Shelter from the Storm by Kate Sherwood

A healer and a warrior fight to survive the winter... and each other.

Grif is tired of life as a mercenary—tired of life, period. So he heads off into the mountains, not much caring whether he lives or dies. But when his indifference leaves him unconscious in a snowbank, a stranger finds him and insists on dragging him back from death.

Kiernan doesn’t really have time to nurse a stranger back to health; he’s on an important mission. He doesn’t know why the message he’s carrying is significant, but he’s determined to deliver it, even if it means risking his life in the winter mountains. Still, he can’t just walk away from a fellow traveler in need.

Grif didn’t want to be saved, and he sure as hell doesn’t want to be stuck with an annoying, naïve do-gooder. But since when do the mountains give men what they want? The snow is too deep to travel. Food is scarce. Grif and Kiernan learn to depend on each other, and eventually to care about each other. Neither of them wanted it to happen. But sometimes the mountains don’t give men what they want; sometimes, the mountains give men what they need.

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Riptide Publishing

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Sarah – ☆☆☆
I’m still not quite sure what to make of this story. Part fantasy and part romance, there isn’t quite enough world building for readers to understand where it sits in time and place and the characters share far too few emotions for a romance.

It took me far too long to engage with either Grif or Kiernan. Grif starts out brutish and cruel while Kiernan is whiny and helpless. Not enough backstory is shared to give readers any real insight into either of these characters, so I struggled to care about their survival. And at its core, this is a survival story. Most of the book focuses on the men’s daily struggle for food and shelter.

There is sex in the book but while descriptions are quite graphic, the scenes lack heat and the sex often feels somewhat utilitarian. The relationship between Kiernan and Grif builds to an unconvincing happy for now.

I struggled with this story. I’m not a huge fantasy fan and I need a whole lot of world and character building when I do engage with fantasy. This sits somewhere between fantasy and historic fiction and it lacks the human emotion I need to engage with a story. Parts of it read like Game of Thrones fanfic and I’m guessing GOT fans might enjoy this more than I did.

Kate Sherwood, Cate Cameron, Catherine Dale... and probably a few new names, eventually. They’re all one person.

One person who’s lucky enough to get to live a bunch of extra lives through all the characters in her books, and who’s trying desperately to keep all the lives organized into some sort of categories... so each name writes a different type of story.

But really, beneath the genre categories? All the stories will have some kind of humour, even in the darkest times. They’ll all show characters who are far from perfect, but who are trying to be better.

Basic bio stuff? Kate/Cate/Catherine lives in Cottage Country, the water-filled world north of Toronto, Canada, the land where summers are sunny and crowded with visitors and winters are snowy and isolated. She loves it there. Not that she doesn’t sometimes miss the city, especially when her internet is acting up or she wants something delivered!

She works full-time at a nonwriting job but would love to shift into a more writing-centred life. There’s a five-year plan. It might work...

Connect with Kate

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Shelter from the Storm by Kate Sherwood to read and review.

Home Fires by Kate Sherwood

Trouble comes to Mosely, Montana, from the outside world. When the residents of Mosely are left on their own, they can make things work. Sure, there’s always been a militia operating up in the hills, but they were small-scale—just survivalists doing their thing—until organizers came in from out of state. Now Jericho Crewe and the rest of the sheriff’s department are facing down a heavily armed band of fanatics, and the feds are busy elsewhere.

The odds are hopeless, but Jericho swore an oath to serve and protect the citizens of Mosely. He won’t walk away from that, even if Wade Granger’s begging him to run away somewhere and finally be together the way they always should have been.

But this time, it’s Jericho who refuses to leave Mosely, even if staying kills him.

The Common Law novels can be read on their own, or enjoyed in series order.

Book 4
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Riptide Publishing

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Sarah – ☆☆☆☆☆
This is the perfect conclusion to a wonderfully original series. Smuggling and biker gangs are the least of the Mosely, Montana Sheriff Department’s problems when an armed militia decides to take on the FBI. And somehow, Jericho and Wade find themselves at the centre of the ensuing chaos.

The first three books set up the characters and relationships that define Jericho and Wade’s small border town and this final book pulls everything together with dark humour and a couple of thrilling action scenes. There are even a few softer moments between Jericho and Wade. By this fourth story, I really loved everyone in Mosely. Kayla is wonderful. Her deputies and the DEA agents are mostly almost useful this time round.

