Blog Tour: A Cowboy For Caleb by L. C. Davis (Reviews + Giveaway)

Book Title: A Cowboy for Caleb (Great Plains Shifters #1)

Author: L.C. Davis

Publisher: Self-Published

Cover Artist: Wolf Conan

Release Date: October 11

Genre/s: M/M Romance, hurt/comfort MPREG with a HEA

Length: approx. 37k words

It is a standalone story, but is the first in the Great Plains Shifters series (the same universe as The Mountain Shifters).

Blurb

Falling for his deceased twin brother’s mate was never part of Dustin’s plan.

This midwestern Alpha might be a little rough around the edges, but he lives by a few simple principles and honor is chief among them.

Nonetheless, when tragedy strikes the Meadowlands Pack, Dustin feels he has no choice but to bring his twin’s mate home to take care of him. The only problem is, Caleb isn’t anything like Dustin expected of the city omega who stole his brother’s heart and divided their family.

What starts out as trying to do the right thing soon becomes a blurry series of complicated decisions that lead Dustin further away from the path he’s always followed—and further into the arms of the one omega he was never supposed to want.

Caleb has been through the worst a mated omega could fear. He’s lost his mate and their unborn child, and now he finds himself at the mercy of an Alpha who has every reason to hate him.

Despite being twins, Dustin and Caleb’s former mate, Alec, are nothing alike. Caleb wants nothing more than to please his new Alpha and secure his position in the pack, but Dustin seems to take everything he says the wrong way.

As forbidden tensions mount between Alpha and omega, Caleb begins to fear that Dustin will start taking his developing interest the right way.

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  Excerpt

Dustin hadn’t been prepared for Caleb to take him up on his offer to stay and help him through his heat, even though he’d made it in all sincerity. He moved a bit closer, and the moment his hands made contact with Caleb’s skin, he knew he’d bitten off more than he could chew. He tried desperately to focus on the nonsensical plot of the movie, but the more he touched Caleb and the more he felt the omega’s tight muscles relax under his attention, the harder it was to think at all.

After all, some things didn’t require a whole lot of brain power. Instinct was more than enough. It was reining in those instincts that posed the real challenge.

The soft moan that passed Caleb’s lips was the thing that caved Dustin in all at once. The omega arched his back and leaned into Dustin’s touch, their pheromones mingling together in perfect harmony, as if their bodies had already decided how the night was going to go.

“That feels so good,” Caleb breathed.

“Good,” Dustin growled. He hoped Caleb would assume he was just hoarse and not angry, but knowing the Alpha’s voice was just rough with desire was probably even worse. “You’re tense.”

Caleb froze and looked over his shoulder. His eyes were dark and heavy with lust, and if there was any doubt in Dustin’s mind that the attraction he felt was a two-way street, it was gone now. Caleb turned slowly, and before Dustin could fully process what he was doing, the omega had slipped his arms around Dustin’s neck. His fingertips grazed Dustin's skin, raising goosebumps all over his flesh.

“I know this is wrong,” Caleb said, his voice soft and husky but full of guilt. He wouldn’t meet Dustin’s eyes, which was just as well. The Alpha knew once he did, all bets were off. He wouldn’t be able to keep the truth inside any longer. “But I — I’m just so tired of feeling alone,” he whispered, tears slipping down his cheeks.

“You’re not alone,” Dustin assured him, stroking Caleb’s cheek. “I know I haven’t been there for you the way I should have. I’m just so afraid of making a mistake. Of giving in to the way I feel about you, and leading us into something we’ll both regret.”

“How do you feel?” Caleb asked, finally meeting his eyes. His gaze was searching, needful.

Dustin swallowed hard. “I think you know by this point. I’m pretty bad at hiding it, but God knows I’ve tried.”

Caleb gave him a small, rueful smile. “Maybe I’ve just been afraid to see it. Afraid that you’ll realize I feel the same way.”

“You don’t,” Dustin said, coming back to himself for a split second. He hoped it was enough. “You’re in heat.”

Caleb laughed. It was a soft, regretful sound. “I wish I could blame it on that. Maybe then I could sleep at night without feeling like such a horrible person.”

“You’re not a horrible person.” Dustin’s thumb swept across Caleb’s lips. They were so soft. How had he gone this long without kissing them? Without touching him…? “You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever met.”

