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Inner Beast #1
Feral Instincts
An innocent mortal—who dies before living. A devoted alpha—who lives for others. Can they overcome centuries of hatred to follow their hearts?
Ava’s life is on a slow train to nowhere. After a tragic loss, she delays pursuing her dreams, not knowing a psychotic vampire plans to steal her future. Too late, she’s rescued by a tantalizing beast, not that she can judge, since Ava’s the one who’s bloodthirsty.
Teagan’s determined to make his legendary father proud. Despite his reservations, the future packmaster agrees to help the vampires track a killer to secure their alliance. Saving an irresistible newborn wasn’t part of his plans.
When the vampire clan leader uses Ava as bait to capture her sire, Teagan must control his protective urges or put his pack at risk. Should Ava give in to her hunger for her tempting hero, she’ll destroy both of their futures.
Can Ava and Teagan resist their attraction while saving innocents from a ruthless killer and his devastating drug? Or will the hunters become the hunted?
Feral Instincts is a stand-alone, urban paranormal with supernatural makeovers, protective alphas, devoted friends, and no insta-love. Sink your fangs into this steamy romance and unleash your inner beast!
Ava’s life is on a slow train to nowhere. After a tragic loss, she delays pursuing her dreams, not knowing a psychotic vampire plans to steal her future. Too late, she’s rescued by a tantalizing beast, not that she can judge, since Ava’s the one who’s bloodthirsty.
Teagan’s determined to make his legendary father proud. Despite his reservations, the future packmaster agrees to help the vampires track a killer to secure their alliance. Saving an irresistible newborn wasn’t part of his plans.
When the vampire clan leader uses Ava as bait to capture her sire, Teagan must control his protective urges or put his pack at risk. Should Ava give in to her hunger for her tempting hero, she’ll destroy both of their futures.
Can Ava and Teagan resist their attraction while saving innocents from a ruthless killer and his devastating drug? Or will the hunters become the hunted?
Feral Instincts is a stand-alone, urban paranormal with supernatural makeovers, protective alphas, devoted friends, and no insta-love. Sink your fangs into this steamy romance and unleash your inner beast!
396 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 7, 2023
About the author
Stephanie Storm
7 books19 followersStephanie Storm is a paranormal romance novelist who writes stand-alone series connected by ever-expanding worlds. Each of her stories features an exclusive couple with fresh world-building, fast-paced twists and turns, and a heart-melting HEA.
Married to her high-school sweetheart, she lives in rural Missouri where she and her husband have raised two almost-adult boys. Beyond writing, Stephanie adores a good thrift store, spending time with her pet chickens, and watching WWE pro wrestling with her 70-year-old mother.
Married to her high-school sweetheart, she lives in rural Missouri where she and her husband have raised two almost-adult boys. Beyond writing, Stephanie adores a good thrift store, spending time with her pet chickens, and watching WWE pro wrestling with her 70-year-old mother.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
March 17, 2023
3.5 stars
I went back and forth on whether to round this read up or down and I do think others might rate it higher. I found Feral Instincts to be a page-turning, engrossing read with a balance of paranormal romance and action. Some parts of it didn't work as well for me, but others did. I think this is the author's debut and I thought it was a good start. Ava (h) is a human who is kind of stuck in her life after she put school on hold and lost her mom recently to cancer. She has two besties that she works with, but not much in terms of romantic prospects and her self-esteem is a bit on the down side. Teagan (H) is a werewolf who's in line to be the next pack master and has been called in by the local vampire head, along with Teagan's cousin, to help neutralize a rogue vampire threat, headed by an ancient vampire thought to be dead previously. However, the werewolves and vampires have a very new and unsteady truce going on and the result is all the tension between the two groups. Ava is drawn into this because the evil vampire it turns out is obsessed with her and upends her whole life by turning her into one too. Written in third person, dual POV. No ow drama, some om drama with the evil vampire and with the H thinking that others are romantically interested in the h. H is not a virgin (I don't recall any history though) and h is a virgin.
