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reviews_and_ramblings
Axel's Pup (Werewolves & Dragons Book 1) by Kim DareGay Paranormal Romance
Series: Werewolves & Dragons
Paperback: 616 pages
Publisher: Kim Dare; 1 edition (March 11, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 191008106X
ISBN-13: 978-1910081068
Amazon: Axel's Pup (Werewolves & Dragons Book 1)
Amazon Kindle: Axel's Pup (Werewolves & Dragons Book 1)
As the landlord of The Dragon’s Lair and leader of The Black Dragons Motorcycle Club, Axel Carmichael has seen it all and done it all. He’s a respected and experienced dom. Nothing shocks him any more, and nobody catches him off guard. When Bayden rides up to The Dragon’s Lair on a bike worth more than most men earn in a year, and immediately demonstrates that he has far more attitude than sense, it’s easy for Axel to write him off as a silly little rich boy who’s about to get himself killed. But, there’s more to Bayden than meets the eye. He’s no silly little boy, rich or otherwise, and werewolves aren’t easy to kill.
A little repetitive, a little slow at times but overall totally captivating. I couldn't put it down. Place and time were merely hinted at (somewhere in England, perhaps Wales?) but the worldbuilding, the Werewolf lore, was impressive. Really woke my compassion for the werewolves as a species and for the history and society of this AU reality. Characterization same as with the wordlbuilding, even better still. The characters grew impressively from being very well drawn to begin with. Enjoyable and consistent.
I really liked this story. This is a shifter story with a little BDSM thrown in and it will hold your interest until the very last page. Fans of this author are sure to love the book.
“Real submission isn’t about faking how you feel. It’s not about hiding things. It’s about offering up your every thought, your every emotion and trusting me to use them wisely. It’s one thing to pretend there’s nothing you want off me. Admitting everything you want and then accepting that I might not grant you any of it? That’s far harder.” This. This book right here epitomizes what a BDSM should be when there is a sub who doesn't know what it truly means to give his true submission because of abuse or trauma. There were so many beautiful lines in the book, that as someone in the Lifestyle, and someone who is a Dom, I kept wanting to stop and applaud or wanting to highlight them: "Subs get to state their limits. A collared sub gets to state his preferences in a lot more things than anyone else. But, when it comes down to it, a dom does what he wants without worrying about things like what some idiot considers to be subs’ work—or what his family thinks makes him look gay.” While there were editing mistakes in the book they weren't enough to completely throw me out of the story. The plot was fresh and new, a twist on the normal wolf shifter meets his mate story with the BDSM aspect thrown in. What it meant to be a true Dom and what true submission was ran throughout the entirety of this novel. There was also the gripping angst of wolf shifters being treated as second-class citizens. I could see the similarities between the way Bayden and other wolf shifters were treated and the way many minorities and even LGBTQ members are treated. This made the story even more gripping and personable. Ms. Dare's writing style made the scenes come to life, every scene was stark and real, each conversation and confrontation was almost as if it were taking place right in my home, and the sex scenes? Wow. So hot. But it was joining Bayden on his journey as he learned to trust Axe, a human, as he saw Axe as his Dom, then his Alpha, then his mate, that was the most beautiful. And it was reading Axe as he settled into his role as the Alpha of a "pack" and assumed the role of a "wolf", even though he is a human, in Bayden's eyes that was so heartwarming. And as these two characters developed fully, done amazingly well by Kim Dare it only served to make for a delightful story.
