Male of the Species

Male of the Species #1

by Kate Steele

This edition is no longer available.

Devin Grant is an alpha on a mission.Rejected by his pack for refusing to believe that one man loving another is wrong, Devin finds himself alone and directionless until a chance meeting with fellow outcast Quinn Alexander starts him on the path to forming his own pack. With Quinn's experience and his own needs guiding him, Devin fights to make their pack dream a reality. Along the way, he makes an enemy—the unscrupulous leader of a black arts coven—and unexpectedly finds his mate, human Ryan Mitchell.With strength and courage, Devin works to win his mate and build his pack—until a stunning betrayal threatens to cost Devin not only his mate…but his Male of the Species is a gay love story, and as such, features explicit scenes of m/m interaction.

Genres: M M Romance, Shapeshifters, Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Contemporary, Werewolves, Gay

206 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2005

About the author

As a kid, from the time I learned to read, I've treasured books. Fiction mostly, because I'm the type of person who likes to be taken on journeys of imagination. I guess it was only natural I'd try to orchestrate some of those journeys myself, and share them with others.

Writing can be fun, frustrating, and sometimes even frightening, but it sings a siren song that entices. And whether you end up in the arms of a gorgeous muse, or wreaked on the rocks of broken thought, when you feel the urge to write, you do it.

I do my writing in a turn-of-the-century house located in the midst of Indiana farm country. In addition to dogs, cats and lovebirds, my family keeps me company. When not writing, I read, am an enthusiastic grower of iris, and a fanatic fan of Japanese manga and anime.

Reviews

[Katherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was very well written with some interesting characters. The cover was very nice as well. I also found it funny that there was one part where Dev said, explaining what weerwolves were, that "werewolves don't all bay at the full moon." I'm guessing the cover artist didn't read the book.

I also was thinking that the pack were not actually wolves, but hyenas. They laugh and chuckle all the time. Its almost comical sometimes how much they all laugh. I keep on wanting to see the person laughing (and they all do) get a dick shoved up his mouth to stop him from doing so. Yet, sadly it never happened. In fact, the sex scenes were in this book was not very hot at all. Perhaps the only one that comes to mind for me is Dev and Ryan's first time with each other.

The romance in the book was pretty much absent as well. They moved into the household so quickly that I thought they were really lesbians. Get the U-haul!

There was also a strange subplot of some religious new age zealot who was after the pack because they stole Eric from them. It never really went any where and would have been better without it.

Yet, the book wasn't bad for a light read. Yet, it wasn't very romantic or erotic.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Devin Grant is an alpha werewolf who was cast out from his pack because of his preference for males. He meets up with Quinn Alexander, an older, established werewolf who lives a solitary life, yet craves the physical and emotional bond of a pack. Together, they form their own pack by seeking other men who have been similarly rejected because of their desire for other men. This newly formed pack develops an intense physical and emotional bond that helps ease their pain of rejection and unites them while they overcome their enemy, an evil warlock who sacrifices young men in the hopes of regaining his sexual potency. When Ryan Mitchell, Devin’s mate, is kidnapped, Devin must race against the clock to free him before both Ryan and Devin lose their human sides to the wolf within them.

I really loved this story! The love scenes were tender, intense, and very heartwarming. The love and trust that develops between the pack members and with their chosen mates is very touching. As is typical of many romance novels, these men are total perfection. They are gorgeous, strong, virile, and sensitive. I generally like my werewolf stories a little darker and miss the conflict, drama and in-fighting that normally occurs among werewolf packs. I wish the werewolves would have revealed their wild sides a little more often. As a werewolf story, Male of the Species slightly misses the mark. As a love story, it is beautifully written, emotionally moving, sensual, and very satisfying.

[Bubbles Hunty Honest & Direct Opinions · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read to chapter 5, 27% before giving up

I was pretty bored with the story already and didn't like the sexual relationship between the MC and is mentor as it was. Then he has sex with the next two wolf's he meets so it goes from MM to MMM. Then it starts to hint the mentor will be getting in on that too so it would be MMMM random sex. I just am not enjoying reading about this guy having boring sex with every male wolf he meets. The sex is boring, there is no plot, the dialogue is weird IMO and i just can't suffer on anymore.

Hasn't even met the mate mentioned in the blurb yet and the rate its going I imagine they will have an open relationship...

this just was not for me

[LD Durham · Rating 2 out of 5]

This review refers to the ebook version.

Male of the Species wasn’t a bad book. But I can’t say it was all that wonderful, either. There were minor typos throughout, but nothing terrible. The characters were all… there. The setting was… pleasant. The story was easy to follow.

In short: It was a story about werewolves that wasn’t bad.

The thing that made it a not great book for me was that it was, well, tame.

The book starts off with a bit of the primal element. It was good. It got my attention. Dev has been cast out of his pack for daring to love other men. That’s good stuff there. He meets up with another like him and they shack up for a bit. And this is when things start to get… fluffy.

