M. A. Church

3.5 Hearts! - BR with Sara!

I haven’t read or listened to a lot of the Dreamspun Desires and Beyond series, mainly because I like a bit of grit and a lot more smex than what they can typically offer, but I will say that so far, this has been my favorite! Who can resist ABO dynamics plus a dragon shifter?? Not me, apparently!

Werewolf Avery is an omega, and because he’s an omega, he’s been coddled and fussed over his entire life. Some may flourish under such attention, but Avery resents that many think he’s weak and incapable, and since he’s been given very few responsibilities, he’s basically bored with all the mundanity. When his father fails to make good on a business deal with a powerful dragon, Avery suddenly finds himself the consolation prize. A bit indignant and disgruntled, his tune soon changes, as his wolf recognizes Warwick as his mate.

Warwick is definitely at the top of the shifter food chain - powerful, secretive, a loner by choice - he’s a powerful dragon with endless resources and special abilities. When Warwick goes to collect his payment from the alpha werewolf, the last thing he expected was for his dragon to demand the alpha’s son. For the first time ever, someone has piqued his interest and is now the top priority.

What ensues is a really wonderful romance between these two, despite the fact that it takes place over a short 3 days. However, everyone knows this is totally acceptable in the paranormal shifter world involving mates, so it’s completely plausible to go from strangers to love in a blink of an eye!

As a warning, this has infuriating fathers being infuriating and no ABO heat cycles or KNOTTING. Darn! There is however, a surprising and pleasing amount of heat regarding Avery and Warwick’s “wedding night”, and it was all so sweet in how they work things out to best suit them and their future as a couple.

Again, Harlequinesque type romance typically does not appeal strongly to my usual tastes, but this one was a standout in my opinion. Thus, if you like these sorts of tropes, especially that of dragons and their mysterious lore, this was an unexpected enjoyable treat!

Thank you to the author/publisher for a copy in exchange for a honest review


… (mehr)

Someone had recommended this book in the MM Book Rec Facebook group and I am SO glad they did!

Omega Avery's father had requested a loan from Warwick with the stipulation that it would be paid back. 100 years go by and it has yet to be paid. Warwick comes to collect on Avery's birthday, and they see each other and instantly have a connection. He tells Avery's father that he wants Avery as his mate plus 3 businesses as payment. At first glance, you would think that this would take a bad turn but it actually doesn't.

Avery and Warwick are attracted to one another and take a couple of days to get to know each other before Avery officially moves into his castle. A slight bit of angst due to a misunderstanding but it is quickly resolved.

5/5 on plot
5/5 on the romance… (mehr)

In Behind the Eight Ball Beta Heller Wirth finds his mate, only it’s someone he never expected nor wanted. Lawson Dupre is a human but not only that, he knows about paranormals as he lives with two of them. The story is told in first person through both Heller’s and Lawson’s eyes. This is the second book in the ‘Fur, Fangs, and Felines,’ series.
3.5 Stars



In this book, Heller finds his mate in Lawson and we get to find out why Heller hates humans so much. Heller is overcome with the most marvelous smell in the world when he takes his vehicle in to get fixed, but when he finds out that the smell comes from Lawson, Heller flees for his life. Lawson of course feels like it’s a slap in the face because he knows Heller was attracted to him. Heller seesaws back and forth between wanting to be with Lawson and being repulsed that Lawson’s human. Lawson’s best friend, Marshell, who’s a Vetala, a snake like paranormal, makes it all the worse for Heller, giving off signals like him and Lawson are more than friends which drives Heller crazy with jealousy. For the first half of the book until Heller and Lawson become mates, Heller is yanked back and forth between his resistance and his desire until he finally admits he wants Lawson and then he starts to work at overcoming his issues. I liked this part of Heller. Once he made up his mind he was determined.

Lawson worked at the body shop he owned with his best friend Marshell and his sister Janelle. Lawson was an easy-going person who was straight forward and very loyal to his friends. He was confused about Heller’s behavior however. When they finally mated, we find out that Lawson is actually a top and that Heller is surprised, but at the same time relieved that he doesn’t have to control every aspect of his life and that he can give up control to his mate which was a bit difficult for him to do the first time. We find out that it’s the first time that Heller has ever bottomed.

