Adam knew bounty hunting in another pack’s territory had risks, but being at the end of a shotgun for a forced mating was not one he expected. At least it wasn’t permanent. Once he paid the promised cut of the bounty the leader of Pine Hollow would dissolve the mating. Adam just needed to keep his hands (and his teeth) away from the enticing omega.
Ricky knew nothing about the outside world, but he knew his days at Pine Hollow were numbered. The barren, widowed omega’s best chance for survival was to find a mate at Lone Wolves Ranch. Anyone would do. Anyone but the ornery wolf who bit him. Adam said he didn’t want a mate, so why was he acting like a knot-blocker?
The Alpha’s Shotgun Mating is the second book in the Lone Wolves Ranch series. It can be read as a stand-alone though secondary character’s lives continue from The Cub Club.
Wow! What an awesome rollercoaster ride this second book was.
The author outdid themselves in this second book. I gave 5 stars to book one and it was deserved. Sadly that left no more stars when this book turned out even better. The two MCs were simply amazing, the writing well polished and the suspense heightened! Another homerun for the author. Now on to book three!
I adored Ricky!! He’s probably the only thing that makes sense in this book. While I had enjoyed the first book, the beginning of this book didnt reel me in. I did NOT like Adam. Not even towards the end. He just reminds me of an immature man child 🙈
But Ricky, oh gosh... what a joy!! I loved him so much! His innocence was just a delight and the delight he feels as he learns thing..gosh. Nothing more pure than that 😍
Overall though, the story didn’t wow me. Not sure if that’s due to my dislike for Adam or not 🙊
I did not want this book to end. OMG it was so entertaining, emotional, and humorous. I absolutely adored Ricky. His sweet, submissive, feisty personality made for great story telling. The contrast between how Ricky's pack raised & treated him and what was expected from Omegas there was astonishing. Experiencing life through Ricky's eyes was amazing.
People (Wolf shifters) who have always had modern conveniences take a great deal for granted. Ricky was much more than a country bumpkin. He'd been literally raised as a live off the land Wolf with little joy, but lots of rigorous routines and chores. His savior wasn't his second "slightly" / shotgun mated Alpha, but everyone else who made him realize how wonderful he was. Who gave him choices, praise, and comforting touch. They fed him, gratefully acknowledged, and accepted his - unlike his very reluctant mate who considered him a "witch". Ricky deserved all the good things that life had to offer and he was happy with so much less. It was a pleasure to see him finally get what he deserved.
The best laid plans. . . Adam, Mack's brother and his team of bounty hunters, went to Pine Hollow to track a fugitive, Gus. He had to inform the pack Alpha why he was on the property. The pack may have been poor, but the Alpha knew to negotiate a cut of the $250,000 bounty. The Alpha's brother, Rock insisted on accompanying Adam and his team. Rock, interfered with the plan and there were fatalities and severe silver woundings. Ricky, an Omega tended to the team's wounds when they returned. Ricky, was a mood influencer and persuaded the Alpha to let him mate with Adam to be returned when they came back with the portion of the bounty. There were complications with the deal and further complications as Ricky and Adam got to know each other better. Ricky experienced a lot of firsts comeing from an extremely isolated insular pack as Pine Hollow. Can Ricky integrate into Lone Wolves? Will he go back after spending time there? Does Adam get the money? Will Lone Wolves accept Ricky's visit? Complications, conflicts, romance and Troy! Great story. Excellent twists and the unexpected. All of the characters are entertaining and delightful. Well done!
So Rock was a bad alpha because he didn't pretend to care about his omega's feelings, but Adam is a diamond in the rough since he was always perfectly aware of his mate's feelings and just didn't think twice about "protecting" him through humiliation and degradation. I beg to differ. Adam got of WAY too easily, IMHO. Ricky had a spine, and was doing well, standing up for himself, and on his own, but suddenly, because Adam manipulated his lust, everything was forgiven and Adam suddenly was okay with all of the unsubmissive things he previously had complained about.
Bottom line - Adam was a jerk, & Ricky deserved better. Also, I can understand Ricky not having experience with some things, but he was well read; he would have already been exposed to the concepts of running water, refrigerators, and thresholds...
...but when I ran across the first book in this series again, I remembered what a fun and well structured story it was. Good characters, good plot.
Number two in the series is quite different. The angst factor is significantly higher. Then again, there's more Troy, and he does a great job of lightening the mood. Adam was a rollercoaster. I liked him, and then for a significant chunk of the book, I didn't. I kind of hoped Clay would win. In the end, Adam redeemed himself and a solid HEA evolved.
