Brief Encounters

Title: Beneath a Yankee Sky
Author: JM Snyder
Length: 17,200 words
Publisher: JMS Books
Genre: m/m historical paranormal
Rating: C+

Blurb:
Book 2 in Between States

Brance Brenneman is used to harsh conditions — the eldest son of a stern Amish preacher, Brance was bit by a werecat as a young boy, and managed to keep his secret from his family until he was old enough to leave them and their religion behind. Years later, when the nation is divided by the American Civil War, Brance finds himself enlisted in the Union army. By sheer chance, he meets Caleb Chilson, a Confederate soldier who bears his same shapeshifting burden.

Together they leave the war behind to forge a new life in the wilderness of Pennsylvania. But trappers near their camp are hunting bobcats, and they don’t much care if Brance and Caleb are only in the fur part of the time. Brance finds his peaceful existence shattered, and he has to fight to defend the life — and the bobcat, the man — he’s come to love.

Review:
Having read and enjoyed book 1 of this historical paranormal series, I was keen to read on to book 2. The story picks up a short time after the end of the previous book. Brance and Caleb are living a quiet life in the backwaters on the edge of the Blue Mountain forest. Their idyllic and private existence comes to a halt when they encounter trappers in the woods who are hunting for their valuable bobcat fur.

One of the things I found uncomfortable about the previous story were some of the scenes of shifted sex and the fact that a lot of the romance happens whilst the men are in shifted form. Unfortunately this book continued in the same vein with nearly the whole story taking place with the men as bobcats. Whilst some of the cat mannerisms were entertaining, I was still disappointed that the focus is more on the cat than the man and wished I saw them interacting more in their human form, other than having sex.

One interesting aspect of the book is that it’s taken from Brance’s point of view and therefore we get to see his feelings for Caleb and his thoughts on his change of situation from general loner to being in a relationship with another man. Towards the end of the story things get tense and I was on the edge of my seat wondering how things would work out. Brance isn’t your typical romance hero in that he’s willing to do what it takes and I liked that the end didn’t compromise that aspect of his personality.

So in the end I had generally mixed feelings about this story. The writing is good, especially the sense of freedom and love that the men feel which comes across very strongly throughout the book, and the plot and action is compelling, but I wanted less about the cats and more about the men!