Owen Owen Olsen needs a familiar. His magic is unbound, pure, and utterly vulnerable to the many witcheaters roaming the world just looking for a tasty little morsel like Owen to swallow up whole. Only bonding with a familiar will make him safe. But no matter how many times Owen performs the ritual to summon an animal to be his servant, guardian, and protector, it just doesn't work.
Owen’s grandmother assures him it just takes time—that his familiar will find him—but time is the one thing Owen doesn’t have. Every minute of every day is another chance for a witcheater to hunt him down, tear down his shields, and eat him, and the stress and fear are killing him.
Then he meets Luke Wolfman.
Luke Luke Wolfman is a werewolf in need of a solution. He’s been exiled from his pack—banished for having the audacity to sleep with the alpha’s son—and living on his own is eating him alive. His wolf needs his pack like his body needs water, and he won’t give up on finding his way back to them.
He needs a plan. Something that will force his alpha to forgive him and accept him back into the pack. But knowing you need a plan is very different from having one, and Luke doesn’t.
Until he meets Owen.
Owen Olsen is a witch, and Luke’s ticket back into the pack. All Luke has to do is seduce him and convince him to let himself be claimed, and he’ll be set. Alpha Grayson will have no choice but to forgive him if he comes back with a witch...
(This 87k word book has a HEA and no cliffhanger.)
Hello, my name is D.J. Heart. I write erotic gay fiction, usually with a bdsm twist, featuring dominant gay men and the twinks who love them. I hope you all enjoy my stories!
My mailing list (used only to notify you of new releases) can be found at: eepurl.com/bkJ9l5
If anyone has any questions, comments or just wants to say hi, I can be found on tumblr at: djheart-books.tumblr.com
Or you could send me a message at: d.j.heart@writeme.com
Mmm, disturbingly intriguing... once I started reading I couldn't stop.
Dare I say it? It was surprisingly romantic. Luke and Owen, maybe not the love story of the decade, or even of the hour, but they were really cute together, and hot as two dirty supes can be...
I fell in love with the author's writing style though. He lays out all these wild scenarios and then throws in a bit of awkward realism which just makes the scene. Really creative, and just chuckle-worthy.
Shame about all the typos though. Still, I'm on to the next one ;)
So, I don’t know what to say. I love D. J. Heart. This book was ok, it had everything I love. Super butch Alpha, and super submissive and yet it just didn’t drive me crazy. I loved both the main characters, but I just didn’t get excited.
Boy was that HOT! The chemistry between Owen and Luke was off the charts from the very beginning. We're talking dirty talk, rough sex, spanking and role playing all wrapped up in a DS relationship.
However, I thought from time to time that there was too much sex and not story (blasphemy I know) at certain points though out the book. For instance, the way the first witcheater left it sounded like there was something up her sleeve; like she would find a way and come back for more. Yet, that never happened. Not to mention, did the deal ever go through?
In addition, it would have been nice during the Agatha/Grayson scene (as bad as* as it was) if we could have received some sort of clue on why he such a dic*.
I have to say though, that the ending was wonderful and well written. I am truly happy for Owen and Luke.
Definitely not my favorite D.J. Heart book. Was there a plot? The story was all over the place, but centered around Owen and Luke. Owen, a witch, and Luke, a werewolf, were instantly attracted to each other and the sex was hot, frequent and plentiful. Luke was dominant, confident and cocky, which totally turned on submissive Owen. They were cute together. But the book was too long and the other stories weren't very interesting.
Why is Owen constantly referred to as THE BOY? Ya know those series like [blah blah blah blah...I edited this cus that's just wrong to point fingers.. I'm sure everyone has at least one series that would pop up in their head] where phrases are seriously over-used? Yep that what I be talkin bout!
This is like the energizer bunny... just keeps goin............................................................. I mean do we need to have all this detail in to make it work? Ok an exaggeration but it gets to the point where I'm thinking ain't we almost done or what?
What I like and don't like about Luke.. its like a flip coin though.... I like that Luke doesn't push Owen when he says no or doesn't express interest with the sexual stuff. On the flip side.. I do NOT care for the humiliating and degrading aspects that apparently Owen ended up getting off on. Just not my cup of tea...
Penetration, hurtful painful penetration involving body parts and nightsticks adding up to double stuffing... Just why?? Kinky and all that but its the way it was done. But again, the more painful like and humiliating seems to be Owen's thing.
The ending... Luke finally seems to make a friend and then he kind of pushes Owen to move back to Forest Hills so he can be with his pack. Grams makes it possible for Owen to still keep his store and Luke to be with pack...So what the hell was the point of making friends if just gonna up and move back? Point.Less. The. End.
Read like NA fan fic. Very sweet, down to earth romance. Very hot sex - several scenes were reminiscent of Johnny Rapid's classic Prison Shower video!
But.........unfortunately, I felt like shifter Luke and witch Owen were not strong enough characters for my personal liking. Luke had a low status in his pack and got no respect from his tyrannical alpha. Owen was so inept that he wasn't even being trained to operate his own bookstore. He was a weak witch too. Owen's badass grandmother had to step in to fight Luke's alpha. I wanted Luke and Owen to be powerful enough to stand alone, or at least have more principle roles and involved in the fight.
I just couldn’t get into this one, only made it through for a challenge. The story felt filler compared to the sex, any interesting moments were immediately followed up with smut. The sex itself goes down the S&M route, forceful blow jobs and porn talk. The story itself was alright and straight forward. Favourite character was Agatha.
From D. J. Heart, I was expecting something else... Maybe something more? Every part of this book is what I normally like, but here? Together, it didn’t give me the kick I was anticipating. The story was fine, the sex scenes were hot, but I didn’t feel it.
What I like about this story is that when one MC's kink gets too much, the other is not afraid to say 'no, that's not for me'. I applaud the author for highlighting the importance of a person in a sexual role-play scene to have that veto power withour fear or guild of disappointing the other person. Unfortunately, this is the only positive I felt about the book,
Here are the things I didn't like: 1. One MC repeatedly referring to the other MC as "the boy". For instance, when having penertrative sex for the first time, it was written that: '...forced to yield to the huge invader, the boy let out a pained grunt.' I don't think the MC's age was disclosed in the book but sentences such as this gave out some icky vibe. 2. Plot threads that seems to go no where (for instance, the friendship with John) and and those that are unexplored/unexplained (what is the Alpha doing in town? what is he doing with the property agent?). If this book is the start of a series and these issues will be explored in a later book, it has not been made known. 3. The 6 foot 8 hunk of a man/werewolf is all looks and no substance, one who cowers with his tail between his legs when faced with his Alpha even when he did no wrong. A man whose hands got clammy with sweat when meeting with an old lady even if the lady is a powerful witch. This makes his alpha-wolf-persona in the bedroom so very sad and the reason for the humiliation elements in his scenes seems like a way to compensate for the failings is his life.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I love reading D.J. Heart's books. He is my go-to author for BDSM and the fact that they have paranormal elements to them only make them better. Luke was the perfect dominate and Owen was his perfect compliment as a submissive. Owen's grandma was a powerful witch and very scary but at the same time lovable. Amanda is the perfect best friend to Owen and I liked that Luke even found a friend in fellow officer, John. Great storyline and hot enough scenes to melt my kindle. Couldn't ask for anything more. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book.
I loved this just as much as all of DJs books...Unlike DJs other stories this one involved a witch Owen and a exiled werewolf Luke..Full of kinky goodness.
I am someone who read one book by D.J. Heart, absolutely loved it, and has been chasing that high ever since, for years(!) to no avail. Here we got close. I liked the premise, I liked the characters, and I didn't even mind when all that much when the plot got kind of convoluted. But here's the thing, this book has no right to be so goddamn long.
I don't know why this man rights such long books. Especially considering how some of those ridiculously long book have sequels(!?!) Sometimes, admittedly, it makes sense. Such as when a book has a serial release and is later combined into a box set of sorts. I understand that, I'm not mad about that. I'm talking about books like this where the length actually hurts the overall story to and almost crippling level.
The pacing is all over the place. There are scenes that go on for way too long, scenes that don't require another perspective, and scenes that, quite frankly, shouldn't even be here. Why am I reading about a bunch of children asking Luke about what it's like to be a cop/ werewolf? What does that have to do with anything!? I don't need a break down of every single thing that is and has happened. I don't need a recap of what I read less than a chapter ago. The smut was least hot but even that got a little repetitive at one point. Which is something I NEVER thought I would say.
New rule: if it doesn't help move the plot, if it doesn't provide VITAL world-building, if it doesn't provide character development, Cut. It. Out!
I know I sound mean, I know I'm being harsh, but it's because this book had so much potential. It could have been amazing. Instead so much promise is wasted because it's covered in fluff and padding that we don't need. And I'm the first person to say I love fluff and padding in books. You kind of need it to have a successful romance. But not to this degree. Is this the longest book in the world, no ma'am. But what what romance needs to be damn near 400 pages? Help a girl out because I feel like I'm losing my mind here.
There is a lot I genuinely liked about this book. I can even see where D. J. Heart has grown as an author here. The technical side of the writing is fine and well done. If you like long Urban fantasies (which seems to be a legitimate thing), you're going to the hell out of this. Me? I can't and I won't. Three stars because not enough happened and not enough was utilized to justify the page length and it had me pressed.
If “deliciously humiliating” sounds like an oxymoron to you, skip this book. If that phrase seems perfectly plausible and potentially desirable to you, then you’ ll probably like this book.
While reading this book, I struggled to categorize it as “romance with lots of sex” or “erotica with an actual plot.” If your looking for one but not the other, your going to be skimming a lot. I skimmed most of the sex scenes because the submission thing is not particularly interesting to me.
The book is about a witch and a werewolf featuring insta-lust, BDSM (mostly domination/submission without pain), and life-threatening events. Very much what a lot of paranormal romance books contain as far as plot. It wasn’t much of a thriller and definitely not a mystery.
Something less common to this book sub-genre was that the werewolf, Luke, though the dominant between him and the witch (Owen), was rather submissive himself within the werewolf hierarchy and even within the police group. His alpha is a bully and Luke pretty much just tucks his tail and whimpers whenever they interact. Luke is also a very nice guy outside of the bedroom. He’s polite, tries to be non-threatening even though he’s a big guy, is considerate of those around him, and is generally self-effacing.
Also less common to this book sub-genre was that Owen (the witch) is not a super strong magic user and he doesn’t use his skills to save anything or anyone... definitely not “the chosen one.” He’s just a guy that happens to be a witch and doesn’t want to be killed by a witch eater.
They seem like nice guys and the romance could have been cute if more of the book was dedicated to their interactions outside of the bedroom instead of within.
There are more books to this series, but I won’t be continuing it because of the in-depth focus on kink ... I’m just here for the story :p
Literally. D.J. Heart has completely ruined me for all other "Alternative" state of mind books.
The werewolf and the witch. This book is another beautiful example of how the author can flex the imagination between being any type of relationship.
Luke - the uncomfortable werewolf exiled to a new location without his pack, adjusted well to the best of his wolf/pack personality and found true love as he was thrust in the role of "hot, sexy werewolf", not looking for attention or asking for it in any type of way, just doing the honorable thing. Obviously, a beautiful "big man" and a werewolf has a dominant side...
Owen - Witch by birth and threatened by the unknown because he is also in a uncomfortable vulnerable position.
They both come together in a unique desire and it explodes! Brilliant fireworks, slightly d/s - no BDSM - just consensual sexual honeymoon get to know ya sex!
I love my Alpha men and Luke fits the role perfectly. It was sweet to read his character and how he cared passionately for Owen but could take it up a few notches or down.
I can't wait to read the next book. Certainly get my money worth every time I read D.J. Heart. This book was tame compared to his others in many different ways.
This was fun to read. I liked that there were no big secrets between the MCs. They talk things out and approach issues rationally. I also liked that they loved each other and still recognized annoying habits such as bad table manners. It made the relationship more real and endearing.
The plot has insta-lust, but the characters aren’t mind readers, so they talk through issues and also talk about what they like and don’t like in bed. It was a nice change from many other shifter romance stories where mates immediately bond/love/mind-meld and never say “I’m not into that” or “it’s OK if we don’t have ALL the same kinks.”
I would definitely read more books set in this world or town.
I just found this boring compared to Heart’s other books. I’m not looking for much when it comes to Heart — lbr smut is what Heart does best and I appreciate them for it — but this one was rather drawn out. I honestly thought they were never going to go back to Luke’s pack and I would have preferred that.
And wow, Luke’s alpha is such a dick? I would honestly have been all for Agatha destroying him. Then Luke can just... idk, stay where they are and where Owen’s friends and family are.
IDK not as enjoyable as other Heart books.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I was not going to write a review on this book mainly because I felt it would be unfair for the author. I was going through some bad times when I picked up this book. I was really surprised the author managed to even keep my interest, He did. This book is one part sweet and one part hot as hell. The sex scenes never become redundant which is so unusual. Just when I thought the book lacked action, the fun started, but it was late in the book. This really reminded me of a sweet 60's sitcom but OMGOSH!
Luke and Owen's story was rather sexually steamy. A semi-plot related to witches-warewolves, however it the sex is what was the focus. Luke is rather aggressively dominant in the bedroom, which Owen seems to enjoy - a lot!
First book by the author. First book in this genre (shapeshifter fantasy). I was a bit disappointed that the wolf scenes were rather minimal, just end up with a MM romance.
This book had a very interesting synopsis. When I started it, I was disappointed to find that there is more sex than plot. I skipped over more than half the book in order the find the plot devices. In addition to that, the characters were pretty simple and the climax was very underwhelming. So overall, I wouldn't recommend this book unless you're in the mood for dom/sub type sex and a lot of it.
Its always weird to me to read a Heart book that isn't all alphaholes and extreme domination and has an MC that allows the other MC to have a say in what they will and won't do. I really liked this story and Luke and Owen really were made for each other. I even liked the grandmother.
I really didn't like the pack alpha and the urge Luke had to go back. I was hoping he would stay in the new town and have other werewolves join him.
Another Really Clever Story With Great Characters!
I’ve lost count of how many DJ Heart’s books I’ve read, enjoyed and then added to my library! Now once again the author’s done a great job of creating another m/m werewolf story and this time it’s with witches. Both werewolf, Luke and his witch, Owen make a terrific pair and there’s plenty of chemistry between them and the requisite sex is enjoyably over-the-top. I’ll definitely read it again!
I like the witch-werewolf partnership. Although I'm a little bit sad on the downfall between Owen and his grandmother. I wonder what happen with Alpha Grayson, I'm not sure if he was just going to leave the couple alone, even with his aggressive personality.
I liked this better than I though I would. Even though the bdsm aspects (for me) were more on the rougher side than I like. On the fence of just not too much to stop me from reading and finishing the book not going for the next book in the series. The plot was good and that kept going, wondering what may happen next. Worth the read.
Owen behaved like a kid and was referred to as "the boy" so sex scenes were rather uncomfortable. Luke was alpha only on paper, he couldn't stand up for himself and was more of a damsel in distress which didn't really go well with his supposedly dominant side. As two adults they should have found a solution rather than get the grandma to play boogeyman.
D. J. Heart has got a incredible talent for writing some of the most descriptive book that I have ever read. Not only is this book full of amazingly hot sex scenes, but the detail for the characters helps paint a fantastic picture. Definitely would recommend to fans of shifters and magic users gay romance.
I always enjoy the work of D.J. Heart and this, something different from her other books, was no exception. A male witch needs a familiar but has not been able to find one. A werewolf has been exiled away from his pack, feeling depressed and alone. The two serendipitously meet and the delightful story goes from there.
I have very mixed feelings about this book. I absolutely loved Luke and Owen. Their sweet love and care for each other showed even during the roughest of Dom/Sub sex. And it was rough! And graphic! And eventually too much for me . By that I mean too often. I found myself skimming thru those scenes looking for more story.
I really liked this book. The characters have a lot of depth to them. You are rooting for both of them to get what they want and to be together. I like how natural they are with each other and how they progressed.