Review: Strays by A.J. Thomas

Orphaned at a young age and raised in the foster system, Jory Smith has no idea he’s half incubus. He only knows he has the power to heal people, making himself sick in the process. Exploited by a crooked faith healer who sells his abilities and his life to the highest bidder and then left for dead, Jory flees, falling into a job at a small-town café where he can put his lifelong obsession with baking to good use.

But the minister who exploited him wants him back.

Exiled hellhound-turned–bounty hunter Malpheus Pelle has no idea why his human client wants him to track down an incubus. Jory is traumatized and afraid to touch anyone, an emotional handicap that could prove fatal for a demon who requires physical contact. Needing answers, Mal concocts a disastrous plan: pretend to date Jory to uncover the truth. Unfortunately, his plan never included dealing with an ancient demon assassin, Jory’s orgasmic pumpkin cookies, or losing his heart to the incubus he’s supposed to be hunting….

I debated with myself a bit between three and four stars for Strays. I give the characters themselves four stars at a minimum, but I struggled with the world building. I loved the idea of it all, but had trouble with the flow of information.

I want to start with everything I loved first and there was a lot to be enamored with. Both Jory and Mal had pretty rough lives and neither were proud of everything in their pasts, but they weren’t bad dudes and they made for the kind of flawed characters you root for, faults and all.

Jory never had a real home growing up so never became too attached to much of anything or anyone. He ended up with a bible-thumping, con-artist of a minister and his natural abilities to heal were a boon to Adam, the false faither healer. When one of the scams nearly breaks him, Joey makes a run for it and finally is able to start a life of his own. I loved the bakery where he finally was able to make a home, even if he knew it was probably only going to be temporary. It gave his life a bittersweet edge, knowing how happy he was but also knowing he was always going to be living his life on the run.

Mal and his “pug” Louise were the best. Mal is an exiled Hellhound turned bounty hunter and while he is originally hired to track down Jory and return him to Adam (allegedly), once he actually met Jory and felt their connection we ALL knew that wasn’t going to be a thing. Louise is a Hellhound as well but sees herself as more of a pug and since Hellhounds can apparently shapeshift, that is her chosen form. The connection Mal and Louise had was a sweet little bonus of a side story that gave a lot of insight into Mal’s character.

Focusing on the relationship between the two is easy. Setting the supernatural aside, the connection between Mal and Jory is really very sweet and obvious to the reader. I liked that while they may have had their moments, at points in which shit got real, ghoul and demon-wise I mean, I never doubted that they would have each others backs and I think they both knew that as well. It kept me invested in them regardless of all the shenanigans going on around them.

And there were a lot of shenanigans. I loved the idea of the fantasy intermingling with mythology in a contemporary setting. By the end, when the whole story came together it made sense and I really liked many of the elements. My problem was that it felt like I had stepped into the middle and missed the beginning that was a foundation for the world building. The backstory to the paranormal aspect was doled out in little pieces to Jory (and the reader) throughout, but the bulk of the the book and the explanation of it all didn’t come until the end.

There were levels of backstory and I think it might have been just one level too much to explain in a book of this length. It was hard to appreciate all of them with any real depth so they felt tied together organically. There was the backstory of the inhabitants of the human world and then what I referred to in my head as the way-back backstory of the characters still living in Hel that we knew through storytelling, but not directly. There’s politics and scandal and treachery and all manner of Hel type intrigue to be had. The way the story was told, they were all dependent on one another, so they were necessary, but I could have done without the way-back backstory to give more focus to what was affecting the MC’s and secondary characters directly. That would have given me way better perspective on their motivations much sooner and I would have felt more focused with the paranormal elements of the story. The “too much” of it all felt like a scatter shot of plot points versus a tight world building narrative.

I have to give major kudos for the book cover! The MC’s description was represented beautifully and that doesn’t always happen. I love when the cover actually feels like a depiction of who, or what is “inside”. A book dedicated to the way-back backstory would be amazing and a follow up with Keygan and Neal would definitely be interesting. I think if I had a prequel set in Hel I could reread Strays with much more understanding and appreciation.

**a copy of this story was provided for an honest review**

Audiobook Review: Pins and Needles by A.J. Thomas

The truth is rarely seen on the surface, and getting to it might mean digging deep….

After a devastating accident and a long stay in the hospital, the last thing petroleum engineer Sean Wilkinson wants to deal with is the settlement the oil company tries to force on him. He’ll never be able to work in his field again, his education is all but useless, and his surgeons are pessimistic about whether he’ll ever walk again. He needs someone in his corner, but most lawyers take one look at his tattoo-covered foster father and turn their backs. It’s just Sean’s luck that the one attorney willing to give him a chance is also the hottest guy he’s ever seen.

As a trial lawyer, Nate Delany has a lot to prove—to his father, the world, and himself. Sean intrigues Nate, and he struggles to reconcile the gifted tattoo artist he can’t stop fantasizing about with the quiet, brilliant engineer. His investigation reveals facts left out of the accident report—including an illicit affair, greedy coworkers, and a vicious corporation that will do anything to protect its bottom line. When Sean’s life is threatened, winning Sean’s case, and his heart, becomes a lot more dangerous.

