Friday, October 4, 2019

Without Reservations (With or Without: Book One) by J.L. Langley | Cat’s Review & #giveaway @Dreamspinners @jl_langley @TTCBooksandmore

Sometimes love catches you by the tail.

Native American veterinarian—and werewolf—Chayton Wilson dreams of a fair-haired mate. However, he’s shocked to find his mate is a man. He’s not quite sure what to do with a male mate, but he’s more than willing to find out.

Keaton Reynolds wakes up in wolf form and finds himself with a mate. He’s instantly attracted, but not thrilled to find out the man is supposedly straight. A past relationship where his partner denied being gay left a bad taste in his mouth. Keaton wants to make a break for it and pretend he never set eyes on Chay—but Chay is not ready to let him go.

Together they work to battle prejudice and solidify their shaky relationship. Chay must deal with not only his mother’s preconceptions about gay men but also her hatred of white people. When a power struggle in Keaton’s pack threatens Keaton’s life, the two men must quickly learn whether they can depend on each other.

Buy links: Dreamspinner Amazon

Cat gives this one 3 Meows with a 5 Purr heat index...

I chose this book because I love Paranormal romance, gay for you, fated mates, interracial and May /December (though I don't think it is a huge age gap). I was not let down on those five aspects.

I loved the world that was created as it is a little different take on the werewolf/shifter type stories. I loved that though Keaton was the smallest, outwardly gay, he by no means was the weakest. as a matter of fact, he is a powerful (very powerful werewolf). I love it when a person isn't stereotyped.

I loved in the first chapter where Chay tells his mom at the age of four that he will have a mate. He will be a boy with curly golden hair and bright blue eyes. Her surprise was cool and how she gently misunderstood and talked him out of the fact that one a mate has to be a girl... two she will have skin like them. (Native American).  It was such a cute scene and set the feel for the story.  I also thought it cute everyone though Keaton was a kid by his young looks and small, slightly effeminate (but not weak) stature.

I love Gay for you. It just makes the story more romantic and sweeter, as do fated mates.
There is a tad bit of mystery to the story with some action, but I did figure it out.

I don't mind the heat and some sex scenes but, in my opinion, there were so many that it slowed the story down for me. I will admit I started skimming them after a quarter into the book. There were a little more repetition and a bit of dragging out of the story but otherwise, the actual story was fun, sweet and sexy. I loved Pita the puppy too! I will be watching for the next book hoping it is Remy and Jake.

Excerpt…

Prologue

“BROOOM-BROOOM…. MOMMY, if I’m a wolf like Daddy, why can’t I change into a wolf?”

Lena Winston looked up from her mixing bowl and smiled at her four-year-old son.

Chay had a toy car in each hand, his wide brown eyes staring up at her expectantly.

“Because you haven’t reached puberty yet, Chay.” She went back to stirring the chocolate cake batter.

Chay made “brooom-brooom” noises again, and the toy cars clicked against the floor. “Mommy, what’s pooberty?”

Oops. Maybe she should have worded that differently. Lena turned, grinning at him. Chayton was the most inquisitive child she’d ever known. Of course he would ask that. “Umm, it means when you are older. A teenager.”

His little forehead wrinkled. He sat quietly for several seconds, then cocked his dark head. “Mommy, when am I going to be a teenager?”

She set the mixed batter on the counter and dug out a pan from under it. “In about eleven years, when you’re fifteen or so.”

“But thirteen and fourteen comes before fifteen, and they say teen too. Won’t I be a teenager when I’m thirteen and fourteen?”

Lena shook her head and poured the cake mix into the pan. “Chay, you are too smart for your own good. Yes, you will be a teenager then too.” She held out the mixing bowl and spoon toward him. “Do you want to lick the bowl?”

“Yes, yes, yes.” Chay dropped his cars, jumped to his feet, and bounced on his toes. “Yay, I get to lick the bowl. I get to lick the bowl.” He danced in place.

