Audiobook Review: Who We Truly Are (Enhanced World #2) by Victoria Sue

Talon’s deadly abilities are spiraling out of control. Desperate to keep Finn safe, Talon struggles to protect the man he loves with all his heart, and not become the greatest risk to Finn’s life.

Finn has no choice but to offer himself as bait for the evil forces kidnapping enhanced children, facing danger he is untrained and unprepared for, and he is having to do it alone.

Does Talon have one last fight in him? Will he slay everyone who wants to destroy Finn and the team, or will he finally discover that to defeat their enemy and the ultimate threat, the biggest battle he has to face is one with himself?



Listening Length: 7 hours and 45 minutes
Narrator: Nick J. Russo

I've returned for more Enhanced action and I'm still digging the series!

Who We Truly Are is a continuation that happens a few weeks after Five Minutes Longer ends. Talon and his human partner, Finn still struggle to find a balance between their work and personal lives.Plus, the Enhanced team is getting more press, a new director, and a new villain on the game board making their lives harder.

There are missing enhanced kids and the team uses Finn to go undercover to find out who is behind this.

Add that to this author's penchant for jam packing action and fresh subplots, the story never has a dull moment. The reader gets to learn about more kids and different powers, how the enhanced are continually treated like second class citizens. For an audio book, this is prime entertainment because it is so fast paced.

I think because I listened to book #2 directly after #1, I've grown used to Nick J. Russo's narration style. I liked that I was able to differentiate between the main characters. I'll admit, I would get some of the other enhanced team embers mixed up from time to time with the voices used.

I have a few niggles with Talon and Finn's relationship. (And I hope we get to see future spotlights of progression in future stories) They get together fairly quick in book #1, pretty serious in a matter of weeks. But while the book showed their sexual chemistry is strong, I didn't see much else to be on board with their relationship. I was looking for more growth in book #2... and in away there was some and there wasn't. It's weeks later and communication still seemed to be an issue. There's a larger arc at play, so I get why we don't skip ahead by much.

But I feel Talon and Finn would work their kinks out without never ending action and drama happening. And actually spending time together to know who they're fucking. Finn's undercover for a majority of the book, so there wasn't much change in their relationship.

I like Finn. I'm neutral about Talon because sometimes he needed to listen and ease up on the 'protectiveness'.

The story is a 4 for me because I really liked the main plot points overall. Great suspense, good romance, there's an actual plot that is interesting, good characters and the world building sucks you in. The narration is about the same because there wasn't much change in style, easy to follow along.

I'm very interested in book #3 because it's a new couple! And there are a few members on the team I'm very curious about.

Audiobook Review: Beneath This Mask (Enhanced, #3) by Victoria Sue

Gael Peterson has spent years hiding behind the enhanced abilities he wears like a mask, even though he is an important, confident member of the FBI’s exclusive H.E.R.O. team. The hurt and betrayal of his mom’s abandonment and his father’s fists are secrets buried deep beneath the ugly scars on his face, and he doesn’t trust Jake, his new regular human partner, with any of them. In a world where those with special abilities like Gael’s are regarded as freaks and monsters, it won’t be easy for him to rely on Jake to have his back, especially when the abilities of a vulnerable, enhanced, nonspeaking child make that child a murder suspect.

Tempers rise and loyalties are challenged, and when the serial killer targeting the enhanced finally sets his sights on Gael, not only will Gael have to trust Jake with his secrets, he might have to trust him to save his life.

Narrated by: Nick J. Russo
Listening Length: 7 Hours and 16 Minutes

I skipped the second in this series. I can't remember why but now I feel like I missed something. I remembered Gael as being sort of happy go lucky and outgoing but in this book he comes across more reserved, introverted, shy even. I still heart him but I'm thinking a backtrack is in order.

He's partnered with Jake because there is a killer on the loose who is targeting the enhanced. The whole team is put on the case but Jake and Gael don't exactly hit it off right away. Expect a dibble of enemies to lovers and a dabble of hurt comfort. Let's just say the scar on Gael's face runs deeper than his face and he needs someone to really see him, to love him.

The thriller aspects are fairly evenly matched with the romantic elements making this a true romantic suspense. Through a series of events a little autistic boy, Derrick, who was born with FAS is blamed for a death. He's also enhanced and Gael connects with him immediately. Pretty much all the events surrounding Derrick and his detention hit WAY TOO close to home and the recent immigration issue/separation of families/stripping of rights which had a me more than a little verklempt. Often. Thankfully, he has some people on his side who are vocal and the way this storyline evolved gave me a serious case of the warm fuzzies.

