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Domesticated: A Short Story Collection
Animal Spirits and the humans who love them...
What do you do when an owl who saves your daughter from dying turns into a handsome prince with a terrible personality? Well, when it happened to Garrett, he spent the next month digging through the mud and fighting off Bigfoot in an attempt to find his Owl Prince's stolen eye.
What do you do when a stray cat sneaks into your apartment and rides you like the last train to Sexville? Or when a possum with a never-ending appetite and the best happy trail you've ever seen sets up camp in your living room?
Domesticated contains fives stories of humans and the animal spirits they love. Stories of desire, lust and longing, presented with a heavy helping of trashy daytime television and learning to use the microwave. Read on to discovery how the world of spirits and the world of humans tether themselves together through the bonds of these five couples.
What do you do when an owl who saves your daughter from dying turns into a handsome prince with a terrible personality? Well, when it happened to Garrett, he spent the next month digging through the mud and fighting off Bigfoot in an attempt to find his Owl Prince's stolen eye.
What do you do when a stray cat sneaks into your apartment and rides you like the last train to Sexville? Or when a possum with a never-ending appetite and the best happy trail you've ever seen sets up camp in your living room?
Domesticated contains fives stories of humans and the animal spirits they love. Stories of desire, lust and longing, presented with a heavy helping of trashy daytime television and learning to use the microwave. Read on to discovery how the world of spirits and the world of humans tether themselves together through the bonds of these five couples.
- GenresShapeshiftersM M Romance
288 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 13, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 1, 2021
These were really cute. The last one was easily my favorite. Most loveable characters and most interesting story.
January 6, 2024
I had the chance to meet both of these authors at a convention in my hometown, and I've bought and read nearly all of their books. This is a collection of short stories following MLM stories of animal spirits and their human lovers
The Boy With the Shark Tattoo: Tua and Makoa were an adorable couple, and Iabsolutely loved their relationship dynamic. The story follows Tua as he follows around Makoa on land, as he had admired his surfing from underwater. Makoa told Tua he never wanted to get in the water again because he had a traumatic accident, so now he helps out at (i think) his uncle's tattoo place. The ending is really sweet and a little spicy, but I think it worked perfectly without it.
Stray Cat Strut: Sen and Shaun.. my word where do I begin. These two might of had to be my favorite couple, and mostly because Sen was a total DILF (despite having no kids). The story is honestly pretty funny as we see Sen try and understand the human world. The spice is pretty great too.
Plus-One Possum: Marshal and Clark were definitely the spicest couple in this book, which I honestly loved. The story follows Marshal as he has to find a plus one for his sister's wedding, but of course he doesn't want to, and it's obvious who he chooses to bring. Oh, and they had a bit of fun in the venue's restroom...
Bat in the Attic: Jeremiah and Bram were honestly such a nice, cheesy read. Jermeiah is a teacher, so he's already got his hands full, but then Bram shows up and it's like watching a teenager having his first crush. The entire story, he's talking about some spicy fantasies, and the little twist with Bram at the end was honestly pretty funny.
The Owl Prince: Now these two made me hurt the most. The story starts with Garrett loosing her daughter Maddy, to which a mysterious owl prince, Lummi, comes by and says he'll save her in exchange that Garrett will find her eye. Of course he excepts it and Maddy's totally fine. The relationship between Maddy and Lummi is honestly adorable, and just reading Lummi's pain in the end made me hurt right in the heart. I was awesome.
Overall, I really enjoyed these novellas. They was all sorts of representation for different cultures throughout the stories, and it was such a fun read to see how these animal spirits and their humans would fall in love.
The Boy With the Shark Tattoo: Tua and Makoa were an adorable couple, and Iabsolutely loved their relationship dynamic. The story follows Tua as he follows around Makoa on land, as he had admired his surfing from underwater. Makoa told Tua he never wanted to get in the water again because he had a traumatic accident, so now he helps out at (i think) his uncle's tattoo place. The ending is really sweet and a little spicy, but I think it worked perfectly without it.
Stray Cat Strut: Sen and Shaun.. my word where do I begin. These two might of had to be my favorite couple, and mostly because Sen was a total DILF (despite having no kids). The story is honestly pretty funny as we see Sen try and understand the human world. The spice is pretty great too.
Plus-One Possum: Marshal and Clark were definitely the spicest couple in this book, which I honestly loved. The story follows Marshal as he has to find a plus one for his sister's wedding, but of course he doesn't want to, and it's obvious who he chooses to bring. Oh, and they had a bit of fun in the venue's restroom...
Bat in the Attic: Jeremiah and Bram were honestly such a nice, cheesy read. Jermeiah is a teacher, so he's already got his hands full, but then Bram shows up and it's like watching a teenager having his first crush. The entire story, he's talking about some spicy fantasies, and the little twist with Bram at the end was honestly pretty funny.
The Owl Prince: Now these two made me hurt the most. The story starts with Garrett loosing her daughter Maddy, to which a mysterious owl prince, Lummi, comes by and says he'll save her in exchange that Garrett will find her eye. Of course he excepts it and Maddy's totally fine. The relationship between Maddy and Lummi is honestly adorable, and just reading Lummi's pain in the end made me hurt right in the heart. I was awesome.
