New Release Review: Fox Hunt by J. Leigh Bailey #Review #Giveaway

Title: Fox Hunt
Author: J. Leigh. Bailey
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Aaron Anderson
Publication date: July 2, 2019
Length: 268 pages

Reviewed by Sammy

Synopsis:

Outfoxing their enemies will be a bear of a task.

Aspiring journalist and fox shifter David ends up with a target on his back after hacking the Moreau Initiative, the shifter world’s greatest enemy. But he won’t let that stop him from the campus tour road trip that’ll help him become the next Anderson Cooper… even if his family insists he travel with a grumpy grizzly bear bodyguard.

Buddy Brady is older, sexy, and too damn distracting for David, and as the sexual tension builds, so does the suspicion around the repeated attacks--first in Chicago, then in New York. Someone is tracking them, and all clues point to a traitor in the shifter ranks. Worst of all, they could be after David’s family....

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Review

David has lived in the shadow of his perfect brother and domineering mother all his life. Becoming a great journalist was his passion and his chance to prove to his family that he wasn’t just a screw-up who seemed to constantly get in trouble despite his best intentions. So it’s no surprise to anyone that David accidentally hacks into the mysterious Moreau Initiative while trying to help a friend track down his adoption records. The Initiative has been responsible for kidnapping shifter children and using them for experimentation—just how deep the organization runs is anyone’s guess but now David has put a target on his back and there are consequences he is not going to be happy about.

When David’s mother informs him he will have a bodyguard accompany him on his college interviews, David is frustrated and angry. When he meets the hulking bear shifter, Buddy (Theo) Brady, David must fight back an almost immediate attraction. He may be a little fox but his emotions run big and Buddy ticks every one of his boxes. Unfortunately Buddy is all business especially as one assailant after another happens to find David and puts him in increasingly dangerous circumstances. But David is determined to ignore the mounting evidence he is in danger and instead make the bear notice him and despite the crazy run the two men are on, the sexual tension explodes before long. Now both of them would like to explore just how deep their attraction runs but they have discovered there is a traitor in the shifter council and it may spell death for David and Buddy if they can’t figure out how to expose the person and stop their plans.

I think this Shifter U. series by J. Leigh Bailey just gets better and better. With the fourth book, Fox Hunt, just released, we once again return to the paranormal community in Cody, Wyoming and spend time with some new and some very familiar characters. I really enjoyed the pairing of the gruff and aloof Buddy and the flightier, determined David. David was very self-aware—on the cusp of really accepting that perhaps he had been wrong about his “perfect” brother and how that made him feel so inadequate. I liked how Buddy gradually opened up to David, going as far as revealing that all his life he had done what was expected of him and not necessarily what he wanted—from allowing others to call him Buddy and not by his given name, Theo, to running a café that he had no passion for at all. These two really were perfect for each other—Buddy helping David come to terms with his misconceptions about his family and his tendency to doubt himself and David showing buddy that it was time to start living for himself and creating a life he wanted as opposed to one that others forced upon him.

In the mix of this delightful romance was a mystery element that kept one guessing and the action moving non-stop. I do wish the author had been able to give a bit more background on the Moreau Initiative and exactly how widespread its influence was but I am guessing we may hear more about them in future novels. I also felt the mole in the shifter council was a bit underdeveloped—it would have been great to get more of their background and what caused them to be so willing to betray the shifter community. However, despite these limited plot points, the story was really quite good and the action was more than enough to keep this reader on their toes.

Fox Hunt is a sweet romance and another exciting view into the shifter world created by author J. Leigh Bailey. It is a great addition to the other books in the series and has certainly done its job in keeping me invested in watching for future installments of the series.

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Random Review: Stealing His Heart by Bru Baker #Review #Giveaway

Author: Bru Baker
Title: Stealing His Heart
House Line: Dreamspun Beyond
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Aaron Anderson
Publication Date: March 5, 2019
Length: 66,605 words

Reviewed by Sammy 

Synopsis

Love sneaks in like a thief in the night.

Danny’s parents raised him to believe his wolf was a curse. He’s part of the wealthy and powerful Connoll Pack, but only nominally. He abandoned that world to volunteer with supernatural kids, and he isn’t looking for a mate….

Max is a shifter who is also a detective. He’s working a case that could make or break his career. Danny’s caught up in the case he’s on, and he’s also irresistible. They’re a bad match—Max, an Alpha having trouble with his new powers and Danny, who trusts Alphas as far as he could throw one. But they can’t get enough of each other, and they might bond before they even see it coming.

They could be amazing together, but they have to get past a few obstacles—especially since someone close to Danny might be involved in the thefts Max is investigating.

