Rabbit Season by Megan Derr

I was so super excited to see Rabbit Season by Megan Derr available on NetGalley.  I stumbled across Backwoods Asylum by her about a year ago on Amazon and loved it.  I was so excited to see another lovely cover about interesting shapeshifter groups.  Here's the Goodreads blurb and the cover:

Sidney has quietly loved twin brothers Brook and Colby for years, watching and pining as they came to his house for the summer every year. Painfully aware that they have each other, have no reason to notice the unremarkable duck they grew up babysitting.

Then the twins and their mother are attacked days before an important meeting that will change the shifter world forever. When the twins come to stay with Sidney's family until the attackers are caught, Sidney learns that all things have their season, and even violent protests will not keep two rabbits from the man for whom they've been patiently waiting…

Warning: Story contains incest.

I found this book to be adorable and interesting. I love that Megan Derr put so many of the attributes of the shifters' animal sides into their human sides. The duck shifters were gabby and gossipy, just like every flock of ducks I have ever seen in the wild. The rabbit shifters acted like most rabbits I've raised over the years. They were about as inhibited as any rabbit I've bred or raised over my 18 years as a rabbit breeder. I found it more... funny than creepy. But I can see that this book may not be for everyone. Please take note of the trigger warning in the blurb above. Sidney was an interesting character. He was quiet for a duck. I loved the idea of his having two mates who were so different from each other. I believe wholeheartedly that there are people in this world who are not meant for only one person. Love is love and each of us has a different place in this world. Skylar from Backwoods Asylum made an appearance which was nice. I adore him so it was great to see more of him. Megan Derr is a master at making characters seem like real people. I really enjoy her works and I can not wait to see more from her in this vein.

Click here to add Rabbit Season to your Goodreads. You can find author Megan Derr on her website, Facebook and Twitter. I give Rabbit Season 3 Fairies for a lovely story of some interesting shape shifters. I wish it had been longer!

A Touch of Mistletoe by Megan Derr, J. K. Pendragon, A. F. Henley, Talya Andor and E. E. Ottoman

It's winter time here in Ohio so it is dark super early and some days it is just too darn cold to venture outside.  I was recently sent a copy of an anthology from Less Than Three Press and editor Megan Derr.  A Touch of Mistletoe is an anthology of of LGBT romances that are Christmas themed.  This anthology is the perfect read for a blustery day.  I curled up with a cup of tea in front of the fire to read this one.  Here's the cover and the story blurbs:

Less Than Three Press presents a collection of stories about people brought together by the magic of mistletoe...

Here for You by J.K. Pendragon
Warren's life has been shrinking ever since his wife passed away. Blind, and finding it difficult to adjust to life on his own, it's easier to hide away in his house. When his friend Missy invites him to a Christmas party, an unexpected kiss with a stranger under the mistletoe leaves him confused and wondering...

The Christmas Spirit by Talya Andor
Christmas in Japan is no big deal for Ash Harmon, with his family half a world away and supernatural problems that have no respect for the holidays. When he picks up a bodyguard job for a rising star of figure skating who seems to be encountering trouble with a restless spirit, he stubbornly resists the unexpected attraction to his charge, wary of the risks that come with relationships. But the mistletoe has other ideas...

A Beautiful Thing by A.F. Henley
Sometimes, Fate gets tired of being ignored. And some nights, Fate decides something will just have to be done about it. Enter Drualus, Senior Correspondent for the Collective Assembly of Christmas Fae, working with the Night Before Reach Out Program. He's got a few short hours to change Scott Misener's outlook on life, love, and understanding. Lucky for Scott, Dru knows a tried and true trope that might just do the trick...

Ad Meliora by E.E. Ottoman
It's Christmas Eve and An-An and M.C. have plans to spend Christmas in Texas with An-An's family. But their plans are cut short when M.C. takes on a last minute case. Thankfully, though, it should be an easy exorcism.

Until they arrive at the snowbound lodge where trouble resides, and come face to face with a demon wolf unlike anything they've ever encountered.

Two Parts Mistletoe by Megan Derr
Kingston has worked hard to get where he is: owner of his own shop, master potion maker, well-respected... and lonely, too busy with life to enjoy more than his regular visits to Acacia House. If he wishes his loneliness might be eased by Hux, the man he meets at Acacia twice a month, well, someday he'll work up the nerve to ask. Maybe.

Then Hux unexpectedly visits his shop, distressed and in desperate need of help to save his employer from a love potion...

My favorite story was The Christmas Spirit.  I loved the play of Ash and Yuki.  Ash is so fascinated with Yuki and Yuki sees just what he needs in Ash.  Their story is just adorable.  So sweet and lovely.  I also really enjoyed Here For You.  Warren and Hyung are so cute as they both deal with the idea of being cared for by someone or being a caretaker.  Warren also has to face the idea of being Bisexual.  It's a great story of love through friendship, trust and respect.  Two Parts Mistletoe is an interesting story of a potion master and the guy he can't get out of his thoughts.  I loved it.  Megan Derr paints a lovely picture of a world where potions and magic are real.  Ad Meliora is epic on so many levels.  I found it to be fascinating because it is so visceral and real in the treatment of a trans character.  It dealt with demons, magic, gender identity and proper pronoun usage all in a short story that at it's heart is about one character being afraid to meet their lover's family.  What an amazing short story.  It's something really special.

You can click here to pre-order A Touch of Mistletoe on Amazon. You can also click here to add A Touch of Mistletoe on Goodreads. Author Megan Derr can be found on her website, blog, Twitter and on Tumblr.  Author J. K. Pendragon can be found on their Twitter and website.  Author E. E. Ottoman can be found on their Twitter, their blog and on Facebook.  Author Talya Andor can be found on her Twitter, her blog and on Facebook.  Author A. F. Henley can be found on their Twitter, their blog, Tumblr, and Facebook.  I give A Touch of Mistletoe 3 Fairies for a lovely anthology with a little something for everyone.

Backwoods Asylum by Megan Derr

I love when you are actually suggested a book by Amazon that sounds good! I was suggested this one after finishing another title on my Kindle so I saved it to my Wishlist and I bought it when I had some Amazon gift cards to spend. SO worth the wait!

Skylar is used to the way people think of him as frightening, mean, and dangerous. Snakes are not the most popular shifters around and the fact he grew up wild doesn't help. He knows the way he's chosen to live alone in the woods only makes things worse, but he didn't think it meant people thought him capable of killing a couple of wolf puppies.

Determined to find the real monster who left them to die, Skylar calls up the only wolf he knows, a man he always wished would see him as more than a snake …

I absolutely love Skylar! He is so sweet and adorable. I have a hard time reconciling it with his animal form: the cotton mouth or water moccasin snake.  Many people have issues with snakes and I think that's why you so rarely see snake shape shifters in books even though there are many human/snake mythological representations.  This is only the third time that I have seen a snake shape shifter in a book.  I really enjoyed it!  I wish that the story had been longer because it was that good.  I also liked that it was extremely clean for a m/m novel.  There was an allusion to sex but no description of it.  You rarely see m/m romance that focuses on the romance and not the physical.  The entire story was adorable and really just left me wanting more of Sky and Brady's story.

Click here to add Backwoods Asylum to your Goodreads.  Megan Derr can be found on her website, her blog, Tumblr, and Twitter.  I give Backwoods Asylum 4 Fairies for a sweet and romantic read that left me wanting more!