills, and then vanished it into her own oversized coat. “A pleasure doing business with you. Load ‘em up, boys.”
“Not just yet,” Philip said, holding up his hand.
Camille rolled her eyes. “We’ve always dealt straight with you, Gatti. Do you have to do this every time? It’s a little insulting.”
“Sounds like what someone who’s planning a crooked deal might say,” Alistair observed.
Camille focused on him, her eyes narrowed in anger. Philip merely looked pained. “You aren’t supposed to say that part out loud, Alistair,” he muttered.
This was why Philip was the front man, and Alistair usually stayed in back and counted the money. Ordinarily their busboy, a burly young man by the name of Frank, would come along and help move boxes. But Frank had run off to Mexico with his sweetheart a week ago, so Alistair volunteered to come just this once.
He didn’t regret speaking up, even though he’d obviously pissed off Camille. She might not be slipping them watered down hooch—or worse, booze doctored with rubbing alcohol or gasoline—but she’d thought about it.
Of course she had. You couldn’t trust anyone, certainly not in this business.
Camille took a threatening step forward. Her hand dipped toward her pocket—she was definitely packing heat. “I don’t like your tone,” she said. Her goons shifted, not yet pointing guns, but waiting on the signal.
Apparently, they’d forgotten who they were dealing with.
A warning growl sounded from the darkness near the truck. Nothing showed of Doris: not a hair, not a whisker, not even the gleam of eyes in the night. But she was out there, and she wasn’t happy.
Shotguns were all well and good, but an angry tiger was even better.
The men paled, and the chilly air smelled suddenly of fear. Camille’s eyes darted to the shadows, then to Philip and Alistair. Taking in Philip’s yellow-tinged eyes and Alistair’s deep amber. Remembering, no doubt, why the Gatti family might work with the gangs, but hadn’t been subsumed by them.
Not that the Gattis were related by blood. No one would look at pale, sturdy Philip and think Alistair, with his rangy body and Italian looks, was his literal brother, or brown-skinned Doris his sister. But the bonds between them were no less for it.
Camille stepped back and gestured to the crates. “Work your magic, then.”
“Thank you.” Philip took out a leather wallet, shuffled through its contents, then removed a sheet of paper with an elaborate hex drawn on it. He chose a crate from amidst the pile. One of Camille’s men unloaded it, opened the lid, and stood back.
Philip held the hex over the bottles packed securely in straw. Joel and Wanda had charged it earlier, so he spoke the activation phrase: “Reveal to me the impure.”
Alistair barely kept from rolling his eyes. Eldon, their hexman, had such a flare for the dramatic it was ridiculous.
If any of the booze had been cut or otherwise tampered with, a betraying yellow glow would appear. This time, at least, there was nothing.
“See?” Camille snapped at Alistair. “It’s good.”
“This time,” he replied.
Her scowl deepened. Philip hastily stepped between them. “Thank you for your indulgence, Camille, and I apologize for my brother.”
“Maybe you ought to keep your ‘brother’ on a tighter leash, then.” She folded her arms angrily over her chest. “When we first went into business together, I told you I wouldn’t haul anything but the real McCoy. Now you bring this asshole along to insinuate my word’s no good?”
“Of course I trust you,” Philip replied with his charming smile. “But you get the stuff from somewhere, and it’s them I’m not so certain about.”
Alistair and Philip stood back while Camille’s men went to work. Doris emerged from the shadows in human form, dressed in boots and denim overalls, a cap pulled down over her sleek black hair. Despite the cold, she wore her sleeves rolled up to display muscular arms. Her pale yellow eyes were startling against the brown skin of her face, and one man nearly dropped a box in fear when she drew close to him.
A long time ago, it had bothered Alistair, how frightened people were just because he could turn into a cheetah, or Philip into a snow leopard, or Wanda a lioness. No one wanted to adopt a so-called dangerous breed of familiar; even witches feared them, as though they had less ability to reason than the animals whose forms they took. Seeing the fear on someone’s face had hurt, made Alistair want to do something, anything, to prove that he wasn’t a wild animal ready to lash out.
Then the war happened. And now here they all were, back together again and calling themselves the Gatti family, working in a business where that fear was all to their advantage. Not even the toughest gang leaders wanted to run the risk of waking up to find a tiger in their bedroom.
Thank God, Sullivan wasn’t the toughest gang leader, just the smartest.
When the shipment was transferred, Camille tipped her hat to them. “Safe travel home,” she said. “I’ll see you next time.”
She climbed into her truck, along with her men. Within minutes, the chug of the engine faded away into the darkness.
“Will there be a next time?” Doris asked, leaning idly against the side of their own truck.
“Good question.” Philip turned to Alistair. “You’re such an asshole. This is why I don’t usually bring you along.”
Alistair grinned at him. “I love you, too.”
“Seriously, though,” Doris said. “We still doing business with her?”
They both looked to Alistair, since he was second in command after Wanda. “Camille’s thinking about double-crossing us,” he said. “Maybe she won’t now that she knows we’re suspicious, but the temptation is always going to be there.” He paused. “And once we get back, have Joel charge some more of those hexes. I want every bottle inspected, just in case she hid a bad batch near the back on the truck, where you wouldn’t look.”
