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Between States #1
Under a Confederate Moon
The year is 1863. Caleb Chilson is a private in the Confederate Army, currently camped in the Virginian woods. Most of his time is spent on picket duty, on the lookout for a Yankee attack. But when the moon is full, he manages to slip away from the encampment and into the woods to become something a little less than human...
Bitten as a teen, Caleb now suffers through a painful transformation from human to bobcat a few days each month. As a bobcat, he leaves behind his camp and fellow soldiers to explore the night. But a gunshot and the bright scent of fresh blood draws him to a clearing where he learns that he isn't the only one of his kind.
Wounded and hurt, Brance is a loner by nature, gruff and grumbling, who doesn't want anything to do with Caleb...at first. The younger bobcat prevails, and starts to win Brance over, until they turn human again and find themselves on opposite sides of the American Civil War.
Don't miss the sizzling sequel Beneath A Yankee Sky...
Gay / Fantasy / Shapeshifter / Historical / Civil War (American) / Action / Adventure / Series
75 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2007
1 person is currently reading
59 people want to read
About the author
J.M. Snyder
301 books567 followersAn author of gay erotic/romantic fiction, J.M. Snyder began in self-publishing and worked with Amber Allure, Aspen Mountain, eXcessica, and Torquere Presses.
Snyder's highly erotic short gay fiction has been published online at Amazon Shorts, Eros Monthly, Ruthie's Club, and Tit-Elation, as well as in anthologies by Alyson Books, Aspen Mountain, Cleis Press, eXcessica Publishing, Lethe Press, and Ravenous Romance.
In 2010, Snyder founded JMS Books LLC, a royalty-paying queer small press that publishes in both electronic and print format. For more information on newest releases and submission guidelines, please visit JMS Books LLC online.
Snyder's highly erotic short gay fiction has been published online at Amazon Shorts, Eros Monthly, Ruthie's Club, and Tit-Elation, as well as in anthologies by Alyson Books, Aspen Mountain, Cleis Press, eXcessica Publishing, Lethe Press, and Ravenous Romance.
In 2010, Snyder founded JMS Books LLC, a royalty-paying queer small press that publishes in both electronic and print format. For more information on newest releases and submission guidelines, please visit JMS Books LLC online.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
September 4, 2023
I'm very disappointed because this series was a highly anticipated read for me. The author's other Civil War historical (A Heart Divided) was a 5 star read for me and American Civil War MM historicals are so rare anyway that I was very excited about this. I was hesitant because each book in the trilogy is very short and I didn't understand how the author would do justice to the US Civil War aspect, the enemies to lovers aspects AND add in a shifter fantasy aspect. Well...it turns out that you can't do all these things together. Or at least, this author couldn't pull it off.
This book felt more like erotica than historical romance because the worldbuilding was sloppy and the author didn't even try to have it make sense. In worlds where people can be bitten by animals and turn into were-animals, authors have to make that reality make sense in the universe they created. Instead, we're supposed to believe that Caleb and Brance were both bitten over a decade ago by bobcats, they've been werecats ever since and they turn into a werecat once a month, but nobody else does and nobody else knows about were-animals. Never mind having their families never find out - but these two guys have been in the military for several years with nobody ever finding out. The story starts with Caleb freaking out and having to run into the woods so he can get away from his fellow Confederate soldiers before his change happens...but he's already been in the army for 2 years. That means he's gone through 24 monthly sessions, which is a total of 72 nights during which he changed into and out of being a werecat. Yet, he's never been caught, his strange behavior has never been noticed and he's never encountered another werecat until the book starts and all three of these things happen at once.
Then there's Caleb and Brance's ridiculous instalust relationship. I liked that they met with . But their age gap didn't work for me. Caleb is so painfully young, immature and naïve in comparison to Brance that I didn't understand what could have attracted Brance to Caleb. Even Caleb's constant horniness wasn't happily embraced by Brance all the time, who reacted with annoyance on more than one occasion. Then there's the lack of chemistry between them and the fact that Caleb knows nothing about Brance except that he enjoys having sex with him. This isn't a couple I was rooting for. They're just two men who happen to both be werecats and be gay so it's convenient for them to have sex. They don't even care that they're on opposites sides of the war, which was another disappointment (more on that later).
