Second Nature

Pawprints #2

by Anne Cain

Gabe and Hayden have been sweethearts since high school, and as college seniors, they can't keep their hands--or mouths--off each other. As hot as things are in the bedroom, it's their love that really keeps the fire burning in their relationship. But there's a problem that makes Gabe nervous about accepting Hayden's proposal to spend forever together. Gabe is actually a dog...and Hayden is terrified of them! Bitten as a kid, Hayden runs from anything that barks, and that's kept Gabe's lips firmly muzzled until now. There's no way he can keep his four-pawed, tail-wagging side a secret when he's supposed to share everything with the man he adores. Just as Gabe decides to come clean with the truth that he's not human, Hayden makes a shocking discovery of his own: he's not human either. Caught between two worlds and the sex-driven beings known as Wairs who inhabit both realms, Gabe and Hayden have no idea if their love can survive. Especially when the full moon brings out a demon sorcerer set on coming after Hayden--to either claim him or destroy him. Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Anal play/intercourse, male/male sexual practices.

Genres: M M Romance, Paranormal, Shapeshifters, M M Shapeshifters, Gay, Contemporary, Romance

141 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

As a freelance graphic artist and illustrator, I work for a number of print and electronic publishers along with private clients around the world. I spend my days working on projects and doodling in sketchbooks, but I can sometimes be found snatching a few moments here and there for my other passions, which include writing, reading, and searching for the world's most perfect cup of hot tea. I love making new friends on LJ, so if leave a comment or add me to your Flist, I'll happily return the favor. ♥

Reviews

[Gwengwel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Vote 2 stars because of Gabe. And the cover. (Not really good when the cover had more stars than the story but at least it's make by the same person)

What's the link between this story and the two previous? Nothing. It's a completely different's story. Different world. Different people. I don't understand why it's call Pawprints 3. I fell cheat.

I need to create a new shelve 'OMG! I finish it!'
The book's unnecessarily complicated, for nothing, the bad guy's here for 5 paragraph and the personages are cliche.

Gabe is everything you can associate with a dog.
Hayden fear dog but accept rationally that his lover's one and that he can suddenly change in werewolf. Because of Love
Alex is a coward. And selfish. And pathetic.
Bray is an asshole. A real asshole. But he 'change' at the end.

One sentence make an appearance on Weepingcock page.
Warm air flowed over the opening. He gasped, feeling himself open further, his anus a small mouth yawning to receive more of the pleasurable sensation. Alex moaned into the carpet, his prick twitching uselessly underneath him
1. Why writer need to compare anus and mouth? And really 'yawning'?
2. Can a penis twitch usefully? I just imagine a snake twitching after receiving a electric shock.

[Angelica · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Stars

This story is ok if it's not taken seriously. If you want escapism and don't need depth or too much sense in the plot, then go for it.

[Ada]

***WHY THE RE-READ***

Once upon a time I was a huge manga fan.

I quickly found Yaoi/Yuri because I'm a huge romance sucker. The thing with Yaoi/Yuri though is that most of the time it's straight up erotica with a little bit of almost no plot. Which was fine with me at the time. But after a while I wanted to read books without pictures.
So romance it was. I don't know when exactly but I discovered this sub-genre (can you really call it a sub-genre?).

Yaoi in word form. In English! At the time I bought every e-book there was from these kind of authors. SIDENOTE:Thank god I always was such a gadget whore and already had a e-Reader at the time ( oh Sony PRS-300 I still miss you...) or else I never could've read the PDF files. So old skool.

Enough reminiscing. Back to the now.

For some reason while I was scrolling through Goodreads I began thinking about a book cover. This cover had a very distinct art style and it was driving me mad that I couldn't remember the author and/or the title.
After getting sidetracked many many many times I've now started a new project: Re-reading books I once upon a time loved but didn't add to Goodreads in this genre. I don't know how I came to the conclusion this was a good idea but there you go. This is one of those books. I won't re-read everything by this author. Ain't nobody got time for that. So I made a selection from the most interesting sounding ones.

Dear Future-Me,

Write a goddamn review or else I will be pissed.

Love Past-Me

[Jimmy Hanson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would call this the better of the three "Pawprints" books, but pretty much only because each of the partners sticks to their own partner, instead of having an orgy free-for-all or cross-over.

Gabe is the quintissential dog, described as a cross between an Akita [which is a very calm, family-oriented dog, btw:] and a German Shepherd [which are very protective, alert animals:], but I found his personality more to matching a Lab than anything else. A minor detail, but it kind of bothered me. Regardless, he was cute. We'll leave it at that.

Hayden has a little bit less development, maybe because the author didn't follow him as much as she did Gabe, or also because he was human and Gabe was not. The other two main charas - Alex and Bray - were ... well, not confusing, but more like variant. There were times I really started to like Alex, and then he'd be led astray by something that threw me off. For one, if he's such a good friend of Gabe and Hayden's, why was he so easily willing to give Hayden up to the 'bad' guy?

Bray's sort of abrupt change of heart [subtle though it was:] in the end kind of made up for his nastiness throughout most of the book. His connection to Hayden seemed flimsy though, far too flimsy to really be believed.

And the ultimate supremo-evil guy ... well, like in the first book, he's involved in one main scene that lasted all of ... seven pages? Maybe? He wasn't that "scary" in my opinion and gave both Hayden and Bray up far too easily. And if everyone else was so affected by him, why wasn't Alex who - up until that point - was practically nothing much more than a mass of unfulfilled lust?

Confusing.

[Elisa Rolle]

In Pawprints Anne Cain told us a story about men who shifted in cats, and both in human than cat nature, the main character was sensual and mischevous like a cat. In Second Nature, Gabe is a dog, and like a very good and nice dog, he is iperactive and cute like a puppy. He loves to cuddle and he need to live in pack, even if the pack is only made of two person, him and his lover Hayden. But there is a problem, Hayden has a deep fear of dog, being bitten when he was still a child. And Gabe has not yet found the courage to reveal to his lover that he is in part what Hayden fears most.

Gabe and Hayden are former high schoolmates and now they share an apartment together during College. They have a pretty good life, full of love and bright moments. But something dark and ancient could bring them to a very dangerous situation.

Both the Pawprints books deal with paranormal events, but in the end the evil is not so evil, and the danger is not so fearful. Second Nature is a enjoyable read, a perfect rest and relax support to go bed with a smile on your face.

And as always Anne Cain did a wonderful work with this cover: I have the previous one in poster size and this one is nice like the others.

http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/27...

[Tailtiu · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really liked the first one but this story is just weird.

[Gugug]

F