I live in a country where even police officers don’t carry guns so the shootouts between law enforcement and civilians armed with things like RPGs were difficult for me to wrap my head around. I know from news stories that Americans have guns and they do like to use them so the action in this book might not be as unrealistic as it felt. Realistic or not, the action scenes are exciting and thoroughly entertaining. Wade is a grumpy, sarcastic, and creative anti-hero and I absolutely loved him by the time the dust settled.

I have enjoyed every moment of Jericho and Wade’s charming and frustrating non-romance through all four books but even with fifty pages left to go, I had no idea how Jericho the cop and Wade the criminal were ever going to make a life together. The answer in the epilogue is absolutely perfect.

I would recommend this series highly to anyone looking for something fresh and original. This dark, gritty, and quirky series doesn’t sit neatly within a genre but I’m so glad I found it.

Also Available in the Common Law Series

Book 1
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo
Riptide Publishing

For reviews & more info, check out our Long Shadows post.

Book 2
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo
Riptide Publishing

For reviews & more info, check out our Embers post.

Book 3
Buy Links

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B&N  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo
Riptide Publishing

For reviews & more info, check out our Darkness post.

Kate Sherwood started writing about the same time she got back on a horse after almost twenty years away from riding. She’d like to think she was too young for it to be a midlife crisis, but apparently she was ready for some changes!

Kate grew up near Toronto, Ontario, and went to school in Montreal, then Vancouver. But for the last decade or so she’s been a country girl. Sure, she misses some of the conveniences of the city, but living close to nature makes up for those lacks. She’s living in Ontario’s “cottage country”—other people save up their time and come to spend their vacations in her neighborhood, but she gets to live there all year round!

Since her first book was published in 2010, she’s kept herself busy with novels, novellas, and short stories in almost all the subgenres of m/m romance. Contemporary, suspense, sci-fi, or fantasy—the settings are just the backdrop for her characters to answer the important questions: How much can they share, and what do they need to keep? Can they bring themselves to trust someone, after being disappointed so many times? Are they brave enough to take a chance on love?

Kate’s books balance drama with humor, angst with optimism. They feature strong, damaged men who fight themselves harder than they fight anyone else. And, wherever possible, there are animals: horses, dogs, cats ferrets, squirrels... sometimes it’s easier to bond with a nonhuman, and most of Kate’s men need all the help they can get.

With her writing, Kate is still learning, still stretching herself, and still enjoying what she does. She’s looking forward to sharing a lot more stories in the future. (And check out her imaginary friend, Cate Cameron, who writes m/f romance and YA.)

Connect with Kate

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Google+  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Home Fires (Common Law #4) by Kate Sherwood to read and review.

Darkness by Kate Sherwood

A murdered prostitute. An obvious suspect. Clear evidence. For once, Jericho Crewe has a straightforward crime to investigate, and Wade Granger isn’t involved.

It all seems so simple, but Jericho’s instincts won’t let him rest. As he investigates, he finds troubling suggestions that the murder is a part of something larger and more sinister. But working within the boundaries of the law may keep him from finding the truth. If Jericho doesn’t break the rules, an innocent man may rot in jail while a killer remains free to strike again.

Inevitably, it all comes back to Wade. Because who else knows as much about breaking rules? And who else knows Jericho the way Wade does—not wisely, but far, far too well?

The Common Law novels can be read on their own, or enjoyed in series order.

Book 3
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo
Riptide Publishing

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Sarah – ☆☆☆☆☆
I love this dark and gritty series so much! The third book brings us back to Mosely, Montana, where Jericho Crewe is now working as an under sheriff. This time, while the problems of smuggling, drugs, and organised crime still swirl around the town, Jericho’s focus is on a simple homicide.

This is the first story in the series with a contained story arc. This murder mystery has more depth and complexity than a stand-alone novel could ever manage. The wonderfully complex characters were established in the first two books – the complicated relationships and dubious morality aren’t new but they are expanded on in this third story.

For the first time, we see moments of actual intimacy between Jericho and Wade. I wouldn’t go so far as to describe it as romance, but there are flickers of vulnerability that humanise both the cop and the criminal. The chemistry between these two continues to build and deepen even as the barriers that keep them apart remain in place.

This story focuses less on the FBI investigation and more on Jericho and Kay. Kay gets more and more interesting as the story progresses and I’m really starting to love her. Similarly, Nikki and the bikers take a backseat this time as the murder investigation consumes Jericho’s time and attention.

In this third book, there are some important revelations that push the main series storylines forward, but they aren’t central. I really enjoyed the murder mystery interlude that allows for character and relationship development without complicating the story any further.

This is such a brilliant series and I can’t recommend it highly enough!

