Wisdom's Allegiance The Shifter Chronicles Book 13
M/M Paranormal Romance
Dreamspinner Press
May 28, 2019
194
Can a loyal and sensual owl shifter couple woo a human mate who’s convinced he’s an ugly duckling?
When socially awkward Dexter Fortis rescues an elf owl blown off course by a storm, he has no idea the bird is a shifter named Orion. Or that his life is about to change.
Orion falls in love with the kind custodian, but he must convince his long-term partner, Talon, that Dexter is just who they’ve been searching for to establish a permanent ménage. Even if they can gently break down Dexter’s walls, they’ll have to contend with a dangerous cult rising in the shifter community and a hidden enemy determined to keep Dexter from them.
Reviewed by: Linda Tonis
Member of the Paranormal Romance Review Team
Dexter Fortis is a man with very low esteem, he is overweight in spite of his healthy diet and constant walking and no matter what he does he can’t lose the weight that has plagued him his whole life. There are only two people he is comfortable around his landlady Beatrice who loves him like a son and his friend Stacey who he saved from being thrown down a flight of stairs by her abusive boyfriend.
Dexter is the night custodian at a college a job that suits him perfectly since he spends his time alone. One night during a snow storm a small elf owl fell at his feet and Dexter didn’t hesitate to take the small owl into his home and care for him. He had no idea that this little owl was a shifter, both a man and an owl. Orion was instantly attracted to this sweet, caring man who was looking after him and was determined to convince his mate Talon to get Dexter to be the third in their relationship.
Orion and Talon have been together for ten years but there was always something missing, a third mate that would complete them and no matter how many times they tried they never found the right one, hopefully this time was going to prove to be the one they needed. It would not be easy since Dexter had no illusions that any man would ever fall for him but one night after taking over for another custodian he found himself in Talon’s office. Talon was aware of Dexter and of Orion’s feelings for him and although unlike Orion who falls fast and hard Talon is willing to give Dexter a chance. The only thing standing in the way is Dexter himself.
Orion is both an adorable little owl and an adorable little man who loves to cuddle and is so enthusiastic about everything that Dexter can’t seem to resist him when Orion and Talon coming knocking, so to speak. In addition to Dexter’s lack of confidence there are those out there who will do anything to keep a shifter from mating a human and that includes murder.
As Dexter becomes closer to Orion and Talon it becomes necessary to reveal to him what they are and hope he can accept the both sides of them. Unfortunately the closer they get the closer the danger gets. This was a beautiful story about a man so ashamed of himself that he can’t accept love even when it is thrown at him. It is a story of bigotry, shifters mating shifters and humans aware of shifters believing that they are all evil. There is no such thing as any species being all evil or all good but that is a story as old as time and there are those who still put labels on people different then them.
There is very explicit sex, suspense and betrayal.