Review: Sorin's Protector (A Dragon's Growl #3) by Marcy Jacks

Sorin has been a captive ever since the dragons came and expelled the vampires from his family home. Sorin is young for a vampire, only twenty-five, so he knows nothing of the war between his kind and the dragons. His life has been turned upside down. At least his jailer is handsome. Lucian seems like an honorable man, but what are the chances he would ever want something with the enemy kept prisoner in the basement?

Lucian is a rock dragon, a powerful alpha in his clan, and he volunteered to watch over Sorin. After an attack that nearly cost him his life, he owes Sorin big. Sorin stayed behind and defended Lucian when he could have run away. For that, Lucian feels wholly responsible when Sorin is attacked.

A passionate night together leads to a misunderstanding that might leave them separated before they can discover the truth they both couldn't see.

Title: Sorin's Protector
Author: Marcy Jacks
Publication Date: June 2017
ISBN: 978-1-64010-421-1
Buy it from Bookstrand

Maria's Rating: ★★★★★

I have so much feelings for this book I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO START.

Just kidding it's really because I got super invested in Sorin from the first two installments of this new series and I just wanted a happy ever after for him SO BAD. I was and still am here for Sorin. The poor guy was just so fragile and helpless in the first two books I just wanted to hug him and tell him everything would be okay. Thankfully Lucian was there to do just that - bless you Lucian. And can I just say, the sexual tension between the two of them could practically set ice on fire. IT MADE ME SO HAPPY.

Marcy Jacks is one of my favorite go-to authors when I want less lengthy reads where I can be assured I'll get a happy ever after (usually!). I think one of the reasons why I really like her is because she has this uncanny ability to get you super invested in different characters in her book and therefore ensure that you will buy and read the next one. Some might call her stories formulaic, but since I've read almost all her books (even the old ones because I'm a huge fan and I'll read anything she writes!), I can safely say that she never fails to add something unique to either the characters or the circumstances to make sure it's different. The situation is like this: I have a vague idea how the character will behave and I also have a vague idea how the story will end, but I get so invested in the characters it's basically a trap I willingly fall for everytime. In this the introduction of Sorin and Lucian really won me over and when the second book mentioned the little mishap that Sorin got involved in, I got totally hooked. The thing is, I wouldn't have cared so much except Lucian didn't get there in time to save Sorin when Sorin got in trouble. Actually lol Lucian it took you days to get there what the fuck do you have to say for yourself. And as a reader who's already so invested in Sorin's safety and happiness, how am I supposed to react? Of course I'll get his book and cry a little while I'm reading because Sorin deserves only the best.

I finished this book so fast I think it didn't take me an hour. The book itself is actually quite short, but I have no complaints about the pacing.There's predictably lots of sex, but there's also lots of feelings which more than made up for it. Also, Lucian's powerful words about anyone answering to him if they ever lay a finger on Sorin made me swoon. Legit read it three times because there is nothing hotter than a guy standing up for his boyfriend. Totally made my day.

I think the least I like about this book is the little epilogue featuring Lucian beating the crap out of Van. I know it would have been tedious describing the whole thing but I would have liked to see Van getting the daylights kicked out of him. Van keeps giving me asshole vibes even if he's somewhat justified in his anger. Somewhat. Also he hurt Sorin so he's automatically in my unofficial shitlist for this series.

Also I think it will be unsurprising to say that I will read the next book because Micah and Stefan are gonna be in it. I CALLED THAT SHIT IN THE FIRST BOOK.

*inhales deeply, calms down*

Also Taylor is gonna be super important later on I'm calling it now so I can later say I told you so.

Anyway before I get sidetracked again I just want to say I'm liking this series and I think it has a lot of potential. Sorin and Lucian's book is my favorite so far but I can tell there will be more interesting characters that will be introduced later. I recommend it because it's such a light read and it's so easy to get emotionally invested in the characters and their happiness and that makes the reading experience so much more fun.

The book is not without fault, but for its ability to invoke so much emotion? Five stars.

Review: That Alien Feeling by Alessandra Hazard

Banished by his parents to the third planet in the Sol system, Prince Harht’ngh’chaali of the Second Grand Clan is completely fascinated by its inhabitants. Assuming the human name “Harry,” he tries to pass for a human to survive, but being human is so much harder than Harry expected. Humans are so confusing.

Adam Crawford isn’t looking for love. Financially secure and good-looking, he’s in a good place in his life. He doesn’t mean to fall in love with the quirky guy working at the coffee shop near his office. 

Harry is ridiculous—and ridiculously endearing. He wears ugly shirts and flowers in his hair, and he has a kind word for everyone. Adam falls hard and fast.

Little does he know that Harry isn’t what he seems and anything between them is impossible.

Star-crossed love between a human man and an alien prince from a world half a galaxy away.

