Bayou Dreams by Lynn Lorenz

Bayou Dreams by Lynn Lorenz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book, despite a few niggles (discussed below), was probably one of the most realistic gay-for-you stories I've ever read, and also a good example of a werewolf/shapeshifter story.

I know that sounds like a pretty broad statement. No, I haven't read every werewolf story written, not even most of the m/m werewolf stories; I do know that I've run across a lot of stereotypes, a lot of the same story retold with different window dressing. On the surface, you might be able to say that about this story too; man meets werewolf, they find out their mates, have to fight the urge, pack doesn't approve, etc.

The difference here is in the execution. Scott (the werewolf alpha) is truly straight, with no "secret desires" or leanings toward homosexuality. He is baffled by what he sees as an unnaturally strong reaction to this man who shows up in his town one day, and is constantly trying to understand it, fight it, suppress it. I found his struggle to be very realistic, both with what a man with unexpected attraction would experience and the internal struggle with what he thinks he should be and do and what his instincts tell him to do. He seems torn in a million different directions, as wolf, as alpha, as man, as straight, as newly mated, as a son, as a sheriff, as a leader...he has a lot of roles to fill, and must come to some sort of conclusion about himself and his future.

Ted is a little easier to figure out; he's been burned before, falling in love with a straight man, and he avoids any sort of similar entanglement again. His struggle is more with his past, and trying to convince himself that his strong attraction to the shapeshifting sheriff is just physical. I do have a little niggle about his acceptance of Scott as a werewolf; he professes he doesn't believe in supernatural stuff, but he's swayed pretty quickly to Scott's story...though some of that could be the hot man. ;) I did also like the eventual reason behind the wildness affecting the pack; it was reasonable, and believable within the bounds of the werewolf/paranormal world.

Now to the niggles. The last 50 or so pages felt different, almost speeding up in pace enough to be noticeable. They felt slightly less polished, and made me wonder if the author couldn't have expanded the story a little bit, progressing through those last stages a little more slowly. I also felt that the storyline with Ted's case, the woman he's been following/observing, was a little awkward in places. This is most noticeable in his last conversation with her; she appears out of nowhere, and magically has the solution to Ted's current problem. It was a little too deus ex machina for me. I also thought that the shifter aspect was under-utilized at times. Scott only shifts about 3 times in the whole story, and the first time is at least halfway through.

I did, however, like the setup for the next story (if there will be one). It was sort of subtle, but also very believable in the context of the character involved.

Overall, I thought this was well put together, the characters were mostly fun and engaging, and it kept me involved throughout (which is sometimes hard). If there was the ability to give half-stars, I would probably give this 4.5 stars...the niggles I had were just strong enough to not allow a 5 star rating. Highly recommended, particularly for those who enjoy gay-for-you and/or shapeshifter stories.

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Timing by Mary Calmes

Timing by Mary Calmes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Overall, I thought this book was a lot of fun to read. The characters were interesting and engaging, the plot moved along quickly enough that it never really felt bogged down in descriptions or drama, and the setting felt real and believable.

I really liked Stefan, the main character. His POV was great, and his comments about people and the situations he found himself were fun and funny. My only negative comment about his character is that he was too...perfect, I guess. He was beautiful, everyone loved him, etc...that bugged me a little, but Ms. Calmes wasn't annoying about it, either. He had flaws, but they tended to be downplayed a little, except in the arguments with Rand (of course).

Rand was harder to get to know, both because he wasn't the POV character and because he seemed inconsistent at times. Some of that is because of Stef's perception (since we see the story through his POV), but some of it comes from what he does. At one point, I thought he was bailing on the relationship with Stef from his own words, although I think that was a deliberate action on the author's part. While I get that it was probably intentional, he still came off as a little "waffly" to me, at least until the ending.

The only thing that felt a little out of place was the intrigue with Stef's work. It works decently within the story, but it doesn't seem to affect the characters much outside of when there is actual danger. When they talk about the wedding, or are involved in it, the danger isn't even discussed for long periods of time. I think that could have been easily remedied, bringing it back into the reader's consciousness as a distant dark cloud, with something like Stef seeing the "worry in Rand's eyes" (or any other character, really), or a few comments here and there.

All in all, though, that was a rather minor problem, and the story was a very enjoyable read. It is high on my list of "good reads", and definitely one I will read again.

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