Tag: shapeshifters

The Werewolf’s Novel

The Werewolf’s Novel

by fnmanning ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

I’m not sure why I always think I need the perfect opening line to talk about a new book, but whatever the perfect way to begin is, I haven’t found it. So let’s just dive right into discussing my M/M paranormal romance The Werewolf’s Heart.

In celebration of the book coming out on May 9, I’m going to post a quote and excerpt from the novel, but I’m not sure I’ve shared the cover and description yet, so that’s what is happening first.

Aaron Honeywell’s new house is a fixer upper, but his love life feels broken beyond repair. Fortunately, this fresh start is his chance to find the right man to help turn his house into a home. His sexy new neighbor Meritt seems like just such a guy until he saves Aaron from a handsy stranger, revealing that he’s more than man—he’s a werewolf.

Meritt Slate has worked some challenging cases before, but this is a whole other level of difficult. The detective is stuck undercover in suburbia to lure out whoever’s abducting werewolves. And his alluring neighbor is quite the distraction. Fighting his desires and doing his job has never been a problem before, but it’s possible he’s finally found someone worth settling down for.

But the dangers lurking outside their cozy street are getting closer to home. And when the supernatural world comes knocking on Aaron’s door, a werewolf protector may not be enough to save him. Can the werewolf protect his heart, or will evil forces break it first?

In this scene, Meritt the supernatural detective talks about the challenges with his latest case.

This assignment was full of challenges. Like me going undercover as a suburban homeowner. My interests included grisly murders, supernatural victims or suspects, and bringing killers to justice.

Now? I needed to blend in. Live a normal life. Whatever the hell that meant. Ugh, days, maybe weeks or more, full of… Being friendly. Polite chitchat at mailboxes. Socializing. Maybe going on a few dates. What regular people did. Even when they were werewolves , according to my annoying younger siblings.

Honestly? Pretending to be a regular werewolf living on the down-low among humans? Kinda sounded like torture.

Then I met him.

Aaron Honeywell—seriously with that last name?—was tempting. Too tempting…

Paranormal Romance Book Review: Treasured by Cari Z

Paranormal Romance Book Review: Treasured by Cari Z

by fnmanning ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Quick Summary: Getting picked up by a rich, sexy British stranger might just be too good to be true for a grad student with minimal magical abilities.

Treasured is a fun, magical heist book featuring a relationship between a sorcerer and shifter. This one is relatively low on angst and danger for the paranormal romance genre, there’s no tragic backstories or traumatic events, which fits with the heist style. It’s an exciting, steamy short read.

Made Up Rating System: 4/5 priceless magical artifacts

About Treasured

The action begins when a magical grad student with nominal abilities meets a sexy stranger at work. Danny can’t believe his luck that a total hottie is into him, even after he nerds out over magical artifacts. Rhys, the charming British hottie, asks him to dinner. And of course, we learn at the beginning that Danny is one of only a few people whose hands can pass through the magical glass safely at the museum where he works because he handles the exhibits.

Yes, the love interest is likely a mysterious thief with unknown shifter powers and motives. It’s not exactly subtle but the book is short so the action moves quickly. The short length may or may not bother you. I think a novella works for the theme and feeling of the book, but it may feel too brief and incomplete if you’re used to longer paranormal novels. This is more the start of a love story and grand adventure than complete in its own right, but the book is enjoyable and there’s a lot of potential for the future.

Finally, while I noted the book was light on angst and life-threatening situations, that doesn’t mean there’s no drama. What starts as a whirlwind romance gets complicated with that age old question: is he really into me or does he just want my museum clearance level?

Yes, that’s totally an age-old question. I ask it all the time.

My thoughts

Seeing the future or reading minds are valuable superpowers, but they come with such hassle and guaranteed TMI. And Danny’s foresight ability only gives him glimpses of like, a second later, so the same insight into the future can be attained by just, you know, waiting a second to see what happens.

Don’t get me wrong, he does have the chance to successfully use his gift throughout the book. It’s just one of those barely-a-power powers, which I admit I do love.

Sort of reminds me of a character I wrote recently, who starts turning invisible. He does the fly on the wall thing and has some fun seeing people behind the scenes and then it’s like… what now? Not terribly useful powers are probably some of the most fun to write and read about. 

Book Quote

Treasured by Cari Z

Daniel Hart barely has enough magic to qualify as a student at the University of Arcane Studies. He’s not trying to change the world; all he wants is to study, work his job at the museum, and enjoy his calm, routine life.

Everything changes when he meets Rhys Daveth, a shifter with mysterious connections and even stranger taste, who pursues him with a passion that Daniel has never experienced before.

The chemistry between them is undeniable, but things take a turn for the worse when Daniel is arrested for a crime he didn’t commit–one that he suspects his new lover had a hand in.

Once the truth comes out, Daniel will have to choose between the steady, reliable future he’s always seen for himself and something deeper, more exciting, and far more dangerous than he could have imagined.

Series Titles

Treasured

Shadowed

Reclaimed

Former Feline Familiars (is this a tongue twister?)

Former Feline Familiars (is this a tongue twister?)

by fnmanning ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

For my new novel and series, I put together some posts that are an introduction to the world and characters of Black Cats and Bad Luck. This paranormal romance is available for free. It’s a new adult gay romance about magic, familiars, dreams, and monsters.

One of the main characters is Horatio, a former familiar who is seeking his true love. You know how shapeshifters are a hot trend in fiction now? This is kind of like that, except it only works in one direction and only once. He spent some time in cat form, though he isn’t really a cat. Because when I try to write shapeshifters, apparently my brain cooperates to a point and then does its own thing.

In this scene, Horatio meets up with the young witch he lived and worked with, her older brother Avery, and his friend Jonah.

~

Avery

“Horatio is a cat.” I went over the facts, seeking comfort from them. “He eats from a black dish with little stars decorating the outside. He gets hair all over my pillows, he smacks me in the face with his tail. Because he’s a cat, our—”

“I hope you weren’t going to say pet,” he interrupted sternly.

“He’s right, Avery,” Stella said. Great, they were both glaring at me. “We don’t own him, we never did.”

Rubbing my face with both hands, I groaned. What the hell I did not even believe in? What the hell? All I could say was, “He’s not Horatio.”

“I am Horatio,” the guy argued.

“And you were lonely, so you followed us here?” And also grew human parts.

“No, you’re where I need to be, and I can sense you strongly. You’re my bridge between worlds.”

Not sure what to do with that, I only weakly said, “Horatio is a cat.”

“I was,” he agreed. “But no longer.”

Everyone had gone insane. I did not have enough sanity on my own to bring them all back to reality. So I did the only thing I could. I gave up, falling back on the bed, closing my eyes, and wishing the world a fond farewell. It would have to get along without me.

“Oh my god.” Jonah laughed. “Awesome! Are you serious?”

Distantly, a reasonable part of myself tried to mount a defense. It argued I shouldn’t allow a naked, possibly deranged guy to waltz in here just because he guessed the name of our cat.

 If anyone else showed up out of nowhere buck-naked claiming to be a family pet, or a rough equivalent, they would be full of shit. But this guy? I believed him. While the shape of him changed, he was still Horatio.

— the rest is available here. For free!

A Book I Liked: All It Took Was One Look

A Book I Liked: All It Took Was One Look

by fnmanning ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Werewolves + gay people= happily ever after. Werewolves but also gay. That’s it, that’s the book. Which is not a complaint, trust me. There was a time I would have given almost anything for “werewolves but also gay” to apply to Teen Wolf.

I wanted to write a review for All It Took Was One Look, but I read it a million years ago and didn’t write a review then. I have the worst memory in the world, and I have better things to do than sitting here wracking my brain for the details. Okay, I might not actually have better things to do but that still doesn’t sound fun. What I remember is that I liked the book.

Maybe I will write a review one day. Maybe I won’t. We’ll see where life leads!

Summary: One boy is human and hella gay(hey title of my blog) and the other isn’t either of those things. He’s a wolf and thinks he’s straight. Commence angst, drama, action, and epic romance. This is an engaging tale about the future of a wolf pack and what happens when the pair meant to lead the pack is gay for the first time.

This novel is on the melodramatic side and there’s lots of staples you’ll recognize like the evil bitch girlfriend, the repressed bully, the tortured protagonist, and the nerdy gay kid. It’s got familiar characters and situations, but even the recognizable details feel fresh in a gay YA setting. The book fully embraced all the dramatic, important moments you might expect to find in a book like this and went wild with them.

AITWOL feels like the start of a series. There’s a whole huge world to play in with several main and supporting characters. If there were future books, I would definitely be interested in them.