The Official Descriptions:
Hearts of Fire – Luca Duray has been quite happy living a solitary existence for decades. But when a steel trap around his leg catches him when he’s 
weak and hungry, his life is irrevocably changed. He knows the wolf shifter who offers him assistance is more than he appears and immediately makes plans to keep the pup close.
Disowned by his pack for being gay, Tanner McBane is forced to become a lone wolf. While on a hunt, he stumbles upon an injured dragon shifter and provides aid. It’s not easy surviving on his own and when money gets tight, he finds himself face-to-face with the dragon shifter once again during an interview. Tanner isn’t sure a wolf should be working for a dragon, but he accepts the job and unknowingly creates a bond to his new boss. Soon, Tanner learns Luca isn’t just his boss—he’s his mate.
The mating of a wolf and dragon shifter is uncharted territory for both Luca and Tanner, but they are determined to make it work despite widespread prejudice, death threats, and the untraditional pack Tanner finds himself leading. Tanner only hopes that the bond he forms with Luca will prove to be unbreakable.
Hearts of Blood – Omega wolf shifter, Vance, and the rest of his small pack have finally found an Alpha willing to take them on and were still trying to regain their footing when the McBane Pack attacked them. When a vampire appears in front of him, Vance realizes he’s looking into the ice-blue eyes of his mate, and the fact that his mate is something other than wolf scares him.
Sakima knew the wolf shifter was his destined companion the moment he scented him at Elysium, but claiming the gorgeous young Omega wolf is a dangerous proposition. Vance and his unconventional pack have attracted the attention of the vampire coven. As the owner of Elysium, Sakima has been asked to use the club to gather information on the powerful interspecies pack and its Alpha.
Unfortunately for Vance and Sakima, the vampire coven and the continued attacks by the McBane Pack are only a portion of their problems. Amidst concerns over Alpha Tanner’s abilities growing with Sakima’s addition to the pack, a spurned ex targets Vance in an attempt to remove him from Sakima’s life, and Elysium becomes a hot bed for interspecies mingling where anyone could be an enemy.
My thoughts bit: Thanks to NineStar press’ generosity, I was able to get a copy of Hearts of Fire so that I could read both these delightful books. The first in the series introduces a world in which there is a lot of supernatural bigotry. Tanner has been living on his own, banished from his own Wolf pack by a father who can’t abide by him choosing to be gay. Knowing his orientation isn’t a choice, Tanner has made the difficult decision to try and live on his own.
When on a run through a local forest, Tanner encounters a mysterious, injured Dragon shifter. He assists the dragon shifter in his escape from hunters and then flees. He’s not sure why he even helped the dragon as they’re notoriously strong and pose a great threat. When Tanner turns up at a job interview only to find himself in the company of the Dragon shifter once more… he realizes he’s in deep water.
The first book focuses on the bond between Tanner and Luca – the dragon shifter. They are bonded and almost-immediately Luca knows they are destined to be mates. But there is a lot of supernatural-societal resistance to interspecies mating. They don’t even know if it’s possible. Tanner’s life is made ever-more complicated when he realizes there is an Alpha-less pack of wolves working at Luca’s company and they want him to lead them.
Years of history and lore have created a world in which Tanner and his hybrid pack aren’t safe and things quickly get complicated for the Wolves and their Dragon and Elemental.
The second book begins with the pack tentatively forged and learning their strengths and weaknesses. When a vampire named Sakima appears and claims Vance as his mate… the pack finds themselves dealing with yet another breed against them. A scorned vampire leads an attack as Sakima and Vance get to know one another. Tanner’s father is still a threat… bringing the McBane pack with him.
Tanner uses all the resources available to him to try and understand what he has become. He’s more than an Alpha wolf, more than a Dragon’s mate. His wolf is physically imposing and he can channel the powers of others in his pack. Unfortunately, everything that Tanner discovers seems to be another reason for other beings to challenge their very existence.
If you like Supernatural m/m romance then you’ll really enjoy this series. The characters are well developed, the sex scenes are hot and there is a lot of mate-bonding and pack socializing. There’s a really solid story behind these enticing characters that is full of bigotry, judgment and the families we choose to love. Read these books in order to get the full experience of being immersed in this strange and magical world.
The warnings bit: Please be aware, I’m by no means an expert on what may or may not have the potential to disturb people. I simply list things that I think a reader might want to be aware of. In this book: wolves hunting, descriptions of animals being hunted and killed, physical violence, bigotry, homophobia.
Readalikes: Other stories that are similar or give the same feel
- Blood Is Forever by Asta Idonea, Nicki J. Markus
- Darkling (Port Lewis Witches #1) by Brooklyn Ray
- A Mage’s Power (The Inquisition Trilogy #1) by Casey Wolfe
I received ARCs of Hearts of Fire & Hearts of Blood (Chevalier, Books one and two) by Kay Doherty from Ninestar Press via NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.
Kinzie Things 