Hiya guys, we have M.A. Church popping in with her new release Beneath the Surface, we have a great excerpt, a brilliant giveaway and Lisa’s review, so enjoy the post and click that giveaway link <3 ~Pixie~
Beneath the Surface
by
M.A. Church
A whole different world exists beneath the surface.
The last thing Nisha expects while patrolling his territory is to find his mate, but his instincts tell him the handsome human diving into the surf is the one meant for him. Two bites and Kannon will be joined to him forever. But when Kannon’s father disrupts the mating process, Nisha releases his claim, hoping beyond hope his mate will one day return.
While free diving with his father, Kannon is bitten by a seductive merman. Although he swore to never go near the ocean again, the pull to return to the water and his mystery man remains strong. Finally, after fifteen years away, an impromptu wedding brings Kannon back to the Seychelles, and his destiny.
Kannon only plans to stay on the island for a week, but this time Nisha won’t let his mate go without a fight. Merfolk and human culture collide as the embers of Nisha and Kannon’s mate bond ignite, and Nisha must complete the mating before it’s too late.
Blurb:One sexy wolf is determined to show a grouchy kitty just how perfect they are for each other.
Oscar Travis has always been different, and not just because he’s a snow leopard shifter. Petite and pretty in a family where even the women are bigger and stronger than he is, Oscar has been protected by them except the times when no one could keep him safe. When he had to take another shifter’s life to protect his own family, Oscar’s world became a scarier place, at least in his head, not that he’s going to let his family know that. He will, however, help his dad Henry hunt down the cougar shifter who is trying to destroy one of Oscar’s own, his brother-in-law, Lyndon.
Which is why Oscar finds himself in San Antonio. Curiosity-always Oscar’s potential downfall-is the reason he’s in one of the city’s biggest gay nightclubs. And it’s his bad luck that he is cornered by four obnoxious shifters who are out to ruin his night. Josiah Baker has other plans for Oscar, plans of mates and forever, but once he makes sure his kitten is safe, he’s ditched like a two dollar whore. Good thing he’s a shifter too, and a determined one who doesn’t shy away from Oscar’s attitude. He sees the hurting man behind the pretty façade, and no one is going to keep him and Oscar from the happy ending they deserve.
Unless the cougar shifter Oscar was hunting has anything to say about it. Then Oscar and Josiah’s ending will be painful and in the immediate future.
Reader Advisory: This book is part of a series and is best read in sequence.
Review: Oscar lands in a bit of trouble when he visits a nightclub and a bouncer who thinks he’s coming to Oscar’s rescue doesn’t help. Josiah finds his mate in the little kitty shifter, but he keeps getting brushed off. Oscar has an attitude about large men who try to take control, but with Josiah he might have met his match.
A well written story that continues with the story-line from Leopard’s Spots 01-Levi. Oscar has forever been protected by his family because he is smaller. He had a hard time at school with bullying and he just feels like he is a misfit and has developed a hard external shell. Josiah might be an Alpha, but even he knows that he doesn’t stand much of a chance against his mate unless he can convince Oscar that he doesn’t see him as a misfit and there is nothing wrong with him.
I really liked this one, because although Oscar felt the mating pull he refused to give into it straight away and he also feels unsure of how Josiah will feel about him killing someone. The dynamics of Oscar’s and Josiah’s relationship was more even balanced with both men treating each other as though they are equals, with Oscar being slightly more Alpha than Josiah. The sex between them is really hot and erotic and again the dynamics are equal between them.
Oscar struggles to face what he did in the first book and he has a hard time believing that he won’t snap and do it again. Believing that he is turning into a monster, we get a good feel for what he is going through and the support that Josiah offers him. They are great characters and fit well together and the supporting characters are good, I really enjoyed the banter that Lyndon’s brothers brought into the book and there are a few surprises from them as well.
So if you love shifters, hot men, hot sex, twists, semi betrayal, dominate men, twisted guilt and a happy ending then I recommend that this book is for you.
Blurb: In a world where humans and paranormals coexist in secret and where they are at war with soulless demons, vampires dream to be united with their mates.
Darcy Burke is a strong and caring vampire warrior who lost his family long ago. After so many casual hookups, he bumps into a man who he longs to love and support for the rest of his life.