“Fur and feathers,” Philip muttered. “Should I feel around for a new supplier?”
“Leave that part to Wanda.” Alistair hunched his shoulders deep inside his heavy coat. “Come on. Let’s get back to The Pride before we freeze our tails off.”
An Erie Collection by VL Locey
An Erie Halloween
Chapter One
It could only be a Monday. The phones hadn’t stopped ringing since I stepped foot into OTR’s door at five of nine. This call I was engaged with was just part and parcel of the kind of calls that had inundated our department lately. Our fellow shifters were scared, and I for one did not blame them, but seriously?
“Yes ma’am, that’s the reason the Office for Transmogrification Registration exists,” I sighed, eyeing the decorations in my cubicle. There wasn’t much to study as the caller droned on and on. A picture of me and my parents taken when I graduated college, a small ceramic ghost, and a vase with a single white carnation to remind me of Sully, the man I had lost to an undetected heart defect fifty-four years ago. Sully had been the only man that could live with a shifter like me, due to his complete loss of smell at a tender age. “No, I’m quite aware of the recent upswing of crimes due to rogues and loners. I agree one does need to be vigilant in these trying times, but I rather think the porcupine chewing on your daughter’s wooden playhouse is not a rogue Lycan or cat. Why? Well, if it were, wouldn’t it be a wolf or jaguar instead of a porcupine? And it would be gnawing on you as opposed to… Yes ma’am, I can certainly hand you over to my supervisor…”
Sending the irate coven member to Craig guaranteed me at least a fifteen-minute ass chewing. Severing my end of the call once my supervisor picked up, I leaned back in my chair, pushed my glasses atop my head, and rubbed the heels of my hands into my eyes. Without warning, I was lying on my back, gasping like an asthmatic sprinter.
Once the pain and stars subsided, I saw a blurry pack of our office’s greatest trackers standing over me, snickering with malicious glee. Lycans. They might be the best of the best for hunting down and eradicating those shifters who refused to stay in packs, prides, herds, colonies, troops, or any of the other hundred or so groupings the Elder Council recognized, but they were also assholes. I should have heard them coming, or at least smelled them, but I was too frazzled by Madame Porcupine. That’ll teach me.
Obviously, the ‘Might Makes Right’ thinking ran rampant through their primitive brains. I had met very few of the massive beasts that could even do fourth grade math.
Of course, when you top out at six seven and carry three hundred pounds of bulging muscle and bad attitude, you didn’t need to know how to add or divide. All you needed to know how to do was intimidate someone weaker than you into doing your math for you. Enter Templeton Reed— that would be me— who learned at a very tender age not to retaliate against a pack of testosterone-driven werewolves.
“Damn, dude, you need to get your chair checked.” The dumbest and blondest member of the Lake Erie pack guffawed as I struggled to get out of my chair with some dignity. His name was Matt. He worked with the rest of the pack as a tracker. He was good: nearly as good as the alpha of the Erie pack, Mikel Lupei.
“No, you pulled it back, Matt,” a burly hulk named Dave pointed out. Okay, maybe Matt wasn’t the dumbest member of Lupei’s pack after all.
“I know, asshole!” Matt, the surfer wolf, snapped, then cuffed his lesser upside his head. I feared the blow would make the wolf dumber but that hardly seemed possible. Seeing my antagonist reaching for me, I fought weakly. In the end, I was placed on my feet like the five feet six, one-hundred-and-fifty-pound man I was. Ah, the warm memories of elementary school. Just toss in a swirly and we’d be all set. Matt dusted off my back soundly, his buddies chuckling and elbowing each other.
“Listen, Temp,” the Lycan said, running his hand over my black hair to straighten it after he spit a wad into his palm. “You got any leads for us? We’re bored, and you know we hate being bored. The guys, they get into doing stupid things when they’re bored.” He jerked a thumb at his pack-mates.
I peered around the wall of chest, then nodded. Judging by the dull stares, stupid things were all this bunch could muster. Matt seemed pleased and didn’t crumple my glasses. I took them from him tentatively.
“I just sent a possible case of a rogue to Craig not two minutes ago,” I told them as I pulled the knot on my tie back into place. Their eyes lit up at the thought of a possible kill.
“Thanks, Stinky.” Matt smiled and patted my head like I was a dog. Off they loped toward my supervisor’s office. I righted my chair and sat down, ignoring the soft laughter coming from the others who worked with me.
“Stupid wolves,” I muttered, swiped my handkerchief over my spit-slick hair, put my glasses back on, and plugged my headset back into my phone. The rumble of a disgruntled wolf behind me made my blood run cold. Fear overran my mind. I felt the tingle at the base of my spine. I could not shift here. Not where everyone could see me.
Spinning around, I came eye to eye with the biggest brindle wolf I had ever seen this close. I swallowed. He rolled a black lip to show me a canine as long as my thumb.
“Hello, Senior Agent Lupei,” I smiled weakly. You could have heard a feather drop in the office. Phones rang steadily but no one was talking. They were all watching to see if I got my guts torn out.