Gael and Jake's relationship evolved quickly and I kind of wish it was given more time to breathe, but I do understand how relationships can evolve quickly in intense situations. However, by the end of the story I was on board with Jake and Gael being truly committed to each other as partners in work and life.

There isn't an abundance of sex but there is a big guy bottoming! 🙌

There are also some torture scenes that could potentially be triggering for some, so exercise caution. However, this segued into an awesome finish. Beneath This Mask finished strong! Country strong!

Nick J. Russo did a terrific job with the voices. He differentiated them well so I never had to really pay attention to who was talking because all the voices were distinct and he emoted well.

Recommend to fans of paranormal, sci-fi and action adventure stories.

p.s. ZOMG!!!!!!!!!!! I CANNOT WAIT FOR VANCE'S BOOK!!!!!!!!!  Eli is going to climb him like a tree. And it is going to epic. EPIC!

Audiobook was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Release Blitz + Giveaway: Omen Operation (Isolation #1) by Taylor Brooke

Omen Operation (Isolation #1) is officially out from NineStar Press! Celebrate with author Taylor Brooke and IndiGo Marketing! Learn more about the sci-fi new adult QUILTBAG romance and enter in the giveaway to win $10 NineStar Press credit!

Title:  Omen Operation

Series: Isolation, Book One

Author: Taylor Brooke

Publisher:  NineStar Press

Release Date: June 18, 2018

Heat Level: 2 - Fade to Black Sex

Pairing: Male/Female, Male/Male, Female/Female

Length: 61100

Genre: Science Fiction, New adult, thriller, sci-fi, romance, virus, conspiracy, super-soldiers

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Synopsis

An epidemic hits the country, and Brooklyn Harper is stolen from the life she knew.

Implanted in a rural camp, Brooklyn and her friends are severed from their families and the outside world. Each day is filled with combat training to assure their safety against a mysterious virus and the creatures it creates—violent humanoids with black blood.

Two years later, Brooklyn’s cabin-mate, Dawson Winters, finds a letter that shatters the illusion they’ve been living in. There is a world outside Camp Eleven, and the virus that supposedly destroyed their country seems non-existent.

After a daring escape, Brooklyn finds the world they’ve left behind harbors the normalcy she remembers. But when they are attacked by a black-blooded creature in the city, Brooklyn and her friends realize there is more to Camp Eleven than they thought.

Someone took them, someone trained them, and now someone is trying to find them.

As their exploration continues, the group is faced with impossible feats while betrayal, love, and secrets force Brooklyn and her friends to fight for their life, their freedom, and most of all, each other.

Excerpt

Omen Operation
Taylor Brooke © 2018
All Rights Reserved

Chapter One
Flames chewed on a pile of logs in the middle of a large fire pit. Five people sat around it, huddled together for warmth. Brooklyn always sat closest, palms outstretched and glowing against the flames. Somehow, the smell of burning wood made things feel more temporary. Even if every night it reminded her of making s’mores on the beach back home—of brine and hot cement and San Diego.

Home seemed distant now.

The grounds had an array of fire pits scattered between the housing cabins that coaxed the fifteen inhabitants of ISO Recovery Camp Eleven to spread out among themselves and unwind.

“Hey, is your hand okay?” Gabriel asked.

Brooklyn turned her gaze to the girl lying in her lap. Gabriel. Her eyes reminded Brooklyn of a comic book character. They were green like jungle canopies, sharp and defined by dark lashes and thick brows. The day the tall blonde was dropped off at the camp was the first day Brooklyn didn’t feel alone. That day, two years ago, bravery became easier.

“It’s fine.” Brooklyn shrugged. “I just tweaked it when we were training.”

Gabriel’s bottom lip was shadowed by a small scar on the right side of her smile. It was hardly noticeable, a tiny defect on a fine-boned, fiercely beautiful face. She pushed her cheek into Brooklyn’s thigh and nodded, fingertips playing with the frayed ends of Brooklyn’s jeans, absently touching the exposed skin on her ankle.

Black combat boots shifted on the other side of the circle. Dawson, a boy with a hard jawline and wild eyes, tilted his head to the side. He wore bitterness like a badge and lifted his chin to peer over the fire at Gabriel. “You’re too strong for your own good.”

