So far, I’ve lived up to it; or rather, down to it.
Too pretty, too unfocused, too easy a target.
My father even tried to sacrifice me.
And then I was saved by a beautiful, haunted man.
Mac is a reaper; he delivers lost souls.
But when he came for mine, I wouldn’t let go.
And now I can hear other souls too.
I can help him. Love him, if he’ll let me.
Assuming we survive a conspiracy to bring Chaos through the veil.
Mac says souls get what they deserve.
If I do enough good, then maybe I can be worthy of his.
Maybe I can hold on to him and our bond—forever.
Paris and the Reaper is a soft, swoony, and suspenseful M/M urban fantasy romance. It features a grumpy raven shifter afraid to love and lose again and the sweet, cursed human who makes him want to risk it all.
First off, I would strongly recommend you read the first book in this series, Icarus and the Devil, and the short story, Jason and the Storm, before you read Paris and the Reaper. This world the author has created is unique and complex so having those stories under your belt before diving in will give you a better sense of the overall world and the place of all the other characters in it. You won’t find much backstory in this book, so reading the others first will keep you on more solid footing.
Both Paris and Mac were introduced in Icarus and the Devil, and now here they take center stage. Paris is compassionate and caring, though can seem impulsive when trying to prove himself. Mac is the consummate protector, though innocent in his own way and with heartache in his past. They match well together, and while the two are linked things between them are actually a slower burn than you may expect.
My one nit pick with this story is that the details are more surface-level. Part of this I think is due to there being an assumption that you would have already read the other books in the series, so would understand what is going on (hence my advice to read those first before this one). I really would have liked to have had things explained more in-depth than they were, particularly regarding the origin of the giants.
Even so, I was still entranced by the story and am looking forward to the next installment in the series. Paris and the Reaper was a solid 4-star read for me, and I’d recommend to to M/M urban fantasy fans in particular…just please read the other stories first, trust me!
About the Author
Layla Reyne is the author of What We May Be and the Agents Irish and Whiskey, Fog City, and Perfect Play series. She writes sexy, intense LGBTQIA+ romance featuring competent adults in kitchens, sports arenas, car chases, and other high-stakes situations. Whether it's adrenaline-fueled suspense, rival athletes, vampires and shifters in alt-realms, or love mixed with mouth-watering foodie goodness, queer folks finding happily-ever-afters is guaranteed.
So far, I’ve lived up to it; or rather, down to it.
Too pretty, too unfocused, too easy a target.
My father even tried to sacrifice me.
And then I was saved by a beautiful, haunted man.
Mac is a reaper; he delivers lost souls.
But when he came for mine, I wouldn’t let go.
And now I can hear other souls too.
I can help him. Love him, if he’ll let me.
Assuming we survive a conspiracy to bring Chaos through the veil.
Mac says souls get what they deserve.
If I do enough good, then maybe I can be worthy of his.
Maybe I can hold on to him and our bond—forever.
Paris and the Reaper is a soft, swoony, and suspenseful M/M urban fantasy romance. It features a grumpy raven shifter afraid to love and lose again and the sweet, cursed human who makes him want to risk it all.
Layla Reyne is the author of What We May Be and the Agents Irish and Whiskey, Fog City, and Perfect Play series. She writes sexy, intense LGBTQIA+ romance featuring competent adults in kitchens, sports arenas, car chases, and other high-stakes situations. Whether it's adrenaline-fueled suspense, rival athletes, vampires and shifters in alt-realms, or love mixed with mouth-watering foodie goodness, queer folks finding happily-ever-afters is guaranteed.
A psychic moose shifter. A handsome guy who is psychically silent.
The chance for a fresh start, and a threat from the past that might get in the way.
Blurb
Brandon Davis is a psychic and a moose shifter. He makes his living as a wilderness guide in Fox Hollow, NY—a town that is a haven for misfit shifters and psychics. Brandon has a profitable business, a found family of close friends, and a cozy cabin in the woods. Life is good, but he wishes he could find a special someone to share it with. Then he picks up the unmistakable scent of his fated mate--a handsome man who isn't a shifter of any kind and whose thoughts he can't read. The chemistry is undeniable, but can he fall for a silent partner?
