Teddy works as a waiter, and one day confronts the leader of a large group of people who regularly come in and tip horribly. That interaction changes his life in more ways than he ever expects. I liked Teddy. He's had a habit of picking the wrong men to date, and is trying to stay away from bad boys. 

Jim is that leader; he also happens to be a coyote shifter. Jim was a little confusing for an alpha, it's clear that he is trying to not scare Teddy away, but his interactions with his fellow coyote shifters weren't always as clear as one would expect. 

The story really deals mostly with Jim trying to
keep Teddy and convincing him to date and stay with him. I enjoyed it, but found myself wanting more details about the shifters and their world. Several threads were introduced about problems within this pack, but most were not fleshed out or solved. I hope that some of these things will be addressed in another story set in this world. 

*I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book*

Hmm, so this was a big hit and miss for me. Whilst I had to force my self to continue reading and complete the book, it did lead me on to a huge paranormal binge session.

The plot was there, but didn't it really go anywhere if I am honest, it was just kinda meh. The build up was good and I was feeling it and then when it got to the crux of it all it fell flat.

While I enjoyed this story, I did feel like it was lacking some substance.  There just wasn't much to it. But that being said, it was a fun, interesting read.  I really Jim and Teddy a lot.  They were really sweet and open with each other which was really refreshing to see since it seems to be the norm in the recent M/M books I've read to have adult men act like children and create unnecessary angst and conflict. This author got it right but making sure that the MC's acted their ages and communicated.  The "secret" Jim had to keep for reasons not withstanding.  :)  
All in all, this was a good read.  It was quick, sexy, and well written.   I recommend it to everyone.

I do love me some shifter action!  I was excited to see a new shifter book by a new-to-me-author.  Especially since it was coyotes and that means a little somethin’ different, right?

Well…. Hmmm.  If you read the blurb you can tell that the basic premise is Jim “thinks” Teddy is his Mate, but his pack isn’t stable and that could be a problem.

What it doesn’t say is that there is a vague “mate pull” but it’s nothing like what you’ve seen in other books.  It also doesn’t tell you that until the 80% point we don’t even begin to CONSIDER how to tell Teddy – the human! – about being a shifter – and that the push/pull between them seems to drag on and on and on and on.

If this were a short story – heavily edited- it might work.  As it stands it felt far too long without nearly enough conflict or “problems” to resolve and the problems that are mentioned are either still present or somehow disappear without much fanfare.

I didn’t particularly like either MC nor did I feel an attraction to them.  I was even disappointed by the mating itself.  



In any case, I was kinda confused, a little bored and not very connected to this story.  I won’t say I’d never read anything by this author again, but I’d need to wait for reviews I think, first.

2.25 (rounded to 2.5) of 5 stars

I LOVED this book. It was so hot, and so romantic. I wish it hadn't ended!

The Alpha's Claim by Holley Trent is a very short read that I really liked. I really would love to see this one a series. I would love to know more about pack structure, and other members as well.
In this book we meet Jim and his mate Teddy.
Jim is the Alpha to the New York Coyote Pack. He is trying really hard to get the attention of his over work and under paid mate. I will say he does pick the most annoying way possible to get his mate's attention. Sitting in his booth area with all of the pack members, and not tipping him properly. Yeah doesn't inspire his mate to like him much. Nope he is being a pain in the tuckus but he knows it. He likes to see how far he can push before his mate says enough and calls him on it.
Teddy has had more than enough of Jim and his stingy tipping. He just wants to make enough to get by but with the tips Jim and his crew leave that is not happening. So he confronts Jim about it. I loved how brave Teddy is. Jim is much larger and scarier than he is, but he is willing to go toe to toe with him over what he perceives to be the right thing to do.
While their courtship is unusual to say the least they are really good together. They have a balance that they both need. Now will Teddy accept that Jim is a coyote shifter is the biggest question of all.
For a fast paced paranormal read that has a very happy ending I highly recommend this one. 


                                Five Shooting Stars

I wanted to like one. I did. But I was very much let down. 

The storyline is so rushed and there's no clear sense of time. The writing was okay but nothing special. I did like the initial scenes between Jim and Teddy. They kept talking about past hurts that could have blossomed into some romantic conflict, but that's it. They just played lip service to it and then moved on with one of the fastest insta-loves that I've ever seen. 

And that's even mentioning that the story does not match the summary. 
"Tension within his pack is growing, and adding a human mate to the mix could spark an uprising, with Teddy as the target." 
Where was the uprising? When was Teddy ever a target? If you reach you might be able to match a scene or two to those descriptions...if you reach. 

Definitely disappointing. Which is sad because parts of the story show some good potential. 

Thank you to Netgalley and Carina Press for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review

The review for this will be posted on Booknista.com much much closer to the release date, in April or early May. If posted too early readers will forget about the book before it releases :)

Lacking a plot this story jumps a bit too much for me; honestly, it read more like an outline than a finished story. Ultimately, nothing happened -- there was no real ending, other than the book was just over. The characters could have been likable, but the writing was just a letdown.