Also Available in the Common Law Series

Book 1
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo
Riptide Publishing

For reviews & more info, check out our Long Shadows post.

Book 2
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo
Riptide Publishing

For reviews & more info, check out our Embers post.

Kate Sherwood started writing about the same time she got back on a horse after almost twenty years away from riding. She’d like to think she was too young for it to be a midlife crisis, but apparently she was ready for some changes!

Kate grew up near Toronto, Ontario, and went to school in Montreal, then Vancouver. But for the last decade or so she’s been a country girl. Sure, she misses some of the conveniences of the city, but living close to nature makes up for those lacks. She’s living in Ontario’s “cottage country”—other people save up their time and come to spend their vacations in her neighborhood, but she gets to live there all year round!

Since her first book was published in 2010, she’s kept herself busy with novels, novellas, and short stories in almost all the subgenres of m/m romance. Contemporary, suspense, sci-fi, or fantasy—the settings are just the backdrop for her characters to answer the important questions: How much can they share, and what do they need to keep? Can they bring themselves to trust someone, after being disappointed so many times? Are they brave enough to take a chance on love?

Kate’s books balance drama with humor, angst with optimism. They feature strong, damaged men who fight themselves harder than they fight anyone else. And, wherever possible, there are animals: horses, dogs, cats ferrets, squirrels... sometimes it’s easier to bond with a nonhuman, and most of Kate’s men need all the help they can get.

With her writing, Kate is still learning, still stretching herself, and still enjoying what she does. She’s looking forward to sharing a lot more stories in the future. (And check out her imaginary friend, Cate Cameron, who writes m/f romance and YA.)

Connect with Kate

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Google+  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Darkness (Common Law #3) by Kate Sherwood to read and review.

Embers by Kate Sherwood

Small town—big problems. Jericho Crewe is back in Mosely, Montana, trying to deal with police corruption, interfering feds, his newly discovered family members, and, of course, Wade Granger.

He doesn’t really need a biker war on top of it all, but as the bodies start to pile up, it becomes pretty clear that’s what he’s got. Not only that, but Wade’s involved somehow, and as soon as Wade is a part of something, things that seemed clear become cloudy.

With the feds breathing down his neck, Jericho has to find his way through Wade’s maze of half truths and manipulations. It would all be so much easier if Jericho could think straight in the other man’s presence. So much easier if their passionate past could be forgotten, and if he could be sure he’s strong enough to resist the temptation of a passionate present.

The Common Law novels can be read on their own, or enjoyed in series order.

Book 2
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo
Riptide Publishing

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Sarah – ☆☆☆☆☆
I have to award this full stars because after this second book, I’m completely hooked on Jericho and his dysfunctional hometown. This series has a gritty, claustrophobic feel to it that reminds me of TV’s True Detective or the film Winter’s Bone.

Mosely, Montana is a grim place and big city homicide cop, Jericho finds himself unable to trust any of the locals. Jericho is caught between the local police, federal agencies, a biker gang, a mob family, and whoever is moving things across the American/Canadian border. The second book only adds to the complexity of this crime story – I’m expecting the many threads will eventually come together by the end of the series.

This series carefully explores the grinding rural poverty in a small northern border town. Good and bad blur as Jericho pushes at motivation and comes to a new understanding of the bleak hopelessness he left behind in his hometown. I love the ambiguity and thoughtfulness of these books.

Jericho’s relationship with Wade adds another layer to the complexity of this story. Old lovers and childhood friends, the chemistry between them crackles – even as Wade’s involvement in the crimes Jericho is investigating becomes increasingly obvious but almost impossible to prove.

I have loved the first two books, but I’m slightly annoyed that the series is marketed as m/m romance because there is very little romance or sex in this story. If Jericho or Wade were female, the same book would be marketed as gritty crime or suspense writing.

I love these books but this is not a standalone. After reading Embers, it seems that the central story will span the whole series. It is definitely worth reading – just remember to start from the beginning and read them in order. I’ve already signed up for books three and four...

Also Available in the Common Law Series

Book 1
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo
Riptide Publishing

For reviews & more info, check out our Long Shadows post.

Kate Sherwood started writing about the same time she got back on a horse after almost twenty years away from riding. She’d like to think she was too young for it to be a midlife crisis, but apparently she was ready for some changes!

Kate grew up near Toronto, Ontario, and went to school in Montreal, then Vancouver. But for the last decade or so she’s been a country girl. Sure, she misses some of the conveniences of the city, but living close to nature makes up for those lacks. She’s living in Ontario’s “cottage country”—other people save up their time and come to spend their vacations in her neighborhood, but she gets to live there all year round!