Riley Henderson escaped a bad relationship with an ex-boyfriend he suspects is a psi-vamp. He left town and got a scholarship to the Fox Institute to explore his rare ability—his thoughts are mostly closed to being read by psychics. Getting away from his ex was worth being studied for his unusual silence as a “nil” or an “immune.” Especially since the situation comes with a stipend, an apartment, and a regular gig as a musician at one of the local hotels. Riley intends to go boy-sober until he meets a tall, dark-haired stranger with whom he has a sudden, intense connection. When he realizes Brandon is both a psychic and a shifter, Riley needs to figure out how they can overcome those differences to be together. And in the back of his mind, Riley worries—what if his ex shows up to ruin everything?
Silent Partner is a MM shifter romance filled with found family, a snarky moose, a soulful musician, sexy shifters, small town winter fun, fated mates, helpful psychics, lots of snow and a very happy ending.
Excerpt
Mixed shifter pairings were common in Fox Hollow, although less so in other places. His friends’ marriages proved that. Big vegetarian shifters like deer and elk were rare. He hadn’t met another moose shifter since relocating. Brandon believed he could make things work with a carnivore and perhaps even with one of the other omnivore or vegetarian shifters that weren’t as large as he was. Brandon was happy for his friends who had found love. And although he was busy with guide tours and being an EMT, he still wished he could find someone special of his own.
Now that he felt suitable to be in public, Brandon drove back to the grocery store. For its size, the shop provided a remarkable variety of products, including some specialties crafted by his neighbors. That saved everyone from trekking to Lake George to go to one of the big-box stores. Online delivery only worked in the summer months.
He parked and headed inside. The familiar mix of smells from the bakery and deli, as well as all the luscious produce, made Brandon sigh happily. He waved to Brenda at the register, grabbed a cart, and started to make the familiar trek around the store.
Brandon loaded up on salad, especially cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower. He skipped the carrots since they gave him indigestion. That was true for some fruit as well, although he loved frozen berries and added them to the cart. His human side craved coffee, oatmeal, and eggs, so Brandon made sure to replenish. He couldn’t resist some chips and cookies and reminded himself to grab a bale of hay from the garden supplies on the store terrace.
Halfway through the store, Brandon stopped dead in his tracks and sniffed the air. A scent he had never picked up before enveloped him, making him light-headed. Anise and maple. How strange. Maybe they’re baking something?
Mate.
Brandon startled, not expecting to hear from his inner moose in such a human-centric place. What?
That’s what our mate smells like. Find him!
Brandon seriously doubted he’d spot a moose in the frozen food aisle or even a moose shifter. Still, the scent captivated him and stirred a hunger deep in his groin that had nothing to do with food.
He steered into the next aisle, forcing himself to keep a normal walking pace. I can’t just run past people and sniff them. That would be weird—even for Fox Hollow.
Shopping forgotten, Brandon searched for the elusive, overwhelming scent. He turned down the baking aisle, and the aroma called to him, far stronger. Only two people were nearby—Mrs. Prendicott—an elderly psychic—and a handsome stranger.
The stranger looked vaguely puzzled like he couldn’t find what he wanted on the tightly-packed shelves. The store overstocked during the bad weather months, especially if there was news of a storm in the offing. That sometimes made it difficult to locate items.
About the Author
Morgan Brice is the romance pen name of bestselling author Gail Z. Martin. Morgan writes urban fantasy MM paranormal romance, with plenty of action, adventure and supernatural thrills to go with the happily ever after. Gail writes epic and urban fantasy, with less romance, more explosions.
All of the modern-day Morgan Brice and Gail Z. Martin series crossover, so characters from one series appear in cameos and on page in important secondary roles in books from other series. Each book can be read as a standalone, but the more you read the more the expanded universe of friendships and connections becomes clear.
Morgan and Gail believe that paranormal elements make any story even better, and her worlds are full of ghosts, psychics, shifters, creatures, vampires, monster hunters, and magic.
She's also a huge fan of the TV show Supernatural. (Chibi art by Kamidiox)
Lynx shifter Noah Wilson narrowly escaped being captured by the Huntsman. While recuperating in Fox Hollow, he meets his fated mate, wolf shifter Drew Lowe.
Noah has to return to Canada to finish filming his TV projects, so he and Drew visit when they can and come up with creative solutions to their long-distance relationship. Noah and Drew are sure they're meant for each other and start making plans.
Drew's dreams make him wonder if he and Noah are more than fated mates—could they be a true pairing, destined to find each other lifetime after lifetime?
Then Noah accidentally records a murder, and the killer is on his trail. Can he elude a master tracker and reach the safety of Fox Hollow, or will he and Drew have to wait to find happiness in another life?
Again is a thrill-packed MM shifter romance adventure full of sexy shifters, hurt/comfort, one true pairing, reincarnation, sincere psychics, hunky mechanics, first responders, a sexy wildlife photographer, found family, and fated mates.
About the Author
Morgan Brice is the romance pen name of bestselling author Gail Z. Martin. Morgan writes urban fantasy male/male paranormal romance, with plenty of action, adventure and supernatural thrills to go with the happily ever after. Gail writes epic fantasy and urban fantasy, and together with co-author hubby Larry N. Martin, steampunk and comedic horror, all of which have less romance, more explosions. Characters from her Gail books make frequent appearances in secondary roles in her Morgan books, and vice versa.
On the rare occasions Morgan isn’t writing, she’s either reading, cooking, or spoiling two very pampered dogs.
Series include Witchbane, Badlands, Treasure Trail, Kings of the Mountain and Fox Hollow. Watch for more in these series, plus new series coming soon!
Kana is a rare male witch ostracized by his coven. When he claims two familiars, rather than the standard one, he knows he has to run away to keep his coven from taking advantage of his power. After years of constantly looking over his shoulder, Kana realizes he should have been paying better attention to what’s right in front of him. He’s drawn the interest of a different sort of coven: vampires.
Vampires, and the werewolves who protect them, want power, and Kana has a lot of that. Even with the support of his familiars, Kana isn’t sure if he’ll survive the attentions of the vampires. Except, perhaps it’s the werewolves, and one handsome wolf in particular, that Kana ought to be afraid of.
The circle was ready. Though only white chalk lines on a black, chalkboard-painted floor, the circle had taken an hour to draw. Each line was perfect, from the arc of the circle to the straight lines and exact angles of the points of the pentagram. Even the runes, drawn between the lines of the star, were as impeccable as any Kana had ever drawn.
Kana studied the circle, then let out a relieved breath when he didn’t see a single flaw. The room in the special building for advanced spells was empty; no one had come to watch his initiation into adulthood, nor his moment of calling a familiar. No one was there to give him a second set of eyes to check the circle either. He wasn’t at all surprised they hadn’t come to help him. He was a male witch. While not unheard of, male witches were extremely rare.
Most men affiliated with the witches’ coven couldn’t kindle any magic; his own father hadn’t been able to cast any magic, but his mother had been a full member of the Seattle coven’s circle of power. They had died five years ago when Kana was thirteen, and the coven had since undertaken his rearing. At least, they had until they realized he was gay. A man with power was expected to pass on that power to his daughters so they might become contributing members of the coven’s circle. According to the coven, that was literally Kana’s only purpose in life, and he had failed them when he had come out.
Well, whatever. His suitcase was already packed and the bus ticket purchased. No one would look for him if he simply vanished—no one would even care he had gone—but before he left, he had to complete the last rites that signified his ascendance to adulthood. Kana was determined to leave this place with everything he was due as a proper witch.
Kana stepped into the circle, careful not to smudge any lines, and settled with his legs crossed into the empty space at the very center. He placed his palms flat on the floor on either side of his thighs and called up his magic.
The lines of the circle started to glow a soft white, lighting the dark room and growing brighter and brighter until it seemed Kana was completely enclosed in a white, shining disk. Somehow, a large spot in the circle right in front of where Kana was sitting remained dark and then got blacker even as the chalk’s glow continued to grow in intensity.
In the darkness, something moved. A soft brushing sound whispered through the space as a massive paw touched the ground, and then another barely audible susurrus as whatever was approaching drew closer and closer to Kana within the black hole in the middle of Kana’s spell. Kana poured more magic into the circle until he was squinting through the light to see what was approaching in the dark.