“Sit on the floor, and I’ll give it to you.”

Chay sat so fast he practically rebounded when he hit the linoleum. Their dog, Roscoe, ambled into the kitchen, licked the boy across the cheek, and flopped down beside him.

Lena set the bowl between Chay’s outspread legs and handed him the spoon. “Try not to make a mess. I’m going to start on dinner while the cake is in the oven.”

Chay took the big plastic spoon and shoved the whole end of it into his small mouth. Cake mix oozed from the corners of his lips and spread across his nose and cheeks.

Deciding that keeping him clean was a lost cause, Lena put the cake in the oven and proceeded to the pantry. She brought the spuds to the sink and began rinsing them, when she heard slurping or… licking sounds? Without even turning around, she knew what was going on. “Chayton Montgomery Winston. What have I told you about sharing your food with the dog?”

“But, Mommy, Roscoe likes to lick the bowl too.”

“Chay….”

He sighed. “Oh, all right. No more, Roscoe. Mommy says I can’t.”

Lena heard the dog’s toenails click on the linoleum as he left. She shook her head. Chay thought absolutely nothing of letting the dog lick his spoon and then putting it back into his own mouth. Yuck.

“Mommy?”

Lena turned the faucet off and dug through the drawer to find her potato peeler. “Yes, Chay?”

“How did you know Daddy was your mate if you aren’t a wolf? Daddy says that wolves know their mates when they meet them.”

“That’s true, but the wolf’s mate also knows. We feel it too.” She started peeling potatoes. “Wolves don’t pick their mates, sweetie. God picks them. But when mates meet for the first time, they know it. It’s like destiny tapping you on the shoulder.” Lena smiled, thinking about her husband, Joseph.

“Who is destiny? Does she know everyone’s mate?”

Oh, brother. With a giggle, Lena tossed one spud into the pan and got another. “Destiny isn’t a person. Destiny means what is supposed to happen. Like God’s plan for us.”

“Oh. Okay. Mommy, my mate will have hair like the sun and eyes like the sky. He will be like a prince.”

“She. And it’s a princess, honey, not prince,” Lena corrected automatically. Then what he said about hair and eyes sank in. She felt like someone sucker punched her. She took a deep breath and reminded herself that he was a child and didn’t know any better. “No, Chay. Your mate will be one of our people, not a white woman. She will have long beautiful black hair, brown eyes, and lovely tanned skin. She may not be Apache, like I’m not—I’m Lakota—but she’ll be one of us.”

The spoon scraped the sides of the bowl a few more times. “But you said we don’t pick our mates. God does. How do you know that my mate won’t have hair like sunshine and eyes like the sky?”

Lena rolled her eyes and heaved a sigh. “Because God wouldn’t do that to us, Chay.” She finished the last potato, turned toward the refrigerator, and stopped dead in her tracks. “Chayton Montgomery Winston. What did I say about sharing with the animals?”

Chay’s eyes sparkled up at her. He glanced at the family cat, which had cake batter all over her whiskers, then back to his mother. “You said not to share with Roscoe, Mommy. You didn’t say anything about Fluffy.”


J.L. Langley said her first words at six months of age. By the time she was a year old, she was talking in complete sentences and, as most of her family and friends will tell you, she hasn’t shut up since. After becoming an accomplished motormouth, J.L. set out to master other avenues of self-expression, including art, and dance.

She attended the University of Texas, where she majored in art and worked as a dance instructor on the side. Her love of artistic expression in dance landed her a career in which she taught and performed for over twenty-five years. After marriage to her junior high school sweetheart and the birth of their children, J.L. decided to try her hand at writing. To date, she has several successful novels and a handful of novellas to her credit.

She lives in Texas, where she was born and raised, with her real-life hero, their rowdy two boys, two even rowdier German Shepherds, and ten goldfish, one of which is named Jaws. When she’s not writing, she can usually be found with her nose in a book appreciating the communication skills of other writers.




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