Reviewed by Taylin
TITLE: Begin Again
SERIES: Saint Lakes Series #5
AUTHOR: April Kelley
PUBLISHER: Hard Rose Publishing
LENGTH: 212 Pages
RELEASE DATE: August 18, 2017
BLURB:
The first-time water monster shifter, Ramsey Somerset, met his fated mate, the little vampire ninja bit him without even a hello.
Ramsey Somerset’s control is slipping. As a water monster he’s always in danger of giving into his beast. When he meets his fated mate, it gets even more dangerous.
Fane Tiago is feral. Sold into captivity and becoming a science experiment has left him shattered. Finding out his fated mate is less than willing to help him pick up the pieces means he’s more alone than ever.
War with the vampires hangs over Ramsey. But behind Fane’s feral mind lurks a vampire who is more than he seems.
Begin Again is the action packed fifth novel in the MM Paranormal Romance Saint Lakes series. If you like devoted monsters and vampires in small packages, you’ll love this sweet story.
Buy Begin Again to see how Saint Lakes fairs against Stavros’s Coven.
REVIEW:
Ramsay doesn’t want to be Alpha, but no one else wants the job. Then along comes Fane in all his innocently blunt glory – a man who was experimented on, then held captive by other vampires, and whose brain is somewhat scrambled. He is also Ramsay’s fated mate. Being Alpha means putting the clan first, but having a mate means putting him first, too. To have both is not possible, especially with war brewing. To bond or not to bond, or when, is the predicament? Then again, Fane is like no other mate Saint Lakes has seen.
Begin Again is the fifth book in the Saint Lakes series, and oh my, wow, what a lovely surprise. The story steps up several notches on all fronts from previous books, and an event I didn’t expect to happen for several episodes makes my day. In short, my heart went on a rollercoaster, and I loved it.
The story is told in the third person from the viewpoints of Ramsay and Fane. The timeline has another small reset to when Forest and Angel were on their way back to Saint Lakes, with guests in the car, and had not arrived at their destination. Worldbuilding revolves around Ramsay dealing with the everyday policing of his clan while sensing his water monster getting closer to the surface. During conversations, it was occasionally difficult to determine who was speaking, but those aspects were soon shoved to the side when turmoil, anguish, and drama appeared.
Fane has undergone heartache and abuse, and while his brain heals, my heart goes out to him as he relives the past. Fane, though, is more than the sum of his past. He loves science, and giggles. Fane often describes himself as crazy because he’s not the norm, yet he has a heart of gold and a focus that any martial arts grandmaster would be proud of – daily training, meditation, and routine center him. Fane is an entirely unique character who I have not read anything like before. He is an endearing loveable pocket-sized nerd wrapped up in blunt badass.
Ramsay is scared. When his inner monster takes over, he is unaware of his actions. Fane’s teachings and frank reality checks encourage Ramsay and others in the clan to see their biological and situational stance from a different perspective. At times this could be a touch weird to read, but it reflected Fane’s world – call it chaotic sanity that made a lot of sense. E.g. Fight or die – that is your choice – what are you going to do?
Fane may not be a mate who needs protecting, but the need to protect is in every fiber of Ramsey’s being as a dragon, mate, and Alpha. So, there is a battle of wills and worries over timing at a period when war could happen at any moment. All this weighs heavy on Ramsay, and while I sometimes wanted to slap him to see the light, I could understand the perspective too. Then, then, then – yeah, not telling you that, nope, yes, I can, because it’s in the blurb. Nicolono Stavros’s coven arrives, and what follows is gut-wrenchingly amazing.
In short, I went on an emotional rollercoaster – totally my kind of read. I experienced everything from frustration to heart pounding and a few things in between – bravo.
RATING: 
BUY LINK:
[…] Review […]