The head of the Lake Erie pack put his cold black nose to the thumping pulse in my neck. He was checking to see just what I was under my human guise. My eyes squeezed closed. A sharp sneeze cleared the aroma of my beast from his nostrils. Wolf snot speckled my neck. He sat down to study me oddly, his head— which was the size of an engine block— tipped to the left. The confusion in his glowing amber eyes was evident. I knew who he was but him knowing me? Not likely.
My kind was rare, ultra-rare to be honest. My family line was the only known Mustelidae shifters in the United States. We kept that shameful fact under a tight lock and key. Only those with access to the files my great-great grandfather brought over from Europe knew of the polecats in their midst. And, of course, the Lycans, who could smell our core animals in our sweat. And the more I sweat, the greater the smell was. I tell you, I was this close to just giving the amused alpha access to the band of my underwear. The wedgie was coming, I just knew it. I could almost feel my balls being compressed as my boxers got tugged over my head.
Senior Agent Lupei rubbed his front left paw over his nose a few times then left. I didn’t exhale until the thick, bushy, reddish-black tail disappeared through Craig’s door.
It took me a minute to get my innate tendency to shift, stamp, and spray under control. I had only ever allowed fear to push me into a shift once, and that was back in fourth grade. I vowed after that horrid day I would never, ever let my inner skunk out. The embarrassment was just too great. Dabbing at the perspiration dotting my brow, I slowly spun round in my chair, slid my headset on, and tried to not hear the snorts, giggles and snickers my wide-eyed response to a wolf had elicited from my co-workers.
Mondays and elementary school should be outlawed.
The Arrangement by Alex Jane
1895. New York.
It was a bright day, and yet the sunshine barely penetrated the windows on this side of the house. It made the short walk to his father’s study all the more gloomy. Not that Gabriel would be otherwise engaged, out gamboling on the lawn, or taking the carriage to town to parade around the park. When he had been summoned, he’d been going over the household accounts with the housekeeper, hardly an arduous task given Dinah’s propensity to ply him with ginger biscuits as they worked. Together, they had managed to find a way to eke out the meager allowance to feed the dwindling household this month without resorting to selling the silver and were even able to laugh about it as they penny-pinched. It might not have been hard labor, but his body was suffering the effects of the constant tension in his mind and shoulders, wondering how much longer they could go on like this.
Gabriel had no reason to think he would be receiving any good news as he knocked lightly on the heavy wooden door to his father’s study before pushing it open. And yet, he thought as he walked in, the old man was smiling, albeit fleetingly, at the papers in his hand.
“You sent for me?”
Looking up, his father beamed at him, the same indulgent smile he had always bestowed on his youngest—now only—son. It would have been untrue and discourteous to imagine Gabriel had been the favorite. Abraham Webster had loved both his sons equally, if differently, valuing their individual qualities and never comparing the two. Even after Reuben’s untimely death, Abraham had never once asked Gabriel to emulate his sibling, to try to be more like him to keep his memory alive. It would have been impossible anyway. Where Reuben had been athletic and rambunctious, Gabriel was bookish and quiet. Either trying to blend into the other would have been impossible.
“I did,” his father said, his voice breaking a little. “I hope I didn’t take you away from anything too important.”
“Dinah and I had just finished up. Do you need me to fetch you anything? Some tea for your throat, perhaps?”
His father shook his head and gestured to the seat next to him at the large wooden desk. In all the years since his mother’s death, Gabriel had never once seen his father take the seat behind the desk, always preferring instead to sit on the other side. It was an unspoken arrangement, one that needed no explanation, at least not to Gabriel. His mother had been the Alpha, the head of the pack. With her passing, the title and responsibilities should have moved to Gabriel’s brother but being that he had died some years earlier, Abraham had found himself in a position where he’d had to fight to hang on to the estate—their property, and more importantly, their name—in order to keep their home out of the hands of the bank and several less savory branches of the family, who would happily strip the assets to nothing.
Now, with his father’s failing health and the effects of some bad investments, it was looking likely that all that effort might have been in vain and they would lose the house anyway. The stress of which took an even greater toll on Abraham and thus the vicious cycle ate away at Gabriel’s life minute by minute.
Gabriel took the chair next to his father, twisting on the hard wooden seat to face him. There was a curious look in Abraham’s eyes, which Gabriel couldn’t quite read.
“I received a letter yesterday.” Abraham paused, as if waiting for a reaction or response.
Having none to such a blank statement, Gabriel could only reply, “Oh?”
“You have something you wish to tell me?”
Gabriel was genuinely perplexed, and must have looked so, as his father’s teasing smile dropped away. “I see. This makes it all the more curious.”
“What is it and why is it curious? Father. Honestly, you do talk in such riddles.”
“A solution, I think,” Abraham said solemnly, holding out the papers in his hand. “Although, what you’ll think of it, I have no idea.”
Drawing the letter slowly from his father’s grip, Gabriel didn’t know what to expect, and indeed, the words on the page were the last thing he would have ever anticipated.
