Customer Reviews

Feral

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4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
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Ethan has been in cougar form for the past eight years and with good reason. He witnessed the murder of his foster mother and then was tortured by the same maniac. After getting used to the solitude and staying away from other shifters, Ethan is being chased by the local werewolf pack, but there is no way Ethan will let himself be caught. In the end, Ethan does end up a prisoner of the wolf pack, but one of his captors, Bram, strikes something within Ethan that brings him back to humanity no matter if it's against his will.

Bram is at the bottom is his pack, literally, as the Omega. It's not a role he feels comfortable in, but it keeps him safe from the others. Unfortunately, it also means that he is at the beck and call of the pack Alpha who loves to make sure that Bram remembers his place. However, something in Ethan calls to Bram and makes him want to defy his Alpha - even if it means his death.

As fate brings Ethan and Bram together it is up to them to have the courage to grab what they want, but will they have the strength to keep it?

Feral is a compelling tale that travels the path from anti-social behavior due to trauma to reaching out to others, seeking the contact that grounds them to humanity. Ethan is forced to come back to his humanity by forces outside his control, but once there he discovers that there are things that make it worth being a fragile human. Bram, on the other hand, finds, through Ethan, the bravery to become more than he has been told he could be - Omega, forever subservient to others. The strange and fragile dance that Ethan and Bram engage in is beautiful to behold making for an enthralling read. However, while the relationship between Bram and Ethan was fully developed, the shifter plot felt thin and sometimes alien to the happenings between Bram and Ethan except when they overlapped by forceful plot twists. Still, Joely Skye has penned a wonderful romance that lovers of the paranormal would be remiss to pass up. Pick up Feral the next time you go shopping for an unusual story.


Sabella
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Joely Skye's shapeshifter are not the usual strong men and women of the paranormal romances, more often than not they are renegade shapeshifters, with a troubled past and with a lot of behavioral issues.

In Feral we have two example of them; Ethan is a shapeshifter cougar and one of the last of his breed. Ethan's past is not so clear, from clue here and there, we can understand that he lost his mother when he was still a child and managed to become an adult living more or less on the streets. Apparently Ethan was a cute boy and sought the help of older man, he bartered his body for a warm meal and a place where to stay; Ethan was wise even then, and he only chose nice men, who didn't treat him. At some point, it's not clear how and when, he began a relationship with a female werewolf, even her older than Ethan, a former friend of his long lost mother. Actually I didn't understand if it was a sexual relationship or not, but for sure it was a close bond, and Lila, the woman, was killed by her pack for this reason, and that same pack tortured Ethan before he managed to escape. After that traumatic experience, Ethan chose his animal side and now it's 8 years that he is prowling the woods as a cougar.

He is not bothering noone, but Doug, an Alpha male of a wolf pack has some hidden reasons (also them not quite clear), to hunt down and capture "feral" shifters. Ethan is his last prey and he manages to take him captive with the help of Bram. Bram is a werewolf of the same pack that previously tortured Ethan, but he was only a 16 years old boy back then, and an outcast himself. He doesn't agree with his Alpha's idea, but Bram is an omega inside the pack and so the last who can say something in the matter. Plus Bram is gay, and he has not a mate: the Alpha Male, Doug, uses him like a boy toy, and Bram's quite submissive nature let him doing so.

They are an odd couple these two: Ethan a lonely man for nature, who thinks at sex more like barter money than something connected to feelings, and Bram, an animal pack till his core, who sees sex like the only moment when he is allowed to feel something. It will be not simple for them to connect on a common ground, and I don't feel like Bram will overcome all his inner issues... or maybe he has nothing to overcome since being a submissive is his true nature. Anyway, Ethan doesn't want and will not take on the role of Alpha for Bram, he will only allow Bram to be his fellow companion during the path.

The story is part of a common universe, but it's not strictly connected to the other books, you can read it as a stand-alone book without problem. The author writes M/M romance in this universe with the name of Joely Skye, and het romance with the name of Jorrie Spencer. Most of the supporting characters in the book are previously appeared in other books, and so if the reader questions about them, he can probably find some answers reading the previous novels, but still I have the feeling that both Ethan than Bram's past was not fully developed or explained. Great part of Ethan and Bram's problems are legacy of their upbringing and so I wouldn't have minded to have a bit more of an insight on it.

The nice aspect of the book is that it's quite "touchy" feeling, there is a lot of nuzzling and cuddling, and hugs and comfort... it allows the reader to "feel" the characters, above all to feel their fragility.

I bought this on impulse from Amazon and was so pleased with my find. Joely Skye has a clear voice, great characterization and strong plot and world building. She introduces us to Ethan, a were cougar, running through the woods, prefering death to being recaptured by the troubled Quad pack of werewolves. Ethan is feral, he has lived as a cougar only for these past 8 years and is not in touch with his humanity at all. He meets Bram, part of the quad pack, but the omega there, and perhaps open to seduction and betrayal.

I really enjoyed this and ordered a couple of other books from Skye after reading this, I think she might be a new author for me to auto buy

Ethan is a "shifter", a human who can take the form of an animal. In Ethan's case, a cougar... a werecat. After a trauma in his life, he shifted into cougar form and is still in that form eight years later. After a long chase, he is captured by a pack of shifters in wolf form (werewolves). Bram is a werewolf. As an Omega, he's at the bottom of the hierarchy of his pack. He's totally subservient to his Alpha, a hard cruel shifter named Doug. Doug's pack took on the responsibility of capturing Ethan so he could be shipped off to a quasi-governmental agency who wishes to "study" the werecat (they have little knowledge of shifters who could take the form of cats). It was either capture Ethan, or eventually kill him, because shifters who stay in animal form for too long run the risk of becoming feral and attacking humans. Bram's initial responsibility is to form a bond with Ethan and try to restore his humanity, which will make Ethan easier to handle and less dangerous. The bond formed though is stronger to Bram than he imagined it could be, and he sacrifices all by betraying Doug and releasing Ethan, before he himself runs to civilization to escape Doug's wrath and try to find help for Ethan.

This is a gripping, exciting, and incredibly sensual tale. The pace is swift, and there's a rewarding and detailed look into the motivations and feelings of the two main characters. Characters see themselves as two people... the "human" and the "wolf" (or "cat"). With Bram, we have a very deep and rich character. As a human, his wolf pack ignores him and deems him worthless and unworthy. His only safety is the protection of the pack's Alpha (Doug), to whom he is virtually enslaved. He must obey Doug's orders, even perform sexual acts upon him, to earn this protection. As an Omega, it's also instinctual that he be subservient to other Alphas. He is not just scarred, shell-shocked, and suffering from zero self-esteem, he also has the Omega wolf instinct to prostrate to his superiors, which he unfortunately views almost everyone as.

Ethan is also a damaged person. His mother died when he was nine, and he was cared for by a close friend, a she-wolf named Lila, only to see her get butchered by the wolf pack. He was captured once and brutally tortured for a very long time before he escaped, took cougar form, and roamed the countryside for eight years. The human in him has been buried for so long, he no longer has the social skills to function in public.

The interactions between the two are gripping on several levels, and they're handled with a great amount of creativity and empathy. For example, a very early chapter details the initial capture of Ethan. Hit with a tranquilizer dart, the cat's instinctive hatred of wolves screams at him to rip them apart, but he's unable to move. Bram hugs him tightly from behind, restraining him, nuzzling him, stroking him, and petting him. Bram is reaching out to the human inside, coaxing it out. The cat fights back, but the long-repressed human craves contact and eventually wins out... shifting Ethan back to human form. Even afterward, every time he awakens from sleep (shifting to human drains you), Bram tightly embraces him from behind, holds him down, and nuzzles his neck. This keeps the human in control, and prevents the cat from resurfacing (and it's trying very hard to resurface). Concepts like this add an immense amount to this story. Besides being very a very creative and interesting concept, a large amount of empathy is generated for these characters. This empathy serves to make lovemaking scenes incredibly erotic. Be advised that the author does not shy away from describing in detail the sex scenes. This level of graphic detail can be very tricky to pull off without seeming vulgar or unreal, but with the level of empathy you feel for Bram and Ethan, the scenes are effective and charged.

I found the story to be immensely enjoyable. I found learning about the werewolves and werecats to be totally fascinating, and the emotionally- and mentally-wounded characters to be compelling. I adored Bram in particular. He was so broken by Doug, my heart opened up to him every time he stood outside a room afraid to enter. It's a hot, steamy, exciting story sure to please.

I just reread this for the second time (that's gotta say something right?) and I'm still pleased with it. I won't go into it in depth, but the writing is solid and the storyline is sensible. It can be hard to make a supernatural romance not seem cheesey, but the author really pulled it off.

The beginning started off with promise, but the middle seemed to fly off the rails, get back on track, and yet lead to an anticlimatic ending. It showed promise in many areas, but as a whole, it just didn't mesh. In the end, the overall concept was promising but the execution was subpar.

Cons (spoiler-ish):
-Why did they have to spend so much time apart?
-I don't really believe that they loved each other, even at the end.
-The hostage saw his captor as a means to an end, and I felt that he helped him after he escaped out of guilt, and yet, it still never developed into love, in my view. Mutual respect and lust maybe, but not love.

Oh well.

**Slight plot spoiler**
I've read this story twice. The first time was a little while back and I remember enjoying it, so I decided to re-read it. Now I wish I didn't. To me, it seems like Ethan is only using Bram as a means to an end until he escapes-which he does. What I find quite silly is the fact that while he is looking for Bram he falls in love with him. I mean... Ethan was just using him and he suddenly he decides he is in love with Bram while looking for him. There's no substance to it.

It's obvious just looking at the page that this isn't some literary masterpiece; it doesn't try to be. It is good light reading with a decent plot and some good erotic male on male scenes =P

This story was good, but if could have been better.

Probally my favorite thing about it is that they're two compleatly different Weres, yet they fall in love anyway. :)

I like things like that. Stories where they overcome struggles and resistance for love. :)

Ethan is a cougar shifter who, as the result of past trauma, has chosen to remain in cat form for the last eight years at the risk of abandoning his human nature and becoming feral. He is captured by the pack of wolf shifters that orchestrated that trauma, only now they're under different leadership and may or may not have his best interests at heart. Bram is the omega of this pack. He witnessed what happened to Ethan those years ago, and now it is his responsibility to calm and care for the confined werecat. Except he can't agree with his alpha that keeping Ethan captive is the right thing to do.

In the emotional weave of this pacy, page-turner tale, both protagonists are on the run, physically and emotionally. Ethan fears recapture; Bram fears retribution from his alpha. Ethan struggles with trust and grievous loss; Bram struggles with the abuse of his omega past and questions of whether 'omega-ness' is a function of personality or just a pack position. Through this brier patch, they find "mated" love.

Skye's stories tend to favour relationship-building over plot complexity. The primary relationships are tender; the plots are linear and, for the most part, predictable. Her characters are usually loners. Capture/rescue is a prominent plot device. This is certainly true for Feral. Skye writes well, with an understanding of her characters and their emotional situations. Things generally don't feel contrived. Their dialogue is satisfying and believable. They act in ways that are consonant with who they are. The sex is loving and spicy, however this isn't a sex romp with a plot loosely wrapped around it. It's about growing a relationship through a set of circumstances, and sex fits in comfortably along the way.

I became very fond of Ethan and Bram. Ethan reveals himself a caring lover, and the scene where he carefully prepares Bram for penetration is so tenderly hot. And it's nice, when push comes to shove in the critical denouement, that Bram isn't quite the roll-over guy you might expect.

The interesting shifter-verse Skye creates is set in the modern world. Her were-creatures are actual animals when they are not in human form - they can't talk, and they behave, for the most part, like animals with the capacity for human thought. They are born this way. They can't (to my knowledge) turn humans into were-creatures, it would seem their life spans aren't possessed of longevity greater than a human life span, and it doesn't take anything magical to snuff them (though shifting can heal wounds). As paranormal universes go, this non-gothic one requires less willing suspension of disbelief, and you sometimes find yourself musing that Skye's shifters could exist.

Skye doesn't go to great lengths to explain this alternative world. You might wonder how humans are carriers for shifter genes and how the whole deal works, but Skye supplies only what is necessary to the story, so explanatory exposition is at a minimum. I didn't mind this in the least, but if you require all the whys and wherefores of this world, you won't find it here.

Reviewers of Skye often comment that her stories end too abruptly. This is less true for this story - there's a nice little epilogue that ties up a loose end. But I still felt let go a little less gently than I would have liked.

Several of the characters from "Marked" make cameo appearances, and it's nice to see them briefly. It's not necessary to read Skye's werewolf stories in chronological order, because each can stand alone. But if order's important to you, start with Marked, then Feral, then Lynx. Lynx actually starts well before Marked and ends after Feral.