Follow Me
Grab my feed
Posts
All Comments
Wanna Shop?
2013 Reading Challenge
Jen (That's What I'm Talking About) has
read 0 books toward her goal of 75 books.
New-To-Me Authors
2013 reading goal:
15 new-to-me authors.
1) Stacy Gail
2) Heather Massey
3) Sidney Bristol
4) Ann Mayburn
5) Thea Harrison
6) Virna DePaul
7) Mary Quast
8) Molly Harper
9) Eleri Stone
10) PJ Schnyder
11) Kait Ballenger
12) Denise L. Wyant
13) Lucy Monroe
Sunday Snippets
More Blogs
original images by marin & papaija2008 at FreeDigitalPhotos.com
banner designed by Jennifer from Books Make Me Happy
Showing posts with label Prides of the Moon Series. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Prides of the Moon Series. Show all posts
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Review: Amethyst Moon by Ann Mayburn
Author: Ann Mayburn
Release Date: Dec. 27, 2011
Publisher: Decadent Publishing
Prides of the Moon #5
1 Night Stand Series
ISBN: 978-1613331828
Genre: GLBT, Paranormal Erotic Romance, m/m/m, Novella
Format(s): e-book
Book Source: Publisher
About the book:
|
Noah Braxton's world has been turned inside out and upside down ever since the fateful moment six months ago when he was turned into a shifter by a dying college girl. She made him promise to look after her sister, Giselle, and in an effort to sooth the dying girl he promised her that he would, not realizing the sacrifices he would have to make to keep that promise. Bound by his oath, Noah struggles to fulfill his role of beta to Giselle, an Alpha female, but he can't be everything she needs. He's gay and in order to bond properly with his Alpha female they would have to have sex. Without that bond with an Alpha he is slowly going crazy but he can't force himself to be attracted to a woman. His last hope at saving his mind and his soul lies with Madame Eve of the 1 Night Stand matchmaking service being able to find him a male Alpha that can bridge the gap between himself and Giselle.
Marcus and Vashan have come to Morgantown, WV in the hopes of finding an Alpha female to complete their Pride. Instead they find Noah, a man on the edge of insanity who is also a natural dominant. Despite this both men are instantly drawn to Noah and decide to help him. Marcus will have to use all his strength as an Alpha to dominate Noah and show him that submission to his Alpha doesn't make him weak.
What B is talking about:
|
Noah has a problem. As a newly-turned werepuma, a rarity in the shifter world, he has a lot to learn, but the human that he was and the beta he’s expected to be are warring within him. His Alpha, Giselle, has tried to help him, but there’s only so much she can do without a full bond with Noah, and he’s becoming increasingly unstable. With the help of the 1 Night Stand dating service, they finally have a chance at a bond through Markus and Vashan that would lead to Noah’s salvation as well.
As a fan of Ms. Mayburn’s Prides of the Moon series, I was very excited to be able to read Noah’s story. Markus and Vashan are two of my favorites from the series so far, and the glimpse I got of Noah when reading Giselle’s story in Opal Moon made me even more eager to find out about him. As always, the omniscience of Madame Eve is right on target, and she sends Noah exactly what he needs, not only for his Alpha, but also for himself.
Finally understanding Noah’s origins and the resulting precarious situation he and his Alpha find themselves in was very satisfying. The sexual interplay between the three shifters, however, was even more so. There was one potentially disturbing moment when Noah fought his status within their threesome, but it was brief, and was a reminder of the dynamics present in the idea of “pack.” Ms. Mayburn’s characters seek out and fulfill a true hierarchy, as pack animals do, and in the case of Markus, Noah, and Vashan, the need to find the place where they belong takes quite a bit of exploration. Which I ended up enjoying a good deal.
Although it’s fairly concise, Amethyst Moon has a lot going for it. Even knowing that Noah would be all right, reading about his history still made me feel hopeful that his connection with Markus and Vashan would work out. These three men are gorgeous together, and Ms. Mayburn’s explicit scenes are successfully descriptive without being weighed down by flowery prose. Amethyst Moon is a strong, extremely sexy addition to the Prides of the Moon series, and I very much hope there are more to come.
B’s Rating:
|
Enjoyed - strongly recommend (A-)
Purchase Info:
Books in the Series:
Amethyst Moon #5
Labels:
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Review: Opal Moon by Ann Mayburn
Opal Moon
Author: Ann Mayburn
Release Date: June 6, 2012
Publisher: Decadent Publishing
Prides of the Moon #6
1 Night Stand Series
ISBN: #978-1613333129
Genre: Paranormal Erotic Romance
Format(s): e-book
Book Source: Publisher/NetGalley
About the book:
|
Burdened by heartache, werepuma Alpha Giselle seeks the complete release only offered by a night of sexual abandonment in the arms of a couple selected by the 1 Night Stand matchmaking service. Unable to fully bond with her gay male beta, Noah, she has been starved for affection and hopes that the mysterious couple can keep up with her sensual demands.