Ayden Magee is a werewolf who has been stuck in his wolf form and is desperately trying to find a way to save his brothers. When Darcy helps him change back, Ayden sees the possibility of a future with this man, one filled with the tenderness and love he has been missing.
Will Darcy and Ayden be able to save Ayden’s brothers and build a lasting relationship together, or will their differences and their pasts be too much for them to conquer?
Review: Ayden is a werewolf who has been through a traumatic experience and is now stuck in wolf form; he is desperate to change back so he can get help rescuing his brothers. When he meets Darcy, his dreams might just come true. Darcy is a warrior and he liked to play around a bit, when he meets Ayden he promises to help get his brothers back, but their mating is far from easy.
I enjoyed this book to an extent as it was well written, but there was some stuff that really niggled at me. When Ayden and Darcy first come together it was with a patience that must have nearly killed Darcy. He tries to pace it, because of what happened to Ayden in the past, but also because he has just gulped down a load of shifter blood so he is extremely horny. Ayden lets Darcy in, but because of the short amount of time they know each other they haven’t had the chance to get to know each other and it causes problems between the two.
The pace of the book is good and there isn’t any real danger, just a slight threat. And there’s some arguing as they try to work things out, the sex is really hot and erotic and it is really sweet and slightly funny, but cringe-worthy when Darcy takes things into his own hands as so not to hurt Ayden (I crossed my legs in sympathy). The two characters were good together and I enjoyed how they interacted with the other characters.
The only thing that niggled at me was Elena (Marius Brother’s mother) can’t she just keep her nose out of other people’s business for just one book and can’t she just stop throwing her weight around like she’s the freaking Queen. I mean, God, she’s in The Marius Brothers, The O’Hagan Way and Beyond The Marius Brothers, please just give me a break from her.
So, in all honesty a good book that I will recommend to those who love vampires and shifters, a bit of conflict, a bit of relationship conflict, hot man love, great characters and a happy ending with a good idea of the next Marius Brother’s story.
Title: The Vampire And The Werewolf: A New Orleans Christmas
Author: Louisa Bacio
Genre: Paranormal
Length: Novella (77pgs)
Publisher: Ravenous Romance (19th December 2011)
Heat Level: Explicit
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4Hearts
Reviewer: Pixie
Blurb: Before there were three, there were two. When a vampire swoops in to save Trevor from a rogue gang’s blood sport, the werewolf must fight his own inhibitions. The magic of New Orleans and the holiday season bring together these two unlikely lovers.
Review: Trevor is living on the streets and goes to the rescue of a woman being attacked. Unfortunately, he then needs rescuing as more Vampires appear. Lawrence steps in to save Trevor from the rogue vampires and takes him home to help him recover.
This is a well written novella that is hot and erotic. This is the authors first strictly M/M work and I think she has done a very good job with it although I need to make a confession… I haven’t read any of this authors work as I haven’t much patience for female characters (I leave that to Portia lol). But I will admit I am now tempted because of how this author writes.
Trevor is without a pack, alone and living on the streets so when he first receives kindness from Lawrence he wonders what he wants in return and then he begins to ask himself about how he is reacting to Lawrence. Lawrence feels some sort of connection to Trevor and enjoys his company and as he explains to Trevor it is the person he finds attractive and not their sex. When Trevor does decide to embrace his want and to let down his guard the sex between them is explosive.
I really did enjoy seeing these two characters together and how they built up their relationship on small trusts but I was disappointed that we didn’t find out more of both Lawrence’s and Trevor’s backgrounds. We were given snippets that intrigued us and unfortunately, I don’t know if the author will ever do any more stories with just these two characters so that we can find out more about them in their early years together. (Portia: There are at least two other books featuring these characters. Unfortunately, they both involve girly bits, so I guess I’ll be doing those reviews. ;-))
I have to recommend this to those who love vampires and werewolves, really hot erotic sex, a building of trust and a just beginning relationship story.
Blurb: Werewolf Aaron Drake is delighted to learn he is finally moving to Texas with his father and father’s mate. Aaron is even more excited to meet his mate – Panther shifter Cary – on the very first day in his new home. But Aaron’s happiness is short lived when, upon their first meeting, Cary runs away from him, distraught.