Whatever it was, it was huge. A brief glimpse showed a furred creature at least six feet long, with a tail equal in length. White, shot through with jagged black stripes.
The creature was studying him, watching from the pit of blackness as Kana pushed more and more magic into the circle to keep the portal open. He was being judged, and suddenly the description in his schoolbooks of how this spell worked—a feeling of being scanned both inside and out as if subjected to X-ray vision—made sense. Kana was sweating and panting for breath, his fingers cramping where they were pressed to the ground, and yet he couldn’t stop funneling magic to keep the circle going.
The creature must have come to a decision because the sense of being scanned suddenly stopped. The creature turned around and Kana caught a glimpse of the massive, furred face of what might loosely be called a cat, but then a small, white with black stripes, furred ball of kitten dropped from the larger cat’s mouth onto the slate floor on Kana’s side of the circle. The gigantic cat turned away, and Kana was about to lift his hands and end the spell, when it suddenly turned back. A second ball of fluff dropped onto the slate floor, this one black with white stripes.
This time when the cat turned away, it ripped what was left of the spell circle from Kana’s hands. The magic vanished with the circle, and the room immediately went dark. Kana blinked, trying to see through the bright spots covering his vision. The two kittens moved at his feet, a rustle echoing in the otherwise empty room, and Kana carefully reached out until his fingers touched soft fur. He blinked again, trying to see, and let out a shocked breath when a soft mew answered his stroking.
A cat was the highest form of familiar, but this wasn’t a mere house cat. No, the massive creature who had delivered the kittens to Kana was a primordial, magical tiger, and the kittens were likely the same. And he had two! Multiple familiars did happen on rare occasion, and sometimes a witch even received multiple cats, but cats like these? Never.
If the coven knew… Kana’s breath caught in his throat. No, they couldn’t know. They would lock him up, force him to breed, all in the hopes of creating a female witch who might be granted the same powers as his in the calling circle. Any freedom his packed bags and bus ticket represented would vanish.
Kana needed to disappear much more thoroughly than he had originally planned. It would be easy enough to change his last name from his mother’s to his father’s, which had been abandoned when his parents married. The coven likely didn’t remember. He would have to take multiple bus trips, paying in cash and going in opposite directions, to a destination they would never expect. He could do it, but first he had to get out of the building.
Carra's Review
I was intrigued by the premise of this story—two familiars, undervalued male witches, werewolves protecting vampires…the blurb alone grabbed my attention. Then the prologue just ramped up the anticipation as it completely drew me in.
I loved Kana’s character, and felt protective of him from page one. He was easy to care about, an ideal sympathetic character who readers will feel naturally inclined to champion. His familiars, Mika and Sora, are unique in that they have two different cat forms as well as a human form, something I haven’t seen before in my reading. You can feel the connection between the three of them, though for me it felt like a purely magical and physical connection and not so much an emotional one.
The story starts out very descriptive as it sets the stage for the series, but once that initial setup is in place, things start to move more quickly, particularly when it comes to the main conflict near the end of the book where things felt slightly rushed and the bad guy acted a bit over the top. It does feel a bit unbalanced given the great care taken in the first half of the book to set everything up, and I feel like more time could have been used to flesh out the second half of the story to develop it more thoroughly.
There are loose ends once the story is finished, namely where things will go between Kana and Ember (the leader of the werewolves protecting this group of vampires) as well as the perpetually looming issue of Kana’s former coven. I’m interested to see what comes next.
Coven is somewhere between 3.5 to 4 stars for me, primarily due to the need for balance in the story and the fact that the vampire Octavius is worthy of a big eye roll with his excessively stereotypical villain attitude. Even so, I will definitely be tuning in for the next installment in the series as Kana’s character has captured my attention so completely.
Meet the Author
When Mell Eight was in high school, she discovered dragons. Beautiful, wondrous creatures that took her on epic adventures both to faraway lands and on journeys of the heart. Mell wanted to create dragons of her own, so she put pen to paper. Mell Eight is now known for her own soaring dragons, as well as for other wonderful characters dancing across the pages of her books. While she mostly writes paranormal or fantasy stories, she has been seen exploring the real world once or twice.
