Reviewed by Chris
TITLE: Stag and Hound 
AUTHOR: Geonn Cannon
PUBLISHER: Supposed Crimes LLC
LENGTH: 200 pages
RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2016
BLURB:
Paris in Winter, 1943.
The Loupin pack is a group of canidae operating as a cell in the French resistance, sabotaging German supply lines and taking out as many German soldiers as they can. After a series of successes, they’re dealt a staggering blow in a surprise attack that leaves their leader, Philip, dead. Philip’s lover, Simon, becomes the pack’s new leader, but the fight has gone out of him. He and the rest of the pack retreat to occupied Paris where he drowns his grief in whatever alcohol can be found in any taverns that are still open. He’s finally pulled out of his stupor by the arrival of a British Intelligence officer named Kenneth Mackay, another canidae who reveals the attack on their cell was not an isolated incident. It was part of a concerted effort by the Germans to clear northern France of any opposition for reasons unknown.
Simon puts aside his grief and sorrow to discover the truth behind Philip’s death. Teaming up with the British soldier, Simon and the pack return to the countryside they abandoned months before. They soon find themselves facing a fierce and cunning enemy whose plans could bring countless deaths and untold destruction.
In this novel set in the world of ‘Underdogs,’ Simon, Kenneth, and the rest of the Loupin pack are the only thing standing between the new darkness and must do everything in their power to stop it… even if it costs their lives.
REVIEW:
With his lover dead, and their pack driven back to Paris, Simon is at a loss. After so many years of fighting a rebel’s fight against the Nazis in his country, after losing so much to them and not seeing much back in return, he doesn’t know what to do but drink his sorrows away and pray that tomorrow there might be some kind of hope. Or even a mission–no matter how hopeless. Kenneth MacKay–a British fighter and wolf–comes to Paris with that mission. Turns out the attack that killed Simon’s lover and leader was not just bad luck, but a strategic plan to move the french rebellion out of the area and make way for some type of military complex. Simon and his wolves need to go back and find out what the Nazis are planning, and more importantly, stop them at whatever cost.
While I wouldn’t classify this as a romance, it definitely had some really good romantic elements in it. Sadly Simon and Kenneth’s relationship is a bit on the back burner for a lot of the book, but I must say that I really enjoyed the relationship between Sandrine and Minuit. I don’t get the chance to read much f/f story lines, but this one was very good. The tension between all the characters–ramped up to the nth degree by the nagging knowledge that they are very likely to die at any moment, made these love stories all the more poignant.
And as the main story line, the discovery and plan to dismantle the Nazi complex, was by far my favorite part. I really liked how I never knew what was going to happen, and who was going to die, so I was on the edge of my seat for the whole book. The tension here is crafted masterfully, where even the sweet moments and the downbeats all have this underlying drum of awareness in the background that never really lets you relax. It all builds up to the climax–and while I was certainly rather skeptical about the actual chances of that outcome happening in those circumstances–I was in no doubt less enthralled by the way the author cut the scenes and built the tension till you were allowed to finally take a breath as it all came tumbling down.
While there were certain areas that I think could have been more fleshed out (the traitor, the romance between Simon and Kenneth, and maybe even the whole wolf thing) I must say that I really enjoyed this book. I loved how the time period just flowed naturally from the pages of the book, and how it didn’t get overly bogged down in describing the whole of WWII to us, it just stuck to what was necessary for the story to work. As an action story, it was really good, and I have no bones in recommending you pick it up if you like books set in the WWII era.
RATING: 
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