I'm not sure even how to review this one.  This didn't read like a story, it read more like an outline of what could be a really cool story.  There isn't a plot, you don't know any of the back story or why there are trust issues, was Teddy mated or not, why didn't he change, what the heck is up with the maid who is supposedly so lazy that Jim needs to fire her but never does, the entire story happens in like a 24 hour period.  I really wish that the author would retake a look at this and re-write it before releasing it.

I like the idea of the book but there was not enough detail. The story line just kept jumping without warning.

Can someone tell me if there is a prequel to this story? Because it makes no damn sense! Read the blurb and you'll know pretty much every detail of this book; the thing is, MOST of the book takes place in ONE day! The longest first day I've ever seen or heard of, and sadly I still didn't understand much at the end of it.

So Jim West is the alpha of the New York Coyote pack, a fearless leader who's too busy to fire the maid who despises him and doesn't do her job, although I have no clue what the hell keeps him so busy, since we didn't really get to see Jim in the role of alpha. We know people want to challenge him and he needs to keep them in check, we also know his pack needs to be defended constantly against threats (damn alien invasions, they ruin everything), that his two most trusted lieutenants were allowed to go find mates (even though no other members of the pack are trusted to find acceptable mates) and there's no word whether they will ever return or not.

Teddy works as a waiter in a pancake house and he's fed up with the measly tips he gets from Jim and his gang every single night. Against his better judgement, he confronts Jim and criticizes his lack of tipping skills in front of his pack. And then at the end of his shift Teddy goes to Jim's house where they have sex. All of a sudden there's mention of Jim knowing Teddy is his mate, and there's talk of a bite, although we don't find out if Teddy was given 'the bite' or a love bite. Jim's pack supposedly will not accept the alpha to have a male mate, especially a human one; towards the end when Teddy mistakenly discovers his mate is a beast, there's some confusion about why Teddy wasn't changed into a coyote, although we have no idea how the change takes place and how it's done.

This book is severely lacking any kinds of details; it reads more like an outline that the author didn't take the time to expand and so the ideas don't really tie together. I'm not even sure if this is part of a series or if it's supposed to be a standalone, but one thing is for sure: The Alpha's Claim is either a rocky beginning of a series, or a standalone disaster.

I thought day one would never end! Seriously, this book was ridiculously slow. I'm not lying when I say not even the first 24 hours can be read within the 61% mark. It wouldn’t be so bad if there were other situations/conflicts happening within the time period besides fooling around and sex. I know it can be done, because there are books out there that do just that.

So, if you haven’t guessed as to where I am going next, here it is: This book lacks conflict! In the blurb we are given,"He knows instantly Teddy is his mate - but the timing couldn't be worse. Tension within his pack is growing, and adding a human mate to the mix could spark an uprising, with Teddy as the target."
Not to mention, he "has successfully defended his territory from external threats for almost fifteen years," but we are really never given any concrete examples. Well, if the tension consists of his cousin not really knowing he is gay and not knowing of another alpha in his predicament. Or that two of the members of his pack mention Jim not having a mate, then I’m wowed! <----see my sarcasm there??? 

I was seriously bummed about his book. I really enjoy reading shifter books and this one sounded decent. Unfortunately, this book is all smoke and mirrors. Jim’s pack supposedly doesn't like humans but we are never told why. More like we are just suppose to take it at face value.

Then there is the chemistry between the Jim and Teddy in the beginning. To be honest, it starts out nice and hot, but then it starts wearing away at you. It loses its momentum and hotness factor. In addition, there is a mention of a bite, but it doesn’t say if it is a claiming bite; or even if one is needed to be claimed. Just that Jim left a part of him behind when he bit Teddy. The author just states that they are mated so it’s all very confusing.

Next, are the two lieutenants that Jim sends out to find mates to strengthen their pack and to help bring in new blood. He trusts these two men to make a good, non-selfish decision. Jim later makes several comments that he doesn’t know if they will come back. That there is a possibility that they will stay with their mates pack. See, it doesn’t make sense. Oh, and to confuse the reader further, Jim doesn’t make a secondary plan to replace them just in case they do not come back. Not to mention, are they even keeping in touch? Does he know what is going on at all? What kind of Alpha doesn’t keep in touch with his pack members? What kind of pack is he running?

In addition, there's the fact that Jim doesn’t seem like an Alpha. He is constantly looking towards his mom and cousin for decisions he should be making. Seriously, he needs to put on his big boy panties, look in the mirror and chant “I can do this” and act like the fucking ALPHA the blurb says he is!

Oh, and his whining about people and situations, yet Jim doesn’t do anything about it. Case in point, his maid that treats him like crap and doesn’t do her job. He does nothing about it because he is supposedly so busy. But what is he busy with because again the author doesn’t give us anything.

In conclusion, this story seriously lacks information and the story that the blurb promised. I cannot tell you how frustrated I was reading this book after the 35% mark. However, I kept reading because I had hope. Hope that the tides would change for the better. Unfortunately, it didn’t and I cannot recommend this book.