Catnip and Hockey SticksRating: 4 stars
Buy Link:
Amazon | All Romance | Amazon UK
Length: Short Story


Hansen never thought he would be named the Alpha of his pack of Cat shifters and he is reluctant at first. His father, the former Alpha, was a terrible example and Hansen feels a bit lost. Despite his misgivings, he assembles his pack and becomes respected as their leader. His number one rule is that he will treat all members equally. That plan works fine until Hansen comes upon a homeless runt named Nevel. From the moment he catches Nevel’s scent, Hansen is taken with the beautiful and sexy shifter.

Nevel never even knew he was a shifter until he transformed that first time during a family dinner. When he is kicked out of his home, he drifts around until Hansen finds him and offers him a place in the pack. Nevel is in love with Hansen, but Hansen keeps a safe distance away from him. Convinced that taking a mate will only distract him from keeping his pack safe, Hansen will not act on his desire for Nevel, which only causes further distraction.

As far as short stories go, this is a winner. I have not come across many shifter stories involving house cats and if you are a cat lover, you will definitely appreciate the feline mannerisms that the guys of the pack exhibit. Within a short number of pages we get both Hansen and Nevel’s story. While we do get a sense of their history together and why Hansen feels he cannot take a mate, it is a bit harder to fully bond to the main characters due to the style of the set up for the length of the story. The guys have already known each other for years and there is all kinds of tension already between them as we come in later in the game. We are given two different characters, with Hansen having to land on his feet and take care of his pack and Nevel as the scrappy runt who hates being treated as helpless. We get to see them as humans and as cats and there is a good balance to both areas. The story is about getting them together and when they do finally get together, the story is over. I would have enjoyed getting to see them together as a couple. There could certainly be a larger story here for these guys and the entire pack and that can be a testament to any good story, not wanting it to end. The story is listed as being number one in a series and I will certainly be on the lookout for round two.

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