The first half of the story is laid out like the first book. It covers the growing relationship between Heller and Lawson. Once that is taken care of and Lawson is accepted into the clowder, the story moves into the next phase of who is stalking Lawson and then later, Remi, and why. I liked that the book was separated into two sections, it did feel like separate books this way, but the parts melded well together.

There are a couple scenes in this book that are similar to what happened in the first book. In the first story, there’s an incident of a cat shifter coming to the door and giving hassle to Kirk who’s the human. In this book, the same thing happens. A shifter comes to the door and creates a problem with Lawson. The scenes play out differently, but they use the same ‘stage’ of a shifter coming to the house to deliver something. The other scene that was similar, is both books involve a stalker who’s after the human. The stalker after Kirk in book one was solved so there was no cliffhanger. In this book, the stalker transfers his hostility from Lawson to Remi and we don’t know what happens at the end of the book. I’m guessing the answer will be solved in the next book which is about Remi. I don’t know why the author decided to use similar scenes for the story because it does make the second book seem repetitive.

The other thing that bothered me, was Heller in the second half. After the mating, Lawson became more outspoken and acted the more dominant of the pair, while Heller seemed to lose that edge to him, becoming more soft and gentle. I did notice that he tended to be a worrywart and nervous, while Lawson tended to soothe him, but Heller also had this strength to him before the mating, a sullenness and sharpness that he lost. I’ve read other stories that keep the original personalities of the characters while they still grow and fall in love. So when a character falls in love and expresses their soft side while at the same time loosing what made them who they were in the first place, I notice it and I’m not fond of the way that happens. I don’t believe that one character growing stronger and one character finally showing their soft side, means that they grow weaker in everyday life. Unfortunately, that’s what I felt happened to Heller in this book. Of course this is my personal opinion and other readers may not notice, or care.

Despite the weakening of Heller’s personality and the similar scenes to book one, I still enjoyed this story. The first half was good. I loved the scenes with Marshell and Janelle and would like to find out more about their species. I also liked that the story was told in first person from both characters pov rather than switching with third pov like in the first book. I found the author’s web page talking about the series and the characters very interesting. If anyone wants to check it out, here’s the link Fur, Fangs, and Felines. I don’t think Behind the Eight Ball is as good as the first book in the series, but it’s better than three stars. I give this 4 Stars





… (mehr)

At Sixes and Sevens is the fourth book in the ‘Fur, Fangs and Felines’ series. It stars Aidric, a cat shifter, and Carter Lovelock, the Alpha of the Dark Lake Pack. The story is told in third person from both Aidric and Carter’s pov.



It’s been awhile since I read Book 3, but from what I can tell, this story picks up right after it. In Book 3 Aidric met Carter when Carter visited the clan to make reparations for something his nephew did. Aidric isn’t thrilled that his mate is a werewolf and Carter didn’t expect his to be a feline, let alone a male, because Carter has to produce an heir. This story starts with Aidric agreeing to visit the Dark Lake Pack, which is dangerous for Aidric since he’s much smaller than werewolves are and wolves and cats don’t mix. As with the other books, the author has interwoven many subplots into this story. They involve Aidric and Carter learning about each other, Aidric having to deal with pack members who aren’t happy with him being Carter’s mate, some mysterious wolves, and Carter’s family problems.

Carter and Aidric seem to be a good fit, and the author wrote Aidric as wanting to be in control during sex, which Carter had to get used to. I did have a bit of dissonance with the way Aidric behaved during some scenes. He seemed confident and strong most of the time but others he seemed not necessarily submissive, but I would say passive and indecisive, which ran counter to what his character was supposed to be. Carter was consistent throughout the story. The author did a good job of showing how Aidric and Carter integrated their lives until they became a couple.

The many events happening in the plot kept me interested. The book ended with hints that the Goddess Bast and God Fenrir are manipulating/arranging the Clan and the Pack together for some reason. I’m guessing a big event further in future stories that I’m looking forward to reading.

The book edition I have still has the old cover, but I noticed that some of the books are coming out with different covers. I like the art on the older books, but the newer ones fit the stories much better.

Overall, I enjoyed At Sixes and Sevens even though Aidric’s personality didn’t seem consistent within the story. Carter and Aidric make a believable couple and I will likely read future books in this series. I give this story 4 Stars.

… (mehr)