Ava and Teagan had some major instant chemistry and attraction. He saves her and becomes instantly protective and concerned for her welfare, despite the animosity of the other vampires towards his interest in her and his cousin's reaction also. Ava struggles with the transition from human to vampire, including feeding. She sees herself as weaker than others around her and as a narrator, I found it hard sometimes to determine whether the reactions Ava perceived were the actual reactions of those around her. For example, she considers some of the other vampires to be disappointed in her, sometimes she feels Teagan is disgusted by her as a vampire, etc. that I don't think were accurate. Especially not Teagan, because in his POVs, he thinks of Ava as feisty and strong and he's very drawn to her, even when she goes fanged. Yet, in conflict to some of her inner thoughts, she presented herself as stronger outwardly at times and the dichotomy didn't always work for me.
Teagan was very upset that the vampires decide to use Ava as bait to lure the bad guy out and Ava goes along because she's coerced and she feels responsible. There are miscommunications, lack of communication, and some push/pull that occurs. The communication challenges do extend to the steamy scenes at first and both believe the other feels a different kind of way than they do. They really needed to speak frankly with each other, but Ava's personality didn't lend itself to that easily and Teagan was conflicted about putting his wants before what he thought he needed to do for his pack. These two belong together though and they do get there. The steam was slow burn, I thought, but the story still fit in a few steamy scenes.
World-building-wise, there are multiple kinds of supernaturals and a few make appearances, good and bad, in this book. I thought the details given for both vampires and werewolves were well done, esp since the werewolves have a feral element to their nature that has to be kept in check or they can hurt others, including their mates. There's a Council that oversees the paranormal world also.
Along with the action and the romance, there were funny moments and particularly some humor that supporting characters added. For side characters, Ava's best friends were wonderful and I loved their support of her. Some of the vampires that are introduced were really intriguing and I see that at least one of them also his own book. There's also a demon that I didn't quite know what to make of. Most of the side characters though are male because females are more rare, and protected, for both species. A female bartender is introduced and seemed intriguing and she also appears in her own book.
I did like the climax and how the final conflict occurred. I even enjoyed the turn that the plot took following the battle with the villain and the breadcrumbs that connected that to the next book, which is the story of one of Ava's besties. I didn't love that Ava does get banged around in the final chapters of the book, but it fit the plot and scenes. Even though I'm pretty certain Ava and Teagan will be side characters in book 2, this story ends in a HEA of them together and in love, but with no epilogue, just a conclusion of them heading to Teagan's pack. I wanted a bit more of a bow wrapped around the end of their story. At the time that I read this, there were editing errors that did impact my reading, mainly misspellings, but I'm a bit nitpicky about those in certain moods.
I would like to continue this series and see where the world is going. I think the author will continue to write possessive heroes, which is a big plus to me, and the heroines seem to be feistier.
Trigger warnings: abduction and violence
I went back and forth on whether to round this read up or down and I do think others might rate it higher. I found Feral Instincts to be a page-turning, engrossing read with a balance of paranormal romance and action. Some parts of it didn't work as well for me, but others did. I think this is the author's debut and I thought it was a good start. Ava (h) is a human who is kind of stuck in her life after she put school on hold and lost her mom recently to cancer. She has two besties that she works with, but not much in terms of romantic prospects and her self-esteem is a bit on the down side. Teagan (H) is a werewolf who's in line to be the next pack master and has been called in by the local vampire head, along with Teagan's cousin, to help neutralize a rogue vampire threat, headed by an ancient vampire thought to be dead previously. However, the werewolves and vampires have a very new and unsteady truce going on and the result is all the tension between the two groups. Ava is drawn into this because the evil vampire it turns out is obsessed with her and upends her whole life by turning her into one too. Written in third person, dual POV. No ow drama, some om drama with the evil vampire and with the H thinking that others are romantically interested in the h. H is not a virgin (I don't recall any history though) and h is a virgin.
Ava and Teagan had some major instant chemistry and attraction. He saves her and becomes instantly protective and concerned for her welfare, despite the animosity of the other vampires towards his interest in her and his cousin's reaction also. Ava struggles with the transition from human to vampire, including feeding. She sees herself as weaker than others around her and as a narrator, I found it hard sometimes to determine whether the reactions Ava perceived were the actual reactions of those around her. For example, she considers some of the other vampires to be disappointed in her, sometimes she feels Teagan is disgusted by her as a vampire, etc. that I don't think were accurate. Especially not Teagan, because in his POVs, he thinks of Ava as feisty and strong and he's very drawn to her, even when she goes fanged. Yet, in conflict to some of her inner thoughts, she presented herself as stronger outwardly at times and the dichotomy didn't always work for me.
