Hi there! Today I’m sharing a review for a new post-apocalyptic M/M romance that features shifters of a whole new breed by Megan Erickson. DARING FATE is the first book in a series that is whoa, SMOKING hot, and totally awesome.

About the book:
We all have tragic backstories in today’s world…
I wake up chained to the wall of a dark cell aware of two things: I failed my sister, and I smell my enemy.

When I’m taken to meet Dare, the alpha of the Silver Tip pack, I’m sure I’m about to lose my throat. The last thing I expect is for the Alpha to recognize me as his fated mate. No way is he going to let me go now, and I still have to find a way to rescue my sister.

As I plot my escape to save her, I find that if I leave, Dare could be killed by power-hungry members of his pack. And now he’s more to me than my fated mate—my heart is involved. With time ticking by on my sister’s life, I have to make a choice I never thought I’d face—my sister’s life or my mate’s? That’s if I can survive the undead shifters intent on killing me first…

How about a little taste?

Dare’s eyes flashed. His fingernails were still curved into claws, his canines descended, and a dusting of fur still covered his shoulders. He looked wild and a little feral. “Shift.” His voice was garbled, and I backed up a step, dipping my head as I whined.

He took a heaving breath and the fur on his shoulders disappeared. His eyes closed and when they opened, they were nearly black. “Shift,” he ordered again.

My body obeyed.

Never in my life had anyone been able to command me to shift, but Dare could. His command was a swell of power that I couldn’t deny. My bones cracked as I shifted back to human form, then I collapsed onto my stomach and panted as I tested my limbs. My ribs weren’t even tender.

Fuck yeah, shifter power.

I rose to my feet, shaking out my arms as I lifted my head to meet Dare’s gaze.

His teeth were bared, eyes cycling between green and black like a two-toned tornado.

He moved so fast, I didn’t even see his arm, didn’t realize he was in motion until a hand wrapped around my neck and claws dug into my throat. He hauled me against him, and with my feet not touching the floor, the only thing I could do was clutch his shoulders and wrap my legs around his waist.

“Mine,” he growled against my lips.

Not gonna lie, I was fucking terrified. Dare was only half there, his Were pulsing inside his skin. I didn’t know his Were, and I hoped to hell Dare had enough power to stay human.

I shifted my hands to grip his face, my fingers digging into his scalp as I rutted against him. The mating instinct overtook all my other thoughts. So, despite my terror, I was hard as hell. “Yours,” I muttered back.

That seemed to appease the Were, because Dare’s eyes stopped flickering, finally resting on green.

His chest rumbled, and he pressed our lips together—hard, punishing, furious—before delving his tongue inside.

The kiss was possessive and all-consuming. While I’d fucked around plenty, I’d never been kissed in my life, so I didn’t know how to deal with it. My head was spinning, my body on fire, ass clenching in anticipation for being taken. I wanted it. God help me, but I wanted him to pin me down and fuck me until I broke.

I wanted to be owned.

So I kissed him back, pushing against his tongue with mine, gnashing his lips with my teeth, which only seemed to spur him on harder.

My Review:

This story is set in the future, long after the death of humanity. There are three types of people who still walk the Earth: shifter, Were and Nowere. Shifters can vary between human and wolf form, while Weres can be human, wolf or Were, a cross of the two (the mental image I got was of Lycans from Underworld). Weres are enormous, easily six and a half to seven feet tall. Weres and shifters had lived alongside humans, but an active virus outbreak killed most of the humans. When it got into the Were population, the Weres didn’t die, they became undead killing machines known as Nowere. Packs of Nowere roam the land killing whatever they come across. Shifters live in packs, as do Weres, though these populations rarely mix.

Ten years ago Reese’s family’s Whitethroat shifter pack was decimated by Nowere attack. His family fled to Xan’s Bluefoot pack to seek shelter. It wasn’t a good call. Ten years of servitude for Reese, while also defending his younger sister, Selene, and brother, Jude, from Xan’s brutality is at it’s end. His plan to get them out of the compound goes bad, however, and Reese is beaten almost dead and left out in the wild for Nowere to ravage. Jude’s desperation to save his brother is so great he turns to the nearby Silver Tip Were pack for sanctuary.

When Reese becomes conscious, he’s not only scared out of his mind–all the stories he’s heard of Weres are even more brutal than Xan’s pack–he’s dejected that Selene was left behind for Xan to take. Meeting the Were Alpha, Dare, is the most confusing experience of Reese’s life–because he recognizes instantly that Dare, all seven feet of bulging muscle of him, is his True Mate.

The sexytimes? O.M.G. Off the freaking charts. The first half of the book is pretty much a treatise on how to build a bond by never getting out of bed. And, yet, I was never tempted to skim. There’s a knock-out punch of emotion in there. Dare and Reese are compelled to each other, and their responses are dramatic. Their insecurity is interesting, and Reese is extra conflicted because he needs to escape Dare, somehow, so he can rescue Selene. Meanwhile, his, and Jude’s, welfare is dependent upon Dare’s good graces, and position as Alpha. There are dissenters, chief among them Dare’s cousin, and they aren’t impressed with their Alpha mating a wolf. Reese knows that showing any fear, or desire to leave, in front of the pack could lead to a power shift.

There are a number of complicating factors that are organic to this world, and I really dug the intricacies of the new society. While the whole first half is about Dare and Reese’s bonding, the second half is the hunt and rescue of Selene. It’s a wedge between the newly bonded mates, and quite harrowing. The world here is stark, and yet rich–within the Silver Tip pack walls, that is. These Weres are awesome, and their pack is a peaceful community, most of the time. The Nowere are horrifying, and the stakes are extreme. Just when I thought they were going to be okay? Bam! Another problem.COuldn’t turn the pages fast enough.

The stage is set for another story, but this one is wrapped up tight. Expect love, lust, lore, and luck to win the day. I can’t wait to dive back into this world.

Interested? You can find DARING FATE on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, and Kobo.

About the Author:
Megan Erickson is a USA Today bestselling author of romance that sizzles. Her books have a touch of nerd, a dash of humor, and always have a happily ever after. A former journalist, she switched to fiction when she decided she likes writing her own endings better.

She lives in Pennsylvania with her very own nerdy husband and two kids. Although rather fun-sized, she’s been told she has a full-sized personality. When Megan isn’t writing, she’s either lounging with her two cats named after John Hughes characters or… thinking about writing.

For more, visit Megan on her website, Facebook, and twitter.

Thanks for popping in, and keep reading my friends!