Review: Born This Way by Poppy Dennison

Reviewed by Fehu
Born This Way by Poppy Dennison
Dreamspinner Press
Novella: 115pgs
3 Pants Off

Blurb:
Dayton Whitmore injures his arm playing basketball with his lion-shifter friends, and his best friend asks Dayton to check on her estranged brother Hart while he’s in Atlanta visiting a specialist. Though Dayton and Hart were never close, he grudgingly agrees.

Banishment from his pride meant Hart Sherman could never see his family again. His liger heritage—a tiger mother and lion father—was a thorn in his alpha father’s side. He always planned to go back for Dayton, the man he knows is his mate, but he uses his career as an entertainment attorney as an excuse to avoid risking Dayton’s rejection. When Dayton shows up unannounced on his doorstep, Hart wants nothing more than to claim him.

Knowing what it means to be a lion’s mate, Dayton isn’t in any hurry to make a lifetime commitment. To convince Dayton he’s serious, Hart must come to terms with the circumstances of his birth—and find a place in the pride for them both.

Review:
After finishing her shifter trilogy I was glad to see another shifter story by Poppy Dennison, the lion shifters had me thinking of the cub Simon adopted, but sadly it was not his story. Born This Way is for lovers of typical shifter stories and typical dynamics in such relationships.

Hart is a ligar, a cross breed between tiger and lion, and that made him stand out in his father’s lion tribe. He was becoming stronger than his pride leader and was therefore banished from his home and forbidden any contact with his family. On his own, Hart becomes a successful lawyer in the entertainment business and it's just his mate that is missing from his life. A mate whose identity Hart has known since he was little, a mate who he was forced to leave, when he was thrown out of his home, his sisters best friend - Dayton.

Now Dayton has come into Atlanta to see a doctor for his broken arm and to visit the brother of his best friend Tawny. They both fall in instant lust, when they first see each other, but Dayton pulls back before they can go through with the mating. Not one to give up easily Hart vows to himself to do anything possible, to convince his mate of his sincerity but he still has his father and his former weretiger tribe to fight for the right to court his human mate.

Surprisingly, after the first time there are not a lot of sparks flying, mostly they get to know each other, just a bit fast. Then there is the whole weretribe issue. Both combined happened and I would have liked a bit more background information. A former relationship was mention, a reason why Dayton was so cautious, but it was never explained. If this story had a bit more space to unfold, it would have been fabulous, as it is it's still a very nice shifter story, which has not the standard wolf shifters in its focus.

3 Pants Off

Review: Soul Magic by Poppy Dennison

Reviewed by Fehu
Soul Magic (Triad #3) by Poppy Dennison
Dreamspinner Press
Novel: 220pgs
3.75 Pants Off

Blurb:
Blood runs soul-deep. Cormac hasn’t been the same since the night the High Moon Pack was attacked. With his magic weakened, he’s consumed by a bloodlust he hasn’t felt since he first became a vampire. His need to replenish his power makes him a danger to his last remaining family member, and his hunger makes him careless. And that’s just the beginning of his troubles. Feeding from pack beta Liam Benson was supposed to slake his appetite, not leave him craving more.

Simon Osborne and Gray Townsend are trying to fight a being history says shouldn’t exist—one with all three types of magic. The pack must use all of their resources to combat the mysterious triad, even turning to the shady Council of Mages for help. While Cormac struggles to reconcile his past failures with his current desires, Simon must attempt the impossible: an alliance between mind, body, and soul.

Review:
This is the third and last book in an interesting paranormal trilogy was very much looking forward to reading or it. Simon and Gray are back and finally we find out about the attacker! Secondly Cormac and Liam are the new couple and I have wanted to read this one for a long time.

The story begins right where the last book ended and it helps a lot to understand and to fully appreciate this story if you read them all in one go.  I began the series after the first book came out and it’s been a while until this one so I did go back and it was nice to read the trilogy without months of waiting in between.

So let’s recap: Simon and Gray are attacked and the members of the were-council are unhappy with what they witness, namely Simon’s abilities to influence the pack with his magic. Mage-council reacts to the plea for help and finally sends a representative. But what has been troubling them all this time? It's Cormac who has the answer to this question or more precisely his past is catching up with him and some event in the past are now explained in a new light. All species have lived separated but it wasn't always the case and the Mage-council at least knows what happened to cause the division in shifters, mages and vampires. New information is brought to light, new alliances are formed, new romances and of course there is a showdown - Good vs. Evil.

