Title: Back in His Baby’s Arms
Author: Helen Louise Caroll
Length: 17,000 words
Publisher: Amber Allure
Genre: m/m Contemporary Paranormal Romance
Rating: B-
Blurb:
Jonas Nowak thought he left his demon-fighting, witch-hunting, werewolf-past behind him nearly twenty years earlier, along with the man who betrayed his love. Now Alek Urbonas has reappeared.
Alek, also a werewolf, will do anything to protect his son and his pack, including asking his ex-lover for help. His former lover is the only one who can save his son’s life. He never stopped loving Jonas, but can he convince the other man of that in between defending themselves from demon attacks? And if they survive, one question remains—can Jonas also survive losing Alek again?
Review:
I’ve read a few stories by this author and so far most of them have been lighthearted or even comedic stories. This story is much more serious and I was interested to see how well the author would handle a different type of story.
At the beginning of the story we are introduced us to Jonas who is a Hunter werewolf. Twelve years ago his lover Alek chose to adhere to his father’s wishes and married rather than run away with Jonas. Jonas left and carved a new life for himself away from the pack and their demon hunting. Now Alek is back needing Jonas’ help to save his son.
The opening was tense and full of strong emotion from Jonas. Surprise at seeing Alek, bitterness from the past and forgotten attraction coming back to life. I was hooked very quickly by this and the action scene which follows close on behind the opening. Jonas’ back story and the world of the Hunter Werewolves is given to the reader in a way which managed to convey information without dumping too much and I read on quickly, interested to see where the story was headed.
It continued well, with Jonas’ conflicting emotions over meeting Alek’s son, and then into Alek’s head as we see his worries about his son and also the regret over his past actions. I enjoyed this section too which mixed a tentative reconcilliation with more action sequences.
The end of the story didn’t work so well for me. The action sequence seemed a little over the top and everything felt rushed. Jonas final decision felt forced to me and in a way I would have liked the end to have been stretched out more. Instead, the problems that drove them apart are forgotten or quickly dealt with and twelve years of hurt forgiven too quickly. It was still a good story, and one which I would recommend mainly for the good mix of action with tense emotional scenes, but I did find it a shame that the end spoiled a little of the good writing and characterisation which had come before.
If you like shifter paranormals then this may well be to your taste, especially as the paranormal aspect is a little different to usual shifter stories.
