Title: Wolf’s Bounty
Series: Love Slaves to an Alpha, 06
Author: Shannon West
Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal
Length: Novella (99 pages)
Publisher: Secret Craving Publishing (September 12th, 2013)
Heat Level: Explicit
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥ 3.5 Hearts ~ Liked it
Reviewer: Mandingo
Blurb: Larsson Balenescu is trying hard to get over the fact that his fated mate is not only a Tygerian, and one of the Alliance’s most bitter enemies, but also the fact that he’s Tarr Bonnet, one of the worst pirates and sex slave traffickers in the known galaxies. When Larsson discovers that Tarr has put a price on his head, he’s furious, and vows never to mate with the man, no matter how painful it is for him to stay away from him. Soon he’s captured by Tarr’s men and taken to his ship where Tarr sets out to claim him as his love slave. An accident en route forces them to crash on a strange moon, where Larsson is captured by the inhabitants. His only hope lies in Tarr’s ability to save him. But, who will save him from Tarr?
Purchase Link: http://store.secretcravingspublishing.com/index.php?main_page=book_info&cPath=4&products_id=704
Review: Quintessential Shannon West paranormal fare. Larsson and Tarr are wolves and tigers respectively. This is a story about two dominant forces colliding in the futuristic tale of two men who are locked in both personal battle as well as the battle to literally save themselves from slavery. If you like this genre, and want a read that is all about finding mates and succumbing to those desires, then this will appeal to you. Author West presents the reader with more of the Balenscu clan and Larsson is delightful in his need to be his own man and not succumb to his desire for Tarr Bonnet, a disreputable pirate involved in the sex trade. The reader gets to enjoy the jog from Larsson’s resistance to its inevitable futility; when both men will end up together while also skipping through issues and crises as they arise that stem from kidnappings, misunderstandings, the need to mate, and then fights to near death. *phew*
The fact that Author West has created an entire alternate universe in which same-sex love is seen as normal is wonderful. She manages to find other avenues of human conflict that makes us understand that while we struggle here on earth with same-sex love, even if we lived in an alternate realm, human(oids) would still find a reason for strife and discord. Tarr’s meeting with those who are like him, yet different illustrates how humanity can be different, but we are ultimately still the same.
I also find the novel’s ability to blend fantasy and paranormal with a blend of the future adding a dash of the past. The gladiator style fights and clothing when juxtaposed with the futuristic nature of space travel should seem unrealistic, but it works well. A nice addition to Ms. West’s already impressive roster of paranormal m/m fiction.