was a pretty good enemies to lovers story, but I felt like there was too much of the background that was not developed.
The worldbuilding was definitely lacking, However, I would enjoy reading more about Gus and Sam's new family in their sanctuary, .Stars
What I liked:
How animalistic they were as humans, Biting, scratching, snapping, growling, etc, Sam kept his sandpaper tongue in human form and loved milk and tuna, Gus. . MEAT and chocolate
How Sam and Gus knew they were mates, but didn't want to accept it due to being different.
But when Gus finally said the hell with it, he didn't want to be apart from Sam it was wonderful, He would do anything for his Puss,
The nicknames Puss and Puppy/Pup :
The playing! In both forms, So cute. Couldn't wipe the smile off my face,
Healing took time, There was no magic power that healed them instantly,
Theoutcasts were mates, Finding each other. Finding a place for both of them, Gus knew exactly what Sam neededto be accepted, loved, and touched,
What I didn't like:
There were a lot of times I didn't know who was saying what, I had to reread A LOT of times to figure it out,
Timeline. Seemed like a lot of time gaps, months between lunch with Sam and Pete to Afghanistan, I was without telling me how much time had passed,
Sam's "family". Sorry, but he hasbrothers and sistersthere'sincluding Sam, Onlyof them treat Sam like family and even that is questionable given Helena's talk at the cabin, Pissed me right off. Their treatment of him on the full moon was horrible,
The cats at the loft
They made lube for a reason.
It was to use.
Pete not inviting Sam to his wedding, What was the reason behind that
Overall, great story, Would have liked more background about NYC and the cats at the loft, but it was good, If theres one thing Sam knows for sure its that you can never go home again, As a feline shifter who grew up in a family of wolves, hes used to being a freak, He stays in the city and tries to get his family to visit him, but when a loved one passes away, Sam has to go back to the New Mexico desert for a last goodbye.
Gus only comes back to the pack at gathering time, once in a blue moon, Hes usually a wanderer, but hes with the pack when Sam comes home, Gus and Sam have never gotten along, but this time around Gus is surprised by the attraction he feels for this new, slinky version of his high school nemesis.
Sam and Gus may not be able to resist each other, but finding time to be together and overcome their differences might be too much for them, especially when danger lurks just around the corner, and all around the world.
Can cats and dogs live to learn together, or are Gus and Sam destined to fail,stars, rounded up bc Goodreads,
It took me a bit of time to warm up to this story, because it felt a little disjointed at the beginning, but then it sucked me right in and I ended up enjoying it quite a bit.
Sam, a feline shifter, was adopted as an orphan by a large family of wolf shifters who are part of an even larger pack.
Being a cat, he never really fit in with the wolves, even though his mother tried hard to make him feel welcome.
As soon as he could, Sam left the pack and struck out on his own,
Gus, a wolf shifter from the same pack, someone who bullied and tormented Sam when they were younger, can't quite believe it when he runs into Sam again by chance and feels a mating pull toward the cat.
Both Gus and Sam, as well as the rest of the pack, are rather animalistic even as humans, and I really liked that part of this mythology.
They growl, they snap, they bite, they play Sam thinks about tuna a lot I mean A LOT, which was funny, and Gus was enamored with mostly raw meat and sweet stuff, especially chocolate in all forms.
They both realized early on that they were mates, even if that caused friction because of their different shifter species.
Both of them eventually decide that the mating pull is more important and just go for it,
I giggled a lot, especially at the nicknames they have for each other Puss and Pup, Hard to explain unless you read this book, and then I won't have to explain, I liked how Gus instinctively realized what Sam needed, and how he was hellbent on getting his Puss everything he wanted, even if that came at a cost to himself.
There are obviously struggles, what with the family dynamics for both of them, but they stick together and make it work.
And there are some more sinister forces at work too that they have to overcome, Sorry, no spoilers here. You'll just have to read this book yourself,
I had some niggles though, I can excuse the lack of condom use bc they're shifters and thus immune to human diseases, though I would have liked to see it discussed at least.
Sam'ssiblings only one of them really stood up for him, with the others treating him more like an outcast, Even his sister Helena, though initially on his side, struck out for me eventually, I had some confusion with some of the situations at Sam's loft in NYC, which I can't discuss without giving away a plot point, unfortunately.
Overall, this was a good and engaging story once I got past the early parts, and I'm interested in checking out the next one in this series when it's available.
I received a free copy of this book from its publisher, A positive review was not promised in return,
I was given a copy of this book to read and review for Wicked Reads,
I really love BA Tortugas shifter world in this story, I love the way each shifter species informs human personality and characteristics and I really enjoyed the historic tension between species, Some shifter tropes are borrowed for this book but there are enough twists to make the story and characters feel fresh and original.
I really loved Sam, The eldest son in a wolf family, he is also a feline shifter who has never been accepted by his familys pack.
He has close relationships with two of his siblings but he has always felt like an outcast in his own family, I love the idea of a cat shifter as a professional dancer it just work, I would have loved to have seen
more of Sam as a dancer and choreographer but the focus of this story is mostly on his family and his relationships.
Gus didnt catch my imagination quite as quickly but as time passes and his attraction to Sam turns to friendship, affection and more, I grew to care for him as well.
I like the discomfort between Gus and Sam as canine and feline shifters and I enjoyed the slow realisation of something beyond attraction between these two men.
Tortuga always writes great sex scenes and this is no exception the chemistry between these two is hot,
My reservations with this story lie with the plot, This story stretches over long periods of time and space, I struggled to keep up with both elements, There also were elements of suspense and action added to the story that felt superfluous the conflict between Gus, Sam, their families and Gus pack would have been enough to build a novel around.
I really enjoyed this story and Id love to read more books set in this world, Seit Jahren lebt der Pantherwandler Sam fern von seiner Adoptivfamilie, Er vermisst sie, doch er kann nicht zurück, Als Katze war er unter den Wölfen immer ein Außenseiter und daran hat sich auch nichts geändert, Doch als sein Adoptivvater stirbt, kehrt er zurück, Und dort begegnet er auch wieder Gus, einem Wolf und dem Feind seiner Jugend, Nun, Sam und Gus sind nie gut miteinander ausgekommen, doch Sam war immer eng mit Gus jüngerem Bruder befreundet,
Sam und Gus sind wie Feuer und Wasser, Katze und Hund! Auch die vielen Jahre der Trennung scheint daran nichts geändert zu haben, doch in den wenigen Tagen des Wiedersehens bemerken sie beide eine Veränderung aneinander und auch an ihrer ambivalenten Beziehung.
Als sie sich Monate später wieder auf neutralem Boden zufällig wiedersehen, eskaliert die Situation zwischen ihnen und für einen Moment verlieren sie den Kopf und geben ihren 'unnatürlichen' Gefühlen und Sehnsüchten nach.
Doch die gemeinsame Zeit für Sam und Gus ist noch nicht gekommen und wieder trennen sich ihre Wege, Während der Trennungen versuchen sie ihre Leben wieder zu richten, doch das Band zwischen ihnen das es eigentlich nicht geben dürfte scheint stärker zu werden.
Diese Geschichte hat mich überrascht sehr sogar, Die ersten Seiten waren etwas zäh, doch die Geschichte nimmt dann sehr schnell an Fahrt auf und schafft es den Leser zu fesseln.
Gus und Sam kennen sich seit Kindertagen, kamen aber nie wirklich miteinander klar, Vielleicht fühlten sich ja ihre Tiere schon damals zu einander hingezogen, doch jeder weiss dass Katzen und Hunde sich nicht miteinander verbinden können.
Diese Theorie stellen Gus und Sam jedoch bald auf den Kopf, Die Natur macht eben was sie will, auch wenn es Politik und Kultur der verschiedenen Wandler nicht so vorsieht oder verstehen vermag.
Obwohl Sam und Gus eben ein schwieriges Verhältnis haben, zögert Sam nicht Gus aus einer sehr gefährlichen Situation zu retten und später revanchiert sich Gus, als Sam in ähnliche Schwierigkeiten gerät.
Die Geschichte wird sehr schlüssig erzählt und nach und nach lösen sich auch die Geheimnisse auf, Neue Theorien zu den Gestaltwandlern gibt es nicht, doch es ist ein Wohlfühlbuch mit viel Familie, Gefühl, Spannung und einer gesunden Mischung aus Erotik und Drama.
Sam, wie auch Gus sind Typen mit Ecken und Kanten, Sie machen es sich nicht immer leicht, aber sie sind sehr sympathisch und interessant beschrieben,
Also Bonus gibt es dann auch noch eine Kurzgeschichte, in der man mehr von ihnen und dem HEA erfährt,
Diese Rezension wurde ursprünglich für die Originalfassung geschrieben, Hierbei möchte ich jedoch ein paar Anmerkungen zur Übersetzung machen, Leider konnte die mich nicht ganz überzeugen, Die Autorin macht es den Übersetzern sicherlich nicht einfach, Auch im Original ist B, A. Tortuga meist etwas sperrig zu lesen und da verliert man schon gelegentlich den Faden, Allerdings gefiel mir die Umsetzung nicht ganz so gut, Teilweise fand ich die Wortwahl sogar etwas albern oder durch die Wortwiederholungen irgendwann auch nervig, .
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