Reading intently, he reached the bottom of the page and swiftly returned to the top, tracking the meticulous handwriting yet again, this time mouthing each syllable carefully, too afraid to actually speak them aloud but needing to make sure he was fully understanding what was in front of him.
Finally, he let his hand fall to his lap, the page crumpling in his grip, and looked up at his father. “Is this decided then? Do I get any say in the matter?”
“Of course you do. If you really can’t stomach the idea, then I will refuse him immediately.”
“But?” Gabriel knew there was a but coming.
The lines on his father’s face deepened as he frowned, etching his countenance with sadness. It was all the reply Gabriel needed and the burning fear the letter had stoked in his chest snuffed out, leaving only a cold stone of resignation lying heavily within him.
The old man cleared his throat; his voice weaker than Gabriel could bear to hear. “If there was any other way… I have tried, Gabriel, I have. But there is no denying the reality of our situation. I’m not much longer for this world, and when I die the vultures will descend on this house and they will strip it bare. My greatest fear is that you will be left with nothing and no one. This arrangement would stop that from happening. You and the household would be under the protection of someone we know to be a good man and an Alpha I trust. I can die knowing you’ll be taken care of. “
Reaching out, Gabriel took his father’s hand. The old man had been failing since the death of his mate, and in truth had never truly recovered from the death of his oldest son ten years before. The grief may have lessened over time, but the damage was done, and the strong, vibrant man he had once been had died along with Gabriel’s brother. Since the passing of his wife, there was very little doubt in anyone’s mind that his time was short.
“I don’t blame you. I just—” He sighed. “I suppose I’m simply a little surprised you should have asked him, of all people.”
Abraham shook his head and smiled softly. “I didn’t ask him. That’s why I thought maybe you had taken the initiative.”
Gabriel didn’t know quite what to think. He screwed up his nose and grimaced. “So, you didn’t—” His father shook his head. “So, that means…” Amusement crept onto Abraham’s face. It was the first time in a long while Gabriel had seen anything but worry and sadness there, and regardless of logic and good sense, that alone was a good enough reason to go along with it. Gabriel slumped down and let out a long breath. “Well, then,” he said quietly, “it seems I’m to be married.”
“I’m sorry, Gabriel. I know this isn’t want you wanted. And you must know I’ve always wished for so much more for you.”
His father sounded so apologetic and guilty, Gabriel forced a smile and reached for his other hand. “I know and it’s not that. It’s just…” His father looked questioningly at him, but all Gabriel could say was, “It’s just—Nathaniel Hayward? Of all people. Really?”
It was a bright day, and yet the sunshine barely penetrated the windows on this side of the house. It made the short walk to his father’s study all the more gloomy. Not that Gabriel would be otherwise engaged, out gamboling on the lawn, or taking the carriage to town to parade around the park. When he had been summoned, he’d been going over the household accounts with the housekeeper, hardly an arduous task given Dinah’s propensity to ply him with ginger biscuits as they worked. Together, they had managed to find a way to eke out the meager allowance to feed the dwindling household this month without resorting to selling the silver and were even able to laugh about it as they penny-pinched. It might not have been hard labor, but his body was suffering the effects of the constant tension in his mind and shoulders, wondering how much longer they could go on like this.
Gabriel had no reason to think he would be receiving any good news as he knocked lightly on the heavy wooden door to his father’s study before pushing it open. And yet, he thought as he walked in, the old man was smiling, albeit fleetingly, at the papers in his hand.
“You sent for me?”
Looking up, his father beamed at him, the same indulgent smile he had always bestowed on his youngest—now only—son. It would have been untrue and discourteous to imagine Gabriel had been the favorite. Abraham Webster had loved both his sons equally, if differently, valuing their individual qualities and never comparing the two. Even after Reuben’s untimely death, Abraham had never once asked Gabriel to emulate his sibling, to try to be more like him to keep his memory alive. It would have been impossible anyway. Where Reuben had been athletic and rambunctious, Gabriel was bookish and quiet. Either trying to blend into the other would have been impossible.
“I did,” his father said, his voice breaking a little. “I hope I didn’t take you away from anything too important.”
“Dinah and I had just finished up. Do you need me to fetch you anything? Some tea for your throat, perhaps?”
His father shook his head and gestured to the seat next to him at the large wooden desk. In all the years since his mother’s death, Gabriel had never once seen his father take the seat behind the desk, always preferring instead to sit on the other side. It was an unspoken arrangement, one that needed no explanation, at least not to Gabriel. His mother had been the Alpha, the head of the pack. With her passing, the title and responsibilities should have moved to Gabriel’s brother but being that he had died some years earlier, Abraham had found himself in a position where he’d had to fight to hang on to the estate—their property, and more importantly, their name—in order to keep their home out of the hands of the bank and several less savory branches of the family, who would happily strip the assets to nothing.
Now, with his father’s failing health and the effects of some bad investments, it was looking likely that all that effort might have been in vain and they would lose the house anyway. The stress of which took an even greater toll on Abraham and thus the vicious cycle ate away at Gabriel’s life minute by minute.
