A review by Brian Holliday
2013, Vagabondage Press, Apollo Beach, FL
55 pgs., e-book, $2.99 // ASIN: B00D1YPCIC
Jacks, a New York college student, goes on a holiday trip to Montreal with friends. While there, he encounters Benoit, an unusual hermit of a man who holds a strange attraction for Jacks.
He finds himself enthralled by the mysterious stranger, who soon demands he make a decision to be with him or not at once. No going back to school or to his family and friends.
Jacks wavers, but Benoit’s demands make Jacks feel special, something his father, who hasn’t spoken to Jacks since he learned he was gay, or his mother, who only wants to pray over him, or his friends have never done.
There is a mingling of blood in the forest, and, unknowing, Jacks becomes like Benoit—a werecat.
Before long, we learn that Benoit’s jaguar form comes from his South American heritage and that Jacks’ puma alter ego is due to his Native American blood.
Benoit assures Jacks that his “gift” will guarantee him a long and happy life as Benoit’s mate, but after the pair moves on to New York City and Benoit leads Jacks in his first hunt in a midnight park, Jacks begins to doubt the decision he made in haste—too late.
Jacks fears the bloodthirsty wildness in Benoit, but even more the same feelings he’s beginning to sense in himself.
Even if he manages to escape Benoit, how can he escape what he has become?
If you’ve ever wondered what it is like to live and love as a big cat, this is the book for you.
The author offers many novel and intriguing variations on the “were-animal” theme.
Because of the story’s relative shortness, fifty-five pages and less than 20,000 words, everything, including characterization, plot points, and background, often seemed abbreviated or rushed and could easily be expanded into a longer work.
Still, the story is fast paced and definitely worth a read.
Go here to buy it.
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