Making it Happen: New Release-Review & Excerpt: FERAL HEARTS (Book One) by Melissa E Costa

Feral Hearts: Book 1

by Melissa E Costa

Publisher: Self-Published

Cover Artist: Vanesa Gorkova

Release Date: August 19, 2021

Genres: Paranormal/Urban Fantasy M/M Romance.

Tropes: Friends to Lovers. Childhood friends. Gay for you. Omegaverse. Hurt/Comfort. Fated Mates.

Themes: Soul Mates, classism

Heat Rating: 2 flames

Length: 68 683 words/176 pages

This is book one in the Feral Hearts series.

The book does not a cliffhanger, per se, but the story’s conclusion won’t be reached until the end of book 3.

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Buy Links - Available in Kindle Unlimited

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To save the one he loves, he must face the beast within.

Blurb

Alex isn’t a traditional alpha—he’s gentle, awkward, and caring. He also has no desire to assume leadership of the Black Moon Pack once his father steps down.

Talen is an omega stray, taken in by Alex’s parents and raised as his brother. He’s also straight, emotionally damaged, and the love of Alex’s life.

Now of age, Talen is forced into the role of an omega—those treated little better than slaves. Worse yet, the monster inside of Alex has awoken and set its sights on Talen. The beast will stop at nothing to get what it wants, even if it takes the whole world down to do it.

Alex must face his worst nightmares if he ever has a chance at protecting Talen. Is he strong enough to bring them together, or will he lose Talen along with the pack?

This three-book series tells a continuous story with a resolution at the end of book three.

Excerpt

Alex couldn’t believe they were going to flog Talen. Eben stood to the side of the pillar with his back to Alex. He had been able to get Alex out of doing the whipping.

Etched into the pillar were symbols from the old language. A loop made of rope was attached to a minor ledge higher up in the stone. Its purpose was for this very thing. The shaman placed a large wooden block at Talen’s feet and had him step up onto it. Even elevated, he still wasn’t tall enough to fit his wrists through the loop, so they told him to hang onto it instead.

Talen wasn’t wearing a shirt. His arms above his head stretched his torso and made visible the taut muscles of his abdomen and chest. Tiny beads of sweat gathered on his collarbone before they rolled down his back. Whether caused by anticipation or the blistering heat, Alex didn’t know. Talen’s left arm was no longer hidden by his sleeve, making the slight bow in his wrist apparent for anyone who knew where to look. A nearly unnoticeable tremble shook his shoulders. He looked so small then, fragile, even though Talen was anything but.

One of the shamans began making a speech. Her loud voice carried on the wind. “To speak out against your betters is the greatest disrespect you can show to your pack.” She was lecturing Talen, but she also looked around as if talking to the crowd, making an example out of him. A wave of nausea washed over Alex as his anger rose. “When you disrespect your pack, you’re disrespecting yourself.”

“Stupid bitch,” Alex grumbled. “Get off your high horse.” Even though he hadn’t wanted to watch the whipping, his feet moved on their own until he was close enough to see Talen’s face clearly.

“Talen, for your disobedience, you will be punished by thirty slashes to your back to be carried out by the pack leader.”

Eben held a medium-sized bullwhip.

“Do you have anything to say for yourself?” the shaman continued. “To say to Roman, who you have disrespected by your behavior?”

For one moment, Talen looked like he would say something, and it wouldn’t be nice. That fire burned behind his dark-hazel eyes.

Alex remembered his father’s words at dinner. If Talen doesn’t go through with this, he might have to find himself another pack.

As cowardly as it seemed, Alex prayed that Talen would keep his mouth shut. Please, don’t say anything. Please, Talen. Please don’t say anything.

Talen closed his eyes, and the tension left his body.

“Only to apologize for my insolence.” His words carried on the mild breeze that made standing outside on this humid hot day bearable. But Alex couldn’t care less about the wind or how good it felt against his skin. Instead, his attention focused only on Talen. Even though Talen bowed his head, and his words sounded a bit hollow, there was a fire to them—Talen’s voice, his spark. His energy. His will to fight. Talen amazed him. His ability to stay himself, to not give into fear, regardless of the hell he had been through. Alex envied him. Talen might have been an omega, whereas he was an alpha, but there was no doubt that Talen was the stronger of the two of them.

His father got in position and raised the whip. With a loud crack, it singed between Talen’s shoulder blades, leaving an ugly red gash. Talen’s breath hitched. He clenched the rope, baring his teeth. Every taut muscle on his body writhed with each slash that marred his back. He wasn’t crying out, though. Talen was a proud one.

Another crack.

Alex tightened his fists.

Each crack grew louder and louder. Alex’s claws dug into his fists until tiny droplets of blood trailed down his palms.

Ten slashes into the punishment, Talen’s visible ribs heaved with each breath. His lithe frame trembled. Then his wolf surged, forming a white aura. It didn’t stretch out into a shadow—mostly that was an alpha thing—rather, it surrounded him like a sphere as it had done before with Roman—a white wolf seemingly chasing its tail in an endless figure eight. Its hazy white color made Talen appear blurry. It wasn’t large enough to affect Eben, only a whip length away.

It reeked of agony, hurt, anger, but mostly pain—Talen’s.

Alex turned away. His stomach clenched in knots. Something dark grew inside of him. Blacker, thicker. As he looked back at Talen, all Alex felt was rage.

Talen let out a scream before he bit his lip and a trail of blood spilled down his chin. Finally, he lost the battle, and he started crying out with each lash.

Alex’s fangs elongated. He wanted to kill them. All of them. His dad included. How f*cking dare they lay one hand on Talen? On his Talen.

Feral Hearts is the second story I’ve read by this author, the first being The Last Kitsune—which set a very high standard. The two books are nothing alike, and the writing style felt different as well. Feral Hearts did not read smoothly for me, and both Alex and Talen came across as less mature then I would have expected for guys their age.

The setup of the wolf society here was a strict hierarchy, and one that rubbed me the wrong way, primarily because it painted a dark picture for omegas who were treated little better than slaves in Alex’s pack (and other packs as well, though not all of them). This made for a more grim setting than I prefer, but I kept a hopeful outlook given the obvious connection there seemed to be between Alex and Talen.

As for the two of them, don’t expect much interaction on the relationship level. This story acts as the setup for the series, showing exactly how far apart they are based on their society’s rules and how far they are going to have to go to hopefully end up together. But don’t expect that in this book, and you are going to be left hanging until the series continues.

Given that there’s a lot of setup in this story and what seems like almost insurmountable odds against Alex and Talen, you’ll need to go into this with your eyes open and knowing you’re going to have unanswered questions. I would have liked to have had more information on Talen’s background here in book one, but there was enough to know his childhood before coming to the pack had to have been horrifying, and that does serve to pin his character on your heart.

Feral Hearts was a bit rough and dark, but I’m hoping as the series goes on a brighter future will emerge. This was a 3-star read for me, and I’d recommend it for those who don’t mind their stories moving slower on the relationship side and being darker in relation to the society.

About the Author

Melissa writes character-driven fiction, and any genre is fair game. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading, anime, manga, and gaming. Living by the motto of trying all things twice, Melissa has jumped out of a perfectly good plane, swum with manatees, dived headfirst into Alice’s rabbit hole, and seduced classy ladies in 6-inch heels. A free-spirited bohemian, she currently lives in artsy St. Petersburg, Florida, with her soulmate and their two adorably needy cats.