Book Title: Home of the Strange (Worldwalkers 1)
Author and Publisher: J.K. Hogan
Cover Artist: Wicked Pixel Designs
Release Date: December 19, 2024
Pairing: MM
Tense/POV: First person, present tense, alternating POV
Genres: Near-future, semi-apocalyptic urban fantasy romance with monsters/cryptids
Tropes: monsters, a bit of mystery
Themes: Neurodivergence, unconventional heroes, did I mention monsters?
Heat Rating: 4 flames
Length: 245 pages
It is part of a series but it’s the first book. There’s no cliffhanger. Each book in the series is about different characters so there is an HEA for these two, although the epilogue is a little teaser about the next book.
Buy Links – Available in Kindle Unlimited
What will happen when worlds collide?
Blurb
Maddox is just trying to get by. Navigating a world that’s not built for people like him—people who are different—can be hard, but he keeps his head down and muddles through. Until his strictly ordered life gets turned upside down by a sighting of something that just…should not exist.
Driven by their shared love of mysteries—and cryptids—Mads and his small group of equally outcast friends get pulled into the mystery of a lifetime. In this new reality, one where supernatural beings exist and the world might be ending, Mads somehow finds the confidence to throw himself headlong into the fray. Because nobody’s going to worry about how different he is when nothing is normal anymore.
Kisa has one mission: track his targets and dispense justice or rescue, depending on who he is pursuing. He was most certainly not supposed to become infatuated with the native creatures of this strange place—well, one in particular—yet he finds himself unable to stay away. When he begins to understand that Maddox and his friends have a part to play in all this madness, all he can do is go along for the ride and try to keep them all alive.
MADS
Alone again, I try to steel myself for what I know is coming. Of all the things that could explain why the TV is on, I know what this is. I’m sure of what’s waiting for me inside. I could just leave . . . go back to Kev’s or even spring for a nice hotel room for a couple of days, but somehow I know he’ll wait me out. Taking a deep breath, I push the door open with a trembling hand and step inside.
The door swings to the right, so at first I can only see the dining table and the kitchen to its left. I hold my breath as I shut the door as quietly as possible, but he hears it anyway. The hulking shape dwarfing my couch freezes, and that horned head swivels my way. I’m unable to stop the frightened whimper that comes out of me, but this is my home, dammit. I stand my ground.
His fanged grin is slightly less terrifying than it was in the middle of the night, which is a good thing, because he turns it on me full force as if he’s happy to see me—or, hell, maybe he wants to eat me as a before-dinner snack.
“Hel-lo, Mad-dox,” he says, the syllables stilted as if he’s having trouble wrapping his tongue around them. Because he is. It registers seconds later that he just spoke in English.
My fear is momentarily overtaken by surprise. “You can speak my language?”
“Vok . . . I . . .” He pauses, his blocky brow furrowing as if he’s thinking hard. “I . . . learn.”
My eyebrows shoot up. This alien creature has been sitting in my living room teaching himself English? Why? For how long? I have so many questions.
“How? How are you learning?”
He grins again, and his wings wiggle as if he wants to flap them but can’t because it’ll wreck my apartment. Then he points to the TV mounted on the wall. “Learn . . . from . . . screen.”
“Oh . . .” I shuffle a few steps closer, still eyeing him warily. It couldn’t hurt to help him learn a few things, though, could it? I point to the TV too. “It’s called a television.”
He tests the word out. “Te-le-vizhun.”
I nod, giving him a small smile, and he visibly preens. “Or TV, for short.” I have no idea how much he’s learned so far.
He chews on his lower lip with a single fang. “Tee-vee.” Then he points again.
I nod, and he grins again. “Why? Why learn?” I ask.
“Ka takke ka . . . Mad-dox.” He frowns—a truly frightening expression on him—and shakes his head roughly. “T-talk . . . Mad-dox.”
“Oh.” The syllable came out as nothing more than a whoosh of breath. “You’re learning my language to talk to me.”
He smiles, but it wobbles a bit, and I realize I’ve said too many words too fast. But it occurs to me he must be remarkably intelligent to have already learned so much in such a short time. I creep closer, though still out of grabbing distance, and perch on the arm of the couch farthest away from him. Fine tremors still rack my body—my teeth are even chattering—from the effort of suppressing my fight or flight response.
“I’m sorry,” I say, enunciating precisely. “I will try to go slow.”
His fangs flash again, not quite as brilliantly as before. “Slo-ooh.”
As frightened as I am, something about his vulnerability is slightly . . . endearing? And I don’t know what to do with finding this creature charming, so I just ignore it, focusing instead on more practical matters. “Why are you in my home?”
J.K. Hogan is a pan/demi nerd living in North Carolina with her husband, two sons, and their pets. She’s been telling stories for as long as she can remember, beginning with writing character lists and storylines for her toys growing up. In addition to being an author, J.K. is an autist, an artist, and an activist, with a special place in her heart for Star Trek. When she isn’t writing, J.K. can be found designing book covers at Wicked Pixel Designs, creating fiber art and supplies at Earthbound Fiber Arts, watching Hurricanes Hockey and, of course, reading!
For more information, visit her Website
Social Media Links
Facebook | Bluesky | Instagram
Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for a chance to win
a $25 Amazon Gift Card
