Two men moulded by the fierceness and pain of their lives form a bond that ignites their passion, but will their love be strong enough to endure the violence of their pasts?
Lucas Matthews has loyally served his race for over two centuries, forced to kill the criminals of his own kind. When his Commander decided to take their laws into his own hands and give Lucas the choice to join his select group of rebels or die, Lucas ran. He refused to bow down to the corruption of his commander and kill humans for profit. After four years of hiding and six years of well-earned peace, his life was once more turned upside down when a small wisp of a man captured his heart.
Kyle Jennings’ desperate need to find love and acceptance landed him under the cruel domination of a sadistic boyfriend for five years. When Lucas appeared to rescue him one day, like a fierce, protective hero, he found himself succumbing to the gentle yet firm hand of the Dom. Through guidance and care, he finally found the courage to regain his independence and willingly surrender his control to Lucas.
Together, they create a soul-bond forged in love, but they must fight to keep it. With the Commander once again on Lucas’ trail, they each find themselves with a decision to make. Will Lucas have to forfeit his freedom for the sake of his love’s happiness, or will Kyle choose to sacrifice his life for his Dom?
Reader Advisory: This book contains hot M/M sex, explicit language, violence, light BDSM, and love that knows no boundaries.
I have always been a lover of books, particularly those with the dichotomy of the strong alpha male and the weaker love of their life which they must rescue. After reading all I could find in M/F books, I decided to give M/M fiction a try and my addiction skyrocketed.
Hot, sexy men times two? No contest. Unfortunately, I was reading faster than the authors could produce. Eventually, I resorted to imagining my own stories and my mind took off from there.
I have to admit, though, I am a bit of a recluse. If not for the joy and humour my husband and four boys bring to me, I would never have ventured this far.
Nikki McCoy is one of my favorite guilty pleasures. The story here is familiar: a big tough paranormal Dom falls for a beautiful, abused tragi-boy. Mating, rescues, crises, and more rescues ensue--and also a lot of hot D/s sex. But McCoy manages to deploy the familiar genre tropes without the cynicism you so often find. Instead, her books are filled with a genuine affection for her characters and an admirable ability to get right to the core of why these tropes are effective and popular in the first place. Definitely an author I will always happily read. Recommend.
This book is an interesting look at paranormal powers and what happens when they are abused. While it wasn’t clear to me where this ‘foreign race’ originated that wielded these powers, the resulting story was quite intriguing. The build-up was slow, yet drew me into the circle of the main characters with irresistible force. Both Lucas and Kyle were wounded, but had very different means of fighting back. The contrast made for a good story.
Lucas has been on the run from the men who wanted him to join their illegal activities. His answer was to hide, since he had no way to fight back without dying. Faced with the choice of protecting Kyle, he gives it all up to a point. I can’t say more without giving away too much of the plot, but the way he finally asserts himself and what he believes in was very touching.
Kyle is a battered soul, but his inner strength is amazing. That he is a sub who wants some of what has been done to him makes it difficult for him to come to terms with his needs. He has to learn the difference between coercion and willing submission and how they are nothing alike, even thought the effects may look the same to the casual observer.
If you like stories that explore a D/s theme in a slightly different way, are interested in paranormal abilities and want to read about a strong alpha male protecting and falling for a physically weaker but very determined man, you may like this book.
NOTE: This book was provided by Torquere Press for the purpose of a review on Queer Magazine Online
In many ways, this is a very cute read with Lucas the alpha male and Kyle the twink. Kyle is extremely adorable and the situation that he finds himself in is sad. Lucas comes to his rescue and tries to keep Kyle safe from the ex and from Lucas' own past. I think the two bonded too quickly for the type of abuse that Kyle suffered. It was nice twist to see the twink safe the day. Overall, I enjoyed the story.
Very different and very good. I loved the combination of paranormal, D/s, wronged characters, protective instincts, and hot action in this story. As Lucas and Kyle come together and the relationship progresses, it feels right and the overall pace makes sense. A couple of secondary characters made me want to shred them into tiny pieces after making them suffer (and I hate violence), so the author definitely made me care and brought out my own mama bear tendencies!
Lucas is a Tsielen and a Mackaeo (Tsielen police) but fled the Mackaeo when some of them became corrupt and tried to make him kill humans. Kyle is desperately unhappy as he is stuck in an abusive relationship that his brother allows as his ‘boyfriend’ gives his brother gifts and an easy life and now he sees no way out.
This is a great paranormal story that keeps you interested from the start. Lucas owns a wine store and Kyle is his employee. We find out early on (by his behavior) that Kyle is being abused and Lucas offer’s him help if he ever needs it. Lucas runs to the rescue when Kyle needs it and we see the start of a beautiful relationship. This is a great story as we don’t get dumped with information too soon or too much; it’s given to us more gradually and is spaced out well. The story line is rock solid and the relationship is believable and is paced out well. The way that Lucas supports Kyle while he deals with his injuries and nightmares is great and not rushed and Lucas also has a great friend in Bastian who also supports Kyle when he needs it.
The BDSM between Lucas and Kyle is light as they work together to get Kyle past his fear but Kyle is determined as he has a submissive nature and he just wants to take care of his Master. The sex is hot and intense, and doesn’t happen too quickly between them, although their feelings develop quickly.
All in all I’d recommend this to those who love light BDSM, paranormal, alien superpowers, sweet protective love and a great story.
Four stars for the first half, one star for the second half.
This was my second book from Nikki McCoy, and as delighted as I was with Shattered Heart, I was extremely disappointed with this title.
Way, way too many secondary characters were introduced near the end. And the wonderful secondary characters I was beginning to connect with from the beginning of the story were abandoned. The best friend of the Dom was pushing it, but I could deal with his late introduction. But then two handfuls more were introduced! There was little development for them, and what was there was forced and fast. Kyle's insta-friend was especially annoying because the whole scenario seemed to take away from the initial incredible, sensitive exploration of intimate partner domestic violence versus domination and submission.
The fantasy element was introduced late as well, only adding to my itch to skip pages.
All of Shattered Heart and the first half of this book were superb, so I will try another one of Ms. McCoy's books.
A re-read and I enjoyed it just as much the 2nd time. I thought the characters were engaging and the story unique in it's own ways. There is always the basic formula but the author does some interesting and entertaining things with it that made it very entertaining.
There was enough story that it could have been longer but was still really well developed and did not feel rushed.
The story was pulling from the start and I liked it, but I didn't like Kyle's type of a sub. And I think that Lucas and Kyle bonded to soon, this kind of bonding was to soon and unrealistic. Overall this story was even so, enjoyable and good.