BlondRating: 2.5 stars
Buy Link:
Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novella


Liam Hale is a young man who meets Karl Oberon one night in a bar. That one moment of connection inexplicably keeps Liam going back to see if Karl has surfaced whenever he can break away from his work as a graphic designer for an ad agency he runs with his college bestie. Liam and Karl connect, but the longevity isn’t there. Karl needs to leave each night by midnight, and Liam thinks it’s because Karl has a shut-in relative, or a partner.

Neither of these are true. Not that Liam could have guessed Karl’s a panther shifter. Well, not until Karl’s panther saves Liam from some trouble.

The men do make a stronger connection over the course of a month, and that only grows when Karl’s climbing gym hires Liam’s company to do an ad campaign. It seems like they are really on a good course, but Karl still hides his panther nature and Liam is sure he’s being cheated on. Naturally, when he finds out the truth…okay it’s not an immediate HEA, but pretty darn close.

This is the first book I’ve read by author E.D. Parr. Paranormal M/M shifter romance is usually a go-to read for me, which is why I chose it. Unfortunately, it didn’t hit the mark for me. The plot felt formulaic and lacked substance. Also, it seriously had some unsexy dialogue in the sexytimes. It read like 70s porn uttered by English learners.

I’ll be honest, I think I might have liked this book better if there wasn’t a prologue that gave away Karl’s big secret on page 2. After that, there was literally no tension. I knew what Karl was; I knew his troubles. It was just the long wait until Liam figured it out. That made for a less-than-thrilling read. The quick acceptance from Liam also felt convenient. I wish there was some humor or complicating factors to point to, but it was a pretty straight-forward romance. In truth, I was mostly invested in the vocabulary, as there were some odd words I’d never encountered before. And, well, the painful pillow talk made for a bit of fun, but in that tragically awkward “is this really happening?” vein. I’m not even going to address my confusion regarding the setting and locale, but I had it in spades.

veronica sig