Teagan was very upset that the vampires decide to use Ava as bait to lure the bad guy out and Ava goes along because she's coerced and she feels responsible. There are miscommunications, lack of communication, and some push/pull that occurs. The communication challenges do extend to the steamy scenes at first and both believe the other feels a different kind of way than they do. They really needed to speak frankly with each other, but Ava's personality didn't lend itself to that easily and Teagan was conflicted about putting his wants before what he thought he needed to do for his pack. These two belong together though and they do get there. The steam was slow burn, I thought, but the story still fit in a few steamy scenes.
World-building-wise, there are multiple kinds of supernaturals and a few make appearances, good and bad, in this book. I thought the details given for both vampires and werewolves were well done, esp since the werewolves have a feral element to their nature that has to be kept in check or they can hurt others, including their mates. There's a Council that oversees the paranormal world also.
Along with the action and the romance, there were funny moments and particularly some humor that supporting characters added. For side characters, Ava's best friends were wonderful and I loved their support of her. Some of the vampires that are introduced were really intriguing and I see that at least one of them also his own book. There's also a demon that I didn't quite know what to make of. Most of the side characters though are male because females are more rare, and protected, for both species. A female bartender is introduced and seemed intriguing and she also appears in her own book.
I did like the climax and how the final conflict occurred. I even enjoyed the turn that the plot took following the battle with the villain and the breadcrumbs that connected that to the next book, which is the story of one of Ava's besties. I didn't love that Ava does get banged around in the final chapters of the book, but it fit the plot and scenes. Even though I'm pretty certain Ava and Teagan will be side characters in book 2, this story ends in a HEA of them together and in love, but with no epilogue, just a conclusion of them heading to Teagan's pack. I wanted a bit more of a bow wrapped around the end of their story. At the time that I read this, there were editing errors that did impact my reading, mainly misspellings, but I'm a bit nitpicky about those in certain moods.
I would like to continue this series and see where the world is going. I think the author will continue to write possessive heroes, which is a big plus to me, and the heroines seem to be feistier.
Trigger warnings: abduction and violence
Read
February 1, 2023Enjoyed this book very much.
Ordering sequel today
Ordering sequel today
February 5, 2023
I expected to read through this book at a normal leisurely pace, enjoying a sweet story. Without spoiling anything, I quickly was completely immersed and rooting for the colorful characters. I fell into the deep end of their Feral world and Stephanie Storm had me late-night-reading-light, devouring chapters. This story is intense, sexy, rebellious and filled with destiny driven passion. This story a must read. I have already begun Book 2.
November 30, 2025
Feral Instincts
“No one will take you from me. Not my pack and certainly not my father. The bond cannot and will not be broken.”
I'd definitely recommend reading this book. It has a little twist with the werewolves. I really enjoyed the book and can't wait to read book 2. If you love werewolves and vampires you should check it out.
Ava is human. She never knew the supernatural world existed until she was taken and changed. She gets rescued by Teagan, who is a werewolf, and a group of vampires. When she meets Teagan, she feels an attraction to him, but vampires and werewolves don't really get along. She keeps getting told to stay away from him, but he's one of the few that she trusts. While she is learning how to control herself and things about vampires, there is one thing she is having trouble with and that's feeding. If she doesn't feed soon, she will d!3. Teagan offers his bl00d, and she's finally able to feed. So far, she hasn't been able to feed with anyone else. But what will she do when Teagan has to go back home? Can she survive without him?
Teagan has been sent to help the vampires track down an enemy for them. While tracking down this person, he finds Ava. She was held cápt!ve and changed against her will. He was able to rescue her and return her to the vampires to help her. He's never been a fan of vampires, but for some reason, with her, he doesn't mind her company or what she is. In fact, he is attracted to her and doesn't know what to do. He knows his kind will not accept her. But one night changed everything for him, and he is willing to turn his back on his pack if he must. Can they find a way to be together and survive the enemy hunting Ava?
“No one will take you from me. Not my pack and certainly not my father. The bond cannot and will not be broken.”
