A Fated Bond

by T.L. West

Joseph Roth, a young member of the Rockfort Paranormal Department which is in charge of keeping vampires, shifters, fairies, and all kind of supernatural creatures in check, finds himself facing more than he bargained for when he is assigned to investigate a mysterious murder. Not only is Joseph stuck between his department and a prestigious vampire family, he’s unaware of the target on his back. With the department keeping secrets from him, Joseph decides to uncover the truth on his own, unaware that dark forces are on the rise. Will Joseph be able to find the truth in time or is his search allowing the enemy to come close enough for a kill?

127 pages, ebook

Published November 5, 2018

Reviews

[Joyfully Jay · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Joyfully Jay review.

2.5 stars

There’s an interesting story here, hidden behind clumsy, stilted writing, tired and bored characters, and confused and confusing time jumps. It has the feel of a debut novel, with sections that either have too many commas or a disturbing lack of them, which gives some sections a breathless air. Tenses shift, the wrong “there” is used, and a few phrases are used incorrectly.

Joseph is twenty five years old and has a marked lack of empathy towards other people. He has very little personality beyond being a bit of an idealist and being physically attracted to his new neighbor, Greg. However, he seems to have a problem understanding the world around him. When something happens, be it his boss yelling at him or watching someone getting beaten up in front of him, he has the same reaction, which is to say: none. When he sees magical colors no one else does, he has no curiosity about it, no questions or concerns or even smugness. He just keeps doing what he’s doing. After being part of a fight in which Greg is badly hurt, Joseph lets his body do what it wants to do and heals Greg, after which he goes home and goes to sleep. There is no sign that he understands what happened, that he’s internalized it at all or even has an opinion. When breaking into a victim’s house, there’s no sense that he realizes that’s not the normal thing to do, or the right thing. It’s just what he’s doing because he wants to do it. Joseph has such a marked lack of reaction that I wonder if the author did this on purpose.

Read Elizabeth’s review in its entirety here.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fated bond.

By T.L. West


This book was provided by the author via IndiGo Marketing & Design in exchange for an honest review.


This felt more like an outline than a fleshed out novel.


There are some really interesting paranormal elements, but the story is very convoluted, jumping from couple to couple without establishing connections or intimacy. 


At least one of the sex scenes, with Maxwell, felt very dub-con. Intimate scenes were persistently comprised of the exact same mechanical series of events. 


The whole thing felt very rushed.



2.7/5

[LOLA · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vampires and dark gods,oh my.
A shorter tale of paranormal w in a normal town.
Two guys become acquainted and feel a connection.
All the good elements for a paranormal story.
A little to short for my tastes. A cliffhanger ending.
But it does leave you wanting more.
(Given a copy for an honest review)
(NetGalley)
(Thanks)

[Shirley · Rating 3 out of 5]

My initial reaction when I finished A Fated Bond…. “3.5 – 4… maybe? I’m still not sure how I feel about this one.” And that’s still how I feel. The premise was great and the world created by T.L. West was intriguing, but this book was all over the place.

The story centered around Joseph, but there are so many players in this world that have ties to each other in sometimes very obscure ways that it got pretty hard to keep track. I did like what I could follow though and I’m definitely not giving up on this potential series… it has to be a series because there were WAY too many loose ends left at the end.

I received A Fated Bond in exchange for a fair and honest review.

[Natalie H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recieved from Netgalley. A lot of smut in this one but I think that’s just so you can see who’s who. It looks like there’s gonna be a lot of characters based around Joseph and Greg. The 4 days ago thing threw me for a couple of moments. Plenty of magic, mayhem and bad guys. Would like to read the next one to find out what happens.

[Linda Rea · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a fan of M/M and the supernatural this is a great book for you. When I got the book it didn’t say it was a continuation of a story but it seems like I was missing some of it, but it’s not to difficult to catch up. The story is based on the relationship between the humans, vampires, wolves, and mages plus a few I wasn’t sure what to call them. Joseph is a human who is a little to curious about the unexplained deaths and disappearances but he works for the Rockford Paranormal Department. Joseph hasn’t earned the right to have questions or even an office but he is beginning to see things others have not and the supernatural are beginning to notice.
Reviewed on behalf of Once Upon an Alpha

[Karen Roma · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I didn’t mind this story, the cover indicated that the story was about Wolves; but that's definitely not the case. This is a Vampire story (and Vamps are a favourite genre of mine), but if you are drawn to covers like I am, this cover is quite misleading. Joseph and Greg are the primary characters in this story, but with such an extensive support cast, it's easy to imagine this becoming a series. A lot of sex, an OK storyline, and enough magic and mayhem that if there is a second book, I will probably read it just to see what happens next.

