Hi there! Today I’m bursting with excitement over another weresquirrel novella from Kate Lowell. RISE OF THE ALPHA SQUIRREL is a rollicking tale about a weresquirrel and the human he adores above all sense and hazelnuts. Well, maybe most hazelnuts. You know I loved NUTS ABOUT YOU, and this second book in the Nutty Romances series was just as charming.

Catch my review, the plush giveaway and a fun excerpt from this world…

About the book:
Nathan’s met Vince’s family, but Vince hasn’t met Nathan’s, and Nathan would like to keep it that way. Holy smoked almonds, what else do you do when you know how completely nuts your relatives are?

Why, you ease your man into it, by introducing him to normal shifters. Assuming you can find any.

But with a gossipy werehummingbird spreading the news, and a pair of young red pandas wreaking havoc with their fainting goat friends, Nathan’s about ready to climb into a pine cone and pull it in after him.

Then the local playboy weremoose hears about Vince, and Nathan has to find his inner alpha or the consequences will be worse than moldy hazelnuts.

How about a savory nibble?

“Breakfast,” Vince said and waved a hand toward the table.

It was a squirrel’s wet dream. Or it would have been, if good-enough-to-lick-all-over-then-eat Vince hadn’t been sitting on the other side of the table. Maybe he could say it was any other squirrel’s wet dream—whatever, it was the breakfast of Roman squirrel emperors.

A pile of thick, deep brown pancakes waited for him in the center of his plate. Raspberries and shaved almonds sprawled seductively over the side of the stack, glistening with sweet, sticky maple syrup. Some of the less audacious ones hid decorously beneath the edges of a heavy daub of whipped cream, but Nathan knew they were there, waiting for him to discover them. He could see them peeking diffidently out, uncertain whether they wanted to attract his attention or not.

And the best part—the most gorgeous massage therapist in the world was sitting across the table from him, watching him with eyes that were dark in more than just the usual way. He looked at Nathan like Nathan was a maple walnut ice cream with a peanut dip. Like he wanted to lick him all over and suck bits of him deep inside his mouth…

My Review:
Nathan is back, and he wants to keep Vince all to himself. He’s definitely head over tail for his sexy human, but he’s getting the vibe that Vince wants to take their relationship the next level: meeting the parents. Vince’s folks adore Nathan, and Nathan doesn’t want Vince to meet his truly crazy family.

Instead, he decides to compromise by bringing Vince out to a shifter campground to meet some friends that Nathan’s fairly sure will welcome a human in their midst. The first misstep occurs when Nathan and Vince stop in for supplies at Nathan’s friend Charlie’s store–that werehummingbird couldn’t keep a secret if his wings depended upon it.

The adventure gets more ridiculous by the moment when their campsite is invaded by red pandas, kids (the juvenile goat variety), Charlie and a rather pompous weremoose. I really dug the way these shifters were initially wary of Vince, but melted once they got to know him. It was also fun to see young shifters frolicking and running amok, unwilling to control either their shifting or their urges for food or affection. It totally charmed me that Vince was so openly accepted by the orphaned red pandas.

Like the first novella, there’s lots of sexual tension throughout. Nathan and Vince are equally smitten, but Nathan’s terrified that another shifter will be more attractive as a partner. Vince is supportive and rightfully indignant with Nathan’s fear that Vince could be wooed away. The showdown for supremacy was hysterical, and hard fought. Nathan truly is an Alpha Squirrel. There’s some sticky sexytimes at the end, and a promise for further antics to come. I’m eager to read on in this series!

Interested? You can find RISE OF THE ALPHA SQUIRREL on Goodreads, Amazon and AllRomance.

****GIVEAWAY****

Click on this Rafflecopter giveaway link for your chance to win a ruby-thrated hummingbird! (stuffed, and not a werehummingbird, either!)
Good luck and keep reading my friends!

Bonus scene from the completely fictional mind of Kate Lowell:

Appendix A: What to Buy to Disguise Your Baby as Human
Babies and young children don’t always have the strongest control over their shifts, nor can one say that they have a developed sense of when is a good time to shift, and when would be a good time to choose their human form.

But, there are clothing choices you can make which can ease the risk of discovery and severe hysterics on the part of your neighbors.

The first, and easiest, option is a simple pair of sunglasses to hide their eyes. If more coverage is desired, humans also produce a line of glasses with fake noses attached, though babies may find the hair on the underside of the nose to be either bothersome or a temptation.

In more extreme situations, or when an older child proves incapable of sufficiently controlling their appearance, a tiny costume, such as those worn during the human holiday of Halloween, will cover any errors of appearance such as fins or a tail.

Ah, the travails of shifter parenthood…

About the author:
Kate Lowell lives on the east coast of Canada, in an old farm house that has way more personality than it has any right to. During the winter, she spends her time dreading snow, cursing at snow, shoveling snow, and scheming ways to shove it down the kids’ necks. During the summer, she prays not to have snow. 🙂

Kate likes to play in ALL the sandboxes. While her main genres are paranormal and contemporary suspense, she is also interested in science fiction, fantasy and–weirdly–romantic comedy. She’s willing to pay large amounts of money to anyone who can come up with plot-bunny repellent, which she will first use on herself, then sell to LA Witt for an exorbitant price to recoup her costs.

You can contact her at katelowellbooks (at) gmail.com . If you think you’d like to try writing gay romance, come visit her critique group (Link can be found at http://katelowell.com). New members are always welcome.

You can catch up with Kate on her website, Facebook, twitter, and Goodreads.