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

Special Call for Submissions: Torquere Press

Torquere Press Special Calls for Submissions

SEPTEMBER - OUTSERVE CHARITY SIP BLITZ

Every year, the great authors at Torquere Press put their money where their mouth is, donating their time writing stories for our chosen charity. Those same authors donate any royalties earned on their stories to the chosen organization, with Torquere matching those donations 100%. In the past we've raised $5000.00 for Lambda Legal, over $3000.00 for the Matthew Shepard Foundation, and more than $10000.00 combined for organizations such as NOH8 and Doctors Without Borders.

For the 2013-2014 Charity event, which will premiere in September 2013, we've chosen OutServe-SLDN as our donation organization. OutServe is an non-profit that provides legal services and support to LGBT military individuals and families, working toward equal representation and benefits.

This year's theme for Charity Sips, or short stories, is "In Uniform". Who doesn't love a man, or woman, in uniform? While OutServe is primarily a military charity, we want to encourage authors to use their imaginations. Soldiers, sailors, pilots? Absolutely. But we're also open to stories about first responders like police, firemen and EMTs, as well as security guards, park rangers or anyone else who wears a snappy uniform to work. Give us hot, romantic, fully realized stories with happy endings about all the unsung heroes and heroines in the world.

Word count for Charity Sips ranges from 3000-8000 words. Deadline for submissions is July 1, 2013. Please send stories to submissions@torquerepress.com with OutServe Charity Sip and your story's title in subject line. Include full manuscript in RTF or Word formats, and in the body of the email include a cover letter with your full legal name and address information, as well as a synopsis of your story. Please our general submissions guidelines for formatting and other information. Feel free to emailkristi@torquerepress.com for more information.

OCTOBER - LIGHTS OUT SIPS!

They say there’s nothing there in the dark that isn’t present in the light. We disagree! Halloween is all about things that go bump in the night, and October is all about Halloween here at Torquere. Give us romantic, fully realized, LGBT tales about Halloween and/or paranormal activity, from ghosts to were-creatures to vamps and everything in between. Give us all the things that only come alive when the lights go out!

Please send your submissions to submissions@torquerepress.com with Lights Out in the subject field. Please see our general submissions guidelines for formatting etc. Deadline for submission is August 1, 2013. Length, 3000-8000 words.

NOVEMBER - THANKFUL SIPS

We should all stop and be thankful for something. Whether it's the big things -- like love and family -- or the little things -- like flavored lube -- or simply the HOT things, we want to know! For our Thankful sips, we're looking for fully realized, romantic LGBT stories about love during Thanksgiving holidays. Make us laugh or cry, surprise us and make us glow with happy endings! Length is 3000-8000 words.

Please send your submissions to submissions@torquerepress.com with Thankful in the subject field. Please see our general submissions guidelines for formatting etc. Deadline for submission is September 1, 2013.

DECEMBER - ALL I WANT SIPS

All I want for Christmas (or Hanukah or Yule) is you. Or you and you… Who doesn’t want to be with someone they love for the holidays? For our All I Want sips, we’re looking for fully realized, romantic LGBT stories about love at the holidays. Make us laugh or cry, surprise us and make us glow with happy endings! Length is 3000-8000 words.

Please send your submissions to submissions@torquerepress.com with All I Want in the subject field. Please see our general submissions guidelines for formatting etc. Deadline for submission is September 15, 2013.

Wilde City 4th of July Sale!!!

Wilde City is having a sale and you are invited! be sure to check out their offerings, and its also a nice way to discover a new publisher and authors.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY TO MY U.S FRIEND

And The Winner Is...

SUSAN

Winner of Lou Harper's Dead Man and the Restless Spirits. 

