Tidal Rush

Octopian Shifters #3

by Anna Kensing

A first mate needs to be prepared for anything…but is he ready for love?

First mate Joey Carrigan is dedicated to his ship and his captain, including keeping the secret of his captain’s lover. When the lover’s former fiancée, Miss Celeste Brady, appears on the horizon, Joey knows it’s his duty to get the lady on board with helping the captain find answers to his current dilemma.

Celeste doesn’t begrudge her former fiancé the love he’s found with another man. After all, she was the one who abandoned him the night before they were to wed, when her inner nature answered the call of the moon and the tides. The origin and existence of people like her are a secret her people have killed to protect – but the captain’s first mate looks at Celeste like he knows what she really is… and wants her anyway.

Sink into TIDAL RUSH—a novella-length return to the steamy, tentacle-filled world of the octopians where Joey and Celeste navigate the stormy relationship between octopus shifters and humans.

Genres: Shapeshifters, LGBT, Romance, Fantasy, Queer, Gay, Paranormal Romance

118 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 6, 2022

About the author

Anna Kensing writes steamy contemporary and paranormal historical romances that flirt with taboo. Her characters are often weird, mostly queer, and always get their happily-ever-after. Eventually. She’s obsessed with octopuses and the tv show Supernatural, listens to classical flute duets and heavy metal music while writing, and loves her scotch and Irish whiskies. When she’s not thinking about writing, she’s usually thinking about her next tattoo.

Sign up for her newsletter at https://annakensing.com and get previews of upcoming books, behind-the-scenes glimpses of what goes into her stories, and general news and gossip.

Reviews

[Megan [At The Cottage] · Rating 4 out of 5]

MF Romance (Trans)
Tentacles/Love At First Sight
3.5 Stars ⭐️ Rounded Up


This novella is a tie in to the first two books in this series but this one is about Joey and Celeste instead of Declan/Elliot. Joey is the first mate on Declan’s ship “The Black Dove” and Celeste is Elliot’s ex fiancé from “Devilfish”. While this was featured in an anthology, I think it may be kind of confusing if you haven’t read the first two books in this series, “Devilfish” and “Sea Change”. It follows the timeline of “Sea Change” so some of the dialogue repeats itself and I usually hate that but it worked for me because I wanted to know what was going on from every angle possible and I definitely got that. I was not ready to let go of Declan and Elliot and while they are not the main leads, they are heavily featured and I did learn things I felt I was missing in the last book so I really enjoyed that.

In “Sea Change” we see Joey and Celeste falling for each other and while I loved Joey in the past two books, I wasn’t sure what to think about Celeste but she turned out to be quite lovely. Their relationship felt natural and they were both virgins so they accepted each other for who they were both emotionally and physically as Joey is trans and Celeste is an Octopian with tentacles. While I can’t say if the trans sex scenes were an accurate portrayal of what it would be like in 1880 or any other time for that matter, they were hot and kinky. Joey and Celeste were a great match and I definitely enjoyed being reunited with my boys. 💗

[Elo]

We (me. I do) want more tenataclessssss! More! More! Also very cute story! But moreeeee

[Susan Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tidal Rush by Anna Kensing is both similar to and different from the previous octopian books they’ve written. It is different in that the main characters, Joey and Celeste, are not both male but it is similar in that they are both queer. It is also different in being completely set in the trading camp on Vancouver Island owned by Joey’s mother with no scenes at sea. It was fun to watch Joey and Celeste fall in love and even more fulfilling to see them do their best to help those they consider family. This might be the last of the octopian series since there are no more major characters to follow. I hope the author continues to write queer paranormal romances, as they are my favorite to read.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not sure who is in charge of the prices of these books because it makes more sense to make the first one free to draw people into the start even though it's longer and this is shorter. I snagged this b/c I was curious and it was only going to cost me a little time. It was decent. Felt a little clinical for a romance, but it also included quite a bit of plot and information about Captain Fitz and Elliot who seem to be the major players in this series. So I imagine if you loved their love story, this would be a pleasant side quest to make some lovely side characters happy while still moving along the story of the major arc.

So...probably would have rated this higher if I'd read the earlier books.

[Carol Peake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anna Kensing has very cleverly continued her Octopian series whilst weaving on a tale of coming to terms with living a trans life.
Both Joey and Celeste have to find their place in the world whilst looking for someone to accept them as they truly are and not as the way they present them selves to friends and the people around them.
Its so well written that you find yourself invested in this couples journey, whilst continuing to continue the stories of the other Octopians and their loved ones.
I love this series and cannot wait to see where it goes next.
If you have not tried Anna's books ,take a chance you won't be disappointed!

[Theo · Rating 3 out of 5]

In my quest to read romances with trans masculine main characters, I was an instant yes to learn about one where a pirate (trans man) romances an octopus shifter lady, who's a scientist!

The novella was imaginative. It took me a while to figure out what was going on since I haven't read the other two. The story was entertaining, and the octopus shifters unique. But it didn't endear me to read the rest.

[Alejandra Guerrero · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would have enjoyed it more if two thirds of the book hadn't been about other people. And we're told all about those other people, and what they do (not shown, since most of that was in the other books of the series, apparently), which made this kind of boring. Most of what happens between the MC's is also told, not shown. I liked the few scenes we get where the two MCs actually interact. Too bad there were very few of them.

[Beverly · Rating 2 out of 5]

So disappointed!!! This was a sad wash and waste of time and money. Much of this book is a major regurgitation repeat, and rehash of book 2, with " little new info". I'm sorry I paid for this and a waste of time and money. I feel jipped and conned !!! This could have been in the previous book as an added chapter or two. Few new relevant news in this.

[Kirstine Hansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this short ebook free from Amazon, and (as was probably the intention) it made me really curious to read the books that came before it. The octopians sound fascinating, and Joey's and Celeste's story was both sweet and sexy. The best part was how Joey was fully accepted by both his girl and his mam.

[Shana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omg I loved this book! I truly wish this series was longer because I just loved everything about it! I loved seeing how Joey and Celeste's love grew and their complete acceptance of each other. It was beautiful. I also love a good shifter story, and honestly, tentacle smut is intriguing and fun to read! 😉
*Trans romance 🔥

[Victoria Vallo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just fyi for readers, this is a queer romance but not an mm one like books 1 and 2

[En · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF Maybe I DNF this b/c I started with #3, but the plot just seemed too complex. I liked the relationships that were happened, but it seemed cursory. Gave up about 2/3 of the way through.