REVIEWED By CINDY
TITLE: Strays
AUTHOR: A.J Thomas
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 210 Pages
RELEASE DATE: September 25, 2018
BLURB:
Orphaned at a young age and raised in the foster system, Jory Smith has no idea he’s half incubus. He only knows he has the power to heal people, making himself sick in the process. Exploited by a crooked faith healer who sells his abilities and his life to the highest bidder and then left for dead, Jory flees, falling into a job at a small-town café where he can put his lifelong obsession with baking to good use.
But the minister who exploited him wants him back.
Exiled hellhound-turned–bounty hunter Malpheus Pelle has no idea why his human client wants him to track down an incubus. Jory is traumatized and afraid to touch anyone, an emotional handicap that could prove fatal for a demon who requires physical contact. Needing answers, Mal concocts a disastrous plan: pretend to date Jory to uncover the truth. Unfortunately, his plan never included dealing with an ancient demon assassin, Jory’s orgasmic pumpkin cookies, or losing his heart to the incubus he’s supposed to be hunting…
REVIEW:
Jory is a young man who has been taken advantage of for most of his life. When the man he works for tries to take more than Jory can give, he thinks he finally has escaped his torment. But his tormentor isn’t ready to let Jory go.
Mal is hired to find Jory, and to him it’s just a job. Until he meets the young man he’s supposed to hunt down. Jory has no idea who are what he is, just that he can help people, by harming himself. It’s not long until Mal is totally invested in Jory and his chance to escape.
I loved the premise of this story and the author plays it out well. They have created an interesting world for their characters to live in and to be honest, I’d be interested in meeting more people who live there.
I loved watching Jory and Mal trying to figure each other out. Jory’s natural innocence makes him easy to love. I couldn’t help myself, I just wanted him to find his way to a better life.
Mal turns out to be a whole lot sweeter than I figured at the beginning of the story. He finds himself becoming very protective of Jory very quickly and it’s easy to see why.
The side characters in this story are great too. Louise is my favorite. She’s Mal’s “right hand man” and her loyalty is absolute. I won’t spoil the surprise but I do love a feisty girl companion in a sci-fi story.
Jory attracts his fair share of good friends as well and they all rally around him to help when the chips are down. It’s funny how they all know what he is, even when he doesn’t have a clue.
If you are a fan of the supernatural, you will appreciate the time and effort the author put into that aspect of this story, providing the background to help everyone understand what’s happening even if you’re new to this genre.
Recommending this story is easy. Its well written, with a dash of humor, a whole bunch of sweetness and it’s definitely off the meter on the hot sex charts. It’s not perfect, and it does drag in a couple of spots, but all in all, it’s a good time!
RATING: 
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