When Panther shifter Cary Lewis discovers Aaron Drake is his mate, he is absolutely terrified. Mate. The word fills him with dread. Cary Spent two years being abused by his mate Gill and the last six months trying to get over his death. The last thing he needs or wants is another mate, especially one who appears to be as aggressive and dominant as Gill had been. But the mating bond is hard to resist and so is Aaron Drake. Just when Cary begins to come to terms with their union a representative from the supernatural council shows up, and Cary learns that cross species mating is strictly forbidden.
Forced to hide their relationship from the council or face dire consequences their bond is further tested when they discover gay shifters in the area are being targeted and killed by a group of local thugs. Are there too many problems for two such young men to overcome or is their blossoming relationship worth taking a chance on?
Review: Aaron is excited to be moving to the ranch and hopefully becoming his own man. That is if his dad can stop treating him like a child. Then he meets his mate, Cary, and it doesn’t faze him in the least that he’s a were-panther. But what does concern him is discovering that Cary had another mate and how that mate treated him. Cary is at a loss, how can he have another mate and why does the new mate have to be an Alpha, just when he thinks that he might be able to handle things he finds out his mating is forbidden and he is attacked by homophobic humans.
I thought this story-line had a lot going for it and was written quite well. Cary is still recovering mentally from his last mate and feels guilty that he isn’t more affected by the other mate’s death. he can’t believe how naive he was when he works out that he was lied to. Aaron tries his best to give Cary the time that he needs and to do his best for him. They are both thrown when they discover what could happen to them if they mate and with the help of Kelan, Stefan and Gregory, the panther from the supernatural council, they try to discover a way to mate.
I enjoyed this story as there was a lot of conflicting emotions for Cary and Aaron, they had a lot thrown at them in a short space of time that they had to work through, and I thought Aaron made a fantastic rescuer for Cary when he was in trouble and a great mate with his understanding and support. I also thought that Cary was extremely brave to be able to accept that Aaron would not hurt him on purpose and was willing to give him the opportunity to prove himself; when it would have been so easy for him to deny his cat and to hide behind old hurts.
I will recommend this to those who love shifter stories, conflict, hot sex, inter-species mating and a good story-line.
Publisher: Siren-Bookstrand Publishing (24th September 2011)
Heat Level: Explicit
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4Hearts
Reviewer: Pixie
Blurb: Ben, a werewolf, has spent a decade being experimented on by a mad scientist. Retreating into a fantasy world to cope with his pain, he eagerly awaits a hero to save him. Jasper, a lifelong screw up, proves heroic in rescuing him, but is convinced of his own ill-worth and terrified he won’t be able to live up to the romantic fantasies Ben has of him.
Once mated, the two broken men gain access to each other’s dreams, where neither man can hide from the shadows of his troubled past, and the skeletons in both their closets threaten to overcome the love they both need so badly. Jasper and Ben are bound together for eternity, but will they find in each other their destruction…or their salvation?
Review: Ben is trapped in the basement of a scientist and dreams of a hero to come and save him. He has it all worked out in his head about how everything would progress… after all he’d seen enough films to know. Jasper stumbles across Ben when he visits Dr. Pierson ex-PHD and Bio-revolutionary about a Miracle drug of epic proportions and discovers the Dr’s test subject is a werewolf and rescues him.
Another fantastic story where we are given more world-building for the other plane, Morgana. We get a closer look at Ben and Jasper this time round. With Ben, you wonder how he isn’t a quivering wreck curled up in a corner rocking back and forth after being held for ten years having experiments done on him. And you really have to admire his determination to have a hero even if that hero is flawed because that was the only thing that kept him going for so long; your heart breaks for him. Jasper is an emotional mess and you really feel for him. What with how he pushed his feelings away after what happened to his parents, it’s not surprising; he tries his best not to give into any of his feelings. and it makes you want to weep at how much shame and disgust that he holds for himself after he went off the rails and how it affects him now with his mate.
A truly wonderful story where you can empathize with the characters and know that it isn’t all a bunch of roses for them but that they actually have to work at it and let go of their own fears and worries. Some fantastic hot sex scenes and angst, and some danger that is pretty freaky.
This has a strong storyline with a good plot that leaves us open for the next book which I guess with be Alex and Jacob’s story. Hopefully, we will find out what happened to their parents for the last 10 years (pretty pleaseJ).
So I recommend this for those who love shifters, hot sex, angst, danger, hot men, a brilliant storyline and a promise of more to come.