The omega’s lips found his. This was it. This was the point of no return. If he crossed that line, if he returned the kiss, it was all over. He could no longer lay even a technical claim to goodness if he tasted the forbidden fruit and took more off the vine, but he had never felt quite as weak—or as strong—as he did with the omega in his arms.

In the end, the satin sin of Caleb’s lips brushing against his own was just too much. Dustin took the omega into his arms and his tongue slipped in past Caleb’s parted lips, taking the reins of control the way he’d always wanted. In all his wildest dreams—and Caleb had been the subject of plenty—he had never imagined giving in to temptation could taste so sweet.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

L.C. Davis is an M/M romance author with a passion for representation. Series include The Mountain Shifters, Great Plains Shifters, Kingdom of Night and Queer Magick.

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4 Stars

When Dustin’s twin brother, Alec, is killed in a car accident, he heads to New York to collect his mate, Caleb, and bring him back home.

Caleb is devastated when he not only loses Alec, but their unborn child as well. He is broken and a shell of the man he once was, but having no other family or place to go, the Omega agrees to go home with his brother-in-law and continue to heal from the car accident.

Dustin, an Alpha, imprints on Caleb right away, but out of respect for his deceased twin, as well as to give Caleb time to heal properly, he tries to keep his distance and growing feelings for Caleb to himself. Can Caleb get past the guilt he feels for the attraction he feels and the feelings he is developing for his dead mate's twin brother?

So, my co-bloggers challenged me to read a shifter book and although it’s taken some time, I finally got the nerve to try. It’s strange because I’ve read them in MF, but never MM and I have no clue why, but I’m glad I decided to pick up A Cowboy For Caleb.

While it was heartbreaking to read of Caleb’s loss, the author does a good job with the timeline of his healing process. Caleb moving on wasn’t rushed and I didn’t feel like Alec was forgotten or that his memory intruded overwhelmingly into the story and the budding relationship between Caleb and Dustin. The story was well-balanced in this respect.

Both Caleb and Dustin were sweet and likable and they fit well together. The story was well-written and interesting. They had good chemistry and although there isn’t much, the sex was passionate and loving.

Let’s talk about Dustin’s mother. I wanted to throat punch that evil woman! She was mean and nasty and I know she makes amends in the end, but for me, it was too little and too late. I absolutely hated her. Sorry, I had to vent, now Blake, Dustin’s father seemed sweet, friendly and caring. I liked him as well as Dustin’s best friend, Xander. The secondary characters were all well developed and really added to the story nicely.

My one real issue was, even though Caleb definitely had male parts, I found his character read more like a female and in my head, I had to keep reminding myself this was a male and not a female. This was a bit disconcerting. I think part of it is because he had roles in the household and relationship that are primarily seen in female characters, not that I don’t think men can cook and clean, I also think maybe the pregnancy threw me off, I’ve never read Mpreg before, so maybe you get used to these roles the more you read them? Still, this was an enjoyable and recommendable read.

*copy provided by author/publisher in exchange for an honest review*

4.5 Stars!

This story feels a whole lot different to me compared to the Mountain Shifters series and I loved that. I’m so picky about Shifter books and I generally have high expectations. So while I enjoyed the Mountain Shifters, I didn’t love most of the books. However, this one was completely different for me. A Cowboy for Caleb explores a more romanticized idea of mating bonds and imprinting as well as relationships between Alphas and Omegas. This isn’t just some dark, erotic ABO story but an emotional story of an Alpha who unexpectedly imprints on his late brother’s mate mere days after losing him.

I loved both of the MC’s and I found the slower pace of this story a nice change from some of the fast paced, action packed and emotionally charged stories I’ve been recently reading. While Omegas are still not treated with equal respect, it wasn’t as dark and horrifying as many of the other books even this author has written. The sweetness and focus on their relationship were well written and flowed smoothly.

Frankly, my only issue with this story is something that seems to be quite consistent in books containing ABO dynamics or MPreg. I don’t like the portrayal of male characters that feel as if they are written as if they were female. It's just a personal preference, I know, but no matter how domestic, soft-spoken or submissive a male character is, whether he can get pregnant or not, I want him to still come off as a man. There were just a few too many instances in which I felt Caleb was too feminized.

Overall, though I really enjoyed this story. I adored Dustin and loved the relationship between him and Caleb. While there are a few sad moments there are some really great ones as well. I definitely recommend this story to those who love MPreg and it’s also a great introduction to the theme if you haven’t yet read MPreg.

***Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by the author/publisher for my reading pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.***

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