Plot wise the final part of the trilogy didn't disappoint, but, I anticipated Cormac’s romance story and to tell the truth from the way it was written, I didn't buy it. Liam is a nice character, but his interest in Cormac seemed rather sudden. Plus Cormac himself is totally OOC (out of character) when he is going out to hunt. First he is dignified old vampire Dracula style and then he is the club slut, seems a bit strange to me. Also the romance part was short, after the entire wait for that pairing, it was somewhat anti climatic. Of course there was the need to finish the main plotline, but still I thought it was a bit rushed in the end. What I didn't like was the ending, not really, all are happy, but it's a big time leap and I didn't feel it was necessary in this case. Still the book in itself was a nice finish for this series.

Should You Read It? Only if you have read the first two books, then it's a must, but it's not a standalone and it would make a lot of sense to read just this one.

Review: Book #2 Body Magic

Review: Body Magic by Poppy Dennison

Reviewed by Fehu
Body Magic (Triad #2) by Poppy Dennison
Dreamspinner Press
Novel: 206pgs
4 Pants Off

Blurb:
A pack is only as strong as its weakest member. Rocky Harris knows how the system works. He’s been on the bottom rung his whole life. But when his alpha consigns him to the High Moon Pack to help them improve security, he finds his beliefs not just challenged but outright assaulted.

Cade Montgomery’s confidence took a hit when the pack’s cubs were kidnapped on his watch. He’s prepared to do anything to protect his family, even if it means working with Rocky. Maybe Cade doesn’t trust Rocky, but with the turmoil surrounding pack Alpha Gray’s unpopular decision to break tradition and mate with a mage named Simon, Cade knows more threats are coming.

Then someone declares war on shifters and puts the entire pack in danger. Cade and Rocky will need each other’s strengths to survive the impending battle—and the power of their growing attraction.

Review:
For anyone who read the first book and liked it, this book is a must buy. I would have given it a higher rating if I didn't feel that it left me with more question than answers.

Body Magic is the second part in a trilogy and picks up were Mind Magic ended. Simon has mated with Gray and now lives with Gray's pack. Their mating is not considered natural, not because they are both men, but because Simon is a wizard and has another kind of magic, than shifters, who have body magic. In the rules of this world, the different kinds of magic are forbidden to mix. Simon broke the rule to save the wolf shifter cubs in the first book and Gray took it further when he mated Simon and mixed the two types of magic. Now both Simon and Gray have to face the shifter council, who will then decide what is to be done about them.

In the second book, the reader can see Simon interact with Gray’s friends and his sons, with whom he developed a very strong bond. In addition, there is Cormac, Simon's grandfather some times removed, who is a vampire and I hope the third book will feature him, because he is very lonely but a very interesting character. Simon will soon turn 25 an age of maturity for wizards and Cormac is helping him to progress in his magical studies. Simon's training gains on importance in the face of the threat the shifters are facing and the demon attack is still a mystery as to how and why it was possible for a demon to kidnap the cubs.

There are two relationships that featured in this book, the one of Gray and Simon, settling as a family and Rocky and one of Gray's best friends Cade slowly working out their issues. I loved to read about the family interaction, especially when the new addition to the family arrived in the form of an adorable mountain lion shifter cub, who has immediately attached himself to Simon.

However, not all things are what they seem to be, there are pack member who are not happy with the mating, a new threat appears and there is Rocky's alpha that plans to further the discord and to take over Gray's pack. Something strange is going on, shifters have gone missing a complete pack drained and then on the night of Simon's and Gray celebration there is an attack, and the attacker leaves them all puzzled, something like him should not exist!

This book has more action in it, also I loved see Simon and Gray work out their relationship, Simon still has doubts, which I thought was understandable and of course there is the crackling sexual tension between Rocky and Cade, which added a certain something to the story. Lovely written, good dialogs and interesting plot but I hate where the book left me, and I want to read Cormac's story!

For those who do not like open endings, you should buy the series but wait to read it when the third book is out and hopefully will nicely wrap it all up.

4 Pants Off