Make Me

by Rebecca Fairfax

London journalist interviews Hollywood star at a press junket and sparks fly. We’ve all seen that movie before, right? Except, not quite this all-male, species-flipped version…

Keirnan Thane is starring in his first blockbuster. He’s also a wolf shifter. Sam Howard is the London Chronicle’s new film reviewer. He’s a human. Their no-fangs-barred, all-fur-flying lust at first sight in a nightclub back room and Keirnan’s bed—and shower—turns into a weekend away in Keirnan’s packland.

Only, Keirnan has to win a brutal fight for his position as Alpha, and Sam is forced to deal with the pack beta’s challenge that Sam isn’t strong enough to be by Keirnan’s side. It seems things are over for the lovers before they’ve begun, but the attraction between them sizzles so strongly they can’t keep apart.

And, Sam, former investigative journalist, is also keeping secrets of his own. Deadly secrets, ones that have powerful people after him. Lethal secrets, ones that could get him and Keirnan killed…

103 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 7, 2018

Reviews

[Qin · Rating 2 out of 5]

A surprisingly original shifter story, told in alternating POV through decent English that manages most of the times to steer clear of ornery prose (though not of hyphenated compounds!). Too bad serious technical issues spoiled my fun. Keirnan’s first section, which amounts to nearly all the world building extant in the entire novella, bears the signs of an info-dump awkwardly converted into internal discourse. The unfocussed beginning fails at setting adequately the scene (the action is rather blurry, with a faulty depiction of time) and at delineating the main lines of the primary characters; Keirnan comes out as a sexy, broody airhead, Sam as a bunch of contradictions with little gravity center to his personality, and indeed their entire interactions prior to their coming to pack lands make short shrift of pleasantries (the two lads jump to bed not thirty pages into the novella). Even though the love scenes are sleekly written and far from unpleasant, this is really too much too early; instantaneous sexual chemistry can be allowed to trump character building, it never proves to be its adequate substitute. Insufficient literary chops are yet more strikingly in evidence in the arrival in Keirnan’s hometown: Mrs Fairfax has her heroes jump from entering an eatery, later described as a pub and then as an inn ("“Inn at one end, war memorial in the middle, church at the bottom—classic English,” Sam commented, looking down the hill at the cottages lining the main road, and the bigger houses set back on streets leading off from it, their big gardens leading to the fields. “Full English, you mean.” Keirnan ushered Sam through the arch into the long courtyard of the large L-shaped eighteenth-century slate building. “The big breakfast challenge, in fact.”") to having breakfast ("“That’s a challenge, all right.” Sam eyed the heaping plate set in front of Keirnan, the eggs resting on hash browns, the sausages curled around them, the mushrooms dotted around the edge of the plate and the rashers of bacon latticed over the top. A rack of toast stood at the ready, as did a plate of pancakes. “A challenge to eat all that and not have to go to ER.”") without telling us nothing of the interim actions of the pair but for the tritest notation about Keirnan that devolves into a paragraph-length aside on the shifters in attendence all around them ("He broke off to greet the innkeepers, fellow shifters whose family had owned the business for generations"). Yet more grevious a defect, the storytelling is consistently unevocative and frigid, wordy instead of picturesque with no sense for either dramatic tension or rhetorical intensity: the sheer idea of wolf shifters keeping pet birds all through their country town because, unlike mammals, avians do not fear their contact, was excellent, yet its execution falls signally flat as the various characters hurl around the names of the species of birds and tell the reader in clumsy fashion what mayhem they are creating instead of describing it in a few choice words; whenever a new character or set of characters appear on the scene, they are not introduced at all - a parenthetical info dump on them occurs that replaces anything resembling dynamic presentation, confusing the story line a good deal -; the lengthy phases of dialogue tend to be idle chatter, or at least commonplaces irrelevant to both atmosphere and plotting, in so many words filler contents not even capable of equipping the reader with vistas into the mindset of the shifters in town; and so on and so forth. It goes without saying that when things heat up for Keirnan and Sam with the pack, the writing nullifies nearly all the tension Mrs Fairfax intended to create. I thus did not feel vested in the plotline. A pity, really, given that this lady seems talented enough to do much better. Two stars and a half rounded down for this was a majorly tedious read in which the bad elements significantly trump whatever good things appear within these covers.

[Tabi Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting Read

I have read other books by this author and have really enjoyed them, but there just seemed to be something lacking from this story. It seemed like the story was all over the place as I was reading. Like thoughts were a little jumbled as they were talking.

One minute we would be talking about one thing and in two sentences it all got changed and we were on to a different topic. It didn't seem to give the characters time to build any type of relationship with each other.

I believe this could have been a much better story with a little more time and editing.

Until Next Time.... Tabi

[Ramona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone who loves someone will understand

This is an M/M story, there is instant attraction between Keirnan and Sam, but neither of them tells the other the truth about themselves, no one wants to be vulnerable. But by not talking to each other about things, there are a lot of misconceptions and hurt feelings. These two need to figure it out before someone kills Sam, Keirnan's mate. This story is a "to be continued" in the next book.

[Casey Leigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

An awesome tale of instant attraction and the witty back and forth banter of flirting, some stardom dealings along with family connections and a bit of miscommunication.
A fast moving story with high emotion, conflict and hot hot intimate relationship details. I look forward to the next instalment of this unfurling tale.

[kendell perdue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

This book was really good I love it I wanted to read the next book said it was to be by 2018 but it 2020 and it not so.i don't know what happen to iT

[Deborah Countryman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Make Me

Kiernan Thames is a actor and Alpha wolf shifter and Sam Howard is a chronicle of London investigator reporter. M/M

[Amanda M · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read that keeps your attention. It's an instant attraction, fated mates story. A page turner with plenty to unravel. Overall a great book.