Gabriel took the chair next to his father, twisting on the hard wooden seat to face him. There was a curious look in Abraham’s eyes, which Gabriel couldn’t quite read.
“I received a letter yesterday.” Abraham paused, as if waiting for a reaction or response.
Having none to such a blank statement, Gabriel could only reply, “Oh?”
“You have something you wish to tell me?”
Gabriel was genuinely perplexed, and must have looked so, as his father’s teasing smile dropped away. “I see. This makes it all the more curious.”
“What is it and why is it curious? Father. Honestly, you do talk in such riddles.”
“A solution, I think,” Abraham said solemnly, holding out the papers in his hand. “Although, what you’ll think of it, I have no idea.”
Drawing the letter slowly from his father’s grip, Gabriel didn’t know what to expect, and indeed, the words on the page were the last thing he would have ever anticipated.
Reading intently, he reached the bottom of the page and swiftly returned to the top, tracking the meticulous handwriting yet again, this time mouthing each syllable carefully, too afraid to actually speak them aloud but needing to make sure he was fully understanding what was in front of him.
Finally, he let his hand fall to his lap, the page crumpling in his grip, and looked up at his father. “Is this decided then? Do I get any say in the matter?”
“Of course you do. If you really can’t stomach the idea, then I will refuse him immediately.”
“But?” Gabriel knew there was a but coming.
The lines on his father’s face deepened as he frowned, etching his countenance with sadness. It was all the reply Gabriel needed and the burning fear the letter had stoked in his chest snuffed out, leaving only a cold stone of resignation lying heavily within him.
The old man cleared his throat; his voice weaker than Gabriel could bear to hear. “If there was any other way… I have tried, Gabriel, I have. But there is no denying the reality of our situation. I’m not much longer for this world, and when I die the vultures will descend on this house and they will strip it bare. My greatest fear is that you will be left with nothing and no one. This arrangement would stop that from happening. You and the household would be under the protection of someone we know to be a good man and an Alpha I trust. I can die knowing you’ll be taken care of. “
Reaching out, Gabriel took his father’s hand. The old man had been failing since the death of his mate, and in truth had never truly recovered from the death of his oldest son ten years before. The grief may have lessened over time, but the damage was done, and the strong, vibrant man he had once been had died along with Gabriel’s brother. Since the passing of his wife, there was very little doubt in anyone’s mind that his time was short.
“I don’t blame you. I just—” He sighed. “I suppose I’m simply a little surprised you should have asked him, of all people.”
Abraham shook his head and smiled softly. “I didn’t ask him. That’s why I thought maybe you had taken the initiative.”
Gabriel didn’t know quite what to think. He screwed up his nose and grimaced. “So, you didn’t—” His father shook his head. “So, that means…” Amusement crept onto Abraham’s face. It was the first time in a long while Gabriel had seen anything but worry and sadness there, and regardless of logic and good sense, that alone was a good enough reason to go along with it. Gabriel slumped down and let out a long breath. “Well, then,” he said quietly, “it seems I’m to be married.”
“I’m sorry, Gabriel. I know this isn’t want you wanted. And you must know I’ve always wished for so much more for you.”
His father sounded so apologetic and guilty, Gabriel forced a smile and reached for his other hand. “I know and it’s not that. It’s just…” His father looked questioningly at him, but all Gabriel could say was, “It’s just—Nathaniel Hayward? Of all people. Really?”
Hell & High Water by Charlie Cochet
Prologue
DURING THE Vietnam War, the use of lethal biological warfare led to the spread of the Melanoe virus, infecting millions worldwide and causing the deaths of hundreds of thousands. Although no country would take credit for releasing the virus, the world’s top scientists came together to create a cure. The vaccine known as Eppione.8 used strains from animals found to be immune to the virus, but one year after distribution, the course of human history was forever changed. A dormant mutation within the virus was activated by the vaccine, resulting in the altering of human DNA, and giving birth to a new species: Therians.
When the first infected Humans began changing in the late seventies, some didn’t survive. Their Human bodies were unprepared for the shift. Others died of cancer or infections due to weakened immune systems, while others vanished. Rumors ran rampant about governments trying to clean up their mess. When it was clear the “problem” wasn’t going to go away, the US government tried to regain control of the masses, creating the Therian database and quickly passing new laws that would force all surviving Therians to register and get marked, supposedly for their own safety and that of their fellow Human citizens.
The government had been treating the first wave of Therians as a side effect of the war, one that would eventually die out. Then in 1976, scientists discovered what was really happening. The first generation of purebred Therians had been born. The mutation had perfected itself. Solidified, inside these First Generations. Suddenly, there was an advanced new species and along with it, a whole new set of fears.
In an attempt to restore social order, the US government quickly put new regulations and laws into place, along with a Therian branch of government. In 1990, Human and Therian legislators launched the Therian Human Intelligence, Recon, Defense Squadron A.K.A the THIRDS, an elite, military-funded agency comprised of an equal number of Human and Therian agents and intended to uphold the law for all its citizens without prejudice.
As long as Humanity continued to repeat the mistakes of the past, organizations like the THIRDS would be needed to ensure Humanity had a future, even if they had to stumble along the way to get there.
DURING THE Vietnam War, the use of lethal biological warfare led to the spread of the Melanoe virus, infecting millions worldwide and causing the deaths of hundreds of thousands. Although no country would take credit for releasing the virus, the world’s top scientists came together to create a cure. The vaccine known as Eppione.8 used strains from animals found to be immune to the virus, but one year after distribution, the course of human history was forever changed. A dormant mutation within the virus was activated by the vaccine, resulting in the altering of human DNA, and giving birth to a new species: Therians.
When the first infected Humans began changing in the late seventies, some didn’t survive. Their Human bodies were unprepared for the shift. Others died of cancer or infections due to weakened immune systems, while others vanished. Rumors ran rampant about governments trying to clean up their mess. When it was clear the “problem” wasn’t going to go away, the US government tried to regain control of the masses, creating the Therian database and quickly passing new laws that would force all surviving Therians to register and get marked, supposedly for their own safety and that of their fellow Human citizens.
The government had been treating the first wave of Therians as a side effect of the war, one that would eventually die out. Then in 1976, scientists discovered what was really happening. The first generation of purebred Therians had been born. The mutation had perfected itself. Solidified, inside these First Generations. Suddenly, there was an advanced new species and along with it, a whole new set of fears.
In an attempt to restore social order, the US government quickly put new regulations and laws into place, along with a Therian branch of government. In 1990, Human and Therian legislators launched the Therian Human Intelligence, Recon, Defense Squadron A.K.A the THIRDS, an elite, military-funded agency comprised of an equal number of Human and Therian agents and intended to uphold the law for all its citizens without prejudice.
As long as Humanity continued to repeat the mistakes of the past, organizations like the THIRDS would be needed to ensure Humanity had a future, even if they had to stumble along the way to get there.
End Street Volume 2 by Amber Kell & RJ Scott
The Case of the Dragon's Dilemma #3
"And you’re sure you are going to be okay looking after our little guest?" Bob didn’t look convinced even as he asked.
"I’ll be absolutely fine," Mikhail said firmly. "It’s not like she does or says anything. She just sits there." He crossed his arms over his chest and looked squarely at the small blonde-haired girl curled up on a temporary bed with her thumb in her mouth. He knew absolutely nothing about children, other than that they were shouting, squealing bundles of confusion that he couldn’t quite get his head around. But at least this one was quiet. She hadn’t said a single word since being rescued from the docks and the cage she had been held in. The fact that she had been one of the children in the cages was another contradiction. He could understand Mal being in a cage—the small vampire was a spitfire and constantly back-chatting and by all accounts had made life difficult for her captors. This child, though—why would any human think she was threat enough to cage her?
"We don’t know what her species is," Bob reminded him. "I could stay here and back you up." There was no trace of sarcasm in Bob’s voice, but there was an element of slyness there that Sam picked up instantly.
"You’re not staying here," Sam said firmly. "We have two schools to check out with Mal and she needs both her guardians with her."
Bob muttered something under his breath but didn’t argue his position with any conviction.
Mikhail chuckled. Bob was handling having a surrogate daughter in about the same easy way as Mikhail was handling having children around him at all.
"I don’t have anywhere to be," Mikhail confirmed. "I don’t mind sitting and watching."
"See if you can get her to talk," Sam suggested. "We can’t return her to her people if we don’t even know what she is."
Mal ran into the room and slid to a stop next to Sam. She grabbed at his jacket to stop from falling on the wooden floor.
"Sam," she said quickly. "It’s time to go."
Mikhail waved them away and shut the front door after they left. He wandered through the house and spent a short while in the file room, but Teddy was lurking and the disapproving looks from the ghost had him leaving to go and check on the girl. For a while he hovered at the door. Sam had tried talking to her. Bob had attempted cajoling her. Smudge had even spent an inordinate amount of time winding in and out of her legs every time she stood up.
Still nothing.
Maybe he should give it a try. He did have one advantage over Bob in that his friend was a pure vampire. And over Sam, who was a human. Maybe she would react differently if she knew more about Mikhail? That he wasn’t pure vampire. Maybe she was a mixed species and had learned not to share that fact with others. A lot of paranormals shunned mixed race beings because they weren’t all one or the other.
It was worth a try at least. What did he have to lose?
He dragged a chair from the side of the room, then straddled it backwards before resting his chin on his hands. Where to start?
"So, I’m Mikhail," he began. She stared right at him and even stopped twirling her hair to listen. "I found out that I wasn’t who I thought I was. It was hard to come to terms with finding out my entire life had been a lie. People didn’t accept me. Even friends I’d known for a long time became enemies." Great. If anything, the confused expression on the little girl showed exactly how little of what he was saying made sense. "Let me start again."
She shuffled a little on the bed but still said nothing.
"I was about your age…well, ten anyway—hell, if you are even ten that is—when I found out my dad wasn’t my dad. Turns out I wasn’t the full-blooded siren, or prince, I was expected to be. In fact, I’m half vampire. Before I was ten you couldn’t have told I was different from other children my age." Mikhail shook his head. He recalled the teasing and bullying when he couldn’t master breathing underwater for long periods of time without using magic, and how he’d learned to pretend everything was okay. As the middle son to the siren king, Mikhail hadn’t been allowed to fail. Did this child in front of him have the same problems?
Mikhail sighed. "As I grew up, my vampire nature became dominant and my siren side became quieter and in the background. I know what it’s like to be different and to have to keep secrets."
Was that enough to communicate what he wanted? Would she see that he understood if she was a half-breed or unusual species type?
She uncurled and sat up.
"Eliza," she said softly. "My name is Eliza."
"Hey, Eliza," Mikhail said. He kept his voice low and friendly. "Can you tell me how to get hold of someone who might be missing you? Parents? Family?"
Becoming mute again, she shook her head, then clambered down off the bed. She walked past Mikhail and into the hallway before going into the bathroom. Well, at least he’d got her name. That was a start. She shut the door behind her and Mikhail contemplated what he was going to ask her next. Maybe a location, or a surname, or anything that meant she could get home.
The Case of the Sinful Santa #4
Nick Klauson pushed open the door to the tavern and climbed onto a seat in the back corner where it was dark and he could be alone. He needed somewhere to lick his wounds and this place was as good as any. The barman—woman? Nick could never tell with satyrs—waited expectantly and Nick didn’t keep him or her standing there long. He didn’t have to think about what he was going to order.
“Whisky. A bottle. One glass,” he said firmly. He waited for a reaction and was vaguely disappointed when there was none. The whisky was old, the crystal tumbler bright and there in front of him was the means to forget who he was for a few hours at least.
“Do you want any food?” the satyr asked. Her features coalesced into a feminine shape and she batted her eyelashes at Nick. If she only knew how freaked out Nick was to see a paranormal being able to change sex at the whim of the person they were with.
“Do I look like I want food?” Nick snapped. “If I’d wanted food I would have ordered it.” He stopped as he realised the residual anger from his last showdown with the family was spilling over into spite and irritation. “Sorry,” he mumbled before swallowing another mouthful of burning alcohol. He wiped his mouth. “Bad day.” Bad year. Bad life.
The satyr leaned over the bar, giving Nick an eyeful of newly fashioned creamy breasts in a low-cut top. “You look stressed,” she began with a low purr. “I can help you with that if you have the time.” Evidently the satyr was reading Nick all wrong. The alcohol was burning in his system and he clung to the buzz as long as he could. Unfortunately his family had this damn gene that meant they didn’t stay drunk for long. Sometimes he hated that…sometimes he wanted to drown in the haze of contentment and just stay there for an hour or two.
“Wrong…uhm…” He waved a hand at her breasts.
She chuckled and in the weirdest, unsexiest, most obscene way ever, she morphed into a male. Nick nearly choked on his whisky. The male bartender was so the absolute opposite of what Nick wanted in a guy. She…or he—or whatever the satyr was—had chosen a small blond twink of a thing. What he was faced with couldn’t have been more wrong. Nick loved his men big and dark-haired and strong enough to drag him to bed.
“Better?” the satyr said in a soft voice.
Nope. All wrong.
“I’m not interested,” Nick said quickly. “That isn’t what I came in for.”
The satyr reached out a hand and touched his cheek, startling him back on the stool. “Shame. You’re soooo pretty.”
Nick pulled away from the satyr’s reach. “Uh. Yeah. Just the whisky, thanks.”
“Are you really sure? I can be anything you want me to be.”
“Can you be a way out?” Nick snapped then regretted it. The satyr eyed him with confusion then opened his mouth to answer. “Never mind,” Nick interjected. “The whisky is fine.”
The satyr moved away and morphed as he walked, back into the buxom blonde. Nick could feel the disappointment emanating from her. He hated that. Not only was Nick the only skinny one in the family, but he had a broken form of the family trait of empathy. Not a useful skill when the only emotions he was capable of reading were misery and disappointment. He couldn’t even get empathy right. And as for ho ho freaking ho…
“Is this seat taken?” a voice rumbled to his left. Irritation flooded Nick. This was a big bar with a lot of spaces to hide, why would someone want to share his?
“Yes,” he snapped.
The owner of the voice chuckled and the sound cut through Nick’s melancholy. That was one low, sexy noise. He looked sideways and got an eyeful of man. Big man. Huge. Maybe six-four to his five-ten. Wide, solid, with dark hair, and even in the dim lighting at this end Nick could see the man’s eyes glint with amusement. Nick squirmed in his seat. Why had he said yes? The man, or whatever he turned out to be in this mixed human/para bar, was clearly interested enough to choose to sit next to Nick. Add to that Nick had a whole afternoon to kill.
“No,” he said.
“No what?” the big man said.
“When I said yes, I meant no. No one is sitting there.”
The man looked down pointedly at the fact he was already perched on the stool anyway. “Then I’ll stay,” he concluded.
The satyr behind the bar moved over to serve the new guy. Nick blinked furiously. The alcohol had clearly got to him because he could swear the satyr was morphing from male to female and was at times stuck as a bearded sixty-year-old man with the biggest chest he’d ever seen. He shook his head and concentrated on his whisky. He was obviously losing it big time.