[Rebecca Goss · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book will not appeal to all readers. Few books do so. This one does introduce new characters to the supernatural world which is definitely appealing. Admittedly, I should have heeded the warning more. This book was too graphic for me, which is saying a lot. This violence was graphic, gruesome and plentiful. The erotica was also graphic and plentiful. Relationships did not have time to build up. The characters may have history but the reader does not feel it. I did feel there was a kinship to the vampires in the story to those in the Anne Rice era. These vamps did not sparkle!

[Joscelyn Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I found the writing a bit stilted once I got into the story it flowed better. Joseph and Greg were interesting characters and I enjoyed watching them navigate the mystery and intrigue surrounding them but the story seemed rushed and it has a cliff-hanger ending. I would have loved a bit of backstory for the characters, it would have helped to flesh them out a bit more. All in all the story wasn't perfect but I might take a chance on book two.

*I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley*

[Tracie R · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first book I have read by this author, A Fated Bond is a Vampire story. Magic, mayhem and vampires, the story read like it could be the beginning of a series. Good characters, engaging interaction and an ok storyline, this one need a little work but is a promising start to a series.

[Kirstin · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars.

Joseph Roth is a member of the Rockfort Paranormal Department. He is sent to crime scenes post police to find clues to paranormal activity. When he's the only one who is able to identify vampire involvement, things turn rather peculiar for him.

The writing was meh. It was simple and I couldn't get over the use of 'Oh, no!' in every scene dealing with possible death.

There were plenty of gratuitous sex scenes that had nothing to do with the MC's nor the story, which was super weird.

Then at 75% the chapter starts with '4 days before...' and there is a totally different set of characters that make up the rest of the story. Not sure what to even make of this.

The end was just....there? Apparently there will be further books in this series but I'm not even sure what happened in this one to be honest.

*Arc provided in exchange for an honest review*

[Cecil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vampires. Werewolves. Mages. Fairies. Demons! Lots of potential in the world T.L. West has created. The author has introduced some original supernatural concepts and creatures. The story opens with Joseph getting assigned a murder case linked to a vampire attack. It just grows darker for Joseph from there. We are also introduced to the supporting cast and how everything links to Joseph, who works for the Rockfort Paranormal Department. Then, the final chapters take us back a few days to further elaborate on the events leading to what Joseph experienced at the beginning of the book. Also, lots of steamy scenes. Looking forward to more.

[Once Upon An Alpha · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a fan of M/M and the supernatural this is a great book for you. When I got the book it didn’t say it was a continuation of a story but it seems like I was missing some of it, but it’s not to difficult to catch up. The story is based on the relationship between the humans, vampires, wolves, and mages plus a few I wasn’t sure what to call them. Joseph is a human who is a little to curious about the unexplained deaths and disappearances but he works for the Rockford Paranormal Department. Joseph hasn’t earned the right to have questions or even an office but he is beginning to see things others have not and the supernatural are beginning to notice. - Reviewed by Linda

[Remus · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book would have greatly benefited from somebody sitting down with the author and telling them that they need to show- not tell and they are trying to do so many things they are succeeding at none of them. This book is 95% exposition and 3% the author trying to fit in as many tropes as possible into it, while understanding none of the reasons behind those trope's existence and 2% actual plot. I did not finish this book for a couple of reasons, it was both boring and irritating, a combination nobody wants to be subjected to.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love a good paranormal mystery but this one was a miss for me. The cover was a bit misleading too. It’s about vampires, not werewolves like you’d think with the cover. If you enjoy a lot of smut and not much of a cohesive plot, then this one is for you. I had a bit of an issue with how incomplete the writing felt. I wanted more information about the characters and who they were. We didn’t really get that.

[Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Review An Alisa Review:

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

I felt like I was missing something in this story. Joseph has been working for the paranormal department and becomes the target of one bad guy. Greg has felt like he was waiting for something for the last 25 years, he doesn’t expect that connection to Joseph to put Joseph in danger.

This story shows a lot of different points of view and different sides of the story. Unfortunately the story seemed half completed, maybe another book will come in the future but it isn’t marked as a series. It seems this is loosely connected to Angels and Man-Beasts that I read last year and I felt the same way with that story. I felt that Joseph and Greg were just a small portion of the book and wish there had been some sort of conclusion by the end of the book.