Title: That Alien Feeling
Author/s: Alessandra Hazard
Publication Date: June 2017
ASIN: B071W6VWKT
Buy it from Amazon

Maria's Rating: ★★★★★

Believe it or not I very nearly gave up on this book! I thought the beginning was adorable, but I already read a preview of that in Hazard's previous book (Just a Bit Wicked) so I guess you could say I wasn't as captivated by it as other readers were. What really stuck out to me, though, was Adam's immediate feelings of possessiveness and want towards Harry. I know some people will probably consider that vaguely disconcerting, but lord, I swear I love that kind of stuff. Harry, meanwhile, had an immediate connection with Adam which I found very sweet. Chemistry couldn’t have hit me harder in the face. I was won over almost instantaneously.

In any case, it got complicated real fast when Harry kept sending mixed signals to Adam despite explicitly saying that they were just "friends". And as much as I liked Harry, I wanted to strangle him, too, because he was just so goddamn clueless. I felt even more aggravated because I knew I couldn’t be annoyed with him because he literally didn't know what kind of pain he was causing Adam. I was so grateful for his co-worker Samantha because that girl was literally me while I was reading.

On the other hand, I suffered from major secondhand embarrassment and awkwardness on Adam's behalf because the guy simply couldn't help himself – he was completely smitten with Harry and he just couldn't stay away. I think I got frustrated with their situation really quickly – the whole "we're just friends even if we literally can't keep our hands off each other every time you see us together" – because it was reminiscent of Hazard's third book from her Straight Guys series, "Just a Bit Unhealthy". If you've been following my reviews, you'll know that I hated that book so much I could cry. The two books contain nearly the exact same situation down to the fiancée. Although I guess Just a Bit Unhealthy was waaaayyy more unhealthy because Harry's equivalent there actually had a kid with his girlfriend. I won't expound on that other book here because I would rather not talk about a book I hate in my review for a book I really enjoyed, but you get the idea.

In any case, it was around 20% into the book when I felt like I wouldn’t be able to continue if That Alien Feeling would follow the same route as Just a Bit Unhealthy. I was thankful to Jake for being the voice of reason because god knew Adam needed one badly. Not that he would listen (because no, he totally didn't), but it’s good to have a representative of sorts within the story, y’know? Again, not that it helped a lot, because Adam was so fixated on Harry. I thought it was actually a good thing that Harry got dragged back home around this time in the book – honest to god I would have dropped it had it kept going the “just friends route”. I do wish they hadn’t done it on Adam’s birthday, though. GIVE THE GUY A BREAK. Adam didn’t deserve that shit. Although I guess that gave it more impact, which totally crushed Adam’s heart.

It’s usually hard for me to care about secondary characters, even more actually like them. But somehow Hazard managed to do that when she introduced Seyn and Ksar. I think a big part of the reason the book kept me engaged was the two of them and how Seyn made it very, very clear that he would want nothing else but to severe the bond between them. And that just told me THEY WOULD BE SO, SO PERFECT TOGETHER. I ALREADY LOVE THEM PLEASE GIVE ME THE NEXT BOOK.

All my fangirl squealing aside, from a purely technical perspective, this is where I really want to underscore how much I loved Hazard’s introduction of these secondary characters. She wrote it so well she managed to integrate them into the story without making it feel like she was hijacking Harry and Adam’s story to make way for Ksar and Seyn. The way she did it accomplished two things very neatly: First, she allowed us to see Harry and Adam’s relationship from the point of view of those who are surrounding them – namely, Ksar and Seyn. In writing there are times when some scenes just work best when they’re told from the perspective of ‘outsiders’, and I think Hazard managed to do that perfectly here. I think it worked so well because (1) Harry was totally confused by all his new feelings for Adam while Seyn's detachment from the situation gave him the ability to more rationally analyze the situation and determine just how special Adam was to Harry; and (2) Ksar was depicted as a cold, heartless bastard, so it was implied that his take on things should be given weight because he was kind of good at this feelings business, despite being emotionally stunted himself; it meant that since he was kicked into action to do something to get Harry and Adam together, something really had to be special between the two of them.

This brings me to Hazard’s second storytelling success: by making Seyn and Ksar fit into Harry and Adam’s story, she managed to set up the stage for the next installment of this series. We got more insights of who Ksar was and what he did, the politics behind the bonding ritual they have going on in their planet, and just how complicated exactly his bond with Seyn was. I thought it was brilliantly written; it left me curious to know more about their planet and how Ksar and Seyn’s story would play out, since Ksar basically set himself up as bait in order to ensure that Harry would be able to stay with Adam on earth.

I think my only complaint about this book is that I would have preferred a longer epilogue to conclude the story. Considering Harry and Adam spent a year apart, I felt that they should have spent more time cuddling upon being reunited, especially given how much Harry loves the physical intimacy between him and Adam. Although this makes me wonder if Ksar and Seyn’s book will actually feature them heavily, especially since Ksar left right after saying that he would bring back his brother to their planet. Maybe Harry and Adam would eventually move to Calluvia? I think that would be interesting.

Overall, I loved this one despite my initial misgivings. I can’t wait for Ksar and Seyn’s story; I have so much hope for the two of them! Also, let it be said that the cover of this book is ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE. I just love it.

Five solid stars.