Reviewed by Donna
SERIES REVIEW: Miracle series
AUTHOR: Shea Balik
PUBLISHER: Self Published
BOOK #1 TITLE: Purring with His Mate
LENGTH: 156 Pages
RELEASE DATE: February 20, 2017
BLURB:
In a world where everyone was against them, they needed a Miracle. What no one had expected was to find their salvation in an abandoned town that was ready to collapse. Yet, that is exactly what happened when they moved to the town of Miracle, Oregon.
Edrick Rapp, a mountain lion shifter, wanted to kick himself for not moving he and his friends far from their former pack years earlier. It wasn’t until he came upon one of his friends being beaten to death for their sins that he realized his mistake.
Mouse shifter, Nole Hayward, had been punished by his Alpha. Left for dead, he barely managed to crawl away with his life. He ends up hiding out in Miracle, Oregon until a group of mountain lion shifters show up. Before he could get away he ends up with a building collapsing down around him and his mate rescuing him.
Can Edrick and Nole find love or will they let the ghosts of their pasts tear them apart?
REVIEW:
This is my first time reading Shea Balik and I could tell pretty quickly that I was going to binge read this whole series.
Purring with his Mate is a perfect example of “how to hook a reader into a series”. Edrick is the reluctant alpha of his pack, a pack that was formed when he and his friends had to flee their former pack after it was discovered they were gay, a crime punishable by death. They move to the abandoned, falling down town of Miracle where they set about building themselves a place to live in safety. There Edrick discovers Nole, a mouse shifter who has been hunted for the past five years, again for the crime of being gay.
So as you can see, you’re sucked in on two fronts. There’re the rest of Edrick’s friends whose stories you need to know about, and there’s the rebuild of the town, which progresses through the whole series. And in case that isn’t enough, there is an over arching storyline and lead ins to future mates. Trust me, the author pulls out all of the stops to ensure that once you start these books, you aren’t stopping until you’re done with them all.
What I liked about this book in particular was the fact that although Edrick was a big alpha lion, and Nole was a cute mouse, Nole wasn’t written into a damsel-in-distress role. Even when Nole actually does need to be saved, he’s never portrayed as the weak partner. Instead he’s a kickass mouse, who is also a doctor and he has no hesitation to stand up to the bad guys.
I’m looking forward to seeing how the series progresses.
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BOOK #2 TITLE: Forgiving the Enemy
LENGTH: 143 Pages
RELEASE DATE: March 6, 2017
BLURB:
In a world where everyone was against them, they needed a Miracle. What no one had expected was to find their salvation in an abandoned town that was ready to collapse. Yet, that is exactly what happened when they moved to the town of Miracle, Oregon.
Lucca had always felt trust was something only fools allowed themselves to experience. Since the age of five, he’d learned that not even family could be trusted to keep him safe from the cruel reality of life. That point was driven home when he and his friends were forced to flee their pack for fear of death for no other reason than who they loved.
Jari had lived in hell since he was nineteen years old and he’d been naïve enough to believe his Alpha’s claim they were mates. Now he existed in a world of lies and betrayal that had him trapped and miserable. Just when he thought his life couldn’t get worse, he was caught leading his best friend to his death. A part of him had been glad he hadn’t succeeded and was ready to die for his crime, but life was never that easy, for the man who’d captured him was none other than his real mate.
Can Lucca find a way to trust his mate or will the sins of their pasts keep them from finding their happily ever after.
REVIEW:
I like the way that book two pretty much starts before the end of book one.
The main characters, Jari and Lucca have already met, but obviously their relationship isn’t all sunshine and roses just yet. In fact, Lucca seems pretty resigned to the fact that Jari might be put to death due to his actions in the first book, and it kinda pissed me off that he was so wishy washy about his pleading for his mate’s life. Lucca never fully redeemed himself in my eyes, but Jari made up for that. I loved Jari. He’s a mouse shifter, just like Nole, but unlike Nole, Jari’s past has broken him rather than made him stronger. There is a lot of talk about the sexual assault that Jari has suffered, so if that is a trigger for anyone, just be aware of that. However, there isn’t any rape during the story’s timeline, it’s all in Jari’s past. I enjoyed the way that Jari changed as he found his place in Miracle and his confidence and personality emerged.
Meanwhile a slew of new characters are introduced as the town of Miracle continues to expand, growing into a mecca for gay shifters. I like the fact that the author made the mice the bad guys, although I’m guessing there will be plenty more bad guys of all different shapes and sizes still to come.
RATING:
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