Tag: Hell’s Creek series

Reluctant mate by Shannon West & T.S. McKinney

Title: Reluctant Mate 

Series: Hell’s Creek 02

Author: Shannon West & T.S. McKinney

Genre: Paranormal

Publisher: Painted Hearts Publishing (October 24, 2017)

Length: Novel (180 Pages)

Heat Level: Low

Heart Rating: 💖💖💖💖💖 5 Hearts

Blurb: Levi was one of the most popular men on campus at his little college located in the north Georgia hills. In the three years since his small group of friends left the little mill village called Hell’s Creek to venture out into the ‘real’ world, he’s watched as each of them has grown more carefree and happy. They played football and Frisbee, went to their classes and partied hard on the weekends. And none of the other students ever guessed that a small group of shifters has invaded their human world. Life would have been sweet if not for one thing—the one boy on campus that Levi wants to impress hates his guts. Openly, intensely, and with great malice.

Christian has his reasons for not accepting Levi’s endless invitations, and they all have to do with a terminal illness he’s had since he was a child. When Christian goes camping one weekend with a friend, he’s hoping he can forget his troubles for a while and relax. It’s working fine, until a huge wolf and a black panther come roaring out of the forest and straight at him. Christian faints and when he wakes up, finds that Levi has taken him to his home in Hell’s Creek. The strange inhabitants of the town all believe they can turn into animals. And people are telling him over and over again that he can’t leave, because he’s seen too much. Worst of all, the more time he spends with the gorgeous Levi, the healthier he’s beginning to feel and the more he’s beginning to fall for him. Is there really something in the water like everyone tells him? Or is he just going as crazy as they all are?

Will the secret that Hell’s Creek has been hiding finally be revealed? Christian has to find a way out of town before it’s too late, and before he falls hopelessly and irrevocably in love.

ISBN: 978-1-94637-965-8

Product Link: Painted Hearts | Amazon US | Amazon UK | Smashwords

Reviewer: Lisa

Review: Each book in the Hell’s Creek collection features a new romantic couple. To enjoy the overall story arc and crossover characters, I would recommend reading the series in sequential order.

Men and their evil creations have been shown once more. They created small towns, full of poison and kept their people prisoner. You try to leave and you die. If you are different the human religious nutcases kill you. Christian was told when he was younger that he was going to die from a blood disease. It was what let him go to college, to live what was left of his life the way he wanted. He wanted to drink his way out. That is until he see’s Levi. A man who was everything he was not.

Levi saw Christian and wanted him. Levi is a shifter whose town was trying to combat what had been done to him. He had not really believed in fated mates, but Christian was his. Now all he had to do is to show him. I just don’t think the way he did it was the way he intended.

Once I started reading this, book one came right back to me. It caught my attention from the start and kept if all the way to the end. I loved the characters but damn if they are not cranky or quirky. I enjoyed the fact that a wolf and a cat were mated. In fact it made me laugh a bit. It has a serious tone to it but it was even with the other feelings in it.

I had a lot of fun reading this and can guarantee that you will enjoy it. This is one story I would recommend.

Lion’s Mate by Shannon West & T.S. McKinney

Shannon West & T.S. McKinney - Lion's Mate CoverTitle: Lion’s Mate  

Series: Hell’s Creek 01   

Author: Shannon West & T.S. McKinney

Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal

Publisher: Painted Hearts Publishing (May 9, 2017)

Length: Novella (103pgs)

Heat Level: Low

Heart Rating:  ♥♥♥ 3 Hearts

Blurb: When Julian Montague rolls into a small mill town on the back side of nowhere, he isn’t looking for any trouble. He’s broke and fallen on hard times—but his idea to run from a license check on a main highway has backfired. He went off road on his motorcycle and now he’s hopelessly lost and almost out of gas. Stopping at the only station in town, he’s confronted by bullies with a gun who insist he’s on the “wrong side of the line” and then proceed to attack him. Fighting them off, he heads for the dubious safety of the “other side” when he’s attacked by a wild animal and crashes, almost killing himself. Waking up tied to a bed, he’s startled to find his injuries are being tended by a large, handsome man named Leo who bosses him around, showers him with affection and insists on calling him kitty. Something is going on in this strange town called Hell’s Creek, involving the large paper mill and the strange inhabitants who live in separate territories and answer only to the Company. Julian needs to find out what it is before he finds himself the “mate” of another man—and the main problem with that is that he’s beginning to like the idea way too much.

ISBN: 978-1-946379-25-2

Product Link: http://www.paintedheartspublishing.com/lionsmate

Reviewer: Lisa

Review: I came across this author a couple of years ago and found her stories intriguing.  However I also remember that they didn’t stand out in my head like they should have.  So when I was given this story, I was interested in seeing how the author’s work had grown.  

When Julian was five years old his parents had been killed and he was raised in foster care.  Now if you know about foster care they take care of certain needs but not a lot of love goes around.  When he decides to take off, there are many obstacles for him to get through.  He is flat broke and his bike doesn’t have the proper tags.  So trying to get away from a road block leads him right into Hell’s Creek.  It actually takes him right into Dogtown.  What he doesn’t know or understand is that Dogtown is actually a town full of canine shifters whereas Cat’s town is for Felines.  His life is about to be torn into and twisted.

Leo is the leader of the felines but life is not as calm as one would think.  There is much fighting between the felines and canines.  He was to mate with another, but to his surprise Julian is his true fated mate.  The problem is the man has no clue what is going on, nor what he really is.  Things are about to get interesting.

Now the story has great potential and the characters are strong enough to keep the fight going on.  However for me, this story was more detail and descriptions, which is a drag.  Leo might be the leader but in fact he doesn’t really seem like it.  The reason for these two towns and the separation is because of some company.  For me an alpha would not listen to the company but take care of his pride or pack.  The connection between these two men is somewhat questionable.  There is heat there but something is really off about them both.  It is a long winded story that just did the opposite of what it should have done.  As a reader my attention waivered quite a bit with the story. 

Like I said above the story had great potential but for me failed to deliver.  I normally won’t read the next books because I don’t have a great reaction to the first book, however I am interested enough to see what the next story will be like.  I just could have done without the amount of descriptions and the use of kitten.  So far this story is not giving me a great impression, but will leave my final feelings for the next book.