Listening Length: 8 hours 57 minutes
Narrator: Jason Riley

I'm impressed!


In all actuality though, I’m not that surprised by my like of this because I do love me some romantic suspense.


This starts off with Sean, who by no means has had it easy in life. He’s conquered many obstacles and just when things have finally fallen into place, he suffers an absolutely horrific accident while on an oil rig support ship, leaving his long term goals and his body in ruins. When his case catches the eye of lawyer Nate, Sean’s grateful that someone is willing to help him navigate the many complications that have suddenly materialized in what seems like a straightforward situation. It is anything but.


Nate in turn, has been struggling his whole life to win the approval of his father. When said father fails to see that Nate truly is excellent at his job, it forces him to quit the firm and start anew on his own. Sean’s case will not only prove his worth, but the intriguing young man stirs many many things, and Nate’s determined to be his champion.


Suffice it to say, these two connect on multiple levels despite their disparate backgrounds, and I enjoyed watching them fall in love. There’s all sorts of roadblocks - ex’s, corporate greed, family bigotry, personal insecurity and doubt - all against a backdrop of multiple attempts on their lives. This kept me on my toes in and amongst the technical aspects of oil drilling, the intricacies of various laws, and showcasing the artistic side of Sean as well his brilliant engineering mind. Nate is no slouch either, and though these two have a few missteps, they actually do communicate well with each other. It doesn’t hurt at all that the UST and the sexy smex were very well done. Be forewarned though, there are some major dick head assholes in this story that made me want to cut a bitch multiple times. Grrr.


Please be aware that the narration by Jason Riley is simply a straight forward read through. If you’re looking for a theatrical production with varied voices, you’re not going to find it here. I admit, there were times I was confused as to who was speaking, but Riley’s delivery was pleasant and had inflection which still allowed me to greatly enjoy this story.


Overall, this was a big hit for me despite my small disappointment in not seeing a huge courtroom drama. However, I obviously liked what I got, and this author is now definitely on my radar!


Thank you to the author/publisher for the audio in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Pins and Needles by A.J. Thomas

The truth is rarely seen on the surface, and getting to it might mean digging deep…

After a devastating accident and a long stay in the hospital, the last thing petroleum engineer Sean Wilkinson wants to deal with is the settlement the oil company tries to force on him. He’ll never be able to work in his field again, his education is all but useless, and his surgeons are pessimistic about whether he’ll ever walk again. He needs someone in his corner, but most lawyers take one look at his tattoo-covered foster father and turn their backs. It’s just Sean’s luck that the one attorney willing to give him a chance is also the hottest guy he’s ever seen.

As a trial lawyer, Nate Delany has a lot to prove—to his father, the world, and himself. Sean intrigues Nate, and he struggles to reconcile the gifted tattoo artist he can’t stop fantasizing about with the quiet, brilliant engineer. His investigation reveals facts left out of the accident report—including an illicit affair, greedy coworkers, and a vicious corporation that will do anything to protect its bottom line. When Sean’s life is threatened, winning Sean’s case, and his heart, becomes a lot more dangerous.

Sean's life is dramatically derailed when an accident occurs and nearly saws him in two. He's left having to reconfigure his life and future and battle the potential of never being able to walk again. When the man who essentially raised him reaches out for legal assistance against the oil company whose ship Sean was on (and who Sean had just started officially working for days before), he meets Nate, who is as stubborn and proud as he, sans the tattoos.

Nate is tired of living in the shadow of people taking credit for his work. Against his father's wishes, he leaves the firm behind and heads out on his own. His first case? Well, certainly not what he expected, and the attraction to Sean is immediate.

Through twists and turn, the men seek answers (all while trying to stay alive.)

“Come on, let’s go for a walk and—” He stopped and slapped himself in the forehead. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…. I’m just sorry.”
Sean chuckled. “They didn’t reprogram my brain to avoid normal figures of speech when they gave me the wheelchair. We can go for a walk.”

Something that I love about A.J. Thomas is that they manage to provide what feels like authentic representation. While not differently abled in the same way as Sean, I have my own physical battles. I felt for Sean as I went through the story and watched him give a middle finger to societies standards for who he can be. I chose the quote above because I think it provides a good example of that in a way that is accessible.

The story has steam, but it is certainly not steam-powered (see what I did there?) It is very much so plot-driven and I really found myself enjoying it. I had predicted at least one of the aspects of who was behind a lot of mayhem, but didn't have it figured out completely. I will say that while A.J. did a great job of making such a complex field and science more understandable, there were times I was still like "what the what?" - and that is part of what took my rating down some. Lucky for everyone, I am not an engineer. We'd all be screwed.

The epilogue felt a bit rushed, but I did like where it went and I don't know that it would've made sense for the story to be extended. It just ended up coming across as reading a 1,000 word paragraph in 20 seconds. Whoooosh.

In the end, this is a solid story by a solid author, and I definitely enjoyed the complex characters, enjoyable side characters, and subplots surrounding family for both Nate and Sean.

A review copy was provided.