Reviewed by Cindy

 

TITLE: Bad, Dad and Dangerous (A Paranormal Romance Anthology)

AUTHOR: Rhys Ford, TA Moore, Bru Baker, Jenn Moffatt

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 423 Pages

RELEASE DATE: October 6, 2020

BLURB:

When the kids are away, the monsters will play.

School’s out for summer, and these dads are ready to ship their kids off to camp. Not just because their kids are monsters—whose aren’t?—but because they’re ready for some alone time to let their hair down and their fangs out. You see, not only are the kids monsters—their dads are too.

Even the most dangerous of creatures has a soft spot. These bad, dangerous dads love their kids to death, but they need romance.

Every year, for a few short weeks, these hot men with a little extra in their blood get to be who they truly are. And this year, life has a surprise for them. Whether they be mage, shifter, vampire, or changeling, these heartbreakingly handsome dads might be looking to tear up the town… but they’ll end up falling in love. All it takes is the right man to bring them to their knees.

REVIEW:

Monster Hall Pass by Bru Baker

This story is a unique take on the vampire story and I liked it a whole lot. Hugh Whitby is a vampire who loves his adopted daughter more than anything. However taking care of a kid makes having a “social” life very difficult. Hugh is a good guy who uses his vampire talents for the good of mankind and while his daughter’s at camp, he plans to make good use of his free time.

Until Prince Rykoff drops into his lap and starts making waves. Rykoff reveals the truth about Hugh’s daughter’s true identity and it rocks the Vampires life to the core.

This story is so well done. The characters live in our world, only there’s more than one thing that goes bump in the night. Hugh’s daughter is adorable and far too wise beyond her years. I loved her immediately. This story isn’t long so there isn’t much room for building anticipation, but it really doesn’t need it.

The author takes us where we need to go and while it’s not necessarily a surprise destination, the journey is certainly a wild one. The snarky banter from Hugh along with Rykoff’s often confused wonder is very fun to read. Both characters are likeable and relatable and I enjoyed this story a lot.

Rating:

Kismet and Cadavers by Jenn Moffatt

Thomas is looking forward to some time alone when his daughter leaves for camp. He spends most of his time running his occult shop and protecting San Diego from the supernatural that isn’t always friendly.

KJ Beshter had a strange experience at summer camp as a young teen and while the memories are fuzzy, he knows the supernatural wold is real. It’s not his first encounter with Thomas, but he doesn’t remember meeting him until something unusual happens.

Thomas and KJ are adorable and sweet. Star, Thomas’s daughter, is an aspiring witch who’s spell has unexpected (but welcome) consequences. Nation the cat is my favorite character though and it won’t take you long to figure out why.

Moffatt does a great job of bringing the supernatural world to life and introducing it to us from KJ’s point of view. This story is mostly pretty sweet, with just a little scary mixed in and it worked pretty darn good for me. I couldn’t help rooting for Thomas and KJ right from the very beginning as their chemistry was off the charts.

This story was fun, even though it was pretty easy to see the twist coming, the story swept me along and kept me glued to the page to see how it would play out.

Rating:

Elf Shot by TA Moore

This story is tied for first place for top story of the anthology as far as I’m concerned.

Conri is such a wonderful character and an awesome dad. Putting your kid first is easy when they are sweet and lovable, but it’s a whole lot harder when the kid is a total pain in the ass most of the time. His son Finn is a typical teenage boy with a whole slew of supernatural to add to his problems and Conri keeps helping him ride the waves and keep an even keel.

Dylan Bellamy is a man determined to do the best job he can. It’s his job to keep the peace between the fey and the humans and no one is making it easy. When he meets Conri, his body has an instant reaction but Bell has to keep his head clear if he’s going to help Conri save his son and the accords.

This story has first class world building. I love all the details that went into creating the two totally different places that Conri and Bell come from. I couldn’t put this story down and when it was done, I just wanted more.

But it didn’t need more. For a story so short, it has everything it needs to take you on an emotional journey. It’s a little scary and a lot of sad in places. I found myself holding on to the edge of my seat a couple of times, even though I knew that there would be a happy ending coming my way eventually.

I really liked Finn too. He’d had a lot of bad things happen in his life, but he didn’t let it steal his youthful determination to try and have the best life he could. His dad sends him to camp so he can spend time with people like himself and so he can have a better understanding of who he is.

TA Moore does an excellent job of drawing us in and making us hope that Conri and Bell get the kind of ending that they deserve. If fantasy is a favorite of yours, you will love this story.

Rating:

Wolf at First Sight by Rhys Ford

Joseph Zanetti is a cop who’s used to dealing with the worst people the city he lives in has to offer. He spot danger a mile away and when he spots wolf-shifter Levi, he sees nothing but trouble…especially for himself.

This book is my other favorite story. Rhys Ford builds great worlds too, but she also creates amazing characters. These two men are funny and sarcastic and totally made for each other. This story is a side step from her Once Upon a Wolf story and we get a little glimpse of how Ellis is doing as he’s searching for something to make his life better and I hope we get to see his story someday soon.

As a side note, Joe’s Nana Zanetti is such a card and one of my new favorite characters. She’s full of surprises and left me smiling on more than one occasion.

Levi’s son Deck is also hilarious and Rhys gets the whole “teenage boy who does dumb things” genre just right. I loved this whole “kids go to camp to the give the dad’s some alone time” thing and my only disappointment with the whole series was that the kids didn’t all get to meet in the end.

Back to Levi and Joe…I love how Joe reacts to Levi’s secrets. It just goes to show what a good and decent guy he is. I also love the comparison between Levi and Joe and the jobs they do. It’s funny how the same job can be accomplished while coming from two different angles.

There’s not a lot of angst in this story, but that’s okay. I spent the whole time waiting to see how the conflict between their jobs would be worked out and how they would fit together in the end.

Rhys Ford always leaves me wanting more and this story is no exception. However, like all the stories in this anthology, this is a complete story with no loose ends. While I’d like to know more about Levi and Joe and Deck and Nana Zanetti, I don’t need to have more to appreciate this story. Shifter stories are my favorite, that’s no secret, and this one gives me everything I love about them.

Rating:

 

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