*congrats!! and thanks to all who entered. Winner chosen using random.org*

Review: The Haunting of Timber Manor by F.E Feeley Jr

Reviewed by Fehu
The Haunting of Timber Manor by F.E Feeley Jr
Dreamspinner Press
Novel: 230pgs
3.25 Pants Off

Blurb:
While recovering from the recent loss of his parents, Daniel Donnelly receives a phone call from his estranged aunt, who turns over control of the family fortune and estate, Timber Manor. Though his father seemed guarded about the past, Daniel’s need for family and curiosity compel him to visit.

Located in a secluded area of the Northwest, Timber Manor has grown silent over the years. Her halls sit empty and a thin layer of dust adorns the sheet-covered furniture. When Daniel arrives to begin repairs, strange things happen. Nightmares haunt his dreams. Memories not his own disturb his waking hours. Alive with the tragedies of the past, Timber Manor threatens to tear Daniel apart.

Sherriff Hale Davis grew up working on the manor grounds. Seeing Daniel struggle, he vows protect the young man who captured his heart, and help him solve the mystery behind the haunting and confront the past—not only to save Daniel’s life, but to save his family, whose very souls hang in the balance.

Review:
A haunted house and an heir who isn't aware of his family past, a great setting and a plotline I love, but the ping pong point of view, not so much. Daniel has recently lost his parents and after their death received a letter from his father’s sister, who invited him to visit her for his summer break from law school, an aunt he never heard of before. The story starts like a horror movie, a dark lonely street through the woods, rain and night and just Daniel in his car. A wolf distracts him and he nearly crashes, that's when he meets Hale, a local sheriff who has his suspicions about Daniel’s aunt house and who takes a special interest in Daniel.

Strange things begin to happen, when Daniel arrives, something awakens and gains strength in the house. The reader knows this since one of the switching POV's is the ghosts! I would have understood if the different point of views were from Daniel and Hale, but there was the maid, the aunt, the ghost, Daniel, Hale and the medium, for me it took away some of my focus and distracted from the storyline. It was more of a jumping from point to point than a straight line. The changing POV's might also be the reason why I didn't buy the romance or wasn't really focused on it.

I couldn't say if this was a romance or a bad horror movie, but since the romance was lackluster, I choose to read it for the ghost story. Still I ended frustrated with the book and had to take a break from it.  Why? Well in a horror movie, don't you find it frustrating that the character goes down to the cellar, where the killer is, or opens the door after hearing all the strange noise, in a storm, when the power is out and he or she is all alone. Daniel’s behaving like a character in a horror movie and not the rational one and he wasn't the only one I was frustrated with, his aunt had made me also want to hit something.

So your fiancé dies, in your family house, he is pushed, when no one was home who could have done it, with the ring pushed down his throat. No reason to be suspicious or want to leave the house. Your mother dies, screaming that she saw your dead brother and that he was still around hounding her. Oh, well, why not stay in that charming place. Your brother saw the ghost and fled the house first moment he could. Oh, why don't we invite the son, the only remaining living family member into the house where all your family died, some under very strange circumstances. Reasonable, it's not like his father would have hated the idea, forbidden it or anything, oh no. So your solicitor dies in the house with a look of horror on his face when you find him, no reason to believe something was wrong there. Honestly, she takes oblivious to a new level or just plain delusional, with no shred of logic or self-preservation! She is rich and chooses to stay alone in the house where all her family died. Why???? She admits that after the death of her fiancé she was afraid anyone she'd bring into the house would die. Why then, bring your last living relative there??

Of course Daniel proved their blood relationship by being similarly stupid. No, dreams of one's dead father telling you to get out are not enough reason to leave. BUT when you get scratched, tripped, when no one is there, don't you start wondering? His father never mentioned his family, never visited them and Daniel does not start to wonder why for the most part of the story. Let's just say I would have liked to kick some sense into the characters for a long time.

The story itself was quite interesting and never boring and it's written well enough. I just wish the characters behaved a little less like the one in bad horror movies, because that kept ripping me out of the story, since I was frustrated by their actions. If you like bad horror movies and want one with a gay romance on the side, then this is the perfect book for you.