Dev is made out to be perfection itself. I mean, there is no other creature on this plane of existence that could be a better werewolf than Devin. He is strong, a leader, gorgeous, intuitive, brilliant, moral, empathetic, and suave. The only thing he doesn’t have is money or a home. Well, he happens to hook up with another gay wolf who happens to be a bazillionaire with a huge house and a town not far away that seems to be where other cast-out gay werewolves end up who need a leader for them. And Dev is that leader. So they all come together in this big house and it becomes a slumber party for wolves. A lot of playing and teasing and goofing off and sex. (Okay, my slumber parties didn’t have sex. Curses!) Everyone is immediately BFFs for life.

Weaved throughout this is a sinister evil person who is made out to be a devil worshipper. I never figured out if he had an agenda other than Being Evil. Later on he has plans of taking down the werewolf pack. Unfortunately, he never quite pulls off being scary or even threatening.

The book was made up of an ensemble cast. We got snippets of each of the pack members’ lives and all of it having to do with their mates or the finding of their mates. It was fairly predictable who was going to end up with whom, but the author successfully paired everyone up happily. Unfortunately, these side characters’ scenes didn’t really add much to the story as a whole. Only one character, the story’s “Judas,” was necessary, and even then he was a bit weak. But definitely the most entertaining character for me (but I have a weakness for the bitchy, plucky characters). By the end of the book, I understood why all these characters were introduced, since it seemed to set up a sequel. But for this book, they were distracting and slowed down the story.

As far as the writing itself, I would say it was technically fine. The narrative was just too flowery for me, though. Dialogue seemed excessive in amount, both in information given and in pet names. The words coming out of characters’ mouths seemed, at times, unnatural.

The thing is, is that all of it could and was explained away, thereby making it acceptable. I think overall the story was just too watered down for me. I feel bogged down by several adjectives in a sentence to describe one thing. I call a hole a hole, not a “velvet-skinned sheath”, you know what I mean? I like harsher edges in werewolf stories. Flowery words have their place, no doubt about it, but I thought they were a bit over the top for a bunch of supposed primal werewolves out in the woods. But, again, it could be deemed perfectly acceptable because this was definitely written in the “romance novel” style. Because of this, I think the cover was misleading and instead should have showed a wolf couple lying on a rug in front of a fireplace. That would sum up the story much better, in my opinion.

I recommend this for anyone looking for a soft and light read. It has its moments of sad angst. It has moments of light comedy and family togetherness. If you like your werewolves fluffy, this is the book for you.

For more of this review, please go to Top & Bottom Book Review

[Carvedwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love monsters in romances, especially werewolves. However, I like the monsters to be at least as scary as they are sexy. Devin and his pack are definitely not scary. Even the Evil Villain isn’t particularly scary – actually, he’s rather pathetic, and I almost felt sorry for him for being such a loser.

This book lacks a certain primal aspect. There was also no balance, no lows to match the highs, no uncertainty as to how the characters will overcome the obstacles, no flaws to match the characters’ perfections. The only character who even has any serious flaw is Owen, and I had the strong impression that Owen is more of a plot device than a fully-realized character. At no point while reading this book was I in any doubt that Devin would save the day.

Despite the lack of heart-pounding excitement, I can’t say I disliked the book. Devin and Ryan are the main lovers in the story; I liked the slow build-up to their relationship. Before finding out that Devin is a werewolf, Ryan shows us a glimpse of Devin in the light of an attractive human man, with that certain flair of masculine sex appeal that makes for a very traditional romance hero. Ryan himself is romantically appealing. It’s a nice pairing. This is fortunate, since I wasn’t particularly fond of any of the other characters, not even Owen.

It should be pointed out that there is a great deal of sex in this book, in different pairings and different situations. Still, I could have lived with less sex if it meant more excitement.

The werewolves in the story may have been less than thrilling, everything was a little too perfect and presented to the reader with a neatly-tied bow, and I certainly would have wished that Steele had written out the slumber party in her edits. Nevertheless, the romance is sweet, the sex is plentiful, and there’s nothing majorly wrong with the story. It’s not like I’m about to toss it into the Recycle Bin, myself. It could have been better, but as it is, it’s a nice, safe, comfy type of book to either take to the beach or snuggle up with in front of a fireplace with a hot cup of tea and a cat on your lap… the kind of book you read when you don’t want to think hard or worry much.

[Charly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good, although it doesn’t focus on the romance as much as I wanted it to

Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.

Rating: 6/10

PROS:
- At first I was a little frustrated that not much of the story focuses on Dev and Ryan’s relationship, but as the book progressed I came to like the sense of community that develops by the end. Not many of the secondary characters are terribly well-rounded, but I liked most of them and wanted each one to find his own mate.
- When the story DID get around to the Dev-and-Ryan phase, I found some of their scenes rather sweet. For one thing, Ryan’s a human, so Dev can’t just barrel in and take his mate without asking; he has to seduce Ryan into accepting him as a lover.
- Just like in most other werewolf or vampire stories I’ve read, some elements of the setting are on the exotic side and are fun to read about. I don’t have gobs and gobs of money, so it’s always exciting for me to read about people who do and can do things like renovating one floor of an enormous manor house in under a week without blinking an eye.

CONS:
- There’s some romance in this book--as well as a pretty healthy dose of sex scenes--but the story doesn’t focus as much on the main characters’ romance as I wanted it to. In fact, the first several sex scenes are not between Dev and his mate, Ryan, but between Dev and other members of his pack. So the scenes lacked the emotional attachment that I always like to see in love scenes.
- A few little plot elements are inconsistent. Quinn says at one point that he knows alpha wolves don’t ever bottom sexually, which Dev confirms. But then later, Dev bottoms for Ryan. Maybe it’s just an “alphas don’t bottom for anyone other than their mates” thing.
- A lot of things happen quickly, so that some of the story seems rushed. When Dev meets Quinn, for example, Quinn offers Dev a place in the city that will serve as the pack’s headquarters, and Dev hardly thinks about it at all before accepting.
- I’m still not sure that I like what the pack does to the guy who betrays them.

Overall comments: If you really like werewolf stories, this one’s interesting. I like werewolf stories okay, but I prefer books that focus more on romance than this one does, so I’ve liked other shapeshifter stories better: J.L. Langley’s Without Reservations and With Caution, to name a couple

[xbmbgrl · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Male of the Species" is a paranormal wolf/shifter tale that was not terribly unique but given that it was written several years ago it probably was at the time. Many of the conventional plot devices we have come to expect were present but the writing was tight and flowed smoothly, keeping my attention despite the predictability.

The blurb gives most of the story away. Devin is an Alpha without a pack. A gay alpha shifter driven to be who he is inside and out. With help he forms a pack of other gay shifters and they become a family. Since I knew one of the main characters would be dishing out betrayal I found myself over analyzing everything each new character did. Once the obvious choice as the betrayer was introduced it was an easy slide to the end of the book. How the pack handled the punishment of the betrayer was a surprise and a nice change of pace from the harsh overly dramatic overtures in the common paranormal world.

Early on, before Devin finds his mate in Ryan, pack sexual dynamics are fluid between the men as Devin sets up his Alpha status among them. The interplay and relationships between the new members of the pack are interesting and round out the book very well. Since I knew the overall plot from the blurb, the developing relationships between the other pack members was a welcome surprise that kept me engaged. Devin is a strong main character. Once he finds his mate the sexual play becomes monogamous and he has some serious chemistry with Ryan. Overall the sex in the book was well written and jalapeno hot.

This book ends with an obvious set up for another book and I look forward to finding out about the rest of the pack. Most of them have found their mates but already have obstacles in their way. They have betrayal, age, time, past history and a myriad of other problems to work through. I am sure they will have a distraction or two along the way as well. Evil covens don’t disappear just because you very satisfyingly took out the leader. There is always someone just waiting to step into their black robes.

[Valentina Heart · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually don't write anything about the books that don't leave some sort of an impact on me. This one will probably be forgotten by tomorrow. What I really liked was the cover, contents between the pages, not so much. From the beginning I had the impression that it was all written just to get it over with. Explanations, events, descriptions... It was all very automatic, fast going and completely not satisfying. I liked some of the characters and wished to feel some kind of a connection with them. But I was disappointed in that.

The plot wasn't really developed, the bad guy was lacking so much that it would have probably been better to leave him out of the book completely.

One thing that surprised me in a good way, was the connection between the pack. Their sleeping together and all those touches and comfort. It's usually one of my favorite things in shifter books.

I rated it as ok because it's not necessarily bad, just not so much to my taste.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Furry gay pride... or pack in this case. Not as nearly good as To Tempt a Wolf and To Trust A Wolf [IMO:] but it was written two years before those - she seems to have increased in skill since this was written.

Note from publisher: Male of the Species is a gay love story, and as such, features explicit scenes of m/m interaction.

[Daniel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't actually finish this book. It was read on a dare and it was as horrible as expected. Far be it from me to judge people for their sexual preferences and/or kinks, but I probably won't look at it again until I have a party and drunkenly read passages of it to my guests for sh!ts and giggles.

[Lb · Rating 1 out of 5]

Paperback- So the biggest chiche of a werewolf book. Found mate. Must have really corny sex with mate. Oh wait, I have other pack members that need mates too. More sex. Everyone was so happy and merry. It just wasn't believable. The was no depth to any of the character. Just not very good. The writing was really bad as well.

[Meggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm, the story is interesting but there is missing something, donno what but you can't really feel the pack closeness. But the dinamic and how pack grows and is leaded by Devlin give you good picture, so it's well described. But even so I missed something.

[Noughty]

Sequel Transcending Darkness

[Allybaba · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugghhh...I tried to read this but threw in the towel, once I realized this was just an excuse for a large partner swapping excuse...

[Shaundra · Rating 4 out of 5]

i was If'y about reading this but once I started. it was something new and different. I like it. just one thing tho, is there a part two? I can't wait to read it!!

[Erotic Horizon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Male of the Species by Kate Steele (2007)

[Marsha Spence]

Tried but just couldn't get into it. Gave up at 13%.