Title: Strays
Author: A.J. Thomas
Release Date: September 25, 2018
Category: Paranormal - Demons
Pages: 203
Dreamspinner Press
Orphaned at a young age and raised in the foster system, Jory Smith has no idea he’s half incubus. He only knows he has the power to heal people, making himself sick in the process. Exploited by a crooked faith healer who sells his abilities and his life to the highest bidder and then left for dead, Jory flees, falling into a job at a small-town café where he can put his lifelong obsession with baking to good use.
But the minister who exploited him wants him back.
Exiled hellhound-turned–bounty hunter Malpheus Pelle has no idea why his human client wants him to track down an incubus. Jory is traumatized and afraid to touch anyone, an emotional handicap that could prove fatal for a demon who requires physical contact. Needing answers, Mal concocts a disastrous plan: pretend to date Jory to uncover the truth. Unfortunately, his plan never included dealing with an ancient demon assassin, Jory’s orgasmic pumpkin cookies, or losing his heart to the incubus he’s supposed to be hunting…
Author: A.J. Thomas
Release Date: September 25, 2018
Category: Paranormal - Demons
Pages: 203
Dreamspinner Press
Orphaned at a young age and raised in the foster system, Jory Smith has no idea he’s half incubus. He only knows he has the power to heal people, making himself sick in the process. Exploited by a crooked faith healer who sells his abilities and his life to the highest bidder and then left for dead, Jory flees, falling into a job at a small-town café where he can put his lifelong obsession with baking to good use.
But the minister who exploited him wants him back.
Exiled hellhound-turned–bounty hunter Malpheus Pelle has no idea why his human client wants him to track down an incubus. Jory is traumatized and afraid to touch anyone, an emotional handicap that could prove fatal for a demon who requires physical contact. Needing answers, Mal concocts a disastrous plan: pretend to date Jory to uncover the truth. Unfortunately, his plan never included dealing with an ancient demon assassin, Jory’s orgasmic pumpkin cookies, or losing his heart to the incubus he’s supposed to be hunting…
3 Stars
Twenty-year-old Jory Smith has escaped a life of duplicity as the assistant to a faith healer who had no qualms about leaving him to die after a session gone wrong. Living in Montana working in a small yet successful cafe, Jory is trying to figure out how to survive with very little contact. He has no real clue what he is, only that he has a gift of healing the sick.
Mal is hired to find Jory and bring him back. As a Bounty Hunter and former Hellhound, he has unique skills to track Jory down. He never expected to be so enamored with the young man. His job suddenly became harder and harder to accomplish.
Well Hell! I’m not quite sure how to rate this one because frankly, it confused the heck out of me. Part of me completely loved it, the story was interesting and Jory and Amal had me utterly intrigued. I think the first few chapters I could barely put it down. However, at about the 50% point, I started to feel overwhelmed and anxious (not in a good way).
There was just too much going on. Too many characters and I felt confused and in desperate need of a Venn Diagram. The world building was fantastic and the imagination that went into it all was amazing. In the end, though, I wanted something slightly more simplified and perhaps a smidge shorter or fast-paced.
Would I recommend this to readers? Sure, if you like these types of stories. Just be warned that it’s a lot to take in and not some super quick and easy read.
***Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by Dreamspinner Press for my reading pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.***
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