Since her first book was published in 2010, she’s kept herself busy with novels, novellas, and short stories in almost all the subgenres of m/m romance. Contemporary, suspense, sci-fi, or fantasy—the settings are just the backdrop for her characters to answer the important questions: How much can they share, and what do they need to keep? Can they bring themselves to trust someone, after being disappointed so many times? Are they brave enough to take a chance on love?

Kate’s books balance drama with humor, angst with optimism. They feature strong, damaged men who fight themselves harder than they fight anyone else. And, wherever possible, there are animals: horses, dogs, cats ferrets, squirrels... sometimes it’s easier to bond with a nonhuman, and most of Kate’s men need all the help they can get.

With her writing, Kate is still learning, still stretching herself, and still enjoying what she does. She’s looking forward to sharing a lot more stories in the future. (And check out her imaginary friend, Cate Cameron, who writes m/f romance and YA.)

Connect with Kate

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Google+  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Embers (Common Law #2) by Kate Sherwood to read and review.

Long Shadows by Kate Sherwood

LA cop Jericho Crewe got the hell out of Mosely, Montana, when he was seventeen. Fifteen years later, he’s back, and everything is just as messed up as when he left. He planned a quick visit to deal with his injured father, but of course things are never that simple. Family complications, police complications, social complications—and, as always, Wade Granger complications.

Jericho and Wade had been so close, once upon a time. First friends, then more than friends—and then, after Jericho’s escape, nothing. Wade’s magnetism hasn’t been lessened by a decade and a half apart; even when Jericho learns that Wade is the prime suspect in the death of Jericho’s father, the old connection still sparks.

When Jericho’s newly discovered half siblings are kidnapped, he needs to trust someone to help him find them. Wade’s a terrible choice, but Jericho’s never been known for his good judgment. Anyway, he’d rather make a bad decision with Wade than a good one with anybody else.

Book 1
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo
Riptide Publishing

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Sarah – ☆☆☆☆
This is an eerie small town suspense story with a cast of complicated characters, none of whom appear terribly trustworthy. When Jericho, an LA detective and former US Marine, returns to his hometown, he finds himself investigating his father’s death. The only people who can help him are murder suspects themselves or law enforcement officers suspected of corruption.

Jericho is an original character. Raised in an abusive home on the wrong side of the law, he made a complete break from his past when he joined the military. But when he is pulled back into his hometown, he is dragged into old habits and relationships as the boundaries between right and wrong start to blur.

This isn’t an m/m romance. Jericho is a gay man and he does have unfinished business with an old lover, but the story is more about his family and his complicated hometown. With her honest depiction of grinding rural poverty and her refusal to offer easy boundaries between good and evil, the author has crafted a compelling series.

This is the first book in a series and it needs to be read as a series. The first book sets up the relationships and dynamics in the border town of Mosely, Montana, but it asks more questions than it answers. I finished this book and immediately started the second one but that just let me with an even bigger plot twist, waiting for the next book. I’m hooked on the series but I would have liked a few more answers in each individual story.

Kate Sherwood started writing about the same time she got back on a horse after almost twenty years away from riding. She’d like to think she was too young for it to be a midlife crisis, but apparently she was ready for some changes!

Kate grew up near Toronto, Ontario, and went to school in Montreal, then Vancouver. But for the last decade or so she’s been a country girl. Sure, she misses some of the conveniences of the city, but living close to nature makes up for those lacks. She’s living in Ontario’s “cottage country”—other people save up their time and come to spend their vacations in her neighborhood, but she gets to live there all year round!

Since her first book was published in 2010, she’s kept herself busy with novels, novellas, and short stories in almost all the subgenres of m/m romance. Contemporary, suspense, sci-fi, or fantasy—the settings are just the backdrop for her characters to answer the important questions: How much can they share, and what do they need to keep? Can they bring themselves to trust someone, after being disappointed so many times? Are they brave enough to take a chance on love?

Kate’s books balance drama with humor, angst with optimism. They feature strong, damaged men who fight themselves harder than they fight anyone else. And, wherever possible, there are animals: horses, dogs, cats ferrets, squirrels... sometimes it’s easier to bond with a nonhuman, and most of Kate’s men need all the help they can get.

With her writing, Kate is still learning, still stretching herself, and still enjoying what she does. She’s looking forward to sharing a lot more stories in the future. (And check out her imaginary friend, Cate Cameron, who writes m/f romance and YA.)

Connect with Kate

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Google+  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Long Shadows (Common Law #1) by Kate Sherwood to read and review.