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Showing posts with label J. L. Langley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label J. L. Langley. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Review: With Abandon by JL Langley
With Abandon
Author: JL Langley
Release Date: March 22, 2011
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
With or Without #4
Genre: Paranormal Romance, GLBT, m/m romance
Format(s): e-book
Book Source: Purchased with my own funds
About the book:
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Love was never part of his plan…until it pounced.
As heir to an old and proud heritage, Aubrey Reynolds works and lives for his family, his employees and his pack. Agreeing to watch after a visiting werewolf is no big deal—until he discovers the newcomer is his mate. His very male mate…which is a very big deal, indeed. Revealing his sexuality was never part of Aubrey’s well-ordered life plan.
Much as he loved caring for his eight younger brothers, Matt Mahihkan knows it’s time to grab the opportunity to attend college in Atlanta. Realizing Aubrey is his mate should have been a delightful experience…except Aubrey treats him more like a dirty little secret than a lover. Yet Matt is a patient man. Aubrey can’t stay in the closet forever. Can he?
In time, they settle into a comfortable, if complicated, routine. Until a rogue werewolf with an axe to grind forces Aubrey to add to the wedge of secrets driving him and Matt apart, leaving Matt exposed to danger… and Aubrey forced to choose between love and duty.
What I’m talking about:
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When Matt Mahihkan decided to leave his eight brothers, friends and home in New Mexico to move to Atlanta to attend college, his friend Keaton put Matt in touch with his brother, Aubrey. The pair connected instantly via texts and soon Matt was off to live with Aubrey in Georgia. When he lands at the airport, Aubrey’s fiancee, Tara (former Miss Georgia) picks him up and Matt’s senses tell him Tara is his mate.
Confused and a bit troubled, Matt worries how to break it to his new friend Aubrey that his fiancee is Matt’s mate. That is until Matt meets Aubrey and realizes that it was his scent on Tara which triggered the mating reaction. Soon Matt and Aubrey are fighting the strong pull to be with one another - but for different reasons. Matt wants to take things slow, never having been with another before. Aubrey wants to hide his homosexuality for fear that it will disappoint his family and ruin his business.
Oh how I’ve missed these sexy male shifters of Ms. Langley’s With or Without series. Although this book can be enjoyed as a stand alone, for those familiar with the series, Aubrey is brother of Keaton, one of the heroes from first book, Without Reservations. Matt, Keaton's friend, also appeared in this story.
In a world where m/m romances are extremely common (making me wonder how these werewolves are able to reproduce), I like that there is a realistic fear for Aubrey that coming out would ruin his life and his family's business. I also like that Matt is keen enough to insist on taking it slow. Aubrey and Matt have good chemistry regardless of the obstacles in their path, and the story moves their relationship forward at a comfortable pace.
There is a lot going on in With Abandon that makes this romance an exciting ride as well. Aubrey is the alpha’s son and expected to take over as head of the pack soon. He has a human friend, Carson, who is being harassed by a rival packmate and CEO of the family’s hotel business, Boskie. Aubrey attempts to deal with the situation, and sometimes I felt his choices would come back to haunt him (not telling if they did or not!). In addition, it appears someone is sending Aubrey threats against Matt. No one knows the pair are mates, so someone must be watching Matt too closely in order to pull this off. These two storylines intertwine and mingle, taking the reader on an thrilling journey, complete with a few interesting twists - one that I didn’t see coming at all.
Another great aspect of With Abandon are the relationships between several of the characters. One of my favorites is the connection between Aubrey’s father, Howard, and Matt. Early on in the book, Howard takes Matt aside and has an amazing heart-to-heart. Not only did it boost Matt’s confidence and help move the plot forward, but it put my mind and heart at ease, knowing that there was at least one aspect of Matt and Aubrey’s relationship that would go right, when and if they moved things public. It was such an amazing scene.
I could go on and on about every little thing that went right in this book. But in the end, it’s a terrific combination of marvelous story telling, mystery, action and romance. The story flowed well from start to finish, with the twists adding excellent tension. Aubrey’s internal struggles over trying to decide what was truly in his heart made for an engaging romantic plot. I genuinely enjoyed With Abandon and feel it’s the strongest story yet in Ms. Langley’s m/m shifter series. I look forward to more from this series.
My Rating:
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Enjoyed - strongly recommend (A-)
With Abandon
Reviews in the Series:
Labels:
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Sunday Snippets #47
Samhain Publishing, Ltd. October 10, 2006
His mate was still out of it. The wolf hadn’t moved from where Chay had put him. He looked very sweet and peaceful...innocent. He was a handsome wolf. Actually, he was more pretty than handsome. Not that he was feminine exactly, but his size wasn’t at all masuline. In human form, the top of his head would probably only come to Chay’s chin. Chay ran his fingers across the snout and over the closed eyes. He’d be willing to bet those eyes were a pale sky blue.
Chay’s dick hardened even more at the thought. He groaned and pulled his hand away to adjust himself. He should’ve called Frank to come get this little bit as soon as he’d patched him up and he could’ve pretended like nothing was different. Even still, he should send the man on his way when he woke. But Chay knew he wouldn’t. He had no earthly idea what to do with a male mate, but it didn’t stop him from wanting to keep him.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Not that there is anything wrong with that...
Recently I won a free ebook from KC at SmokingHotBooks. She blogged over the first 2 weeks in February with the theme "14 days of man love." Although I had never read any m/m (male/male) romance books, I figured I would enter the contest to win a free book. When KC notified me that I WON, I was so excited. But then I thought "What will I read?" She has been going on and on about all these great m/m books she reads, but to be honest, they didn't sound all that appealing to me. Not to mention I am a HUGE paranormal fan - I just don't read contemporary or historical books/romance books. It seemed that all of the m/m books were contemporary.
After asking KC for advice, I selected the book Without Reservations, by J. L. Langley for my prize. I selected it because it is paranormal at heart - a story about werewolves. I figured I could handle werewolves.
My synopsis: Chay is a werewolf that has waited is whole life for his pre-destined mate to come along. As a vet, he knows the injured wolf brought into his office is more than just a wolf, it's another werewolf and his mate. Imagine Chay's shock when he discovers his mate is male.
Keyton has been hurt by a straight male wolf before. He's not ready to jump into another relationship, even with his pre-destined mate. But he cannot deny his attraction to Chay.
The two male wolves decide to jump into their relationship and never regret it. The community is super excepting and the few that don't, well they come around quickly. It's seems a bit too easy to me, but this is paranormal romance!
The story line was interesting and fun. There is a bit of "who done it" and the action was a good mix with the sex. The sex was um, *fans herself* HOT. And there is a lot of it. If you are someone looking to break into m/m and are a bit leery of the sex, this may not be for you. The males are happy to explore each other and the mating pheromones draw them together often. The romance was a bit cheesy at times, the nickname Chay gives to his mate "Lil Bit" is a bit well, annoying. But the feelings are mostly well written. Every once and a while the dialogue seems a bit to "sweet" and overly cheesy.
I enjoyed reading this book and immediately purchased the other 2 stories in the series.
The second book, With Caution, was a better overall story. The relationship didn't come off as "hokey" as the first book. The chemistry between the two males was hot. The story didn't focus as much on the physical as the first book. Overall this was a very good story and I would recommend it to anyone looking to try m/m.
Finally, I purchased the ebook version of a novella titled With Love. (Originally released in the anthology Hearts from the Ashes) All though this story is from the With or Without series, it is a stand alone spinoff
and can be read at anytime. The story was not nearly as good as the two full-length novels in the With or Without series. The "endearing traits" of the omega male were annoying and I wanted to slap him. I did like the new characters and pack that were presented in the story, and I hope we'll see them again in the full-length books (except please tone down Lainey!) It was an okay story - but I wouldn't recommend unless you are reading the series.
Bonus time: The author has posted 3 short stories from this series on her website. Do not read unless you've read the first two books because there are spoilers. But oh, the shorts are SO GOOD!
So overall I give my first m/m reading experience 2 thumbs up! What I realized it when reading, it didn't matter who the main couple in the relationship is - as long as the story was well written and interesting, the sexual orientation of the people didn't really matter. These stories were fun and I look forward to reading more of Ms. Langley's books in the future.
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