Brooklyn sighed.

Gabriel grinned. “Wouldn’t you know? I had you tapped out in under a minute yesterday, didn’t I?”

His lips twitched. Smiling suited him.

“You did…” He held his hands against his chest in mock surrender. “Maybe you should take it easy on us.”

Two others sat beside them; one was a boy with black tunnels set snugly in the stretched lobes of his ears and a stud buried in the middle of his tongue. His smile was wide and contagious, set neatly on a narrow face with high cheekbones. Julian had been the first to introduce himself to Brooklyn when she arrived. He’d had the sun in his eyes, and the first thing he’d said to her was, “I don’t know where the hell we are, but apparently we’re not gonna die.” He’d laughed, showed her around, and he hadn’t pretended to have any answers. His uncertainty had been refreshing.

Brooklyn swayed when the last of their small pack nudged his head against her shoulder.

“You should let me wrap it up for you in case it’s sprained,” Porter said.

“I’m fine,” Brooklyn said.

Porter leered at her over a pair of black-rimmed glasses resting on the tip of his nose. “Suit yourself,” he mumbled, and reached under his beanie to scratch the back of his head.

Brooklyn didn’t bother answering. She inhaled the smell of campfire and Porter’s cologne, memorized the gentle sweep of Gabriel’s fingertip on her foot, and tilted her head back to look at the sky. The stars glowed, shining bright and commanding attention, against a vast and constant black sheet. Night was alive here. More alive than back home. She rolled her lips together. Constellations rested low behind the trees that lined the outskirts of the camp and curved over the peak of a distant mountain.

At least it’s a beautiful cage we’re stuck in, she thought.

The shrill squeal of a whistle cut through the air. Dawson rolled his eyes. Gabriel groaned and stood. Another day gone, another night stuck in a cabin without answers, without her family, barely holding on to the last thread of hope that she might make it back to southern California someday. She followed the others into their dorm, a dusty cabin that reminded her of grade school and pre-teen summers. Three sets of bunks made up their living quarters. To the right through a doorway was an adjoined bathroom with shower stalls and toilets. To the left was a closet filled with boots and coats. Cheap, scratchy sheets and a heavy comforter kept the cold at bay.

Brooklyn watched Dawson move around the familiar space. She listened to Julian’s mattress squeak and Porter unlace his boots. She didn’t want to be used to this—to Camp Eleven and what she’d learned there. To the handsome boys who slept in the same room as her. To Gabriel Serisky, who was dangerous and lovely, and out of reach.

She wanted crashing waves and a too-bright sun. She wanted to be soft again. To be the Brooklyn she was before the outbreak again.

“You all right, Brooklyn?” Porter set his glasses on the nightstand between their bunks.

“Yeah,” she said quickly, and then again, slower, “yeah, I’m fine.”

Brooklyn fell asleep to the sound of the bed above her squeaking under the weight of Gabriel’s hips, and the hum of Julian’s soft snores from across the room.

When she closed her eyes, she hoped for peacefulness. For nothing.

But the same memories came for her. Old memories. Distorted, cruel memories. And they made her afraid.

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Meet the Author

Taylor Brooke (she/they) worked as a special effects makeup artist for many years before she wrote her first book. When she’s not writing, she’s exploring the Pacific Northwest, backpacking, or reading. She is the author of The Camellia Clock Cycle and writes #ownvoices Queer books about love, secrets and magic.

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Giveaway + Blog Tour: Beneath This Mask (Enhanced #3) by Victoria Sue

Victoria Sue is here today with an excerpt of her latest, Beneath This Mask, the third in her wildly popular Enhanced series. Gael fans get ready to stand up and cheer!

“What do they mean?”

Jake’s gaze fell on Gael. The short blond hair that he would have liked to be just a little longer to latch on to. The smoky blue eyes that deepened and had clouded over last night. The wide lips that were the softest he’d ever tasted. The stubble-covered jaw, because maybe sometimes he had to shave twice a day, and the pulse point beating in his neck. The exact point that Jake had rested his own lips against and wished the heart that was beating belonged to him.

He took a step forward, but Gael’s eyes widened and he backed up.

“What do they mean, Jake?”

Jake tore his eyes from Gael’s stormy ones. He didn’t want condemnation to weaken the last memory of them, when Gael was sated and replete. Gael had been so gorgeous.