The author tried to salvage the power dynamics between them by . Also - having both Caleb and Brance be in their respective armies purely for the employment opportunity and not having anywhere else to go meant that them had zero emotional impact. They hadn't cared about the military, the war or their fellow soldiers so was pretty much shrugged off by both of them as not being a big deal.
The author's heavy focus on the shifter aspect and the MCs not caring about the war meant this could have taken place in pretty much any pre-contemporary time or place. It could have taken place in a fantasy setting and made no difference and that's disappointing when I specifically wanted to read a US Civil War historical.
There were also other aspects I didn't like and they were connected to the author's strange approach to the animal aspects. There's one weird scene where Caleb is hunting and he refers to the creatures he's hunting as does, bucks, kittens and rabbits alternatively. I don't mean that he's hunting different animals on different days - this is one scene and the author refers to the hunted animal by different names, switching back and forth. Very strange. Another thing I didn't like was how close to bestiality Caleb and Brance's animal interactions came. They were equally attracted to the idea of having sex in cat form as human form and maybe that's normal for shifter books (I don't read many) but it squicked me out. Sorry.
I'll continue reading the series because each installment is very short and I'm still hoping the quality will pick up but this first one was a big disappointment.
This book felt more like erotica than historical romance because the worldbuilding was sloppy and the author didn't even try to have it make sense. In worlds where people can be bitten by animals and turn into were-animals, authors have to make that reality make sense in the universe they created. Instead, we're supposed to believe that Caleb and Brance were both bitten over a decade ago by bobcats, they've been werecats ever since and they turn into a werecat once a month, but nobody else does and nobody else knows about were-animals. Never mind having their families never find out - but these two guys have been in the military for several years with nobody ever finding out. The story starts with Caleb freaking out and having to run into the woods so he can get away from his fellow Confederate soldiers before his change happens...but he's already been in the army for 2 years. That means he's gone through 24 monthly sessions, which is a total of 72 nights during which he changed into and out of being a werecat. Yet, he's never been caught, his strange behavior has never been noticed and he's never encountered another werecat until the book starts and all three of these things happen at once.
Then there's Caleb and Brance's ridiculous instalust relationship. I liked that they met with . But their age gap didn't work for me. Caleb is so painfully young, immature and naïve in comparison to Brance that I didn't understand what could have attracted Brance to Caleb. Even Caleb's constant horniness wasn't happily embraced by Brance all the time, who reacted with annoyance on more than one occasion. Then there's the lack of chemistry between them and the fact that Caleb knows nothing about Brance except that he enjoys having sex with him. This isn't a couple I was rooting for. They're just two men who happen to both be werecats and be gay so it's convenient for them to have sex. They don't even care that they're on opposites sides of the war, which was another disappointment (more on that later).
The author tried to salvage the power dynamics between them by . Also - having both Caleb and Brance be in their respective armies purely for the employment opportunity and not having anywhere else to go meant that them had zero emotional impact. They hadn't cared about the military, the war or their fellow soldiers so was pretty much shrugged off by both of them as not being a big deal.
The author's heavy focus on the shifter aspect and the MCs not caring about the war meant this could have taken place in pretty much any pre-contemporary time or place. It could have taken place in a fantasy setting and made no difference and that's disappointing when I specifically wanted to read a US Civil War historical.
There were also other aspects I didn't like and they were connected to the author's strange approach to the animal aspects. There's one weird scene where Caleb is hunting and he refers to the creatures he's hunting as does, bucks, kittens and rabbits alternatively. I don't mean that he's hunting different animals on different days - this is one scene and the author refers to the hunted animal by different names, switching back and forth. Very strange. Another thing I didn't like was how close to bestiality Caleb and Brance's animal interactions came. They were equally attracted to the idea of having sex in cat form as human form and maybe that's normal for shifter books (I don't read many) but it squicked me out. Sorry.
I'll continue reading the series because each installment is very short and I'm still hoping the quality will pick up but this first one was a big disappointment.
December 10, 2021
Not much background to the two characters, but there's really not more needed. The other soldiers, the camp, even the camp's servant boy, they're all rendered in enough detail to enhance Caleb and Brance's story. And eventually I'll get around to reading the second half from Brance's POV.
March 18, 2017
Interesting idea, setting a shifter story during the Civil War, and having the two heroes be on opposite sides.
I just felt like maybe too much time was spent on the sex and not enough on the world- or character-building. I didn't get to know either character as well as I'd hoped. And I have so many unanswered questions about how shifters work in this world.
I know this is called #1, I'm just not sure I care enough to want to bother going on. Maybe someday.
I just felt like maybe too much time was spent on the sex and not enough on the world- or character-building. I didn't get to know either character as well as I'd hoped. And I have so many unanswered questions about how shifters work in this world.
I know this is called #1, I'm just not sure I care enough to want to bother going on. Maybe someday.
November 20, 2014
I really enjoy shapeshifters and J.M.'s writing so I had a feeling I was going to like ths story. And yeah, I liked this story. A lot! It is set during the American Civil War and involves two men from opposite sides of the country that bond over a certain trait that they share. They are both bobcat shapeshifters and every month under the full moon they shift at night into their furry counterparts. I know!!! I mean, when was the last time you read a story like that?!? Yeah, never is the correct response.
This is the first of three novellas in the Between States series. I read this story in preparation for my review of the final story A More Perfect Union. You really do need to read this series in order and since they are relatively short it isn't hard to do. This first story is told strictly from Caleb's POV as he discovers Brance hurt in the woods and, despite the other bobcat's fierce refusals, helps clean his wound. Unfortunately upon his return the next morning Caleb is forced to reveal the location of the Yankee camp and Brance is captured. Caleb must then make a difficult decision to either remain quiet and protect himself or help Brance, who may never accept his apologies.
I really enjoyed the characters of Caleb and Brance and the details that J.M. has created around their shifting. It is an intense process that is quite painful but in their bobcat forms the men enjoy the benefits of being a cat: heightened vision, smell, sound and the ability to hunt and run quickly. The little details of how the bobcats move and interact are so very feline and make it easy to believe these characters.
What really makes these stories special is the setting, during the American Civil War. The men are both shifters yet they come from very different parts of the world. They are meant to be enemies but they are drawn to each other by their common ability. This story in particular explores the historical setting and how it affects the men. Some of my favorite lines of the story come about because of this setting.
"A row of wounded men lay on the ground just beyond the surgeon's tent, mere boys in a game of war, scattered and broken like toy soldiers."
"Covered in mud and blood, the blue and gray uniforms were the same sordid shade."
Caleb and Brance may be from different sides of the war, but they are mates in every way. Their interactions are fascinating to watch and the interactions between the men are engaging and moving.
"You may hate to admit it, and you can try to fight it if you want, but this isn't about blue and gray, or North and South, or even right and wrong. This is about you and me ~ we're cut of the same cloth; we share the same soul. You can't deny it. You can't fight it. You need me."
Under a Confederate Moon is a wonderfully engaging story about two shapeshifter that meet under the most difficult of situations. The characters are fascinating in their differences and their similarities. This is an excellent beginning to an exceptional series of stories!
http://emily83176.livejournal.com/270...
This is the first of three novellas in the Between States series. I read this story in preparation for my review of the final story A More Perfect Union. You really do need to read this series in order and since they are relatively short it isn't hard to do. This first story is told strictly from Caleb's POV as he discovers Brance hurt in the woods and, despite the other bobcat's fierce refusals, helps clean his wound. Unfortunately upon his return the next morning Caleb is forced to reveal the location of the Yankee camp and Brance is captured. Caleb must then make a difficult decision to either remain quiet and protect himself or help Brance, who may never accept his apologies.
I really enjoyed the characters of Caleb and Brance and the details that J.M. has created around their shifting. It is an intense process that is quite painful but in their bobcat forms the men enjoy the benefits of being a cat: heightened vision, smell, sound and the ability to hunt and run quickly. The little details of how the bobcats move and interact are so very feline and make it easy to believe these characters.
What really makes these stories special is the setting, during the American Civil War. The men are both shifters yet they come from very different parts of the world. They are meant to be enemies but they are drawn to each other by their common ability. This story in particular explores the historical setting and how it affects the men. Some of my favorite lines of the story come about because of this setting.
"A row of wounded men lay on the ground just beyond the surgeon's tent, mere boys in a game of war, scattered and broken like toy soldiers."
