Belligerent Beta by Poppy Dennison Blog Tour, Guest Post & Review!

Poppy Dennison Belligerent Beta blog tour graphic

Hey guys, I’m back and this time I have Poppy Dennison popping in to show off her latest release Belligerent Beta! Poppy also gives us some insight about Alpha’s Vs Beta’s and Thommie explains in her review why this series has enthralled her. <3 ~Pixie~

Poppy Dennison Belligerent Beta

Belligerent Beta

  (Pack Partners 02)

by

Poppy Dennison

When a human is chosen to lead the pack instead of him, Beta Dan Keller struggles to find his footing in a rapidly changing environment. Committed to his pack and not one to turn away from a challenge, Dan follows his Alpha’s request and works with Nathan Ross, the new pack Omega. Though he is initially concerned that Nathan’s weakness will harm the pack, Dan learns there is more to the shy wolf than meets the eye.

As Dan struggles to balance his growing feelings for the young wolf with his responsibilities to his pack, new threats emerge and Nathan’s loyalty is questioned. Not understanding the basics of being a wolf leaves Nathan vulnerable and the pack at risk. Can Dan embrace the true role of a beta so he can protect the man he has grown to love and save his pack?

Buy Link: http://www.wildecity.com/books/gay-romance/belligerent-beta/#.U2zfufldWqU

Poppy Dennison Belligerent Beta blog tour graphic

Alpha vs. Beta-What’s the difference?

by Poppy Dennison

I have a question for you. If I say to you that a guy is a “beta male”, what do you think? Most of us have a pretty clear idea what makes an “alpha male”, but the beta…well, that seems to create lots of debate.

When I set out to write Belligerent Beta, I had an interesting character on my hands. Dan Keller is one of those tricky guys who is pretty alpha in his actions, but he’s not quite an alpha. Does that make any sense at all?

We can go through one of the many “alpha male” check lists around the internet—and yes, they really do exist—but the problem is that Dan is also a werewolf, and in werewolf lore, the beta male is something totally different. Or is he?

There seems to be a couple schools of thought on the issue. One is that the beta male is a total wimp. Where the alpha is large and in charge, the beta is a weakling pushover who cowers in the alphas presence. That’s definitely not Dan. At all.

So I got to thinking, what exactly is a beta? Those of us who write in the paranormal genre seem to toss the word around quite a bit. For every pack alpha, you’ll almost certainly see a beta.  We typically have them as the “second in command”. That works for me. He’s the alpha’s right-hand man, and his orders are second only to the alpha’s. (Well, in most cases. Sometimes those pesky alpha-mates get a higher status. LOL)

Dan fits that description. He’s second in command, but he thinks of himself as an alpha. He’s bossy, makes decisions, and isn’t afraid to lead. The problem is that he’s not the leader. The buck doesn’t stop with him. It’s a really interesting dynamic to explore. What do you do with a character who is a leader, but isn’t *the* leader?

One of the really fun aspects of writing paranormal romance is the freedom to make up your own rules. (Does that make me an alpha? Am I an alpha author? *ponders*) I’d set Dan up as a bit on the belligerent side (pun intended) in Accidental Alpha, so I wanted to continue that thread. He wants to lead, but he wasn’t chosen as the alpha. As any of us who are familiar with alpha males knows, rejection is a huge hit to an alpha male’s pride. They need to be soothed, calmed, and reminded that they are alpha, hear them roar.

I decided to take a look at some of the people in my life who most would consider alphas. What I noticed was a bit of a sliding scale. I have a friend who is no doubt the boss at work and the boss at home. She is large and in charge at all times. I have another who makes decisions all day at work, but comes home and wants her partner to decide what they’re doing for dinner. 

So what about you? Are you an alpha or a beta? Or something else? Or—and this one’s important—does it matter? What do you think?

Poppy Dennison

About Poppy

A sassy southern lady, Poppy Dennison developed an obsession with things that go bump in the night in her early years after a barn door flew off its hinges and nearly squashed her. Convinced it was a ghost trying to get her attention, she started looking for other strange and mysterious happenings around her. Not satisfied with what she found, Poppy has traveled to Greece, Malaysia and England to find inspiration for the burly bears and silver foxes that melt her butter. Her love of paranormal continues to flourish nearly thirty years later, and she writes steamy love stories about the very things that used to keep her up all night. If her childhood ghost is lucky, maybe one day she’ll give him his own happily ever after.

You can find out more about Poppy’s books on her website http://www.poppydennison.com/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Poppy-Dennison/270574609631110?ref=ts

Twitter https://twitter.com/PoppyDennison

Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5108648.Poppy_Dennison

Poppy Dennison Belligerent Beta350x549Title: Belligerent Beta

Series: Pack Partners 02

Author: Poppy Dennison

Genre: Paranormal Romance / Were-shifters

Length: Novella (116 pages)

ISNB: 9781925031008

Publisher: Wilde City Press (May 14th 2014)

Heat: Low ~ Moderate

Heart: Black heart (cards)Black heart (cards)Black heart (cards)Black heart (cards) 4Hearts

Reviewer: Thommie

Blurb: When a human is chosen to lead the pack instead of him, Beta Dan Keller struggles to find his footing in a rapidly changing environment. Committed to his pack and not one to turn away from a challenge, Dan follows his Alpha’s request and works with Nathan Ross, the new pack Omega. Though he is initially concerned that Nathan’s weakness will harm the pack, Dan learns there is more to the shy wolf than meets the eye.