Overall, I really enjoyed these novellas. They was all sorts of representation for different cultures throughout the stories, and it was such a fun read to see how these animal spirits and their humans would fall in love.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 23, 2021
This collection needs so much more love than it's gotten! It's adorable, full of atypical types of shifters, and written wonderfully. The only story that wasn't a 4star or higher was the last one, but it was still probably a 3.5 so this is definitely a win and one I recommend!
May 24, 2021
An unexpected gem
Someone recommended this on Facebook and I thought it sounded cute and was willing to give it a try. It was ADORABLE. The authors did a great job at capturing animals in human forms (the cat knocking something off the counter made me laugh), and each story is just long enough to get you attached to the characters.
Full disclosure: I was a little worried about the editing when I saw “tale” instead of “tail” in the first paragraph, but while there is the occasional typo, it wasn’t enough to detract from the sheer charm of this book.
Someone recommended this on Facebook and I thought it sounded cute and was willing to give it a try. It was ADORABLE. The authors did a great job at capturing animals in human forms (the cat knocking something off the counter made me laugh), and each story is just long enough to get you attached to the characters.
Full disclosure: I was a little worried about the editing when I saw “tale” instead of “tail” in the first paragraph, but while there is the occasional typo, it wasn’t enough to detract from the sheer charm of this book.
Did Not Finish
May 25, 2021Not going to rate because I only got partway through the first story. It seemed like a really cute story, but apparently I get squicked by the word “boy” being used to refer to the main characters in a romance (unless it’s a kink thing). I highlighted a couple of examples.
September 1, 2021
4.0 Stars
I'm so glad I discovered this collection of cute stories. I'll have to give a more in-depth review on each individual story when I have more time. But for now, this definitely deserved 4 whole stars. (Now... to pick a favorite. Maybe Stray Cat Strut? But I loved them all so much.)
Anyways, we've been getting a lot of bad weather where I currently live so this was a total mood-boost from all the gray and gloom.
One last note, kudos to Barnett and Kay for including those adorable, little drawings between each chapter. I love it when authors do that!)
I'm so glad I discovered this collection of cute stories. I'll have to give a more in-depth review on each individual story when I have more time. But for now, this definitely deserved 4 whole stars. (Now... to pick a favorite. Maybe Stray Cat Strut? But I loved them all so much.)
Anyways, we've been getting a lot of bad weather where I currently live so this was a total mood-boost from all the gray and gloom.
One last note, kudos to Barnett and Kay for including those adorable, little drawings between each chapter. I love it when authors do that!)
January 24, 2022
Overall, I didn't find any of the stories particularly terrible, but the characters were mostly either too immature or naive and the relationships too fast-burn and insta-lust/insta-love for my taste.
---
The Boy with the Shark Tattoo by Michelle Kay
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Tags: shifters, m-m-romance, gods, young-adult
This story followed the shark MC Tua as he was transformed into a human by his father god daily for a week as an opportunity for Tua to thank Rider/Makoa for rescuing him when he was beached as a shark. Tua followed Makoa around during his tattoo apprenticeship trying to naively help but caused more troubles for Makoa instead.
I found this story to be a bit too YA for my taste with overly naive and immature characters. The lack of patience, rudeness, and irritation displayed from Makoa was very off-putting for a romance. The boys did get their quick HEA in the end, although the relationship was rather insta-love for me, especially for their (apparent) young ages.
---
Stray Cat Strut by Tess Barnett
Rating: ★★★★☆
Tags: m-m-romance, shifters, gods
A cute story about a grumpy stray black cat shifter named Sen that the MC Shaun saved one rainy night and ended up having as a night-time visitor repeatedly over the course of months. There was some emotional ex-related drama that wrapped up nicely into an HEA for the couple. I really enjoyed all the cat behaviors that Sen displayed, like knocking cans off the counter.
---
Plus-One Possum by Michelle Kay
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Tags: shifters, animals-sidekicks, m-m-romance
A short story about the FMC Marshall learning to live with the magically transformed possum Clark and his raccoon friend Marvin as well as dealing with his internal struggle at coming out as gay in public at his baby sister's wedding.
I found the drama in the plot rather contrived, and Clark's character didn't really make sense -- he didn't understand how to take a proper shower or cook, but he understood how to have a human-like relationship and how all the biological humans parts worked for intimacy? It was also never explained how Clark was able to transform into a human when none of his wildlife friends did, and he never showed the ability to transform back into a possum either. I enjoyed how the story ended, but the plot overall was a bit aimless and unsatisfying.
---
Bat in the Attic by Tess Barnett
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Tags: shifters, m-m-romance
The story followed the MC Jeremiah, a high school AP US history teacher, as he found a bat looking for shelter in his attic in October that he tried to evict, but the bat transformed into a boy that Jeremiah named Bram, and Bram begged Jeremiah to let him stay through the winter to prevent him from dying out in the cold alone.
