Book Reviews

Book Blurb

When reformed shifter Danny comes back to Texas as part of his twelve-step program, Declan couldn't be less interested in forgiving him. Declan thinks Danny got scared when he left five years ago, and has labeled his ex a coward. When he finds out the truth, though, Dec sets about letting Danny know he's welcome to come home anytime.

Book Review

A “reformed” shifter on a twelve-step program? Really? This one I had to read. I mean, it seems to me that a twelve-step program to help someone stop being a werewolf is quite obviously ludicrous. People are either werewolves or they are not – at least in the paranormal story universe they are. However, there is a clear parallel - both in the methods used by the “reformers” and in the terrible outcome for the “reformed” individual - to gay “conversion therapy”. And I think that comparison is brilliant. Both types of program are useless, and this story makes that clear in an undeniable way. Bravo, BA Tortuga, for making this apt comparison!

Danny has suffered unimaginable pain and deprivation for five years. What he has gone through to “stop being a werewolf” is brutal. Though there are no explicit details, the few hints and allusions, as well as the description of the effects on Danny’s body and mind, were enough to make my stomach turn. All Danny wanted was to live a quiet life with his mate, Declan, but his anti-werewolf mother had other ideas. Danny has been taught to despise and ignore his wolf, and he is a shadow of his former self. The truth about what actually happened and why Danny gave in only emerges slowly, and it had me somewhere between angry about the injustice and crying for Danny’s loss of a peaceful, happy life.
 
Declan has no idea what happened, and he has spent five years being angry at Danny for being a coward and running. When Danny suddenly appears to apologize and asks Declan to sign a form as proof that he has completed this part of the twelve-step program, Declan gets suspicious. And once Declan figures out what’s happened, he will not be deterred. No matter how difficult it will be to get the “old” Danny back, Declan is determined to make it happen. And he needs every ounce of willpower he can find!

If you like shifter stories with uncomfortable parallels to real life in the way shifters are treated as “different from normal” humans, if you want to see two men who belong together reunited despite the odds, and if you’re looking for a read that is as brutal as it is filled with hope, you will probably like this short story as much as I did. Its intent to shock worked on me – in spades, and I definitely won’t forget it anytime soon – if ever.

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by Changeling Press for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook
Length	Short Story, 48 pages/13000 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	10-June-2016
Price	$3.99 ebook
Buy Link	http://changelingpress.com/product.php?&upt=book&ubid=2493