Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Running with the Moon by Kiernan Kelly


Heart of the Wolf

What happens when a veterinarian ends up a patient in his own animal clinic?

Dr. Dae Anderson needs to lose the deadbeat boyfriend who is holding him back, but Jack is determined to hang on to Dae—even if he has to resort to violence.

Dae has worked hard to fit in among humans, and if his secret gets out, he’ll lose everything. His veterinary assistant, Sean, might be just the man to stand with Dae… against Jack and the world.

Courage of the Wolf

The most painful changes don’t involve the shape of the body, but of the heart….

Just as Dae and Sean are settling in to life as a couple, Dae is contacted by his brother, who still lives with his former pack and who exiled him for being gay.

If he refuses to return to Wyoming, a sociopathic alpha will slaughter Dae’s family one member at a time. And deep down, Dae knows he must confront his past before he can truly have a loving future with Sean. First, they have to stay alive.

2nd Edition
First Edition of Heart of the Wolf published as Change of Heart by Torquere Press, 2007.
First Edition of Courage of the Wolf published as Change in Attitude by Torquere Press, 2011.


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Dreamspinner Press



Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader☆☆☆☆
M/M Shifter Romance
This is a 2-part story, but both parts are included
Triggers: Click HERE to see Avid Reader’s review on Goodreads for trigger warnings.

PART 1 – Heart of the Wolf
Dae is an amazing vet. He loves his practice and loves his animals. What he doesn't love is his love life. He has been dating Jack, who is emotionally abusive and, despite his better judgment, keeps taking Jack back.

Dae is clueless as to the affection that Sean, his vet tech, has for him and has had for him for quite some time. Sean is kind, gentle, loving, and loves the vet practice almost as much as Dae.

When Dae has an accident in his shifted form, Sean comes to his rescue. Dae admires how Sean cares for him, speaks with him, and realizes that in order to get out of the form he's in, he's going to have to trust Sean.

Sean is shocked, but loves Dae regardless of what form he's in. They begin to develop a relationship and this is where I believe that their previous friendship allows their relationship to go at warp speed. However, when Jack comes back and makes waves, you really get to see how together, Sean and Dae are more stable and stronger than ever.

PART 2 – Courage of the Wolf
This is where Dae confides in Sean that his pack has called him home. There has been a series of tragedies and Dae has to go home to see if he can help. Despite being an outcast, he has to try.

Sean is both excited and wary because he can't believe that Dae's family could simply throw him away. You get to see a very different side of Sean – he's strong, forceful, and almost alpha in this story and I loved getting to see his protective side come out.

This is a sad story about family not knowing how to handle loyalty, but eventually, they come together and combine as a real family.

This was a cute series of stories that show what love and family can really accomplish.


Sarah☆☆☆
This is a collection of two whirlwind shifter stories with some sweet moments. Together, both stories are just about 100 pages long. An awful lot happens in the 100 pages, leaving little room for world building and character development.

The first story tells the romance between shifter veterinarian Dae and Sean, his human assistant. Between a car accident, a robbery, gunshot injuries, car theft, and arson, there isn’t time for either Dae or Sean to really develop as characters in the 50 page novella. We don’t learn about any of Dae’s shifter world until well past the halfway point. There is some action and intrigue but the...  and then, and then, and then… storyline feels rushed and underdeveloped. There are some lovely moments – I loved the scene where Dae wakes up in a cage in his own hospital and I loved how he finally sees Sean when he watches his kind and gentle interactions with the hospital’s animals from his own cage. There are a few odd references that really date this book – does anyone in 2017 have overdue porn movies?

The second story offers more world building when Dae and Sean return to the pack that kicked Dae out many years before. Again, there is far too much action packed into the second 50 pages for any real world building or character development. The heteronormative happy families element of this story really turned me off.

There is relatively little sex in these two stories. The sex that does happen is explicit but abrupt – scenes feel like they have been inserted with the deliberate intention to spice up the stories. Sean and Dae move from colleagues to lovers very quickly and there is little opportunity for readers to experience the attraction and chemistry that usually drive romance stories.



KIERNAN KELLY lives in Florida among the alligators and palmetto bugs with her husband and a Shar-Pei/Labrador puppy who thinks she’s a person (the dog, not Kiernan. Kiernan knows she’s a person. At least, she is after she’s had her daily dose of caffeine). Kiernan spends most of her time writing gay erotic romance while chained to a computer in the dark recesses of her office, which her children have dubbed, “The Gay Cave.”

Connect with Kiernan

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Google+  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads


https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com


Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Running with the Moon by Kiernan Kelly to read and review.

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