As Dan struggles to balance his growing feelings for the young wolf with his responsibilities to his pack, new threats emerge and Nathan’s loyalty is questioned. Not understanding the basics of being a wolf leaves Nathan vulnerable and the pack at risk. Can Dan embrace the true role of a beta so he can protect the man he has grown to love and save his pack?

Purchase Link: http://www.wildecity.com/books/gay-romance/belligerent-beta/#.U3RgrfmSxUk

Review: Admittedly the first book of the series was a shocker, it’s not every day you read about an Accidental Alpha, plus it was full of hilarity and some really fun moments, and it set high expectations for the sequel. I’m happy to say that the second book in the series was if not just as good, a bit better.

We follow now Dan’s story and by the stars I didn’t think that big jerk could turn into such a dependable and lovable character. Yes Dan had a hard time accepting a human as his Alpha. Yes he had a harder time still getting his head out of his “ahem” and start behaving like a beta, but damn! When he gets on a mission he sure sees it through.

I loved the way this character evolved, the way he matured slowly and by learning. It’s a thing with this series that really appeals to me, and that is the balance Ms. Dennison keeps her characters on. They are neither perfect nor totally magical and you know utterly abandoned to the whims of Fate – though the first book might lead you to believe so. They are humane as much as they can when their wolf is on leash, and they are so damn possessive and a bit feral too when instincts take over. I love these shifters, they have a little bit of everything and they are perfect for every reader, the ones who like the teasing and sweet side of the wolves and the ones (like me) who prefer them a bit more bloodthirsty.

So back to the story, this is not only Dan’s story but Nathan’s too. You remember Nathan right? The newest guy, beside the Alpha, on the pack. The scared one, the broken one, the most timid of them all? Yeah, Nathan was a mystery and didn’t quite make sense. I thought for sure he’s been abused in a great physical way. I thought he’d hardly make a nice character, or if he did he’d be the clichéd weak omega type we’re so freaking tired of. And this is exactly where this book becomes great. The author manages to turn a “jerk” and a “weak” character into a fantastic couple, and a great love-story that evolves from pack nurture to building trust and friendship to romance in a very, very smooth way. The transition was nearly smooth and easy and very potent because it wasn’t magical or whimsical, it was born out of respect and want and longing, and I just loved it.

Also, beside the romance – which was so good – there was the story and the action plot. All I have to say about it is the fact that I adore the structure of this book. It is a novella with 116 pages and the way every line is utilized, the way it is written, the way every single word has been taken full advantage of, made this book seem like a novel. From start to finish this book wastes no time to grab your interest and uses every trick there is to keep you there hooked and mesmerized in a mix of hilarity, action, and romance that simply makes you wish it never ended, but leaves you fully sated when it eventually does. I have no words to praise it enough it is simply a very well written book.

Overall, not only did Belligerent Beta rise above the expectations, but it made me definitely pine for the series and await the third book of the series. Strongly recommended to all you who haven’t read this yet.

Visit the other blogs on the tour

5/14/2014 Wordsmith Wednesday
5/15/2014 Mrs Condit & Friends Read Books
5/20/2014 Literary Nymphs Hotlist
5/21/2014 MM Good Book Reviews
5/24/2014 Coffee Thoughts, The Book Blog
5/27/2014 Love Bytes (Formerly Sid Love)
5/28/2014 The Novel Approach
5/29/2014 Michael Rupured
5/30/2014 Top2Bottom
6/2/2014 Fallen Angel Reviews
6/3/2014 Dawn’s Reading Nook
6/5/2014 Joyfully Jay
6/10/2014 Little Read Riding Hood

One thought on “Belligerent Beta by Poppy Dennison Blog Tour, Guest Post & Review!

  1. Nice questions Poppy! Personally, I love the betas, to me, their’ burden of pack life is almost greater than that of an alpha, why?
    Because an Alpha leads, but what happens when pack starts to question their alpha, it lies on the beta to convince the pack, and vice versa when the pack has a point they struggle to bring across to a stubborn alpha.
    It’s the beta’s job as negotiator to get that across and keep that bridge of trust going. Also, when you’re an Alpha there’s a certain flair of association with that title. You are in charge, you are strongest in the pack, but a beta they are left to constantly have to prove their strength not just to the Alpah but to the rest of the pack, the beta also has to stand as conscious to the Alpash a sort of an advisor. Both pack and alpha depend heavily on a bate, so no wonder they tend to be grouchy and grumpy. Still love them!

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