Numbers by Laurann Dohner

Stories 14 and 15 in the New Species series. It is advisable to read the books in order, to get the most enjoyment from the series.

140

Dana is visiting Homeland when she meets a New Species who tugs at her heartstrings. As a widow, she knows firsthand the pain he’s suffering after losing his mate.

Mourn isn’t so certain that talking to a human female will help him heal but he desires her. It’s possible she could become his new reason for living.


927

Candi lost the male she loved, but never forgot him. New Species are her only hope to seek revenge for 927’s death.

A human female claiming to have been reared at Mercile has demanded entry to Homeland. Hero rushes to Medical and comes face-to-face with his past. One look at Candi and the life he’s built since gaining freedom comes crashing down around him.

Reader Advisory: These stories have graphic sexual language and scenes—no closed bedroom doors (or other rooms) here!

***An adult science fiction romance from Ellora’s Cave***

Book 14
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Ca  ~  Ellora's Cave

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Angela – ☆☆☆☆☆
Despite my best intentions, I began reading Numbers shortly after I discovered it had been delivered to my Kindle. I should have been sleeping. I professed on Facebook that I would not start it until morning. But when I finished the hockey romance I was reading, I could not resist opening Numbers to check out the inside. I still had no intention of reading it as it was already after one in the morning and I had to be up for work in a few hours. Then I made the mistake of flipping to the first novella, Mourn’s story, and was sucked in almost immediately. Eh, who needs sleep anyway? Unlike the full-length New Species novels, these novellas are far more focused on the relationship between each couple. While each relationship encountered its own type of conflict, we are still treated to the alpha male tendencies of the New Species, romance, steamy erotic scenes, and a happy ending as Ms. Dohner always gives her characters a happy ending.

~ 140 ~

Dana is visiting her brother Paul, who works as a nurse at Homeland, when Mourn (140) is brought in to be treated for injuries sustained in a fight. Knowing that she is pro-Species and has similar medical training, Paul drafts her to help out when they’re shorthanded in treating Mourn. When Midnight shares why Mourn instigated the fight, Dana feels a kinship for the man whose mate has died as she lost her husband to cancer two years earlier. When the two are left alone in the exam room, Dana does what no one else has been able to do – she gives Mourn an understanding of his grief that he hadn’t been able (or willing) to face. Her offer for more conversation is not well met by Mourn and she doesn’t expect to hear from him. Needless to say, she’s quite surprised when he jumps her brother’s wall the next evening in order to talk, and the next evening, and the next evening, you get the picture. Dana feels such a connection to Mourn that she extends her visit and they decide to explore what could be.

Kindred spirits. That’s what Dana calls her and Mourn and I have to agree. The emotional connection that forms between them as the surviving partner is profound and felt so real. The way that Dana talks to Mourn about her late husband and the grief, the emptiness, the listlessness, the less than perfect marriage, and the importance of finding something to live for hit so close to home for me. Watching Mourn gradually open up was heartwarming as he looks to Dana for guidance in navigating his grief and moving forward – with her. I loved the advice that Darkness gave him and how determined Mourn was to show Dana the benefits of having a New Species mate. While the bedroom scenes were hot, it’s the trust he gives Dana with his secrets that demonstrates just how serious he is about her. I was shocked and dismayed by Paul and Dana’s mother – the woman was a witch. But I laughed my butt off when Mourn ripped open his shirt to show Mom why Dana liked him better than the doctor – ABS! Want to know what I’m talking about? Just look at the cover. Oh yeah! 140 not only gave me all the things I love about the New Species series, but it also hit me on an emotional level that made this a perfect read for me, especially with that ending!

~ 927 ~

As a fan of the series who has read most of the books multiple times, I was surprised that I had underestimated just how self-serving the doctors of Mercile could be. But within the few pages of the Prologue, Ms. Dohner reminded me of just how reprehensible they were. The Prologue begins 23 years earlier and we see how Candi and 927 first meet when both are children and I soon found myself filled with a level of loathing I had never experienced before. When we jump to the present we learn that Candi might have made it out of Mercile but she never found freedom as her father hid her away in a mental institution where she had been kept drugged for the past several years. Fortunately we join her escape attempt as it’s soon to be enacted as she’s just been informed that her father is dead and because there is no one to pay for her care, the doctor in charge has to get rid of her because the good doctor was in cahoots with her father. As Candi has spent the last seven years believing that 927 was murdered, she has one thing on her mind … vengeance for those involved in his murder. So she sets off to the only people who can help her in her mission, the New Species. But nothing could have prepared her for what she found at Homeland – belief, acceptance, and her Hero (927).

I have to say that in all of the New Species books that I’ve read, I would never have envisioned the storyline that Ms. Dohner has crafted. While the HOW is horrific, the idea of a human child raised alongside the New Species to the point that she is more them than human was fascinating. From the age of five she was treated as a New Species by both the Mercile employees and 927; being moved to the mental institution at age sixteen did nothing to dispel that mindset as she spent much of her time drugged and no attempts were made to “humanize” her. I loved her arrival at Homeland and how she practically refused to speak to the Task Force member once it became clear he was dismissing her as delusional. Candi may have been weak physically, but her inner strength would not allow her to give up and she soon found herself embraced by her people – New Species. Ms. Dohner giveth hope and Ms. Dohner taketh away when Candi and Hero first reunite. Heart shredding scene. Yet Candi refuses to let Hero go without a fight, even if said fight is with him and that makes for some seriously steamy scenes. I loved how welcoming the New Species women were and how she was accepted as one of them as soon as they learned of her history with Mercile and Hero. Even better was when Hero accepted their past was in the past and that their future was together. The author did surprise me with the FBI involvement in this one and just how much Darkness and Kat were included in the story – not a complaint but rather a very pleasant surprise. Yet another great story.

Numbers was a wonderful addition to the New Species series. With my reading schedule what it is, I don’t often have the time to go back and indulge in the past books due to their length, so the next time I’m hankering for some New Species lovin’, I can queue up either of these novellas for a quick fix. Well done Ms. Dohner. I cannot wait to see what you have in store for the New Species next.

NY Times and USA Today Bestselling Author

I'm a full time wife, mother, and author. I've been lucky enough to have spent over two decades with the love of my life and look forward to many, many more years with Mr. Laurann. I'm addicted to iced coffee, the occasional candy bar (or two), and trying to get at least five hours of sleep at night.

I love to write all kinds of stories. I think the best part about writing is the fact that real life is always uncertain, always tossing things at us that we have no control over, but when your write you can make sure there's always a happy ending. I love that about being an author. My favorite part is when I sit down at my computer desk, put on my headphones to listen to loud music to block out everything around me, so I can create worlds in front of me.

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team reviewed their personal copy of Numbers (New Species #14&15) by Laurann Dohner.