Shifter Wars by A.E. Jones – Review, Guest Post & Giveaway
Shifter Wars
Mind Sweeper series – Book #3
by A.E. Jones
Release Date.: November 17, 2014
Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo
Description:
Why did the demon cross the road? Apparently to escape from Kyle McKinley. Which is more than fine with her.
The last thing she wants is to be dragged into another supernatural crisis, but the Fates have something more interesting in store for her. Since the tricky wenches love to mess with people, Kyle isn’t really surprised. And once she learns Trina, the young shifter girl whose memory she erased, is being stalked again, Kyle will do whatever it takes to protect her.
Normally a secretive group, the shifters reluctantly agree to allow Kyle and her vampire and demon teammates to investigate. Are the poachers who kidnapped Trina back for revenge? But when other shifters are also targeted, Kyle becomes convinced there is more to the attacks than vengeance. And when the violence escalates and Griffin, the enigmatic leader of the shifters, ends up in the crosshairs, the team braces for a bloodbath.
Scrambling to identify the mysterious group bent on destroying the shifters, and why, Kyle is also haunted by dreams and painful flashes from the prophesied Key of Knowledge which has taken up residence in her brain. In typical Kyle fashion, she decides to ignore it, but the more she ignores it, the more it digs its claws into her consciousness. If she can’t learn to embrace the Key and ask for help from those closest to her, she could lose her sanity before she’s able to prevent a shifter civil war.
Review:
I am seriously loving the Mind Sweeper series by A.E. Jones. Kyle is a kickass female with a boys name. Lots happened in the last book that I didn’t want to give away, so it makes this review a little tricky.
In Shifter Wars, Kyle has now moved away from her old friends, home and work colleagues. We start with her rescuing a human from Demons, then getting a new job in a casino.
For those who haven’t read the first book, or the novella, a quick recap….
Kyle is a human who has the ability the alter your memories, which comes In handy, she works with shifters, demons and vampires, this group patrols these factions and keeps the humans safe.
The action is kept at a good pace, Kyle moves back to her old world to help a family from the previous book. The shifters are worried that Trisha is being targeted again. So with the help of Jean-Luc and Misha (a demon and a vampire) they set to work finding out who wants the wolf child.
There are new characters, and all of them make this a great read. The atmosphere between her and Nicholas (her old boss) was very tense. Jason (her temporary replacement) bounce well. And the love between her, Misha and Jean-Luc was like brothers and sisters reunited.
And the feelings between Kyle and Griffin (the leader of the werewolves) had me grinning and blushing. Oh and the sub-story (Kyle is now a key) that’s really moving at a great rate.
And the ending ……. Nope, not revealing anything, but I’m already needing the next book.
Reviewed by Julie B.
Copy provided by Promoter
How to Create a Shifter Hero
A special thank you to the Reading Café for inviting me here today! I am celebrating the release of my third book in my Mind Sweeper series. This series centers around Kyle, a woman with the ability to erase memories, and her paranormal teammates whose job it is to hide their world from humans when they have seen too much.
In my third book, Shifter Wars, Kyle attempts to stop a shifter civil war. So today, in honor of this new book, I have been asked to write about how to create a shifter hero. Here goes…
Take one shifter male, add sea-green eyes and long brown hair, and make him a bit aloof. Have him be the leader of his pack and let power ooze from his pores. Make him protective of his people and willing to sacrifice himself for them. Roll it all together and let him simmer forty-five minutes and you have the perfect recipe for a shifter hero.
So what do you think? Sounds yummy, right? The shifter hero in this book is named Griffin. I introduced Griffin in book one of the series and had an inkling that he would be seen again. He is the leader of the shifter nation and works to protect his people from poachers – humans who hunt and kill shifters for their pelts. Enter Kyle and her team to help with the escalating attacks.
And it doesn’t end there (of course). Internal pack politics play an increasing role causing discord, which in shifter-speak, means bloodshed.
Why do I think Griffin is such an interesting character (if I do say so myself)? Because even though he is all kinds of sexy, he’s also noble. Throughout the story, he rolls up his sleeves and jumps into the fray. He refuses to let his people do anything that he would not do himself. How can you not love that? Oh and he can turn into a cool animal.
In some respects, the making of a shifter hero is similar to the making of any type of hero. He has to be willing to open himself up to the people around him. And he can’t be perfect. That won’t do at all. Perfect equals boring. And we don’t want to read boring. The discovery for the reader and the hero is in recognizing his flaw (and fears) and moving beyond that to change and grow and ultimately move the story along.
But an added twist to this story is the animal side of the equation. After all, for all of his intellect and self-awareness, Griffin also has a wild side. Something under the surface that he has to control or learn to work in harmony with in order to help his family and people. That’s where the wonder of supernatural comes into play. It gives a boost to the story and takes the reader into another world.
So that is how I create a shifter hero. Confident but flawed, determined but flexible, sexy but humble. Did I mention he can turn into a cool animal? I did? Well, hopefully you get the idea.
Growing up a TV junkie, award winning author AE Jones oftentimes rewrote endings of episodes in her head when she didn’t like the outcome. She immersed herself in sci-fi and soap operas. But when Buffy hit the little screen she knew her true love was paranormal. Now she spends her nights weaving stories about all variation of supernatural—their angst and their humor. After all life is about both…whether you sport fangs or not.
AE lives in Ohio with her eclectic family and friends who in no way resembles any characters in her books. Honest. Now her two cats are another story altogether.
A.E. is graciously offering an e-copy of SHIFTER WARS to ONE (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe.
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8. Giveaway runs from November 23- 27, 2014