Inara and her husband of over a thousand years, Theron, are traveling through the human world, seeking out those that are in need of Inara’s special fay gift. Inara is a sorrow eater. She takes the grief of others and replaces it with joy. Giselle is in desperate need of Inara’s healing touch after the death of her sister and the rejection of her beta. Together they will try to fill each other’s needs and desires, but only if Giselle will once again open her heart to the greatest force in the universe, love.
What B is talking about:
|
Giselle is a strong, sexy werepuma who knows what she wants in a lover. But her heart aches for a connection she can’t have, and being linked to her beta’s happiness when she can’t share it is threatening them both. They have one chance to find a way to make their bond work, or they’ll have to part ways forever, leaving her on her own again. Being an Alpha shouldn’t be so hard.
Inara and Theron are ancient fay who travel the human world seeking out those who are lonely and in pain so that Inara can help them with her special gift. As a “sorrow eater” she is able to feed from the suffering of others and turn it into joy. With a sexual hunger to match the werepuma Alpha’s head on, she and Theron are exactly what Giselle needs to help her feel love again.
I’ve had the pleasure of reading several of Ms. Mayburn’s 1 Night Stand contributions, and her “Cat” titles are among my favorites in the series. The werepumas are highly sexual creatures, often seeking out pleasure in pairs or more, as is the case with Opal Moon. Sex is an essential component of their makeup, so Giselle’s abstinence out of deferment to her homosexual beta is both harmful and unnatural.
Ms. Mayburn makes it easy to be drawn into Opal Moon from the opening scene, using the intimacy and rhythms of a dance club to introduce the reader to Giselle, Inara, and Theron. Both women defy cover-model-thin convention with an easy confidence that is much needed, but is never overstated; yet another skill Ms. Mayburn brings to her writing. That the fay couple understands Giselle’s needs so perfectly makes their sexual interactions sweet and intense, rather than obvious and naughty.
Opal Moon is a great addition to the 1 Night Stand series, and reinforces Ms. Mayburn’s ability to write strong female characters while exploring alternate possibilities for sexual fulfillment. Giselle and Inara are unique, strong women who embrace their sensuality, and make no apologies for it, which is most welcome, especially in a short story. I found the ending refreshing as well in that it withholds a predictable guarantee in favor of a message of healing and hope. I would welcome any addition to this series by Ms. Mayburn, and hope to find out where she will take her characters in the future. And hopefully soon.
B’s Rating:
|
Purchase Info:
Books in the Series:
Amethyst Moon #5
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Review: Onyx Moon
Onyx Moon
Author: Ann Mayburn
Release Date: Nov. 21, 2011
Publisher: Decadent
Prides of the Moon #4
ISBN: #978-1613331644
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Erotica, Novella, GLBT
Format(s): e-book
Book Source: Publisher
About the book:
|
Marcus Galin has searched the world for a very special kind of werepuma, a Beta who has also been blessed by the Goddess as a shaman. His prayers are finally answered when Madame Eve of the 1 Night Stand matchmaking service arranges for him to meet a man in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica that fits his requirements. Only problem is that Marcus is terrified of magic and doesn't know if he can overcome his fear enough to open his heart to a stranger that his pride and his heart desperately need.
Vashan Dulphin has spent all of his life as an outcast among his people. By a twist of fate and gentics at puberty he became a werejaguar much to his family and pride's disgust. Since then he has lived in solitude among his people, barely tolerated only because of his power as both a Beta and a shaman. Desperate for a chance to find a home where he will be loved, he calls on the aid of Madame Eve who sends him Marcus.
Together the men will have to overcome their fear and self-doubt for a one in a million chance at love.
What B is talking about:
|
As the alpha werepuma destined to take over his pack, Onyx Moon, Marcus is already shouldering much of the responsibility he owes his people. We first met Marcus at the end of Turquoise Moon, the third story in the series, while he was under the spell of the magically-aided, but crazed, Stephen, who was pursuing Kara as she tried to bond with her true mates. Marcus’ own pack has been without a shaman for too long, and it’s his duty to find one young and strong enough to protect the pride. The new shaman must also be a beta who will bond with Marcus, so that there can be no doubt as to the spiritual guide’s motives and loyalty. That alone is no small task, but combine it with Marcus’ fear of magic, and it seems impossible.
