Lee Colgin – Stray | Maggie Blackbird

Today, I’m hosting author Lee Colgin’s latest release Stray, book three in the Outcast Mates series, a m/m paranormal romance. Be sure to read my review. And don’t forget to enter the King Sumo giveaway.

****

Title: Stray
Series: Outcast Mates, book #3
Author and Publisher: Lee Colgin
Genre: MM Paranormal Romance
Tropes: Grumpy/sunshine, opposites attract, age gap
Themes: Steamy, romantic
Release Date: August 25, 2022
Heat Rating: 4 flames
Length: 65 000 words/250 pages

Blurb: Leonas is a cranky panther shifter set in his ways. He handles security for an exclusive brothel and takes the safety of the staff at The Twig and Berries seriously, to the extent of sacrificing his love life for work.

When a young vampire called Jeno shows up with heart eyes and disturbing news, Leonas is taken aback. Who is this curious youth and why is he hitting on Leonas of all people? More importantly, when is he leaving? Because Leonas has no time for romance.

Though Jeno is running from a dark past, he can’t help but to stop in his tracks for Leonas. The grumpy cat shifter might be prickly on the outside, but inside? Well, Leonas is prickly there too. He needs someone like Jeno to escape the lonely trap of his own making.

Can Jeno evade the snare of Hungary’s notorious opium slingers? Will Leonas break the chains of his past? Together, they stand a chance, but suffering alone is all they’ve ever known.

Stray is a steamy MM Paranormal Romance featuring lusty incubi, greedy goblins, and mouthwatering lamb-on-a-stick. A grumpy/sunshine, age gap, opposites attract, reluctant fated mates pairing that must overcome the odds to win their forever HEA!It’s the 3rd book in the series but can be read as a standalone. It does not end on a cliffhanger.

Add on Goodreads

Buy Links – Available in Kindle Unlimited

Universal Link | Amazon US | Amazon UK

He takes the stairs two at a time in a bounding, clumsy sort of fashion unlike most vampires I’ve encountered. A wide grin stretches across his youthful face, but you never know with a vampire. He could be older than me, though for some reason I doubt it. He doesn’t just look young, he acts it too, flopping into the small room, into my space without so much as a by your leave, and dropping his pack on the little table next to me. The urge to bat it right off again strikes, but I resist.

“Wow. You must be Leonas. You’re even scarier looking than Ivaz warned. But he also said not to worry. That you would act mean but that you weren’t really mean. ‘Just a kitten,’ he said. That true? I’ve never met a panther before.”

Irritation crawls beneath my skin and settles at the back of my neck and the tip of my tongue. I’ll have a few words for Ivaz when next I see him. “And you are?”

“Jeno!” He says his name like it’s a prize rather than a basic introduction and thrusts his hand toward my center, dopey grin still intact.

I stare at it through lowered lids. No. Will not be touching him. He’s already acting too familiar for my comfort. I don’t plan to encourage it. “What’s your business here?”

His brows crumple as he withdraws his hand. “Letters.” He regains a modicum of his former exuberance. “I’m the new messenger.”

Since when do the vampires allow messengers to be this young? I study him. His tanned skin still retains human pores. His mouth, a rosy shade of pink with slight protrusions where fangs lay hidden beneath, trembles as if he’s finally realizing he stands before a true threat and not the harmless kitten Ivaz so erroneously made me out to be.

My own lips part as I take in his wide eyes, hazel jewels sparkling with questions, staring at mine as if it’s I who hold the answers. They spell me with their beauty. A rush of warmth fills my chest.

I shake myself out of it with an irritated huff. “And so? Hand over the letters, then.”

He squints. It’s cute. I hate him.

****

I’ve been really enjoying the Outcast Mate series, so when the next book came up for review, I was all for it.

In Stray, we get a new character, Jeno, a fledgling vampire, strangely left on his own, who is a messenger. If you’ve read the series, you’ll remember Leonas, the cat shifter from the Twig and Berries, who lives up to his cat-shafting characteristics, a true loner who doesn’t like the company of others…until he meets Jeno.

I must say I really liked these two. Although Leonas was quite the grouch, he had a soft interior beneath his prickles and bites. The meeting of the two, Leonas’ resistance and Jeno’s persistence was the keeper of this novel. A true opposites attract. Jeno, although hiding his dark secret and finding himself in a horrible predicament, is as positive as they come, while Leonas, also hiding secrets, is as pessimistic as they come. The two bring balance to one another’s lives which made them so perfect for each other.

But there’s more to this than romance. And drugs are the biggie here. Someone is selling opium to humans, and the addiction in the community isn’t good, and even worse, Jeno is tied to this (I won’t say how). I liked this concept of the novel because it mirrors our society today where many are falling to drug addiction, and the novel gives hope to a terrible predicament affecting the community and the Twig. What’s even worse, the person behind this nefarious activity is using fledgling vampires to do his/her dirty work.

We are even introduced to new characters. I was especially intrigued by one in particular and do hope he gets his own novel.

This is a wonderful novel of part suspense and heavy romance, a combination of the two genres streaming together to bring a love story and mystery. Well done, author.

As always, the writing is impeccable. I enjoy historical romance, and the setting is key, because it takes place in Hungary, something I’ve yet to come across in romance, and it’s great to be in this country again. The author paints wonderful visuals of the scenery, along with great dialogue.

Do yourself a favour and get a copy. You won’t be disappointed. Better yet, read the series.

****

Lee Colgin has loved vampires since she read Dracula on a hot, sunny beach at 13 years old. She lives in North Carolina with lots of dogs and her husband. No, he’s not a vampire, but she loves him anyway. Lee likes to workout so she can eat the maximum amount of cookies with her pizza. Ask her how much she can bench press.