I'd definitely recommend reading this book. It has a little twist with the werewolves. I really enjoyed the book and can't wait to read book 2. If you love werewolves and vampires you should check it out.
Ava is human. She never knew the supernatural world existed until she was taken and changed. She gets rescued by Teagan, who is a werewolf, and a group of vampires. When she meets Teagan, she feels an attraction to him, but vampires and werewolves don't really get along. She keeps getting told to stay away from him, but he's one of the few that she trusts. While she is learning how to control herself and things about vampires, there is one thing she is having trouble with and that's feeding. If she doesn't feed soon, she will d!3. Teagan offers his bl00d, and she's finally able to feed. So far, she hasn't been able to feed with anyone else. But what will she do when Teagan has to go back home? Can she survive without him?
Teagan has been sent to help the vampires track down an enemy for them. While tracking down this person, he finds Ava. She was held cápt!ve and changed against her will. He was able to rescue her and return her to the vampires to help her. He's never been a fan of vampires, but for some reason, with her, he doesn't mind her company or what she is. In fact, he is attracted to her and doesn't know what to do. He knows his kind will not accept her. But one night changed everything for him, and he is willing to turn his back on his pack if he must. Can they find a way to be together and survive the enemy hunting Ava?
September 5, 2024
Ava is living her human life when a crazy vampire kidnaps her, turns her into a vampire against her will and claims she is his resurrected bride. Salvatore is crazy and Ava knows she's in danger and thinks her life is over until people break in and rescue her.
Teagan is a werewolf shifter and saves the newborn vampire, not know anything about her. They are after Salvatore because he's creating rogue vampires that are killing people but he can't leave Ava there.
Once Ava is safe and the people explain to her what's going on, she has to make a choice to join them or not. In the compound she finds herself in, there are vampires and werewolves working together to bring Salvatore down. While she's learning how to be a vampire, she and Teagan are getting closer. Their relationship is pretty much forbidden because his pack would never accept her and vampires don't usually take shifters as mates. So these two are breaking all kinds of rules.
When Ava once again finds herself in danger and Salvatore makes another move against her, Teagan finds himself facing someone who double crosses him. The twists, turns and forbidden relationship made this story very entertaining.
I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.
Teagan is a werewolf shifter and saves the newborn vampire, not know anything about her. They are after Salvatore because he's creating rogue vampires that are killing people but he can't leave Ava there.
Once Ava is safe and the people explain to her what's going on, she has to make a choice to join them or not. In the compound she finds herself in, there are vampires and werewolves working together to bring Salvatore down. While she's learning how to be a vampire, she and Teagan are getting closer. Their relationship is pretty much forbidden because his pack would never accept her and vampires don't usually take shifters as mates. So these two are breaking all kinds of rules.
When Ava once again finds herself in danger and Salvatore makes another move against her, Teagan finds himself facing someone who double crosses him. The twists, turns and forbidden relationship made this story very entertaining.
I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.
April 10, 2025
A New Series & New (to me) Author.
This is the first in a new series and a new - to me author too. After reading this I can honestly say it won’t be my last read from this author.
Set in a current contemporary version of America supernaturals and magic is widespread but unknown to humans. Good call because as a rule humans react badly to scary unknowns.
Ava is a single young woman who is a full on introvert. It’s been a few months since her only known family member, her mother died of a drawn out terminal condition. After leaving work one night she’s attacked and kidnapped. A deranged vampire believes her to be his mate. She gets rescued by a Lycan, as if all of that wasn’t bad enough that’s when things get complicated.
It’s a good engaging read and the world building groundwork is set out for the series. The characters are fun and relatable. There’s a huge amount of potential here for much more. I’m definitely planning on reading more. It appears that each book covers a different couple
This is the first in a new series and a new - to me author too. After reading this I can honestly say it won’t be my last read from this author.
Set in a current contemporary version of America supernaturals and magic is widespread but unknown to humans. Good call because as a rule humans react badly to scary unknowns.
Ava is a single young woman who is a full on introvert. It’s been a few months since her only known family member, her mother died of a drawn out terminal condition. After leaving work one night she’s attacked and kidnapped. A deranged vampire believes her to be his mate. She gets rescued by a Lycan, as if all of that wasn’t bad enough that’s when things get complicated.