“Zeph Constantine,” the big man introduced himself and held out a hand to shake.
“Nick Klauson.”
They shook hands and Nick winced at Zeph’s grip. Firm, maybe a little too firm. The shaking went on for some time. Neither man released his hold. Finally Nick realised he was still holding Zeph’s hand and embarrassment flushed his face. Thank the heavens they were in the gloom so Zeph didn’t see the tell-tale signs of Nick’s classic awkwardness around hot men.
“What brings you to the city?” Zeph asked as he sipped on what looked like water but could well have been vodka for all Nick knew.
“Toy convention,” Nick answered immediately. Then his mind went blank. What else could he add to that one? That was his cover story and he hadn’t spent any time embellishing it to be able to give details.
“Interesting. And?” Zeph prompted.
“I’m a statistician,” Nick lied on the run. “I look at trends in toy sales to support company marketing.” So it wasn’t actually lying, but he had fudged a little there. His actual job was to visit toy fairs and determine trends, but he was also there to investigate areas with any pockets of residual despair—the parts of the city and the surrounding countryside where there was a lack of joy. Not that he would tell sexy here anything about what he really did. His job description was a little screwy, but that was what he did and he did it well.
Jordan L HawkJordan L. Hawk is a trans author from North Carolina. Childhood tales of mountain ghosts and mysterious creatures gave him a life-long love of things that go bump in the night. When he isn’t writing, he brews his own beer and tries to keep the cats from destroying the house. His best-selling Whyborne & Griffin series (beginning with Widdershins) can be found in print, ebook, and audiobook.
If you want to contact Jordan, just click on the links below or send an email.
V.L. Locey loves worn jeans, yoga, belly laughs, walking, reading and writing lusty tales, Greek mythology, the New York Rangers, comic books, and coffee.
(Not necessarily in that order.)
She shares her life with her husband, her daughter, one dog, two cats, a flock of assorted domestic fowl, and two Jersey steers.
When not writing spicy romances, she enjoys spending her day with her menagerie in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania with a cup of fresh java in hand.
After spending far too long creating stories in her head, Alex finally plucked up the courage to write them down and realized it was quite fun seeing them on the page after all.
Free from aspirations of literary greatness, Alex simply hopes to entertain by spinning a good yarn of love and life, wrapped up with a happy ending. Although, if her characters have to go through Hell to get there, she’s a-okay with that.
With only a dysfunctional taste in music and a one-eyed dog to otherwise fill her days, Alex writes and walks on the South Coast of England—even when her heart and spellcheck are in New York.
You can now find her dark m/m romance under Alexis Jane, if you like love…but darker.
Charlie Cochet is the international bestselling author of the THIRDS series. Born in Cuba and raised in the US, Charlie enjoys the best of both worlds, from her daily Cuban latte to her passion for classic rock.
Currently residing in Central Florida, Charlie is at the beck and call of a rascally Doxiepoo bent on world domination. When she isn’t writing, she can usually be found devouring a book, releasing her creativity through art, or binge watching a new TV series. She runs on coffee, thrives on music, and loves to hear from readers.
Join Charlie's newsletter and stay up to date with Charlie's latest releases, receive exclusive content, giveaways, and more!
Amber KellAmber Kell has made a career out of daydreaming. It has been a lifelong habit she practices diligently as shown by her complete lack of focus on anything not related to her fantasy world building.
Despite her husband's insistence she doesn't drink enough to be a true literary genius, she continues to spin stories of people falling happily in love and staying that way.
She is thwarted during the day by a traffic jam of cats on the stairway and a puppy who insists on walks, but she bravely perseveres.
RJ ScottWriting love stories with a happy ever after – cowboys, heroes, family, hockey, single dads, bodyguards
USA Today bestselling author RJ Scott has written over one hundred romance books. Emotional stories of complicated characters, cowboys, single dads, hockey players, millionaires, princes, bodyguards, Navy SEALs, soldiers, doctors, paramedics, firefighters, cops, and the men who get mixed up in their lives, always with a happy ever after.
She lives just outside London and spends every waking minute she isn’t with family either reading or writing. The last time she had a week’s break from writing, she didn’t like it one little bit, and she has yet to meet a box of chocolates she couldn’t defeat.
Jordan L Hawk
VL Locey
EMAIL: vicki@vllocey.com
Alex Jane/Alexis Jane
WEBSITE / NEWSLETTER / AUDIBLE
EMAIL: contact@alexjane.info
Charlie Cochet
EMAIL: charlie@charliecochet.com
Amber Kell
GOOGLE PLAY / iTUNES / KOBO
EMAIL: amberkellwrites@gmail.com
RJ Scott
BOOKBUB / KOBO / SMASHWORDS
EMAIL: rj@rjscott.co.uk
Blind Tiger by Jordan L Hawk
The Erie Collection by VL Locey
The Arrangement by Alex Jane
Hell & High Water by Charlie Cochet
End Street Volume 2 by Amber Kell & RJ Scott
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