Reviewed by Donna
TITLE: Ta Weezo’s Blues
AUTHOR: Layla Dorine
PUBLISHER: NineStar Press
LENGTH: 86 Pages
RELEASE DATE: December 24, 2018
BLURB:
Sabre never had any intentions of becoming the teacher’s pet. In fact, most of his school years have been spent trying to avoid attention. The scar that mars his cheek has made him wary of strangers, their questions and prying eyes leave him feeling exposed in ways he’s uncomfortable with. Accustomed to blending in, he lurks around the shadows in the back of classrooms, turning in exemplary work but rarely taking part in discussions.
Professor Locklear’s Native lit class is different though. Sabre’s interest in the subject matter, coupled with a dedicated scholar’s need to turn in the best work possible, leads him to seek out a more advanced reading list, much to the delight of Professor Locklear. When he comes across Sabre reading material beyond even the advanced list, Professor Locklear invites on a fieldtrip to a nearby village. Along the way he learns more than just the knowledge contained in the books. He learns about trust and discovers that there are others out there just like him— shapeshifters.
What he believed was an individual anomaly turns out to be something beyond legend and lore, a whole different culture he’d never known existed. The only way he can move forward is to let his shields down long enough to trust the man whose conversations he’s come to enjoy, but to do that, he’ll have to stop distancing himself from everyone.
REVIEW:
When I think Layla Dorine, I think ridiculously high levels of angst and pain, so simply seeing her name on the cover of a ferret shifter novella…well, my curiosity got the best of me and I couldn’t resist reading it. While I was already a fan of this author’s writing, I was excited to see that her skill at draining bucket-loads of tears from me, also translated into writing cute little shifter tales.
Our main characters are Sabre, a college student who suffers from social anxiety and Drax, a professor of Native literature. Sabre’s professor of Native literature. The author did a great job of presenting Sabre as an endearingly awkward young man, which ensured I felt a connection to him quickly, an important aspect of a story that comes in at less than 100 pages. He’s one of those guys that is easy to love, a genuinely nice and caring person who struggles with his own personal issues. He’s also a ferret shifter, but having been orphaned as a toddler, he has no idea of what that means. Why does he change? Are there others like him? When Drax feels more than a professional interest in Sabre, you can’t help but cheer on their romance, wanting Sabre to be happy.
I enjoyed the Native American aspect of this story. The author cleverly used it as a quick yet plausible way to explain the shape-shifting element, and it also allowed her to inject some depth into the novella. I love it when an author manages to include a political or human rights message into a story with enough subtlety that even readers who shun anything political would not have a problem with it.
The romance also worked for me. It had a hint of naughty, the author playing up the student/teacher angle nicely, but it was very sweet at the same time.
Plot wise there is little to no conflict, yet I can honestly say that it wasn’t needed. This was simply a cute, happy, feel good story, one of those books you need to read every now and again between one angsty story and the next.
RATING: 
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