"Covered in mud and blood, the blue and gray uniforms were the same sordid shade."
Caleb and Brance may be from different sides of the war, but they are mates in every way. Their interactions are fascinating to watch and the interactions between the men are engaging and moving.
"You may hate to admit it, and you can try to fight it if you want, but this isn't about blue and gray, or North and South, or even right and wrong. This is about you and me ~ we're cut of the same cloth; we share the same soul. You can't deny it. You can't fight it. You need me."
Under a Confederate Moon is a wonderfully engaging story about two shapeshifter that meet under the most difficult of situations. The characters are fascinating in their differences and their similarities. This is an excellent beginning to an exceptional series of stories!
http://emily83176.livejournal.com/270...
Read
April 1, 2009Caleb is a confederate soldier of a renegade army. He is also a werecat and has a serious problem: during the full moon he changes automatically and can't prevent that. So happens also this time but during the first night he finds another werecat, Brance. Brance is wonded and rough, not at all friendly. But he is the first werecat Caleb has ever met, and Caleb is eager of companionship. And so he insinuates himself on Brance's life.
But the morning after he discovers that Brance is a union soldier, an enemy. But not a Caleb's enemy. Caleb is not fighting for an ideal, he has joined the army only to leave his home, and now that he has found a man he can trust with all himself, as human and werecat, he is not ready to lose him.
This is a very good weres story. The two men pass most of the time together in shifted form and when they are in that form they act like an animal not like a human. They are instinct and wild. And so their animal nature will win on their rational human form? Soldiers on opposite front could be lovers in the same paranormal world they share?
I like very much J.M. Snyder's style. She is very good in write realistic story setting in irrealistic world (paranormal or futuristic). Her characters are true even if they are paranormal being and enthral you in few pages.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/160272900X/?...
But the morning after he discovers that Brance is a union soldier, an enemy. But not a Caleb's enemy. Caleb is not fighting for an ideal, he has joined the army only to leave his home, and now that he has found a man he can trust with all himself, as human and werecat, he is not ready to lose him.
This is a very good weres story. The two men pass most of the time together in shifted form and when they are in that form they act like an animal not like a human. They are instinct and wild. And so their animal nature will win on their rational human form? Soldiers on opposite front could be lovers in the same paranormal world they share?
I like very much J.M. Snyder's style. She is very good in write realistic story setting in irrealistic world (paranormal or futuristic). Her characters are true even if they are paranormal being and enthral you in few pages.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/160272900X/?...
December 4, 2008
Set during the Civil War, Under a Confederate Moon follows a burgeoning love affair between two soldiers that find themselves on opposing sides of the battle. The bond the two men share as were-cats provides a stimulating twist to the age old tale of longing to find that other person who can fully understand who you are...
For the entire review please go to the Best Paranormal & Urban Fantasy Review site on the web, Bitten By Books for the review of Under a Confederate Moon in it's entirety. You won't be sorry.
For the entire review please go to the Best Paranormal & Urban Fantasy Review site on the web, Bitten By Books for the review of Under a Confederate Moon in it's entirety. You won't be sorry.
February 26, 2016
This was a pretty good novella, however I believe the idea of werecats making love is more exciting than reading it. As two men, they are HOT! I was more involved with the story of Caleb and Brance falling in love but being on opposite sides of the civil war. Brance is the only person Caleb has met who can accept him as a man and as a beast. However, being on opposing sides of the war isn’t the only obstacle Caleb and Brance will have to overcome.
January 21, 2016
Great story concept with a masterful execution. Caleb is a very sympathetic character and I could feel myself rooting for him as he struggled to win his way into Brance's affections. Brance was such a growly, grumpy foil to Caleb's young and playful bobcat. I liked the realistic details of the two in their cat forms. The sexual tension and steamy action were great. The story leaves off at a good point and makes me eager to read the next installment.
November 1, 2009
J.M. Snyder's Under a Confederate Moon is a wonderful story about a love that can supercede any obstacle ~ even when they're fighting on different sides of a war.
June 30, 2011
Ms. Snyder is artfully creative with her plot lines and character development. To view this review in its entirety, please visit http://www.darkdivasreviews.com/?p=5511
June 24, 2009
This is my book so I'm not going to write a review.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews