Passions run high when divorced, single-father, Marcus, falls for Jake, a young gay man with a mysterious secret.
At forty-seven, Marcus believes he is done with self-discovery. Then he meets Jake and his protective instincts go haywire. Jake’s life hasn’t been easy and he’s struggled to make ends meet. Marcus quickly realizes his affections for Jake are unlike any he’s ever felt—especially toward another man—and he’s not about to let this feeling, or Jake, slip through his fingers.
Jake has no idea why someone as perfect and hot as Marcus would be interested in him. Perhaps his life is finally turning around. At least, that is what he thinks until he wakes up in the middle of the night with an uncontrollable urge to walk into the Pacific Ocean. Jake discovers he’s a merman. And not just any, but a prince. His father tells him he is to rule under the sea but also forbids him from ever going back to land, threatening to kill any who discovers his secret.
Forbidden from seeing each other, Jake’s concern is in keeping Marcus safe. Except, neither of them knew to protect Jake from the reproductive possibilities that transforming into a merman provided. As a human, he hadn’t worried about becoming pregnant and besides, there were more pressing concerns, like how the father Jake never knew he had wanted to kill the boyfriend Jake never thought he’d find.
Marcus knows Jake is keeping something from him. He also knows Jake thinks he’s doing it for his protection. But, Marcus has already taken the bait. He’s hooked. And there isn’t an ocean deep enough to keep him from the man he loves.
Taking the Bait is a fun, steamy gay romance. It features themes of male pregnancy, dad jokes, and ocean puns, as well as a May/December romance that will make you swoon. There is no lifeguard on duty, but with these sexy mermen, you won’t need one.
Definitely happy because we got a brand spanking new series from Kiki Burrelli and if you know me, you know I’m kinda addicted to her Mpreg books. 😁 And she didn’t disappoint this time too. 💜
Jake has been taking care of his alcoholic mother since he was a mere child. Now he’s working full time at their rundown beachside bar, taking care of his mother and working himself to early grave. He’s just over 20 and he has no love life or life at all except misery and loneliness. Then he met Marcus who’s wonderful and larger than life and takes care of him like no one other did before. And one passionate night with Marcus proved that they both want so much more than casual sex with each other. But Jake has secrets that even he doesn’t know himself. And the past is catching up and there might be nothing these lovers do before Jake’s reclaimed by the sea he’s been living beside all his life.
A bit angstier than Kiki’s other books but nonetheless very enjoyable. ☺️ Fast paced, action packed, sexy romance and yes, terribly funny dad jokes. 😅😁 I read this in one sitting. And I definitely needed this after reading very heavy and complicated books these days. I can’t wait for more books in the series because there’s no such thing as too many mermen in a girl’s life. 😉
First in a new series and IT'S MERMEN! AND mpreg! And age gap! It's like Kiki wrote this story FOR me!
I do have to say that for me, this had a kinda-somewhat slow/shaky start at first. , but once things really got going with Jake finding out his full family history and everything starts happening within the merman world, that's when things really started picking up for me. I loved his connection with Marcus later on in the story, and I love that they fought for each other so hard.
I also really enjoy the world building with the under sea world - and I really hope that Jake's brother and some more of the mermen might be getting their own stories. I would also love to learn more about the biologies of the mermen and the connection between mates as we hopefully get more stories!
I'm SO happy to see Kiki diving into merman mpreg, and hope there will be more!
Rating: 3.5 stars I enjoyed this story and really liked both of the MCs. I liked that Jake questioned Marcus falling instantly in love with him and worried that he did something to cause it. The main problem with the story was Jake’s father wasn’t very good at explaining things to Jake and since he was pretty much in the dark so were we. Still, I did enjoy it and hope that we get a book about Jake’s brother next. Loved him and his shark Candice.
Meh. It was very fast in the sequence of events, to the point in which even the characters question it. Like, meet on monday, spend tuesday together and declare eternal love on wednesday. That made the plot very unengaging. Plus, the characters were kind of shallow, so no connection there either. I didn't like the book much.
I love Kiki’s books. I have since I first laid eyes on Finn. This one is good too, and I loved it. I wanted to slap the mother in this one, hard, but I love that no matter what Jake seemed to go through, that he kept trying to get back up and keep going. Jake has been trying to keep it together for so many years. Between his mom being drunk all the time and her insults and wishing he was never born, add to all the bullying and whispering, he’s had all he can take but he keeps trying. It was just another day in the life, when a big sexy man captured his attention. Marcus’s attention was on him as well, as he could tell when he tried to defend Jake. What neither expected was the very straight Marcus, not being so straight. And what Jake didn’t expect, was that his life was about to be forever changed. Feeling the pull to the ocean, he goes, and finds out there’s a whole other world, and he’s the prince of it. But he doesn’t want it. He wants Marcus. And Marcus isn’t giving up Jake. Now they have to come up with a solution to their problem and quick. Because another surprise is on its way. I hated Jake’s mom with a passion in this book. I don’t care how affected she was by the crap with his father, she had no right to treat him the way she did. What I did love though, was how Marcus had just immediately known he had to protect Jake and care for him. Even though he had never done so for a man in that manner, ever. But something about Jake called to him and he could no more give that man up than he could quit breathing. And for Jake, I loved it. Because he needed someone like Marcus in his life so bad. He needed someone to care and show him he mattered. I didn’t like Jake’s dad either. The man is a punk. And that’s putting it nicely. As much as I liked this book, it was honestly because of Jake. Jake made this book for me. With his bravery, his strength even when he felt he had none, his courage, and his unwillingness to give up. No matter how hard it got. He is what everyone should strive to be. Trying his best.
Honestly not sure what to say. I love Kiki Burrelli and have read all her books and thoroughly enjoyed most of them. I found this story to be too short, too quick and lacking depth. Marcus and Jake were sweet together for sure but I didn’t come out of this book desperate for more and really attached to the characters. I enjoy insta love and fated mates but idk, maybe if this was called a novella I wouldn’t have reacted the same way. Sorry guys, this just didn’t satisfy me the way I hoped and have come to expect from Kikis books (Morningwood series aside). I will of course continue to read her books and hope that we will get more emotional, angtsy and hot stories like from her wonderful crossover world series that just ended!
Marcus: A middle aged divorced father of a couple grown children vacationing on the coast. Alone. Jake: The 20 something year old single gay man, attempting to run a bar and take care of his alcoholic and highly abusive mother.
Sounds kinda depressing right? Well, it is. Alot. I felt perpetually irritated that Jake allowed his mother to treat him so poorly. It felt a lot of the time he was enabling her disease. It's not heroic to stay put in a town that heaps nothing but abuse on you with a mother who very vocally hates you. That's masochism, or martyrdom, I'm really not sure which. But it wasn't my cup of tea.
And as for Marcus, well, I'm okay with the "gay for you' trope. It's fine if done well. This didn't feel done super well. I simply didn't believe it. And just like Jake, I suspected magic helped the attraction along.
So why the 3 stars if I felt this was kinda meh? It all boils down to the style of writing. I like the way Kiki writes. Simple as that. Even when I hate the plot, or dislike the characters, she has a way of writing that's descriptive, intriguing. It draws me in. I don't know if I'll read the next in the series. If there is a next one. But I don't regret reading this.
My first Mer book and I was really caught up in the story. I wish it would have been a bit longer so we could really finish the story of Jake and Marcus. Jake is a young man who runs a dingy bar in a small coastal town. One night he meets a much older yet amazing man that he finds himself more then attracted to. Marcus is a divorces man who can not understand his big attraction to the young bartender. One amazing night together is what they had. Jake woke up being pulled to the sea. He did not understand, he could not stop it. His body feels like it is not his own and he finds himself in a new shape in a world he knew nothing about. How can he be a prince of the mer people, he just wants to go home. Marcus has found his new self and his new desire and now he will fight a king to keep Jake. Wish the book was a bit longer to finish the story of Jakes and Marco's family.
Not much to it. The story was fast paced which I don’t hate bc I like insta love stories, but this one just seemed too fast to the point where the characters were very surface level. The romance was there but it was just meh. I thought there would be more depth to them but it just felt like I was kinda briefly reading a watered down version of everybody and that’s about it. The story itself isn’t bad but if it was a longer fleshes our novel it would probably have a higher rating for me. With that being said I’m definitely interested in reading more from this author!
Taking the Bait by Kiki Burrelli is the first book in the Royal Merman Series. This is an m/m romance with sexy merman, an age gap romance and a surprise mpreg. Marcus and Jake are fun characters and their story is sweet and interesting with just enough angst and suspense.
Fate hasn’t dealt Jake McHaven a very good hand in life. At twenty-three years old, he has spent the entirety of his young life dealing with the fallout of being born to an alcoholic mother who despises his very presence. In Grace McHaven’s eyes, Jake is a constant reminder of the love she lost, the love that makes her drown her sorrows in the bottom of a bottle. Unfortunately for Jake and his kind heart, his sense of responsibility makes him accept the depressing reality of his life. Jake will take care of his mom no matter how she lashes out at him. He’ll keep the Driftwood Bar running even at the expense of his own happiness. To top off the suck salad that is his life, Jake is only one of two gay men in town his age, leaving him lonely. Day in and day out he trudges on through his depressing existence because that is all there is for him. Jake has no idea there is a secret behind who he really is. He doesn’t know that his paternal heritage holds the key to a whole new life for him.
