Title: The Pauper Prince (2nd Edition)
Series: Changing Moon 01
Author: Sui Lynn
Genre: Paranormal, Shifter, Action/Adventure, Fantasy, Suspense/Mystery, Vampires
Length: Novel (201pgs)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (5th July 2013)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 4 ½ Hearts
Reviewer: Pixie
Warning: Some readers may find some scenes disturbing – mention of rape and abuse.
Blurb: Orphan Lance runs after he’s attacked and ends up with blood on his hands. He runs again when a shape shifter, Andrew, discovers him in his barn. Is Lance a savior? A Murderer? Can they find trust as well as love?
Lance Fitz is an orphan, lost in the foster care system. He’s a survivor and tough as nails. Attacked and beaten, his attacker is murdered. Lance, with blood on his hands and a broken spirit, flees to the solitude of the peaceful pine forest of the Black Hills of South Dakota.
Andrew Reed, a handsome shape shifter discovers a man in his barn loading a duffel bag with supplies. Before he can ask questions, the young man spots him and runs. Andrew chases after him. What he discovers at the end of a fast-paced run through the woods astounds them both.
Can Andrew help Lance heal enough to trust him? Can he convince Lance to stay before he runs out of Andrew’s life, forever beyond his reach and the slavery that has him bound to the land and vampires?
First published with Silver Publishing 2012.
Purchase Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3966
Review: Lance has grown up in the foster system being passed from foster home to foster home and State to State, when a foster-father is killed, Lance goes on the run and begins to discover the secrets of his past. When Andrew discovers a young man in the barn, he gives chase, when he finally catches up with him he is delighted at what he finds.
This is a wonderful story that had me enthralled with its craftsmanship. Sui Lynn has created a world that is complex but easy to follow, she explains well the world of her shifters, and although we don’t get all the answers in this book… it is only the start of a great new world. When Lance is caught by Andrew, it starts a slow building relationship between the two men, it is a relationship where trust has to be earned, and where love develops slowly.
Lance has been badly abused in the past and although he grows to love Andrew, he doesn’t think that the relationship will ever progress to sex. Andrew adores Lance and will do anything for him, when he realizes the extent of Lance’s abuse he knows he has to hold back and hope that Lance will overcome his past because they have already declared each other as mates and they have to consummate their mating… or it will get violent as their animals take over.
This is a wonderfully written story where secrets come out and Lance finds out about his parents, he starts to learn about the shifter world and the circumstances that the shifters species find themselves in. The characters in this book are wonderful from the two MC’s to all the supporting characters; the emotional depth to the book is startling and well-rounded out. The background of the shifters is well-developed and I loved the fact that the shifters and animals choose each other instead of just being born a certain type of shifter.
Although this story doesn’t answer all our questions, it is a fantastic start to a series that promises answer’s in future books (the next one is called A Royal Bind). It has introduced us to a world of shifters and vampires that I found fascinating, it is also a book that is based on building trust and overcoming ghosts from the past and looking towards the problems of the future. A really incredible story that I adored.
I have to recommend this book to anyone who loves shifters, mystery, a bit of action, some danger, a slow love story, some hot lovemaking, and a happy ending.