Reviewed by Sarina

TITLE:  Buckle Up (Boxed Set)

AUTHOR:  Julia Talbot

PUBLISHER: Changeling Press

LENGTH:   184 pages

RELEASE DATE:  April 29, 2016

BLURB:

How many werewolves, magical shops, and cursed gamers fit into one box set? Quite a few when it’s Buckle Up! Magic, mayhem, and hot loving fill every story.

Buckle Up: Cody’s trying to find the original owner of an antique belt buckle. Pawn shop owner Kelvin’s happy to help this cowboy find anything he needs.

Crazy in Love: Keaton loves Starbucks and Wi-Fi. Dakota loves Keaton. But the city’s a dangerous place for a werewolf. A rescue is definitely in order.

Changes in Attitude: A warlock faces off against a werewolf and his lover. Can they all get what they want in the end?

Under the Moon: Jamie doesn’t do two things — other werewolves and gaming. Ty might just change his mind.

Dream Dice: Thayer has no idea what to expect when he buys new dice at a convention. He certainly doesn’t bargain for barbarian Erlich to enter the picture.

Publisher’s Note: Buckle Up (Box Set) contains the previously published novellas Buckle Up! Crazy in Love, Changes in Attitude, Under the Moon, and Dream Dice.

REVIEW:

This was a really great collection of stories; they all brought something different to the collection and I enjoyed reading every single one of them.  What I really liked, however, was that even when there were some similarities between a couple of stories, such as gaming, the stories themselves were so unique that I was never bored and just wanted to keep on reading.  This book has a little something for just about everyone and I highly recommend it; I loved it from start to finish and at the end of every story I just couldn’t wait to read the next one.

Buckle Up

This was by far the sweetest story of the whole book.  There’s something just really appealing about a man who went so far and through so much just to return a bunch of love letters to a man he’d never even heard of.  The romance between the two main characters was sweet with a bit of spice and it made for a nice accompaniment to the overall story.  And it has a cowboy, who doesn’t love a cowboy?  4.5*

Crazy in Love

This was probably one of the more unique shifter stories I’ve read in quite a while.  You didn’t get to see a whole lot of the asylum but the author managed to convey the atmosphere nicely in spite of that.  What stood out in this story, for me, was the utter devotion Dakota had for his mate and how determined he was to set him free.  It was nice seeing the main characters reconnecting but it was even better to see the bad guy get what he deserved.  4*

Changes in Attitude

I honestly expected more drama from this story than was actually there and that was a little disappointing, though the story itself was still good.  It was nice to see that the dreaded and feared Necromancer was actually just a guy trying to do the right thing and protect his lover.  I’m still not sure what I think about Wiley; I liked his character overall but I never really felt the connection between him and the other two men.  I think if I’d been able to see them together more, maybe I would’ve believed it more readily but the story did give them a good start to build on.  I’d love to see more with these men in the future!  4*

Under the Moon

This was one of the hotter stories in the book and I enjoyed every minute of it.  😀  I really liked Ty’s character and how he was so earnest in his desire for Jamie and, like Jamie, I also enjoyed seeing all the little things that made him more human and less overbearing Alpha.  I can honestly say I never saw the roommate thing coming and that added a nice little twist to the story.  This was both cute and hot at the same time and it was just great.  4.5*

Dream Dice

In my opinion this was the best story in the collection and it was a fantastic way to end the book!  I just love the way the dice were used in this story, it was just so interesting!  Thayer was a fairly relatable character and it was interesting seeing how he was trying to adapt to everything being thrown his way.  Erlich, on the other hand, was kind of what I picture a barbarian to be but he was also so much more than that.  I was thrilled with the way the story worked out in the end and I found myself wanting to go back and read it again right away.  While this is a fully complete story, I would love to see this either expanded or for Thayer and Erlich to get a sequel, I just adored this so much!  5*

RATING:

BUY LINKS: 

Changeling Press

Amazon

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