I admit I'm bummed that we don't have Luke's story yet. Recommend. (Except for a few small errors, well edited.)
I thought this to be a really good addition to Lone Wolves Ranch series. I really loved Ricky in this book. I loved reading about him learning about the world after being isolated his whole life. The main problem I had with this book was Adam. I really didn’t like him as a character, and it brought my rating down a bit. I never really warmed up to him and I would have loved for Ricky to be paired up with someone better. On the good side, Troy continues to be a delight as the resident author who turns everyone’s life into a romance novel. All in all, I did enjoy reading this book for the most part and am looking forward to the next one in the series.
I love Ricky and his discovery of the modern world. I love the funny and wittiness of the story and characters. I look forward to reading more from this series.
Haven’t read this author before but my word the first and this second book sucked you in, there quite a lot of humour among the sad parts, but these shifter story’s are light hearted Will be putting this author on my following list
I forgot about this series’ special brand of humor. I’m dying at the way they roast Adam. Adam is a grump though and Ricky, who is a lovely character, deserves better.
Other than that, the editing could’ve been better. And since when is Hans Christian Andersen Dutch?? 🤔
Classic slow-burn omegaverse story. I thought this was written well, but it didn't make me feel any sort of way. No new concepts were added to the genre.
Adam is the leader of a bounty hunting team, which is after a dangerous man, who happens to be hiding out in another pack's territory. He makes a deal with this other pack that ends up going south and to deal with the consequences, he ends up "temporarily" mated to one of the pack's omegas. Ricky is the omega that Adam ends up mated to. He’s looking for a way out of his pack and is hoping that if Adam doesn't want to keep him, their "temporary mating" can be dissolved and he can find someone else in Adam's pack to be his mate.
Like the first book, there are some laugh-out-loud moments. I also wanted to smack Adam a number of times as well. It's too bad that Adam wasn't around when his brother Mack, the Alpha of their pack, found his mate, Steven. Adam might have saved himself a lot of trouble had he been there for some of their antics. When he wasn't being a complete jerk, Adam seemed like he could be a great mate for Ricky. Once he stopped fighting things, he acted like a mate should, but I really thought Ricky should have made him grovel more first.
Ricky is a blast, almost a blast from the past. His old pack did without all modern conveniences and made everything they had themselves. He didn't even understand telling time. While everyone thought he was fascinating, I wished they would have made sure he understood all the different things they were tossing his way instead of simply assuming. Ricky was amazingly self-sufficient, and I loved seeing him stand up for himself more and more. I was happy that he got his happy ending with Adam, but I really had a hard time letting go of the hot-and-cold act that Adam had going on for so long.
I would say you could try to read this one as a standalone, but I think it would be better if you read the first story, The Cub Club, before this one to get a better sense of the world and the characters that recur in both.
*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement. ***
The Shifter’s Shotgun Mating by Ardy Kelly is the second book in the Lone Wolves Ranch series. This is my first time reading this series and I was not lost at all starting with this book. I liked the pace of this book felt really well done. I also liked the overall story arc I want to know more about this world and the wolves that live there. Adam: His pack has a balance between the animal and human pieces of their souls. They are living on the Lone Wolf Ranch. And they have a thriving community. He is a good solid personality. He is strong but he is not overly macho. I liked his down to earth nature. They go to another pack to hunt down a bad guy. The other pack is not so well run. The alpha is more of an over lord. Adam ends up getting shot on his mission. Ricky and omega, he is the one to patch him up. Ricky had been abused by his former mate. He is glad to be free of the man. He is a healer and shaman. Ricky ends up being forced to marry Adam, to ensure Adam does what the alpha wants. Now they have to decide to if they can trust each other enough to survive and to thrive despite the hand they have been dealt. I liked this story a lot. There is angst, love, and sizzle to keep me turning the pages. I would love to know what happens next in this series. So, I will be on the look out for more. When you want intrigue with your paranormal romance this is the book to pick up.
It is good to not see male Omegas completely effete and emasculated. Wolves, especially Omega wolves should not be portrayed as submissive human women.
Name of Book: The Shifter's Shotgun Mating Series: Lone Wolves Ranch Book #2 Author: Ardy Kelly Release date: June 30, 2019 Page Count: 251 Genre: Gay Shifter Romance; MM Pairing Rated: 4.5 🌟 Mature: Action Violence, Explicit Scenes
My Thoughts:
Series with character arcs are my favorite form of books to read because you don't lose touch with the characters you grew to love from past reads. Instead you get to watch them grow in their unions, see their families expand, and it just creates a beautiful sense of community within the series. I absolutely love that.