Vashan has his share of problems, too. Being the only werejaguar in his insular pack has been a burden; one that’s nearly become too much to carry. If it weren’t for his powers as a shaman, his pride would have killed him long ago. Now, he wants to find a new home where he’ll be welcome, and someone who’ll love him for who he is. Luckily, and at the urging of Madame Eve from the 1 Night Stand dating service, he decides to give Marcus a chance. While I enjoyed reading each male’s perspective throughout the story, it is Vashan’s that tugged most strongly at my heart.
Mayburn gives Marcus and Vashan a lot of obstacles and poor odds on the path to becoming mates, as she’s done with most of her characters that I’ve read to date, but it’s a contrivance that works well in the Prides of the Moon series. Thanks to their inner animals, these shifters recognize a potential mate on sight, and the reaction is instantaneous and thoroughly sexual.
These two shifters are a very good fit for one another, even from their erotically charged initial meeting. Marcus’ puma is immediately drawn to Vashan, his need to claim and mark the shaman a jolt of pure, sexy goodness that grows quickly as they begin the “mating games” that will bond them to one another forever. The bonding process is an incredibly sensual one; each man’s perspective melding with the other’s as they give themselves fully to their mating.
The Prides of the Moon stories are satisfying reads on their own, but I recommend reading the series in order. Each chronicle leads directly to the next by either a single character or a pair, and having all the details from the previous tale increased my sense of familiarity and overall enjoyment as the story progressed. Marcus and Vashan are generous and loving, and utterly sexy as they work their way towards the love and happiness they crave; and I have no doubt that whatever Mayburn has in store for her cats next will be just as satisfying.
B’s Rating:
|
Enjoyed - strongly recommend (A-)
Purchase Info:
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Review: Prides of the Moon Series
Amber Moon
Emerald Moon
Turquoise Moon
Author: Ann Mayburn
Publisher: Decadent
Prides of the Moon Series, Books 1-3
Genre: Erotic Paranormal Romance
GLBT Romance
GLBT Romance
Format(s): e-books
Book Source: Publisher
About the books:
|
Amber Moon
Prides of the Moon #1
Release Date: July, 2011
Sabrina Wayne yearns for the perfect mates to fill the void in her heart. As a werepuma Beta, she is driven to find the strongest Alpha to submit too, or in her case, Alphas. Sabrina craves the delicious softness of a woman as well as the rugged strength of a man. She has almost given up finding the right couple when she takes a leap of faith and allows Madame Evangeline of the 1Night Stand matchmaking service to set her on what Madame Eve promises will be an evening she'll never forget.
Alphas Nick and Madeline Turea have been searching for a woman like Sabrina for a very long time. After a disastrous relationship with a former Beta female, the couple has been extremely cautious to let anyone else get close to them or the Amber Moon pride. When Madame Evangeline contacts them about a possible match, both are eager to meet the beautiful woman who may complete their family.
A night of reckless desire and burning hot passion leads to an unknown danger that might destroy Sabrina's one chance at a perfect love. She must learn to surrender to the power of her Alphas and gain their trust before it's too late.
Emerald Moon
Prides of the Moon #2
Release Date: August, 2011
Ben Harkil had long ago given up on love, refusing to believe that he was worthy of it. When he is given the gift of a 1 Night Stand blind date he goes into it expecting nothing more than a night of savage pleasure. Instead he finds the missing piece of his heart.
Jude Carson has an impossible task in front of him. He has to convince the man that he hasn't seen in fifteen years that he still loves him with all of his heart and wants him back. A task made even more difficult by the horrible circumstances that lead to their parting and tore their former pride apart.
Ben will have to learn that sometimes the hardest person to forgive is himself if he wants a second chance at the greatest joy he has ever known.
Turquoise Moon
Prides of the Moon #3
Release Date: September, 2011
Werepuma and sheltered virgin Kara Vinsenz has no idea how to entice men, furry or otherwise. She contacts Madam Eve of the 1 Night Stand matchmaking service in a desperate attempt to avoid a terrible arranged marriage to a psychopathic shifter. In a daring move that goes against her confined upbringing, she poses as her twin sister to escape her family compound in the hopes of meeting an Alpha and Beta male strong enough to be her mates. She waits to meet them until she goes into heat and is totally unprepared for the consequences of her actions.
Ben Harkil and Jude Carson are on the hunt for the perfect Alpha female to complete their pride and when they meet Kara they believe their prayers have been answered. What starts out as a 1 Night Stand ends up being so much more when Kara realizes that her lies may have doomed from the start the only love that can save her and her pride from a madman.
