Brief Encounters

Title: Birds of a Feather
Author: Sophia Beaumont
Length: 5,900 words (22 pdf pages)
Publisher: Torquere Press
Genre: m/m paranormal (shifters)
Rating: B-

Blurb:

Cursed to turn into a flamingo since the age of three, Eric hasn’t had the best luck with relationships. But that changes when he meets Dan. At least, he thinks it has until Dan is offered a job in another state, and asks Eric to come along. Can Dan handle the truth about Eric?

Then, there’s the new guy in town: Colin. Eric can tell right from the start that Colin’s got a full moon secret of his own. The question is, when it comes to a weremoose and a wereflamingo, can there ever really be common ground?

Review:

I think my love of unusual shifters is pretty well-known, so when I saw this little Sip I was eager to give it a go. Eric is forced to keep the secret of his shifter nature from his boyfriend of nearly a year, however Dan asks him to leave Florida and go to Denver with him for his job. Eric has to make a choice, and finally decides it’s time to reveal all to Dan, but Dan takes it much worse than he ever imagined and Eric is soon heartbroken by the rejection. However out-of-town businessman/moose-shifter Colin is there to offer support.

I like the story of how Eric became a shifter. It’s not inherited in this story, you have to be bitten, which makes me wonder what Colin was doing that close to a moose. LOL It was quite amusing as Eric describes his relationship with his family and how they all kind of pretend it’s not happening. Eric tolerates his condition with a bit of an air of annoyance. He feels awful when it’s over, but for those three nights a month he puts up with it, but is now getting tired of hiding it since he’s fallen in love, which was kind of sad. I was rather annoyed with Dan that he was such a jerk.

I know this story was written purely for fun and amusement, and on with what sounds like a bit of friendly prodding based on the acknowledgement, but one issue I found was besides revealing himself to be a flamingo, Eric feared moving to Denver because when he moved away to college he got quite ill because his flamingo needed a flock and didn’t do well alone. So if he hooks up with Colin, who is from Ontario, I hate to disappoint Eric, but we have no flamingos here, unless he’s going to hang out at the zoo. So one of his main obstacles to being with Dan, still looms if he wants to be with Colin, unless Colin plans on moving to Florida since his moose seemed to handle it okay.

Still, despite my little point there, it was fun and light-hearted and I’m always in favour of anyone writing unusual shifters, so it’s a cute little read that will leave you with a smile when it’s over.