The Lone Wolves Ranch Series is exactly that kind of series. In Book #2 we meet Adam, brother of Mack the Alpha of LWR, in book #1. Adam and his team are hunting a serial killer for the bounty offered on him. The handsome sum offered by the government will go a long way for the bounty hunters.
They have tracked the killer onto pack land that belongs to an extreme survivalist Alpha and his pack. The pack lives so off the grid, many have never seen anything of the world outside their packlands, they have no electricity or running water. None of the modern ways to get and/ or prepare food, clothing or shelter. They make, and exchange almost everything among themselves.
The pack Alpha allows Adam and his team to hunt on his land in exchange for part of the bounty, and with the stipulation that they take along a member of his pack, just for observation and security, in case they decide to leave the Alpha's territory without paying him.
Needless to say, the pack member sent along with Adam's team was an overachiever and probably thought he could take down the killer on his own, collecting the bounty and leaving Adam and his team with nothing. What he got however, was a chest full of buckshot...SILVER buckshot, and Adam and two more of his team were wounded by the killer's shots and getaway as well.
Because of a series of events out of Adam's control he found himself mated to an omega he didn't know, owing a pack Alpha part of his bounty once the killer was caught, and a team still recovering from injuries brought on by an idiot in wolf's clothing, who got himself killed with silver buckshot. Oh and to top it off... His little omega has a few secrets! And the hits just keep comin'!
If grumbly, strong, sometimes emotionally stunted, but always good intentioned alphas and just as strong, often outspoken, gifted, and smart omegas are what you look for in your shifter romances, give this one a shot. You won't be disappointed. The characters are diverse, engaging, and memorable. The story original in content and shifter lore, decently paced with a satisfying HEA, that has you looking forward to more from the wolves at Lone Wolves Ranch.
Lovely book, enjoyed more of the interesting world building. Some funny lol moments. There was some romance. As I said in book 1 I want more romance. I’m looking forward to book 3. Who’s tale is next?.
A Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Review An Alisa Review:
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
This is the second book in this series and while I read the previous in the series before I don’t think it was necessary to understand this book. Man, Adam sure made it hard to like him throughout this book until he finally got himself together. Ricky has so much to look forward to away from Pine Hollow but he doesn’t know if he will continue to have this freedom and happiness.
I loved Ricky’s excitement and joy at the new things he discovers when he leaves with Adam and his team. And no matter the new things he finds and learns about he doesn’t embrace everything fully. I love that he continues to use a treadle sewing machine because he feels like the electric one is too harsh or that he doesn’t prefer the overhead lights since he never had electricity before.
I loved how he flourished when Adam really accepted their connection and became successful with his sewing. I like how open those at Lone Wolf Ranch are and look forward to seeing more of this pack in the future.
The cover art is nice, though that baby sure has a mean look on his face.
I have no idea how I found this book, but will attempt to read and review the rest of series . Such a sweetheart of an O. I just wanted to pick him up,cuddle, and love him-he certainly needed a Mom. The A was pretty typical A. Why is it at the start of a story the A knows what to do, but roughly half way forgets it? O was from poor angry pack. Treated as Os seem to expect. A from more contemporary pack. Not the A of the pack which was nice (but seems to me that the first book in series might be pack A).
I had a couple laughs at some of the tech the O did not know. My biggest gripe is thus: the bad guy was HUGE, in terms of story, and resolution so quick.
H his O Omega L loves E erections —————- Four out Five
I voluntarily give this book an honest review. Ricky meets Adam the night his mate was killed on a bounty hunt gone wrong. When Pine Hollow's forces them the mate with the option of dissolving the union once paid the price demanded. Adam doesn't know the first thing about having a mate but thinking his is a witch with the way he handles everyone, Adam fights the pull that was instant desire. Can he keep fighting as he sees the wonderment in Ricky's eyes and the smiles as he sees the world for the first time? No matter what there is still a killer on the loss. What happens when that killer come to pack land? This had such delightful characters, was absolutely amazing read. Just loved how Ricky was embraced in the pack even when Adam was being bullheaded. Thank you for the ARC read.
I really enjoyed this story and the sweet story of Ricky and Adam. I especially enjoyed Ricky’s wonder and disdain of some modern day conveniences. I always wondered in other books I’ve read about how easily most of them transitioned from not knowing about modern things to complete mastery . Ricky is very authentic and a total sweetheart!