I like the cover art by Natasha Snow and the visuals are connected to Joseph and Greg’s portion of the book.

[Jaylee]

Dnf @ 21%

Dry, lifeless writing. All the characters sound the same. From the cover, I thought this was a werewolf book, but it's about vampires.

The random, gratuitous sex scenes were unnecessary imo. The vampires in this world feed off humans by sexing them up first... Meh. I skimmed those, waiting for them to be over.

Book also could use a good editor.

I received a free copy from net valley in exchange for an honest review.

[Fran · Rating 3 out of 5]

The cover is a bit misleading. So far this is a book about a vampire and another supernatural being, being bonded.. It was a okay book, not great. Maybe the next in the series will be better. From what I can tell anything from the supernatural world is here in this book. This was also the first book I read by this author so I am not sure as to the writing style, I will say improvement couldn't hurt.

[Lillian Francis]

That'll teach me for picking a book based solely on the cover.

There weren't even any wolves in it!

Skimmed from 20%. DNF'd at 36%

[thewoollygeek (tea, cake, crochet & books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free e-book to review

I admit based on the cover I thought this would be about wolves, but it was about vampires instead. This is the first M/M I have read and I enjoyed it, Joseph and Greg were interesting characters that I enjoyed and lots of supporting characters which probably indicates that this will become a series. I will add a warning as this book may not appeal to all as the violence could be quite graphic and there was lots of sex, that doesn't bother me but as I say may not be for all. The writing could be a bit simplistic and sometimes it felt a bit disjointed, but with a little improvement this would be four stars. With a bit more work this could be a great series, but a good start.

[Angel Hatfield · Rating 1 out of 5]

Joseph was human but worked for the Rockford Paranormal department/RPD. Joseph’s job was to investigate crime scenes after the police were done and alert his department -in person- if he found something of paranormal interest. Joseph called his department even though he wasn’t suppose to and told Sally the department had a vampire case on their hands. Greg sat waiting for his meal to arrive. He didn’t like it but it had to be done, it was something his family required him to do. Greg hadn’t eaten in a month but something took notice inside of him of Lionel who had come in for ho, to feed on. He heard a small voice in his head telling him to give in. The same small voice he had heard when Damian had changed him all those years ago. It was the vampire part of Greg. Greg couldn’t fight the hunger nay longer. Greg didn’t know why but twenty five years ago something inside him had changed. He still couldn’t figure it out, but every since than he hadn’t felt the urge to drink human blood like he used to. It was as if his body was looking for something else. Greg was now one hundred years old. Greg had to see if what he wanted was out there . He had to find what his body and soul were truly looking for. Joseph hung up from Sally and got a phone call from the department saying a car was on the way to pick him up. Now he was in the white room answering question from a disembodied female sounding voice. It was Joseph’s first time in the white room then he was released to leave. Joseph hated not being told stuff because he didn’t rank high enough in the department. Then Joseph heard his unofficial partner’s voice -Elisa- he asked if she was heading out and she said she had to work with her mentor Mr Robert. Joseph still hadn’t been given a higher ranking official to work under. Then Joseph decides instead of leaving he went to the fourth floor. Where the department kept the files regarding paranormal crime cases. The need for answers was too strong in Joseph even though he would probably get in trouble. This was his first case that dealt with murder.
I could not get into this book. A couple pages in was a very graphic sex scene -M/M. I don’t care to read M/M or F/F sexually together. This just wasn't for me I wouldn’t rate it if I didn’t have to. I am sure others will really like this book but it just wasn’t for me.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this, because this had so much potential, but it felt rushed and so confusing near the end of the book. There was a lot of characters introduced in a short amount of time. I think if there would have been more build up of Joseph and Greg’s relationship, it would have been much better. There was also a ton of sex that I feel was unnecessary, but some would say it showed the relationships everyone had. This definitely needed to be longer. I’ll definitely read the next book to see where things go, I just I’m not disappointed.

[HW · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn’t very satisfying for me. It was a bit convoluted for one thing, and there were a few typos. New characters were introduced about two thirds of the way through the book and the main characters, Joseph and Greg, saw no resolution. The new characters were the focus of the last part of the book, and nothing got resolved plot wise. There was no indication of whether or not there’d be a sequel, although I would assume so based on the “ending.”