What B is talking about:
|
I was given the chance to read the first three stories in the Prides of the Moon Series, and although the stories could be read independently, it’s well worth it to read them all in order and enjoy the entire progression of the series.
Throughout the series, which is part of the much larger 1 Night Stand series, Mayburn’s “shifters” defy stereotypical archetypes. They are all of varying temperaments, body types, sexual inclinations, etc., one of the only similarities between all three being the importance placed on the bond and the resulting dynamic between the Alphas and their Betas. All the characters are seeking the impossible, except that nothing seems impossible under the direction of the mysterious Madame Evangeline and her 1 Night Stand dating service. The final link between the three is werepuma Ben Harkil, whom I believe is the most well written character of the bunch.
Amber Moon is a M/F/F story about a pair of mated Alphas, one male and one female, and their search for the final addition to their soul-bonding. Sabrina is a Beta whose cat not only needs the dominance of another couple to feel complete, she needs them to both be Alphas, an elusive combination. Madeline Turea needs the softness of another female to join with she and her mate, Nick, but after her last relationship, Nick is more than a little skeptical.
Once Madeline disproves Sabrina’s preconceived notions about what an Alpha should look like, they engage in the test of wills and strengths that all Mayburn’s Alphas and Betas must endure. This ultimately enables them to join their spirits together far more meaningfully than sex alone could ever do.
Sex between the two females is HOT and intense, but very sweet as well. Another convenient characteristic of these shifters is that mates can physically experience everything that is done to their partners sexually as if it was being done to them as well. Once Nick gets his turn to prove himself as Alpha with his new Beta, a very happy time is had by all.
I have mixed feelings about the ending of Amber Moon, though. It’s the reader’s introduction to Ben, another Beta of the Amber Moon Pride, but the reappearance of someone Madeline and Nick thought long gone felt a little awkward.
Emerald Moon, on the other hand, I thoroughly enjoyed from beginning to end. This is a M/M story about loss and second chances made possible by another 1 Night Stand. Jude and Ben are former lovers, and there’s an enjoyable simplicity to their rediscovery of one another.
In the fifteen years they’ve been apart, Jude has become a full-grown Alpha, and his “mating dance” (my phrase, not the author’s) with Ben is just lovely. Their familiarity with one another’s sexual needs adds a great deal to their tale, and there’s a playfulness and believable rightness to their union that’s not quite as developed in either of the other two stories.
I enjoyed the resolution of Emerald Moon more, as well. While a conflict from the past is certainly an issue, it’s an internal one, and both Jude and Ben put it firmly behind them. Their proving ground lies entirely in their future, not a past that’s come back to test their bond to one another.
In the last of the series, Turquoise Moon, Kara Vinsenz is a tough, female Alpha werepuma who’s been promised to a vicious and psychotic member of her pack. Unable to make her father, or anyone else, believe her regarding her unwelcome fiancee’s horrible nature, Kara conspires with her twin sister and runs away in search of two male werepumas to mate with who’ll believe her and protect her pride.
One of the highlights for me was more time with Jude and Ben. Here, they continue their search for the perfect female to complete their union. Mayburn explains that many shifters have multiple mates, but the desire to procreate usually leads males to search for and bond with a female. It just has to be the perfect female.
Kara is also in heat throughout Turquoise Moon, and her sexual need is a huge part of the story. Her reactions as an Alpha are often at odds with her hunger for the males, but they all find their respective places as the narrative progresses.
The dynamic between the shifters in this story is very interesting. Kara is an Alpha, but Ben is Jude’s Beta, and he must protect Jude from any threat she may present until she’s proven she’s the right one for them both. By turns, she must prove she’s Alpha enough to earn Ben’s submission before being considered a possible mate by Jude. It isn’t confusing at all within the story, and that part works out extremely well.
As in Amber Moon, the new trio’s relationship is immediately put to the test by someone from Kara’s past. To be fair, a big difference is that Kara’s nemesis will continue to be a threat unless he’s properly dealt with, so his arrival is fitting. A simultaneously gruesome, yet tidy ending promises a hopeful future for the three lovers, however, and the story ended on a note of teasing optimism.
All three stories in the Prides of the Moon series I had the pleasure of reading were quick reads and full of good, sexy fun. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses, but all were clear and welcoming representations of the author’s imagination. Mayburn does very well with her shifters, and I fully intend to find out if the fourth is just as much fun as soon as possible.
B’s Rating:
|
Amber Moon
Liked it a lot - recommend (B+)
Emerald Moon
Enjoyed - strongly recommend (A-)
Turquoise Moon
Liked it, but I had some issues - recommend (B)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Grab My Button
