It’s a new world, where humans co-exist with drinkers–people who must drink blood to survive.

Drinkers that go rogue, by attacking and turning other humans, are hunted down by the Department of Drinker Control. Laurence Wickes was a member of the DDC, until he was attacked and turned into a drinker. Now he needs to meet with a psychiatrist to determine if he can join society again and under what circumstances.

The author built an interesting world with drinkers and humans living together somewhat comfortably with each other. There are a lot of rules for the drinkers to follow, including getting classified in order to determine what rights they’ll have. Laurence was a good cop who is now forced to figure out what he’s going to do with his life after being turned into a drinker. He develops a crush on his psychiatrist, Dr. Ira Ashdown.

Ira has a secret that ends up putting him and Laurence into imminent danger. Although the two of them are locked up together for a few days, they didn’t spend that time getting to know each other better. This definitely made the story more of a mystery than a romance. Although both of the characters were likable, I never developed any kind of emotional connection to either of them. If more time had been spent on dialogue, instead of detailed descriptions of clothing and surroundings, it would have worked better for me. In the end, it was an easy read with some new concepts.

If you’re in the mood for a paranormal mystery, along with a light romance, this is an enjoyable story.

Originally reviewed for The Romance Reviews. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
Book Blurb

Pack dynamics and interesting shifters made this an enjoyable romance with some great action sequences.

Vy is arrogant on the outside, but lonely on the inside. A hawk shifter, Vy is excited to finally find his mate in Robert, even though Robert is a bear. Unfortunately, Robert isn’t interested in shifting, and, therefore, doesn’t recognize Vy as his mate. Vy struggled with wanting to be with Robert while at the same time feeling very frustrated that Robert wouldn’t recognize him as his true mate. Instead, Robert is just interested in Vy as a person. This leads to the biggest conflict between these two mates, and gives the story an interesting twist on the instant love we usually see with mates. Fortunately, Robert was an amazing and patient person who was willing to try to work through this issue with Vy. Robert was always going out of his way to help improve the world around him and take care of Vy. Vy matured quite a bit during the story with the help of Robert and Vy’s father. This allowed him to truly step up to being the pack leader. By the end, it was obvious Robert and Vy were meant for each other.

I enjoyed the focus on the different issues with the pack members, and the trouble that they were having with another pack. This aspect of the story gave Robert, an outsider, a chance to prove he was trustworthy to the pack.

The one little thing that bothered me was the constant interruptions between the characters as they were talking to each other. It’s a pet peeve of mine when people interrupt each other in real life, so seeing it happen in the story distracted me.

As a huge fan of shifter stories, I was excited to see two of my favorite authors write this story together.

Originally reviewed for Swept Away By Romance. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
Book Blurb

What if the soul mate chosen by the gods doesn’t end up being the one that completes you?

Tristan is a Lycan descendant who suffers from believing he is mediocre. He has discovered his Twin Flame, the one person destined to be his, cheating on him. Tristan has requested that they be permanently separated. This is rarely done since it can lead to Tristan’s death. After the separation, he must try to find a way to go on with his life.

The story was not a strong romance and instead focused on building the world and delving deep into Tristan’s life. Tristan was a fascinating character with an amazing ability to tell a story. He had his heart broken by the one person in the world who should have loved him through eternity. Fortunately, his best friend, Ushna, stood by him during his dark recovery period. Ushna helped Tristan come back to life, and his commitment to Tristan never wavered. I would have loved to have gotten to know Ushna better and watch them develop their relationship, but Ushna didn’t talk very much.

The unique world the author created was very interesting and easy to follow. The ending clearly continues into the next story, but I didn’t feel frustrated that it was too much of a cliffhanger.

Engaging storytelling kept me hooked from beginning to end, and I’m really looking forward to the next entry in this series.

Originally reviewed for The Romance Reviews. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
Book Blurb