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Review

If you’d been told all your life that your inner wolf was wrong and should be denied and hidden then imagine your surprise when the cop who comes to investigate your home robbery sets off every bell and whistle only your wolf can hear? Even though Danny comes from wealth and prestige he’s given it all up in order to run his foundation to help orphaned and displaced supe kids. It was an easy thing to do considering his father was a controlling and nasty alpha who unwillingly bowed to the pack alpha when necessary but kept his wife and son in line with an iron fist otherwise. All his life Danny had been told that his werewolf side was something to be hidden and made to do so because his father had the alpha voice that could compel Danny to obey. That attitude shaped Danny into the man he was who wanted to help all kinds of shifter kids who had been tossed aside by either their parents or pack alphas who deemed them unlovable. As a result of both is job and his own upbringing, Danny looks rather unkindly toward any “alpha asshole” until he meets Max.

Max is a newly vested alpha just coming in to his powers and still learning to control his baser instincts. Surrounded by a loving family, Max is not prepared to meet his alpha mate nor is he ready to deal with the emotional fallout such a bonding will trigger. But Danny sparks something deep inside Max like no other and if he is willing to be patient with Max then the alpha bearcat is more than willing to consummate the bond that grows daily between them. Unfortunately for both men there is an outside force that could spell real danger to both Danny and one of the boys he saved from the street through his foundation. Max is on the case but even he may not be able to save Danny from the gang that is currently threatening supes and humans alike.

Author Bru Baker has undeniably written a lovely romance with the release of her latest novel, Stealing His Heart. Max and Danny have incredible chemistry and even though theirs is an instant attraction and a fairly quick admission of love, this story really feels like a slow building love story. The author has written a funny and close-knit family for Max that not only makes up for Danny’s lack of loving support from his own cold hearted parents but who also embrace Danny unconditionally as well. Honestly, I loved every interaction between Danny and Max and I was so pleased at the way the author chose to have them communicate and work through both Danny’s reservations about being an alpha mate and Max’s reactions to having so much thrown at him all of a sudden while still learning what it was to be an alpha. This vital piece of the story was well done and very satisfying.

However, I felt the mystery element of this story took a real back seat to the romance, at times. While the police work scenes were plausible and vital to the story, I often struggled with the way in which the author connected Max’s detective scenes with the rest of the story. There were times when I felt there were real time gaps between the two. For instance on one page Max and his partner, Oscar, were talking about a stake out and on the next page Max was with Danny and I was unsure as to how many days or hours had passed and if the stake out had even occurred. This happened more than once in the novel and it made me go back and reread sections to make sure I hadn’t missed something. Then there was the subplot concerning Danny’s parents, in particular, his mother. Throughout a good portion of this book, Danny’s mother was coldhearted and the mouthpiece of his bastard of a father, then suddenly there was an emotional 360 on her part and no real explanation as to why. While the author took the time to have Max be concerned that her capitulation might hurt Danny if it turned out to be false, there was no real follow up as to why it suddenly happened. Danny’s parents were such a strong influence on how he viewed his wolf side and the pack mentality—particularly obedience to an alpha, so glossing over this aspect of the book I felt did a disservice to the story the author was building.

In the end, despite these few glitches, I would still recommend this novel to anyone who loves a good supernatural love story. Max and Danny certainly had chemistry in spades and their story was delightful to read.

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Random Review: Mage of Inconvenience by Parker Foye #Review #Giveaway

Author: Parker Foye
Title: Mage of Inconvenience 
House Line: Dreamspun Beyond
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Aaron Anderson
Publication date: March 20, 2018
Length: 212 pages

Reviewed by Morningstar

Synopsis

Can they find the magic in a practical union?

West is on the run from his werewolf pack, but if he cannot renew his magical defenses, he won’t get far. What he needs is a mage….

Julian is part of a wealthy and ancient family, and one day, his legacy will include his mother’s vast library of spell books—and the knowledge he needs to correct his past mistakes. But his inheritance comes with a stipulation: he has to be married before he can collect. What he needs is a husband….

West and Julian can help each other, and at first they don’t want anything further. But as they dodge meddling cousins, jealous rivals, and an insidious drug, it becomes clear that their lives are entwined in ways they never imagined—and they’re in greater danger than they thought possible. 

Links

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Review

I genuinely enjoy the Dreamspun Beyond books. Each one a unique but magical world I get lost in. Mage of Inconvenience was a mix of snarky romance meets hardcore magical fiction.

Julian was the character I loved the most. He was snarky and fierce and so full of personality that I was drawn to him. Whereas West was subdued and quiet but with a soft, flirty core that only peaked out behind the rest.

They made a good match, one balancing the other. They were both hesitant at the start. Which had the beginning being a bit slow as the author built the story, but once their bond started to grow and they began opening up, did things get started and interesting.

I loved Julian’s magic in the story! The way the author described it, the why’s and how’s as they were described like it was its own character. The Phil and Emily track of the story, although it seemed tied up and finished, the loose end of the “blackness” that attached and followed Emily was left without an answer. Especially with Julian’s concern over what it was. It was almost left as though she was going to get her own story, but as far as I know, these books aren’t a true series.

Other than that loose end and the slowish beginning I’m adding this book to the list of hits for this line!

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