Forty-seven-year-old Marcus Stern, on the other hand, has had a vastly different life than Jake. He owns a successful construction business, has two grown children attending college, an ex-wife that he split with amicably, oh, and he’s straight. He’s in Driftwood on a vacation he ended up taken alone when his kids ditch him to go to Cancun with their mom. When Marcus meets Jake for the first time something about the boy makes his protective instincts kick in and it sets the wheels of love into motion.
----
Kiki Burrelli is an author that captured my heart with her Welcome to Morningwood series. So, when she announced Taking the Bait in her author group on facebook I knew that I had to read this novel. With the whimsy of an underwater world combined with mpreg and a romantic May/December relationship, what could be more enticing? I’m so glad that I ignored my TBR list to read Taking the Bait first.
Oh man, this book, it’ll kick you in the feels for sure! My heart broke for Jake more than once because of awful encounters with his mother. I just wanted to bear hug Jake from the very beginning. When Marcus’s drive to protect Jake presented itself I was beyond happy! Even though there is a significant age gap between the two they fit together so, so well. Jake really needed someone to not only protect him but to also show him that he’s loved. Marcus is that someone!
Overall, I thought this book was pretty good. I’m no grammar nazi, so I’m sure there are things that I missed, but I only found a few mistakes on my initial readthrough. I completely forgot to highlight them on my Kindle, unfortunately. Even though there were some mistakes it wasn’t enough to completely throw me out of the story too badly.
There were a few things I would like to comment on.
First, the length of this book was a bit of a problem for me. Don’t get me wrong, I really liked the story! I just felt like there should have been more to it. To me it felt a little like the end of the book was rushed especially. I would have loved if Kiki had expanded on different parts of the book to make a more in-depth tale. Like, for example, the actual sex happens pretty early on in the story. In most cases that is fine. Yet, in this book, it felt like there should have been a little more build-up for their first time. Marcus hadn’t ever had sex with a man before, so I feel like there would have needed to be a little more easing into it. Maybe that’s just me?
Second, I think it would have been fabulous if Kiki had embellished Sheallah a little more. We were getting to see this magnificent underwater world through Jake’s eyes and I felt it was a little two dimensional. There was so much that could have been done there, but we don’t spend a whole heap of time in Sheallah. So, maybe that is why it felt a little empty to me?
Third, the relationship between Jake and Marcus develops so quickly. There is this straight older man drawn to a younger gay man. After a night of passion, it seems like Marcus is in it for the long-haul despite waking to find Jake gone. He sticks around throughout the insanity that is mermen, finding out his boyfriend is pregnant, and the rejection meant to protect him. I have to give him credit, Marcus is a real stand up man for rolling with the punches of this story.
All in all, this was a good, quick read. I enjoyed this story. I liked the potential of not only this book but also the series to come. I loved both Jake and Marcus for completely different reasons. This was a sweet story that really grabs you by the heartstrings. If you like books about sweet-hearted characters, male pregnancy, May/December relationships, heartbreaking moments, tender affection, and mermen, you’ll definitely enjoy this story.
I’d for sure recommend Taking the Bait to any of my friends who love books along these lines.
What an enchanting story! Kiki has created a unique world filled with intriguing characters. This book has it all: mermen, age- gap, angst, betrayal, loyalty, love mpreg and a new twist on losing your V card. And sex. Did I mention the hot sex? I. Loved. This. Book! This is Jake & Marcus's story. Marcus is divorced with 2 grown kids. He never considered her mighty be bi, until her meets Jake. Jake's is the same age as his kids. He has a secret so hidden, even he doesn't know it. When the tides call him to the ocean to fulfill his destiny, Jake is torn from the man he loves. But both men will fight to be together. The road to HEA is bumpy, fraught with danger, but assured. You will fall in love along with them. Laugh with them. Feel their pain, fears, and joys. You. Will. Love. This. Book! Really, you need to get this book. This book contains adult themes and language, mm sex and is intended for mature readers only.
This is a new to me author. I really enjoyed this story and I’m hoping there is more to come. This left me with a “what next” feeling. I will also admit for the first few chapters I forgot this was a Mermen book until it happened. I liked the story and will recommend.
I'm huge fan of Kiki Burrelli's books so reading this new series was a must for me. This is a M/M, Mpreg, age gap love story about Marcus and Jake, how they fight to stay together, finally succeeding after a lot of struggles and getting a HEA well deserved. I hope book 2 is about Orin... pretty please with cherry on top??
Hmmm... well... I'm interested to see how the next book goes. Would have liked to see how the pregnancy was handed all the way to the end. Have some questions too... but will wait and see if they are answered if we're get a new book.
This story is definitely interesting and a twist on what I expected when I saw a merman book. Well written, hot, and super fun. Hoping for more books in this series.