Vance, Talon, Sawyer, and Finn all stood there watching them. Connie had retreated and was talking to some lady. Gerry and Mac had gone back to their truck. Jake didn’t know whether the privacy was by accident or on purpose, but delaying the explanation by getting in a car would be worse.

“I spent four years on a SWAT team, as you know. The last op our team was called to was a report of an enhanced who had gone crazy in a shopping mall. Reports of explosions, multiple casualties. When we got there, it was chaos. People shouting. Fire. A lady said there was a man standing in the middle of a kids’ toy shop holding some sort of device in his hand and screaming at everyone to be quiet. There were customers, children, trapped between him and the door. We raced into the store just as the guy turned around and held up what looked like some sort of trigger switch.” Jake’s voice caught, and he struggled to get air into his lungs so he could speak.

“Steven Shaughnessy. Seventeen,” Talon said quietly. “He’d transformed just then in the middle of an argument with his father about wanting the latest game system. Not only is he only the second child we think to have ever transformed while awake, he is the oldest to transform, as far as we are aware.”

“I didn’t know,” Jake whispered, the horror eating at him. He had been a child, and he was dead because of Jake.

“Because you didn’t wait to find out,” Sawyer sneered.

“Look,” Talon said. “Jake was exonerated. It was complete shit, but he was following orders.”

Jake begged Gael silently. They stood amid the tatters of guilt, recrimination, and regret. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair that a child had lost his life. It wasn’t fair that a scar could make people lesser than others, and it definitely wasn’t fair that just when Jake thought he might have found a new life, it was being ripped away.

Vance, who had been quiet up to that point, stepped forward and handed Gael some keys. “It’s in the lot. He did it straightaway as a favor.”

Gael wrenched his gaze from Jake’s and took the keys. Sawyer made a disgusted noise and started walking away. Vance turned around as Connie walked over, and they finished packing away some leftover food.

Talon glanced apologetically at Jake, then looked at Gael, who stood frozen, holding his truck keys. “If you need somewhere to crash, you know where we are.”

They were all giving Jake and Gael the space to process this. Finn opened his mouth but shut it at Talon’s look, and they both walked to the lot. It was just him and Gael.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Gael said, still not meeting Jake’s eyes.

“Gregory said to give you time to get used to me first.”

Gael looked up, incredulity written all over his face. “And fucking me? Was that the easiest way of getting me used to you, or just the fastest?” Pain made the words sound raw on Gael’s tongue.

“Gael…,” Jake pleaded and took another step.

Gael held up his hands. “No. I could forgive the shooting. I’m not stupid. We live in a world where a lot of shit happens and an out-of-control enhanced could have killed a lot of people. Am I sorry for him? Of course I am. There are way too many children who suffer at the hands of those supposed to be protecting them, and I don’t even mean just those with a scar on their faces.” Gael heaved a breath as if starved for oxygen. Jake would have given him all he had right there. Gael’s eyes narrowed. “Did you think it was funny? A pity fuck to keep me quiet? Amenable until you’d gotten your place on the team?”

“Gael, no!” Jake begged. “I would never—”

He touched Gael’s shoulder just as Gael turned away from him. Gael was still not as fast as him, but he was stronger. Fuck, he was stronger. Jake had a split second to decide not to duck and avoid the fist that Gael swung at him in anger and desperation, because he deserved it, and then he connected and Jake went down. The pain erupted in his jaw just as everything went black.

Gael stood completely still, stunned at what he had done, and stared at Jake, lying six feet away on the ground in a heap.

“Gael!”

Gael heard the shout from the cars and saw Talon and Vance running back to where he was.

“Shit,” Talon swore, falling to his knees. He put a hand to Jake’s neck to feel for a pulse, the relief in his face obvious when he felt one. Talon quickly stood, lifting an unconscious Jake in his arms. “For fuck’s sake, Gael. What were you thinking? You know we’re much stronger.”

A squeal of tires announced Finn driving up in Talon’s truck. He looked at Vance and Connie. “Vance, follow us. I’m taking him to Tampa Gen.”

Vance held the door open while Talon slid into the back.

“Gael, get your ass in here.”

“We’ll follow,” Vance shouted and bundled his mom to the truck, Connie hurrying to get in, everyone staring at Gael like he had killed someone. His heart was pounding, but it was the only thing in his body capable of movement. For a second he met Talon’s gaze, and then he turned and did the only thing he could.

Run.

Blurb:

Gael Peterson has spent years hiding behind the enhanced abilities he wears like a mask, even though he is an important, confident member of the FBI’s exclusive H.E.R.O. team. The hurt and betrayal of his mom’s abandonment and his father’s fists are secrets buried deep beneath the ugly scars on his face, and he doesn’t trust Jake, his new regular human partner, with any of them. In a world where those with special abilities like Gael’s are regarded as freaks and monsters, it won’t be easy for him to rely on Jake to have his back, especially when the abilities of a vulnerable, enhanced, nonspeaking child make that child a murder suspect.

Tempers rise and loyalties are challenged, and when the serial killer targeting the enhanced finally sets his sights on Gael, not only will Gael have to trust Jake with his secrets, he might have to trust him to save his life.

Buy links:

Dreamspinner Press 

Amazon US 

Victoria Sue Bio:

Victoria Sue…
Victoria Sue fell in love with love stories as a child when she would hide away with her mom’s library books and dream of the dashing hero coming to rescue her from math homework. She never mastered math but managed to dream up quite a few heroes. Loves reading and writing about gorgeous boys loving each other the best—especially with a paranormal twist—but always with a happy ending. Is an English northern lass currently serving twenty to life in Florida—unfortunately, she spends more time chained to her computer than on a beach.
Loves to hear from her readers and can be found most days lurking on Facebook where she doesn’t need factor 1000 sun-cream to hide her freckles.

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Twitter: @vickysuewrites

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Tag Team Review: Off the Beaten Path by Cari Z.

When Ward Johannsen’s little girl Ava shifted into a werewolf, she was taken into custody by the feds and shipped off to the nearest pack, all ties between father and daughter severed. Ward burned every bridge he had discovering her location, and then almost froze to death in the Colorado mountains tracking her new pack down. And that’s just the beginning of his struggle.

Henry Dormer is an alpha werewolf and an elite black ops soldier who failed his last mission. He returns home, hoping for some time to recuperate and help settle the pack’s newest member, a little pup named Ava who can’t shift back to her human form. Instead he meets Ward, who refuses to leave his daughter without a fight. The two men are as different as night and day, but their respect for each other strikes a spark of mutual interest that quickly grows into a flame. They might find something special together—love, passion, and even a family—if they can survive trigger-happy pack guardians, violent werewolf politics, and meddling government agencies that are just as likely to get their alpha soldiers killed as bring them home safely.

4.75 average!

R *A Reader Obsessed* - 4.5 Seriously Impressed Hearts

The title is so appropriate, for this is beyond any shifter book I've ever read, and it was quite the fabulous refreshing read.

I don’t know if I can do this story justice but I’m gonna try…

What one has to know first is that this is a world where werewolves obviously exist. They’re a government experiment gone wrong decades ago and the age old debate did come up as to what to do with this new subset of humans with extraordinary abilities but potentially scary ones at that. There’s unfortunately now a very strict divide between “species” and once a person goes werewolf, they are pretty much separated from their human life and brought into the fold of a pack. Werewolves are basically second class citizens - highly monitored, regulated, and restricted as they pose a perceived danger to the masses should one go rogue. To keep them in line and to insure their safety, a pack’s alpha is basically conscripted to serve the government in any nefarious ways they deem necessary, using their deadly skills in the name of national security.

Knowing that, this book starts off with Ward. He’s desperately trying to find his newly shifted daughter Ava. By law, she is no longer legally his and has been unfairly taken away from him to an unknown destination to be raised by her “own kind”. Well fuck that. Ward is not going to give up that easily. His daughter is the only family he has left, and he is determined to be a part of her life, regardless of the fact that it’s basically unheard of for a human to live among werewolves. Luckily, he has a friend in high places that helps Ward track Ava down, and once he arrives, he staunchly refuses to budge.

Enter Henry. He’s Ava’s alpha, and though he knows Ward’s presence is probably the best thing for her, especially since she has yet to shift back to human and is slowly failing to thrive, his first inclination is to say no because it’s against the rules and Henry always follows the rules. Ward’s presence and how he came to find Henry’s pack puts all of them in danger, shining an unwanted spotlight on Henry as he essentially takes the “blame” for this breach in security.

With pressures and demands coming at Henry from all directions, the last thing he needs is to feel attraction to the newcomer. However, he can’t deny that Ward’s tenacity and bravery grounds him like no other, and though Ward was never something Henry ever imagined he could obtain, he sure is something Henry wants. In turn, Ward feels the same attraction and hesitation. Henry is prickly and intimidating but his consideration and care for all of those under his protection cannot be ignored. Ward realizes Henry is admirable in his acceptance to be an instrument for the government to use and abuse, taking their shit over and over for the good of the pack, sacrificing his happiness, his soul. If Ward can give and get some measure of comfort with Henry, he’s going to try his darnedest to do what feels right by him and what he starts to feel is now his pack too.

Perhaps as a warning, this isn’t a fluffy shifter romance. This had grit, an urgent seriousness to it. Life isn’t pretty nor kind. Responsibility weighs heavily, and it takes every ounce of willpower and determination and obligation to survive the unfairness of it all. Perhaps though, finding someone special to care for and to be be cared by, can ease that burden. For those that need to know, the doling out the yummy bits between these two are small and far and few between. However, the gradual build and the UST are palpable and oh so strongly felt, and despite the low smexy level, this still kept my avid interest. Have no doubt though, I would’ve hungrily gobbled up more if given.

I obviously loved this. I want Cari Z to write at least 10 more books in this compelling complex world she has created. She better because I have to know the fates of Tennyson and Davis!! Puh-leeeeasse don’t leave me hanging!!!

Like I said. Unique and wholly captivating. It sucked me in, caught me, and wouldn't let go. Very very highly recommended!


Thanks to the author/publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Sara - 5 Hearts

Well this was different and different is good.

Cari Z took the genre of shifters and added a little something extra to it. She plays with the tropes well known in the genre and then takes it to an almost dystopian level that made this a truly unique read for this redhead.

Ward Johannsen is on a mission. His four year old daughter Ava has been taken from him because she shifted into a wolf on her first day of school. Now Ward himself is not a werewolf but apparently the werewolf mutation was passed to Ava through her mother and the stress of school and being away from her dad caused the shift. Once that happened, the government stepped in and took Ward’s daughter from him and he is not having it. With the help of his late brother’s best friend and the only man he considers family, Ward sets off to a hidden location to get his daughter back. The only thing is, it’s Antarctic cold outside in Colorado and California bred Ward is a bit on the sickly side, so he gets all muddled to where he is, but thank goodness a kind hearted person decides to take pity on him when she finds out who he is.

Henry Dormer is the alpha of the La Garita and takes his role seriously. He knows the hardships and heartache that comes with running a pack and without the love and support of his sister Sam, Henry would be lost. When he comes back from his latest brutal mission as an elite black ops soldier to an unfamiliar smell and human in his house, things get complicated fast.

Let me take a minute to tell you a brief summary of this shifter world. The wolves aren’t natural, they are a mutation of an experiment that was supposed to give super soldiers the heightened senses of a wolf and instead turned them into wolves. The mutation can be hereditarily passed or passed through fluids with say, a bite. Most with the mutation have their first shift when they are young and are swiftly taken to a secret compound of sorts where the pack lives under the thumb of the US government and treated…well, treated like dogs. The alpha of each pack is forced to perform for the military doing the most gruesome of missions and the government decides when and how pack members will be eliminated. It’s quite shitty how the government treats the wolves and there are a good number of politicians etc. who would prefer they just be gone completely.

So, Ward is frozen and Sam – Henry’s non-wolf sister – brings him home to take care of him once he tells her he’s Ava’s dad. The pack knows the little wolf who showed up months ago isn’t in good shape, hasn’t shifted from her wolf state and is in the process of being declared with a “failure to thrive.” This right there broke my heart. As a parent, all I could think about was how much this tiny baby of a girl needed the only family she had, she needed her daddy. (And yet, giving us Ava as a pup is quite possibly the best thing ever in this book but I will get back to that.) Henry isn’t too hip to having a human on his land or in his home considering no one is supposed to know where they are but he feels and smells something in Ward he hasn’t before. With a few strong but caring words from Sam and her wolf husband Liam, Henry gives in and let’s Ward stay.

Ward’s reaction to the wolves was great. He was a bit scared, a bit curious and really, just in need to see his daughter. Ward will do whatever necessary to be with his daughter again even if that means never leaving the lands of the La Garita pack and actually staying with them as pack. His first trip to the clinic to see Ava was heartbreaking and yet adorable as heck because there is one hell of a hug that happens and then we get Ava in full pup mode! OMG! One of my favorite things about shifter books in when they are in their animal form and just acting like that animal would, and Ava is adorable as a pup and yet so freaking sad. You know this little girl wants her daddy something fierce, but is so new to this wolf thing she can’t figure out how to do shift. With the help of her now Alpha Henry and her dad there, this pup is working hard to get it done. Ugh. So cute. I cannot stress enough how cute Ava is.

But along with the cute, there's a lot going on in this story and in this pack of wolves. We have not only the wolves but Sam who is human and married to a wolf. We have the guardian, John who is charged with protecting the wolves, but also doing his job with the government. We have Gerald and Peggy who want their eldest Roman to take over as Alpha because they think Henry is too soft at times. We have Tennyson who is a new pack member and a doctor who has one hell of a story of his own. We have Ward with his secrets about how he even knew where to find the pack, and we have Henry who is sent on missions that are so dangerous, he fears he may not return from them. And then we have Ward and Henry together, our MC’s who if you read shifter stories are basically fated mate-esque with a slow burn. Now doesn’t that sound delicious? Trust me it was.

This really was a slow burn shifter/human romance and no I am not being sarcastic. You get the normal wolf behavior of smells, scenting and hearing heartbeats, wanting to mark and mine etc. But Ward is such an amazing character that you, or at least I, wanted him to turn into a wolf for all sort of selfish reasons that don’t involve sex. I just wanting him to belong in every way, but Ward doesn’t need the mutation to belong, he simply does just by being himself. And all of that gives us a story where Henry and Ward get to know one another while they work together to not only get Ava to shift, but they work together for the betterment and contentment of the pack as the times continue to evolve.

So this, wow. I have so much to say still, but I will stop rambling and wrap this up.

This book was great. I loved Ward’s sense of humor and how he calmed Henry when most would run away. I bawled my eyes out with the Wilson scene and cried tears of joy over Henry and Ward’s first kiss and what happened before it. I adored Tennyson with a fiery passion and really would love to see just how much time he is now spending with Davis. I adored the heck out of Ava and the kids Sam and Henry teach when they get furry time and how much they LOVE when Alpha Henry visits. Goodness. I just loved the hell out of this book.

Off the Beaten Path did just that for me, it took me off my normal shifter path of reading and dropped me into a new world the author did a wonderful job of creating. It’s the story of two men who find each other in the least expected place but find the heart where they belong. It’s a story about being different in a world that would rather you don’t exist and fighting to remain and thrive. It’s one hell of a romance that has me wanting more already and really hoping this becomes a series. If the author needs a suggestion for the next couple… I volunteer Tennyson and Davis, for reasons.

Review: Stalked (The Slayers, #2) by H.C. Brown

Who's more dangerous – a stripper, an assassin, or a serial killer?

The Stripper Ripper is stalking the streets of New York City, preying on male strippers, and the press is making mincemeat of a helpless police force.

In desperation, the police refer the serial killer's case to the Slayers, a team of enhanced, undercover super soldiers. The commander of the Slayers puts his team on the streets to watch over the Ripper's favorite targets.

One of these targets is Micah, a twink stripper and a desirable sub. Micah's baby sitter is one of the newest members of the Slayers, Sorren, as cold-blooded an assassin as they come, and the last person you'd expect to harbor feelings for his charge.

True to form, Sorren is as surprised as anyone at his new infatuation, but Micah is hiding something. Will Micah learn to trust his protector, or is he destined to be the next victim on the Stripper Ripper's list?

Come join me in WTF land, won't you? There are pancakes.

We'll need the sustenance.

New to me author, H.C. Brown's "Stalked" is the second book in The Slayers series. It is about nano enhanced super soldiers or ex-soldiers who are extremely rich, like mega billionaires (they like throwing that around while stating it's not a big deal) who investigate murders under the FBI's nose (for why?) and run an ultra exclusive BDSM club.

The setting is supposed to be New York City where the city that never sleeps actually sleeps: "the road is empty and I'd say the entire population is asleep". And has a murderer on the loose, the Stripper Ripper. The Stripper Ripper is targeting dark haired gay twinks. Micah who is 5'2" , a stripper and submissive is hiding a past and secrets (that is never explained in the book). His real name is Jeremiah Sterling but he goes by the stage name Snake. He's the next target of the murder but is truly doing the space cadet league of the TSTL Academy proud because he continues to bumble his way into the killer's path over and over again.

Oh...while making time to strip and be submissive. For whom? The Slayers, of course! The Slayers are cyborgs? *scratches head* Some of them are and all of their blood is. Who cares?! They play pretend at BDSM and have lots of cash like at a time $5000!! They have billions in the bank! Whoop whoop, hooray for superficiality!

Soren is the big bad 'Dom' Slayer who doesn't care because he's programmed that way. But he likes the "butterfly" aka Micah. While searching for the killer (LOL to the search and the killer), Soren forces Micah to have sex under the guise of using their nano pheromone the first time since Micah was iffy with his consent. He basically told Micah to shut up and take it. It was supposed to be sexy? So I'll warn if the book doesn't, dubious consent. The rest of the times the sex happened, it wasn't SSC [safe, sane, consensual] or BDSM but in WTF land I think it's considered BDSM...so...

The BDSM...I am tagging it as such because the book is tagged as such. Please don't think this is. This is some made up BDSM that is just abuse. You have a nano enhanced 6'7" asshole who admits he wants to torture his "pup" and flay his skin off since the nanos will heal him. He think it's "pain pleasure"/ "edge play" or whatever bullshit he wants to package it as but it is abuse. That is not BDSM.

"Can we discuss boundaries? A contract perhaps?"

Soren wanted to shake him. Boundaries, holy fuck, would this little shit ever trust? "No! I refuse to discuss limitations, or contracts. I am a Dom and in my dungeon, we go by my rules. I will push you to the edge and you will trust me to give you pleasure."

There is nothing more that I loathe than Doms written like Soren. This book went from a possible 2.5-3 Hearts to a straight D- aka 1.5 Hearts with that bullshit. Ordering someone around and declaring yourself a Dom while wearing black leather and having a "dungeon" doesn't make you a Dom.

With that asinine logic I should go to my bank and declare myself a frigging millionaire!

The book barely knew the basics of BDSM. Anytime it sort of got something right, there goes Soren or the Slayers or whatever other hokey thing barging in to muck it up.

The book started like a bad B movie, it was laughable, but sort of fun. However, once the crap BDSM started, and the way Soren treated Micah happened, it wasn't fun anymore. I can only stretch my reality suspension rubber band so far. It broke somewhere in the middle. The author didn't seem to care about characterizations or plots or setting as much as the story continued.

Suggestions:

* Have an American read future stories in this series over if there will be more since it read like pseudo Brit/Aussie mish-mash. This is supposed to be set in America and it doesn't read like it.

* Know the setting - just because New York City points of interests can be Googled doesn't mean it will read authentic. It doesn't. Was this an alternative universe? A different planet with a fake Manhattan? If it was, it should have been clearer.

* Having all of your characters use the same colloquialisms and share the same thought processes melds all of your characters together. Though this story is a deep as a pocket of air, it made the story useless by the end. Um...Sorren style. (What was up with the lame and awkward dialogue and catchphrases by the way?)

* A person who is 6' 7" can not just stand straight and have sex with another person who is 5' 2" without some body mechanics issues. Think...of the logistics. The taller one's cock will automatically land in the shorter one's ass when in the book he complained about the shorter one barely reaching his shoulders? Unless the shorter twink has freakishly long toes, about 12 inches or so. Excuse me.

* Since when did stripper = sub? A stripper can be a sub but it doesn't mean that all strippers are submissives. So why would a random person call a gay strip club to order a personal night with a submissive? Is there a menu that I missed? The strip club (Pinkies) where the twink originally worked did not state at any time that it was also BDSM club. In the land of WTF, this is all okay and $5000 seems to be the golden ticket to anything. (Please refer to the awesome gif above.)

The suspense part was ridiculous. The murder? why? The entire thing was stretched out. He could have struck so many months earlier. The couple is ridiculous. The premise was interesting, maybe written differently...it could've been something? I didn't read the previous book. I was lost about the backgrounds of the Slayers but I think I'd still be lost if I did read the first book. There were questions unanswered, items not developed. I'm not interested in reading any more of this series. My eyes can't roll any more for today.

Why not the just give it a 1? Hm...it wasn't so bad in the beginning. cheesy as hell, weak characters and surprisingly not all about sex but once the sex started, it went to shit. And the cover isn't bad. *shrugs*

Now it's time for me to leave WTF land. I'd love to eat pancakes all day but I can't. Bye!

Not recommended for anyone I know. I highly doubt I'll be reading this author again.

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