The Healing & the Dying (Tooth and Claw) [Kindle Edition]

L.A. Witt (Author)

Book Description

Doing the right thing could destroy everything…

Tooth & Claw, Book 2

Levi, Ian, and Darius escaped death-by-wolf-pack by the skin of their teeth, but they’re not out of the woods. The wolves are relentless. Help from humans? Not likely. Their only hope is a vampire commune in remote western Canada—if they make it in one piece. Even then, there’s no guarantee they’ll be offered sanctuary.

First challenge is to get there. Sunlight is deadly. Money is dwindling. Police and wolves alike are on the hunt.

Worse, Levi hasn't recovered physically or emotionally from the accident that broke several of his bones and killed his best friend. He desperately wants Ian or Darius to turn him, which would heal his wounds, speed their escape, and sever his last tie to the wolves that made his life hell.

Yet Darius hesitates, caught between his desire to help his lover, and fear that once this is all over, Levi and Ian will have no use—or desire—to keep him in the picture. And that’s assuming they all make it to the end of this alive…

Warning: Contains two vampires and a werewolf who would really like to just sit down somewhere and lick their wounds, but are too damned busy stealing cars, avoiding sunlight, eluding police, arguing, jumping off roofs, and plotting new and innovative ways to weasel past customs. Oh, and plenty of scorching hot sex between three very, very dirty boys.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“I loved the way the story twisted and turned to give each of them a chance to explore the relationship with each of the others, eventually bringing them all together. I am eagerly awaiting the next installment!”
—Joyfully Jay on The Given & the Taken

“The Distance Between Us packs an emotional wallop that is perfectly balanced with blazing hot sex. Ethan, Rhett, and Kieran will linger in your hearts and thoughts long after the last page is turned.”
—Whipped Cream Erotic Romance Reviews

“Witt's writing style is friendly and as captivating as the characters she creates. I highly recommend this novel, and l look forward to more from this amazing author.”
—Happily Ever After Reviews on Nine-Tenths of the Law

Book Description

Tooth and Claw, Book 2
Levi, Ian, and Darius escaped death-by-wolf-pack by the skin of their teeth, but they’re not out of the woods. Their only hope is a vampire commune in remote western Canada—but Levi’s wounds are slowing them down. He desperately wants Darius to turn him, but Darius hesitates, caught between his desire to help his lover, and fear that once this is all over, Levi and Ian will have no use—or desire—to keep him in the picture. That’s assuming they even make it out of this alive…

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 530 KB
• Print Length: 272 pages
• Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd. (July 17, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B007W494U4
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #76,181 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Had some issues, but overall pretty good August 23, 2012

By T. Gray

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

3.5-4 stars. The Healing and the Dying is a paranormal/shifter ménage action thriller romance and the sequel to the Given and the Taken. And you should read the first book before hitting this because I think events in the book, the characters, their relationships, and the overall world they live in will make way more sense.

Witt's series is set in an alternative now where vampires and werewolves both exist and are known about. For some reason (which I don't think is totally explained), wolves are way more accepted in this world and have way more power, partially because so many of them work in law enforcement and such. Vampires are exotic and sexualized by humans, but seem to get the shaft in general and there doesn't seem to be "human rights" laws between the species to really protect them.

(I'm not going to go on about world-building too much since for the few shifter/paranormal/vampire books that I've read, I usually just "go with the flow" and don't question too much unless something is really jarring me out of the story. This might mean that I'm over-forgiving compared to other readers. For the most part, I could go with the flow on Witt's world here.)

This sequel follows the continuing flight of Levi, Darius, and Ian as they escape further into Canada, trying to elude the Levi's wolf pack and the authorities in general. Levi is still severely injured from the events that ended book 1, and the three struggle to find a safe haven while also debating whether to ease Levi's current pain by converting him to a vampire, a shift that would heal him faster, but permanently change him physically.

I'm not a huge ménage fan, partially because I'm so damn lazy and it sounds like a lot of work to maintain all those relationships equally, but I think Witt handles it well and allows the reader to care about everyone involved. In the first book, she did a good job of building an understandable progression of how the three get together and learn how to depend upon and love each other, and the sequel continues that development, but this time with the added "third wheel" conflict as Darius wonders if he will be abandoned once they're in the clear, and Levi angsts about whether his injuries will endanger the other two.