It’s a good engaging read and the world building groundwork is set out for the series. The characters are fun and relatable. There’s a huge amount of potential here for much more. I’m definitely planning on reading more. It appears that each book covers a different couple
February 14, 2024
I quite enjoyed the book. It's well written, and after a slow start, it kept me glued to the pages. However, at about 70% of the book, the FMC does the obviously stupid thing which annoyed me so immensely that I almost threw the book at the wall. Later, the author lets the villain explain all his motives instead of showing it throughout the plot (and lets the MMC do the obviously stupid thing). This could have been solved better; therefore, -1 star. All in all, an enjoyable story.
August 29, 2024
Such a good read and a few twisted turns too! I read a lot of books so if a book can catch me by surprise, it's a win for me! I loved the build up between the two MC, a good mild slow burn with enough tension to make it that much sweeter once they finally light each other up. I do feel that their story did get cut off quite quickly so I'm disappointed about that but eager to read the next book which was set up perfectly in this one.
February 2, 2023
How awesome is it to discover a new author that you know immediately is going to be another favorite to add to your bookshelves?
Feral Instincts is filled with witty banter, great characters you'll fall in love with, and lots of steamy scenes you'll want to read again and again.
Stephanie Storm hits all the right notes with this new series, and I can't wait for the next in the series.
Feral Instincts is filled with witty banter, great characters you'll fall in love with, and lots of steamy scenes you'll want to read again and again.
Stephanie Storm hits all the right notes with this new series, and I can't wait for the next in the series.
June 21, 2024
Is this in my top 10 shifter romances? No
Was it an alright read? Yes
Some of the things explained kinda left me confused but I’m assuming it will be rectified in the other books? Hopefully.
Rouge Vampires I understood, but Feral Lycans? Not so much. I’m not sure if I missed something or if I’m just dumb haha
Was it an alright read? Yes
Some of the things explained kinda left me confused but I’m assuming it will be rectified in the other books? Hopefully.
Rouge Vampires I understood, but Feral Lycans? Not so much. I’m not sure if I missed something or if I’m just dumb haha
March 14, 2025
I feel like this story needed more development. So many things happened at once. Conversations were lacking depth and the romance development felt very abrupt. I was not sure what the FMC was supposed to be whether tragically shy and meek or fierce? There seem to be no in between. The use of the word feminine/masculine was just too much. I almost DNF at the description of feminine tears
February 2, 2023
I've definitely found a new author to add to my favorites and I'll be following Stephanie Storm and watching for anything else she puts out.
I love nothing better than characters I can fall for with ease and steamy scenes with storylines I want to read over and over again. And this one has it all.
I love nothing better than characters I can fall for with ease and steamy scenes with storylines I want to read over and over again. And this one has it all.
March 1, 2023
Very enjoyable book
This was a good read. Good pacing and character development over the course of the story. Looking forward to reading the next intertwined story. Highly recommend to anyone who enjoys paranormal romance stories.
This was a good read. Good pacing and character development over the course of the story. Looking forward to reading the next intertwined story. Highly recommend to anyone who enjoys paranormal romance stories.
April 21, 2023
I really enjoyed this book. It was a great escape from reality and took me on an adventure. It has everything you would want in a book including love, lust, rivalry, adventure, and some twists and turns!
November 27, 2024
Loved the mythology and world building this author started with this series! I've read two and not in order (ooops) but still the flow and characters all make sense! Didn't feel like i was getting bombarded with background stories or too much that it felt like a history lesson ☺️☺️
April 26, 2026
A fun story that I read in a day. I really enjoyed Teagan and Ava and Kat/Patrick. However, the villains were so predictable and cookie-cutter that I found myself skimming dialogue just to get through those scenes. I would read another story by this author though because it was engaging.
March 19, 2023
wolf vampire
Take one totally oblivious human who gets captured and turned by a vampire. Then she gets saved by a wolf.
Take one totally oblivious human who gets captured and turned by a vampire. Then she gets saved by a wolf.
Did Not Finish
May 4, 2025DNF @ 14%
Not grabbing my attention and I can't figure out Ava's personality because it seems to change several times.
Not grabbing my attention and I can't figure out Ava's personality because it seems to change several times.
Want to Read
April 29, 2026🎁 FREE on Amazon today (2/23/2023)! 🎁
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews