Title: Soothing the Zebra’s Fears
Series: Kontra’s Menagerie, #20
Author: Charlie Richards
Genre: Paranormal/ Shape-Shifter
Length: Novella (110 Pages)
ISBN: 978-1-4874-0076-7
Publisher: Extasy Books (October 1, 2014)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥5Hearts
Reviewer: Lisa

Blurb: On the Road: We always find what we’re looking for in the last place we look.

At nearly three centuries old, Diego Tamang decides to take a more proactive approach to finding his mate. He walks away from leading his pack, so he can travel with Kontra Belikov and his shifter motorcycle gang. His decision pays off when he walks into a backwater town’s diner and scents his mate, Zachary Young.

Quickly making his intentions clear, Diego wonders what will be harder to overcome—Zachary’s young age, or his mother’s clearly displeased attitude. It turns out, neither, for soon Diego discovers that witches may have caused Zachary’s injury, which forces him to use a cane…and Zachary doesn’t know he’s a shifter.

Can Diego ease his young lover into the paranormal world while keeping him safe from those that would do him harm?

Purchase Link: http://www.extasybooks.com/Soothing-the-Zebra-%27-s-Fears/

Review: This was an amazing story. Each book in the Kontra’s Menagerie Series focuses on a different romantic couple. To enjoy the overall story arc and crossover characters, we recommend reading the series in sequential order. It keeps me from getting a bit lost in the stories and gives me an insight in to their world. A world that captured my attention from the start and kept it all the way to the end. I love the way each character just mixes with the others. How fast they are to defend what is theirs and what they believe.

Charlie always gives me a wonderful book to read when times are getting hard to deal with. She always has beautifully created characters that have a way to suck you right in. You can tell that she puts all her heart in to her stories.

Diego was over three hundred years old and had wanted his mate for a very long time. He had even gotten married once, had children and grand children. He had not expected to find his mate in the diner on the way to search for others. He had left his pack to run with Kontra and his men. They were all gay and had decided to turn their pack into a refuge type. When he finds Zachary, he is surprised to find out that Zachary is a shifter. Too bad Zachary had no clue.

Zachary was just sitting at the diner with his mother when he met the sexiest man ever. After agreeing to a date, he has to let his mother down with the knowledge that he was not going to change like she wants. He had started having what he had originally thought were seizures and a bad leg when he was a teenager.

Now thanks to Diego’s pack he has found out not only about shifters, but also that the medicine he had been taking was suppressing his change. He was finding out quite a bit about the magical world and shifters.

When these two get together, you can just tell by the way they glance at each other that they are going to be hot. This story gives you everything you could want in a hot love story with angst, anger, betrayal, deadly witches, kinky situations, feisty mates, strong alpha’s, passionate glances, tantalizing sex, dangerous situations and not to mention two very sexy men.

I loved this book and cannot wait to get the next book. It caught my attention from the moment I started reading and kept it all the way to the end. I love the way even with a serious tone it has quite a bit of humor in it.

I would recommend reading this book. It will give you all that you asked for and so much more. Charlie has an amazing gift that will draw you in and make you wish for more.

Title: Wooing His Wolf
Series: Kontra’s Menagerie, #19
Author: Charlie Richards
Genre: Paranormal/ Shape-Shifter
Length: Novella (107 Pages)
ISBN: 978-1-4874-0043-9
Publisher: Extasy Books (September 1, 2014)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥5Hearts
Reviewer: Lisa
Blurb: On the Road: Traveling was supposed to open his eyes, but it opened his heart, too.

Logan St. Clair made some bad decisions and fell in with the wrong crowd. After believing a fellow wolf shifter’s bigoted opinions, he helps attack their pack’s brand new alpha and alpha-mate…his male alpha-mate. They lose and Logan is exiled. To his shock, Logan is approached by another alpha, Kontra Belikov—a bear shifter who leads a nomadic group of bikers. Even knowing Kontra is mated to a male, the allure of a new pack is too strong. Logan accepts. Most of Kontra’s pack-members are in gay matings, and Logan learns to be polite and accepting of those who are gay, even forming his own opinions.

While Logan no longer loathes homosexuals, he never expects to feel attraction to a guy. That’s exactly what happens, however, when he meets Kai’s human friend, Tyson Grubler. He doesn’t understand it and fights it with every fiber of his being, except, when Logan sees Tyson head into a club bathroom with a stranger. He then loses control of his wolf’s possessive instincts. Logan tosses Tyson’s trick out of the stall and sinks his teeth into a very shocked Tyson’s neck. Realizing what he’s done—starting the bonding process—Logan flees. Can he come to terms with what his wolf already knows—that Tyson is his mate?

Purchase Link: http://www.extasybooks.com/Wooing-His-Wolf/

Review: This is book nineteen in this series and they don’t need to be read in order. Of course, if you do,  it will give you an idea on who all the characters are and what their lives are about past and present. It also gives you a glimpse into their amazing world. A world that you will find yourself sinking into and driving all your troubles out of your mind. It caught my attention from the moment I opened the book and kept it all the way to the end.

Charlie Richards is one of my top favorite authors and I cannot wait to get my hands on all of her future books. I have to admit that I have probably read all of the books probably a dozen times or so and this one is no different.

I love the way Tyson just comes across. He is so tender, sweet, and loving. He is also attracted to Logan, a shifter who is a bit of a homophobe. So when he sees him once again at a club he is shocked with Logan’s attitude change.

Logan has given everyone a hassle over that fact that they all loved men. If he had to admit it, so does he. But, he never took it to the next stage. So wasn’t he shocked to find out that fate gave him a male mate? A mate that could not give him children. He had decided to find a woman and mate with her, well that was until he saw Tyson at the club heading to the bathroom with a redhead. His wolf was in control now. He finds out though that he is falling for his mate, which is a great thing for them both. He also realizes that the sex is hot and full of passion.

I loved this book and cannot wait to get my hands on the next book. It gives you everything you would want in a book. It gives you sexy men, hot shifters, quirky mates, excitement, adventure, the love of a mate and men that will do everything in their power to love their men. It actually gives you that and so much more. It will captivate you the way the their worlds just seem to mix and mingle, the love that they have for each other, their protective streak and their jealous streak, the strength that they have to keep their people safe.

I would recommend reading this book and the others because once you start you won’t be able to stop.

Title: Educating the Platypus
Series: Kontra’s Menagerie, 17
Author: Charlie Richards
Genre: Paranormal/Shapeshifter
Length: Novella (107 Pages)
ISBN: 978-1-77111-900-9
Publisher: Extasy Books, March 15, 2014
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4Hearts
Reviewer: Lisa
Blurb: On the Road: Life’s blessings can come in the darkest moments.
Enjoying a last hoo-rah before another tough year of college begins, Kai Sudderson and his friends vacation in Kansas. He takes advantage of the secluded pond system behind his rented cabin to go swimming…in his platypus form. Living with his aunt and uncle, Kai had never met anyone else with the ability to turn into an animal. That is, until he gets himself snared in a beaver trap and a penguin shifter rescues him. Unable to pass up the opportunity for not only knowledge but also medical treatment, Kai accompanies his new friend home. There, he meets Dorian Yaris, who—despite being so much older and having such a serious disposition—calls to Kai like no other. When Dorian explains about mates, will Kai consider the bonding thing with someone so obviously different or will he deny everything and return to his former life?

Purchase Link: http://www.extasybooks.com/educating-the-platypus/

Review: This is book seventeen in the Kontra Menagerie series and they should be read in order. Charlie always gives me an amazing world to lose myself into. She gives you characters that you will fall in love with and want to cheer on. Although this particular book didn’t really make me jump up for joy, it still gave me a great read.

Kai had been raised by his aunt and uncle most of his life. He knew he was a platypus but didn’t know of any other shifters. So when he got his tail stuck in a trap he was surprised to be rescued by shifters. Taken back to their pride and pack lands he comes across Dorian. Dorian is a shifter but not like his. He also claims to be his mate. Never knowing that much about what he was he let Dorian explain some of it to him, especially the mate part. He was a bit scared but he knew that he wanted this alpha.

Dorian was close to two hundred and fifty years old and had always wanted his mate. He also knew that he had a long way to prove things to Kai. He knew things would not go perfect but he knew that he could love his mate with all of his heart. You can tell that their sex lives are always going to be heated up. It is funny that they can watch someone have sex, but they are very jealous when another sees them naked. I love how they connect with each other.

I would recommend this series to anyone who loves different types of shape-shifters. This one gives you a platypus and a California condor. Two sexy men, lots of hot sex, and a lot of action comes real handy for me. I loved this book and cannot wait to get my hands on the next book. It caught my attention from the start and kept it all the way to end.

Title: Catting Around

Series: Kontra’s Menagerie, #16

Author: Charlie Richards

Length: Novella (69 Pages)

Publisher: Extasy books (January 15^th, 2014)

Heat Level: Mild

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥5 Hearts

Reviewer: Lisa

Blurb: On the Road: Sometimes, learning to get past your own problems, means focusing on someone else.

As an orphan, Chip had never really had a home or even much to call his own. After being adopted, he’d hoped he’d found acceptance. Unfortunately, a year later, he shifted into his bobcat for the first time and his new parents had thought him possessed. Forced to run, Chip lived mostly as an animal for decades. Having grown up alone in foster care, it hadn’t been much different and he hadn’t thought it too bad…until the day he’d been captured and tortured by scientists. Rescued by Kontra and his gang, Chip finally sees the light at the end of the long, lonely tunnel of his life. Scarred, malnourished, and suffering from panic attacks, Chip struggles to get his body and mind back under control. When the gang visits a pride of lion shifters, Chip meets Grimes, who claims they are mates. Can he manage to get past his hang-ups and grab onto the happiness Grimes offers him?

Product Link:http://www.extasybooks.com/charlie-richards/catting-around/

Review: Once again, Charlie has written an amazing story that I love. She has such a gift at story telling that I will always buy her stories no matter what. She has a way with characters that you can’t help but love them and cheer them all the way.

Chip is sweet, innocent in pack ways and mating, tender-hearted, and scared to death of crowds. Kontra and his gang had rescued Chip from scientist who was cruel and hated with a passion. He just wants to get over what had happened in captivity and his mate. Grimes is a lion shifter, wanted by many of the females of the pride but only interested in a certain bobcat. He has found his mate only to realize he had to go slow and tender with the little cat. He is strong at will and heart, tender and caring with his mate and loved by many. He wants to protect his mate with everything in him even if it meant his death. The sex between them is hot and fierce.

This story has an amazing story line that has pain, anger, danger, excitement, and love throughout. I have always loved the paranormal and when it comes with two sexy men loving one another, getting through the past problems and finding a way to go forward makes the story even better. I can see myself sitting on the couch, my feet tucked under me with the light on besides me and loosing myself in this story more than once. It was amazing and I loved every minute of it. It captured my attention from the start and kept it to the end. I would recommend reading it, but you should start with book one in this series to get the full context to everyone. I can’t wait to read it again. I also can’t wait for the next book of this series to come out.

Title: Unwrapping The Alpha’s Mate

Series: Kontra’s Menagerie, Book 15

Author: Charlie Richards

Length: Novella (111 Pages)

Publisher: Extasy Books (December 15^th, 2013)

Heat Level: Explicit

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4 Hearts

Reviewer: Lisa

Blurb: On the Road: Sometimes family makes decisions for you…and you just have to roll with the punches.

Richard Ponders joins the Tamang wolf pack when his younger brother, Crain, mates with one of its members. When the pack gathers to celebrate passing, the alpha mantle from father to son, naming Abbott Tamang as alpha, Richard discovers his mate is part of the Tamang pack, too…and it’s the new alpha. Sensing unrest in the pack, Richard decides allowing the pack to settle is the safest thing for everyone. Unfortunately, the choice is taken from him when Crain asks him to come over and discuss more changes in pack dynamics, bringing him face to face with Abbott. Now, not only will Richard be fighting for a position in his new pack, he needs to fight for the trust of a man he’s been hiding from for weeks. Can he and Abbott come to terms? Or will the unrest in their pack tear them apart?

Product Link:  http://www.extasybooks.com/unwrapping-the-alphas-mate/

Review: This series is best read in order to get the full effect and knowledge of who the characters are.

I have always loved anything paranormal, and when it comes in a sexy romance, it is even better. Richard had known the Alpha was his mate two weeks prior and hides it trying to protect his mate. With the help of Richard’s brother Crain, Abbott meets his mate and tries to understand why Richard didn’t let him know. He knows however that he will do anything and everything to have his mate beside him for all times. Richard comes very close to being the perfect man although as you know full well, men are not perfect. He is hot and sexy with a touch of hero in him. He loves with all of his being. He is loyal and dedicated to those he considers friends and family. Abbott at first comes off kind of arrogant and bossy but if you look closer you would find that it is just an attitude because he is very caring and is the truest alpha one would know.

The story line is absolute perfection and I loved every inch of this story. It had my attention from the first sentence and kept my attention all the way to the end. The sex between Richard and Abbott is so hot that you will be fanning yourself. It is tender and caring also with just a bit of learning mixed in. It has a bit of humor mixed in with a little seriousness.

I have always loved this series and Charlie made another perfect story. I would definitely be reading it over and over.