Another thing that I liked is how Witt reinforces connections. In the first book, Ian and Levi had a deep connection with their "mate bond" which near the end of the book had to be severed to protect Ian from the enclosing wolf pack tracking them. Back to the "third wheel" conflict, Levi then felt disconnected from Darius and Ian since the other two shared a bond built on vampire conversion, a connection that allows them to feel and track each other's heartbeats. In this book, Witt reinforces the connections tying the three together, and I appreciate how she is continually interlocking them, one to one, two to one, three together. It's those deepening connections and relationships that is probably my favorite part of the series.

The parts that I wasn't crazy about:

The angst over whether to convert Levi felt like a third of the book, and that's one of my main quips about this series in general is that the characters over-angst a lot. Admittedly, there is a lot of guilt flying around, and these boys feel really bad about themselves and some of their past choices, which is fine for character growth and development, but at times the angst and mental hand-wringing felt very repetitive and slowed the pace down. (You might have cut a 100 pages from book 1 if you trimmed down the angst and debating about what to do.)

A lot of the book is fleeing, which at times felt slow and repetitive also. With that said, two BIG character events happen that changes things, and is probably shifting the story to the final arc (if this is a trilogy) so this isn't a book to skip either. I do think it could have been trimmed down to be a tighter installment, because realistically, not a ton happens to these boys outside of the two big character events.

For those who are stressed out readers like me, there isn't a terrible cliffhanger at the end, and you can qualify it as HFN. My guess is that the events in this volume might be shifting everything to a new understanding about wolves, vampires, (and humans.)

Even though I had some issues with both these books, I'm still on board for book 3 since I do like the characters, I appreciate how much they care about each other, and I'm interested to see where Witt takes things from here.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Healing and the Dying July 17, 2012

By Judie Babie

Format:Kindle Edition

I loved this book from beginning to the end! I read this in one sitting because I'm a L.A.Witt die hard fan and I knew this book was going to be off the charts! There is Running, Hiding, Being chased and a Hunk a Hunk of burning love between these three Hot guys! In this book, without giving anything away, they all have to come together and trust each other, no one leaves the other behind. They have to fight through their jealousy of thinking one wants the other. I was on the edge of my seat the entire read. L.A. puts you in the car so you can drive along with them! I recommend this book and I'm waiting for the next one!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars " The Healing and the Dying invites readers to a compelling, entertaining story." February 15, 2013

By M. Nix

Format:Kindle Edition

No question Levi, Ian and Darius are in a bad way. They're running from the wolf clans and the humans simply don't want to get involved. A vampire commune in the far reaches of Canada is the only answer for a place to seek refuge.

Money is getting short, Ian and Darius will need to feed soon and then there's Levi, badly injured from their last run in with the packs. Disenchanted with the customs and traditions he once thought sacred, Levi is begging Darius or Ian to convert him to a vampire. Adamantly refusing because both wish they'd never been changed and more importantly converting a wolf to a vampire is extremely dangerous. It could kill Levi. If the vampire commune won't help them after their heartbreaking trek across Canada, who will?

It's a roller coaster ride cross country for an injured wolf shifter and a pair of vampires as they fight for the right to exist in The Healing and the Dying. Their journey is an emotion filled drama where a split second decision could mean life of death. Intense and suspenseful readers watch with bated breath as Levi, Darius, and Ian attempt to survive against all odds. The Healing and the Dying invites readers to a compelling, entertaining story.

Lisa for Joyfully Reviewed

More About the Author

L.A. Witt is an abnormal M/M romance writer currently living in the glamorous and ultra-futuristic metropolis of Omaha, Nebraska, with her husband, two cats, and a disembodied penguin brain that communicates with her telepathically. In addition to writing smut and disturbing the locals, L.A. is said to be working with the US government to perfect a genetic modification that will allow humans to survive indefinitely on Corn Pops and beef jerky. This is all a cover, though, as her primary leisure activity is hunting down her arch nemesis, erotica author Lauren Gallagher, who is also said to be lurking somewhere in Omaha.