I was a bit uncomfortable with the description of the bat turning into a "cute boy" and the contrived explanation that he was able to turn human because he "wished very hard." While high school teachers can admittedly be not that much older than the 20ish years old that Bram looked like, the use of the word "boy" to describe his youth and attractiveness to Jeremiah was unsettling. It was a bit better once it was explained that Bram understood what all the biological functions entailed, but the overall theme wasn't to my taste.
---
The Owl Prince by Tess Barnett and Michelle Kay
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Tags: gods, shifters, m-m-romance
I waffled between a 3- and 4-stars for this short story and ultimately went with 3-star since I didn't really like the characters and how the relationship developed and probably would not re-read this story.
This story followed a single father named Garrett who had a young daughter named Maddy. They went out hiking, and Maddy ended up fatally bitten by a snake, and an owl prince god named Lummi decided to help resurrect Maddy in return for Garrett's help on a quest. Lummi acted like an arrogant ass for most of the story until the end when he realized that he cared much more about the two than he had intended. I felt that Garrett was a little too blasé about how Lummi was interacting with his kid and leaving the kid in the car while they went out questing in the parks? Additionally, the whole twist about
The relationship ramped up extremely quickly before the story ended, although their questing had taken multiple weeks. I didn't really feel the romance, but it was a cute ending.
---
The Boy with the Shark Tattoo by Michelle Kay
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Tags: shifters, m-m-romance, gods, young-adult
This story followed the shark MC Tua as he was transformed into a human by his father god daily for a week as an opportunity for Tua to thank Rider/Makoa for rescuing him when he was beached as a shark. Tua followed Makoa around during his tattoo apprenticeship trying to naively help but caused more troubles for Makoa instead.
I found this story to be a bit too YA for my taste with overly naive and immature characters. The lack of patience, rudeness, and irritation displayed from Makoa was very off-putting for a romance. The boys did get their quick HEA in the end, although the relationship was rather insta-love for me, especially for their (apparent) young ages.
---
Stray Cat Strut by Tess Barnett
Rating: ★★★★☆
Tags: m-m-romance, shifters, gods
A cute story about a grumpy stray black cat shifter named Sen that the MC Shaun saved one rainy night and ended up having as a night-time visitor repeatedly over the course of months. There was some emotional ex-related drama that wrapped up nicely into an HEA for the couple. I really enjoyed all the cat behaviors that Sen displayed, like knocking cans off the counter.
---
Plus-One Possum by Michelle Kay
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Tags: shifters, animals-sidekicks, m-m-romance
A short story about the FMC Marshall learning to live with the magically transformed possum Clark and his raccoon friend Marvin as well as dealing with his internal struggle at coming out as gay in public at his baby sister's wedding.
I found the drama in the plot rather contrived, and Clark's character didn't really make sense -- he didn't understand how to take a proper shower or cook, but he understood how to have a human-like relationship and how all the biological humans parts worked for intimacy? It was also never explained how Clark was able to transform into a human when none of his wildlife friends did, and he never showed the ability to transform back into a possum either. I enjoyed how the story ended, but the plot overall was a bit aimless and unsatisfying.
---
Bat in the Attic by Tess Barnett
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Tags: shifters, m-m-romance
The story followed the MC Jeremiah, a high school AP US history teacher, as he found a bat looking for shelter in his attic in October that he tried to evict, but the bat transformed into a boy that Jeremiah named Bram, and Bram begged Jeremiah to let him stay through the winter to prevent him from dying out in the cold alone.
I was a bit uncomfortable with the description of the bat turning into a "cute boy" and the contrived explanation that he was able to turn human because he "wished very hard." While high school teachers can admittedly be not that much older than the 20ish years old that Bram looked like, the use of the word "boy" to describe his youth and attractiveness to Jeremiah was unsettling. It was a bit better once it was explained that Bram understood what all the biological functions entailed, but the overall theme wasn't to my taste.
---
The Owl Prince by Tess Barnett and Michelle Kay
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Tags: gods, shifters, m-m-romance
I waffled between a 3- and 4-stars for this short story and ultimately went with 3-star since I didn't really like the characters and how the relationship developed and probably would not re-read this story.
This story followed a single father named Garrett who had a young daughter named Maddy. They went out hiking, and Maddy ended up fatally bitten by a snake, and an owl prince god named Lummi decided to help resurrect Maddy in return for Garrett's help on a quest. Lummi acted like an arrogant ass for most of the story until the end when he realized that he cared much more about the two than he had intended. I felt that Garrett was a little too blasé about how Lummi was interacting with his kid and leaving the kid in the car while they went out questing in the parks? Additionally, the whole twist about
The relationship ramped up extremely quickly before the story ended, although their questing had taken multiple weeks. I didn't really feel the romance, but it was a cute ending.
November 20, 2021
Squeeeeeeeeeeee!!! 🦈!!! 🐈⬛!!! 🦡!!! 🦇!!! 🦉!!! I adored every damn one 🥰🥰🥰
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews