Review: Daring Fate by Megan Erickson

Daring Fate
Author: Megan Erickson
Reviewer: Jen Twimom
Rating: B

What I’m Talking About:

Reese and younger brother Jude have escaped their werewolf pack and its sadistic alpha, Xan. However, their sister remains behind, and with the threat that Xan will mate her in a month, the pressure is on Reese to save her. The problem: Dare, the alpha of the Silver Tip Were pack.

When his Pack Guard found and rescued two werewolves from the Noweres, the last thing Dare expected was to find his True Mate. But Dare embraces Reese as his mate and over time, the pair form a deeper bond beyond the sex of mating. As Reese learns more about the once-feared Silver Tip Alpha, he is torn between protecting his mate and adopted pack and rescuing his sister.

Daring Fate is the first book in Megan Erickson’s new Silver Tip Pack series. Ms. Erickson successfully introduces readers to a twist on the shifter mythology. A century ago, there was a virus that killed all of the humans and two-thirds of the Weres… but those Weres that died became Noweres, an undead version of the warrior Were form. Werewolves and Weres live in isolated packs, remaining fairly solitary and at peace with one another, as long as they leave the one another alone. What remains after the virus are three species: werewolves, who shift between human and a wolf; Weres, who shift between human, wolf, and a huge wolf/human hybrid; and Noweres, the undead monsters.

Dare and Reese are a rare True Mated couple. While Reese’s werewolf parents were True Mates and equal lovers, he wasn’t old enough to understand what the bond meant before they were killed before his eyes. Dare knows of no True Mated Weres, and neither know of a cross-species situation. This leaves both men lost, without a clue what is normal or to be expected with True Mates, and I like that both are a bit terrified of doing something wrong. I feel the story was made stronger with both Reese and Dare fully accepting and embracing the mating bond, and that the mating was done right up front, rather than a constant, reluctant pull throughout the story. They are completely sexually compatible, and as time goes on, they discover they are compatible in all important matters of the heart.

The True Mate aspect, as well as the complex shifter mythology, give the story a strong sense of a traditional paranormal romance (PNR), something I haven’t enjoyed in a while. There is lots of hot (gay) shifter sex, with the romance as the central core of the book. However, the need for Reese to rescue his sister creates a complex and emotional plotline. With the dueling first person POVs of Reese and Dare, readers experience firsthand how conflicted the situation becomes for both males. The emotions were raw and real, allowing me to connect and empathize with both men. And I appreciate how the author’s world doesn’t need explanation — it just is — when it comes to sexuality and sex. The pack is open and caring, no matter how the genders match up.

While the beginning of the tale was by no means boring as we witness Reese and Dare connect, the story really picked up after the midpoint with the rescue mission for Selena. Furthermore, several supporting characters are introduced throughout the book, creating additional bonds and prospects for future tales.

Overall, I enjoyed my introduction to the Silver Tip pack, Reese, and Dare. While the story is standard PNR, the mythology has its own uniqueness, making it interesting and exciting. Now that the author has set the world, I am interested to see how the lingering open storylines play out. I recommend Daring Fate for fans of werewolf love stories and old-fashioned PNR goodness.

My Rating: B, Liked It

About the Book:

We all have tragic backstories in today’s world.

I wake up chained to the wall of a dark cell aware of two things: I failed my sister, and I smell my enemy.

When I’m taken to meet Dare, the alpha of the Silver Tip pack, I’m sure I’m about to lose my throat. The last thing I expect is for the Alpha to recognize me as his fated mate. No way is he going to let me go now, and I still have to find a way to rescue my sister.

As I plot my escape to save her, I find that if I leave, Dare could be killed by power-hungry members of his pack. And now he’s more to me than my fated mate—my heart is involved. With time ticking by on my sister’s life, I have to make a choice I never thought I’d face—my sister’s life or my mate’s? That’s if I can survive the undead shifters intent on killing me first… 

Release Date: November 14, 2016
Publisher: self-published
Series: Silver Tip Pack #1
Genre: Paranormal Romance, LGBTQ, m/m romance
Format(s): paperback (312 pages), e-book
Book Source: Author

Purchase Info:
Amazon

Excerpt:

Footsteps sounded above and, despite Reese’s posture, I went right to him, shielding him with my body. He huffed against my chest, then settled his hands tentatively on my hips.

Noweres smelled like rotting corpses left out in the sun for five days. Even protected by the small ledge above us, the stench surrounded us, and I had to bury my nose in the crook of my arm. All around me, my pack members gasped for breath and blinked through watery eyes while trembling at the sounds of the chatter above us, the roars and growls, all which swirled to deafening levels. I couldn’t hear myself think, couldn’t do anything but press closer to Reese, whose entire body was shaking. He clung to me tighter, pressing his forehead against my chest.

By the sounds of it, the Nowere pack was large, maybe fifty to seventy-five strong, and we’d be no match for them, even if all of us shifted. My little wolf would be overpowered in a second, no matter how much I tried to protect him.

The Nowere brain had one function and that was to detect living things and consume them or turn them. They had a keen sense of smell and poor eyesight. Their frustrated grunts and stomps above, which rained dirt and stones down on our heads, told me they smelled us.

Noweres were dumb, but I wouldn’t put it past them to somehow slip off the cliff and land right on our little ledge. I wasn’t sure how long we were there, huddled together as the Noweres stomped above us. But eventually the chatter began to retreat and the footsteps lessened. I was breathing easier when a fist-sized rock crashed to the ledge floor, then four-foot claws curled over the edge of the cliff right near my head.

I held up my hand to signal silence, never taking my eyes off those claws. The panic was welling up inside me, for Reese, for my pack. For myself. I stuffed it down, calling on every bit of alpha I had in me.

A gust of air blew a cloud of dirt in front of the ledge, a Nowere exhale, which brought with it another cloud of stench, then the chattering started. I glanced at my pack, who were staring at the claws and at me, like do something.

The air heated from the Nowere body and our breaths. Fear swirled in the air like a dust cloud, and I hoped like hell it didn’t tip into panic.

The foot claws uncurled and disappeared. I held my breath for one second, two, and then in a shower of dust and rotting fur, a Nowere crashed to the cliff in front of us.

I shoved Reese back into the cave and shifted immediately to my Were form as the Nowere flailed, trying to gain its balance as it scrambled for purchase on the edge. Its teeth chattered in time with my racing heart as my bones morphed. Just as it regained its footing, I finished my shift.

The Nowere threw his head back on a roar, and we met on the ledge in a clash of claws.

About the Author:

Megan Erickson is a USA Today bestselling author of romance that sizzles. Her books have a touch of nerd, a dash of humor, and always have a happily ever after. A former journalist, she switched to fiction when she decided she likes writing her own endings better.

She lives in Pennsylvania with her very own nerdy husband and two kids. Although rather fun-sized, she’s been told she has a full-sized personality. When Megan isn’t writing, she’s either lounging with her two cats named after John Hughes characters or… thinking about writing.

Website: http://meganerickson.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authormeganerickson

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MeganErickson_

Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6879435.Megan_Erickson

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Megan-Erickson/e/B00AWD8MHS/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1454466025&sr=8-2-ent