Without Reservations by J. L. Langley
Without Reservations
by J. L. Langley
I just looked this up on BookCrossing to get the cover image and I see that there are two copies. They are both classified under Biographies & Memoirs. I'm not sure why, because this is paranormal erotic gay fiction (kind of the absolute opposite of biographies & memoirs LOL).
I bought this because it was on my Amazon wish list and I needed something to top off an order and get free shipping. I must have added it long back because I love werewolves and I love gay fiction--the two together had to be good, right?
RIGHT! I glanced at the first page after unpacking it from the Amazon.com shipping box and suddenly realized I was standing there, starting chapter 3. I found myself making excuses to walk over to my bed and catch a quick chapter or two. I went to bed early just so I could have more time reading the book. I finished it quickly and was sad there wasn't more.
The story is of Chayton Winston, who is a veterinarian, a native american, and a werewolf. In this universe, werewolves can identify their mate when they meet her, and the attraction and bond are powerful and overwhelming. Well, after much dreaming and hoping, Chayton finally meets his mate. Unfortunately, his mate is another werewolf. And did I mention that only men are werewolves? His mate is Keaton Reynolds, an injured werewolf, who turns out to be a gay, white man. This wouldn't be such a problem, except that Chayton thinks he's straight and his mother (and many other people in his life) don't especially like or trust Caucasians.
There is a LOT of trying to deal with this crazy situation that one would think would seem formulatic, but doesn't come across that way at all the way it's written. I was much too absorbed in learning about this kind of werewolf, the universe, the pack, etc. And there is a heck of a lot of good sex, when the boys finally get to it. They don't just go at it like dogs... they go at it likes mates. There's something beautiful in the way they explore each other and feel connected to each other. And the characters are both terribly strong-willed and dead sexy. Even though I expected Keaton to get really annoyed with all the pushing and little nicknames Charton gave him, I have to admit I LOVED all the pushing and little nicknames. I wanted them to happen so badly and the "Little Bit" nickname was soooooooooo adorable.
There's also the problem of someone trying to kill Keaton. Oh, and of Keaton being the son of a pack leader (a prince) back home. And there are some really great family and friend characters I couldn't help but love. All the werewolf dynamics and the world were so much fun to get to know. And the mystery definitely kept me hooked. I am SUCH a sucker for hurt/comfort so when I found out that these werewolves heal instantly, I was a bit disappointed. But Bit gets hurt several times, and he isn't as able to heal due to head wounds. That makes KateKintail so happy :-)
What I didn't like so much was the idea of a third form--half man, half wolf. That was unnecessary and creeped me out. I saw what it was supposed to be, but I didn't really like it. Luckily, that was a very minor part of the book. The rest of the book was full of wonderful.