People who entered the Courtyard without an invitation were just plain crazy! Wolves were big and scary and so fluffy, how could anyone resist hugging one just to feel all that fur?
Let’s talk about furry heroes. There are a million or more books about heroes who shift between a human form and some animal form. What I want to discuss here, are heroes who don’t shift – guys who are furry 24/7. There are more stories like that out there than I first thought, like those by Poppy Rhys, SJ Sanders, Jade Waltz, and others. There’s something for everybody – paranormal historical, fantasy, scifi, action, romcom-esque, and more.
The first romance I read with a hero who was permanently furry, was WILLA’S BEAST by Ruby Dixon. This may have also been my first Ruby Dixon book. I was browsing online for some sexy scifi romance, when I stumbled upon WILLA’S BEAST. Sometimes, with a “Beauty and the Beast” theme, the hero can occasionally behave as beastly to the heroine as his beastly appearance might have you assume. That was not the case here. In this story, the “beast” – Gren – is furry with fangs, but he’s initially snarly with good reason. He was basically created like a science project and then had a hard life before being kidnapped by aliens. When he arrives on the planet of Not-Hoth, he is extremely wary and can’t understand the language of his apparent captors. It’s only Willa who is empathetic and gives him the benefit of the doubt, which Gren gratefully accepts. They soon find themselves on their own, relying on each other, and unexpectedly attracted. I love this story! Gren is a great mix of fierce for his lady but also respectful and considerate. Sexy goes without saying for a Ruby Dixon book.
In Ruby Dixon’s Risdaverse stories, she has some catlike characters that she calls praxiians. WHEN SHE PURRS is, hands down, my favorite “Beauty and the Beast” themed story with a hero who most closely resembles a beast. I can’t read that story without thinking of filmmaker Jean Cocteau’s La Belle et la Bete. For me, the beast in that film version is distinctly feline. In WHEN SHE PURRS, there is a definite Shakespearean comedy vibe for when the human female, Kim, and the lovelorn Praxiian called Nassakth first get together. Being a former slave, Kim is a little unnerved when she starts getting odd things left at her home. She perceives these things to be warnings and becomes desperate to wed somebody who would serve as a protector. What she doesn’t realize is that these things are gifts and notifications of honorable intentions by Nassakth. There is just a huge cultural gap. Classic. Nassakth, like many of Ruby Dixon’s praxiians, is adorable. He tries to respect Kim’s boundaries while still trying to woo her and express his “heart-feelings”. Sigh.
Ruby Dixon’s two most recent stories featuring praxiian heroes are both set in her Risdaverse but each feature two very different heroines. WHEN SHE’S FEARLESS has Chelsea. She’s human and a slave, just as is Tabitha in WHEN SHE’S WARY. Their wildly different mindsets determine how they respond to their individual praxiian admirers. Chelsea feels lucky to finally have freedom but, having experienced some of the worst treatment, she feels fearless bordering on recklessness. She does everything with gusto and doesn’t want to waste any moment of the life she has. Tabitha, seems to experience more PTSD, and lives her life much more cautiously than Chelsea, and is more like one of the tough female characters from the Walking Dead TV shows. Jrrru accepts Tabitha for who she is and gives her the time and space she needs in order to accept his love on her terms.
For readers craving a werewolf fix, there are books like WANTON FOR THE WOLVEN KING by Kristen Strassel and MUSCLES AND MONSTERS by Ashley Bennett. WANTON FOR THE WOLVEN KING is a paranormal historical with a second chance at romance theme. It’s part of the “Monsters Ball” series, which has multiple authors contributing to the series. Phillipa and Wesley were in love and happy before he dipped out on their wedding night, never to be heard from again. She is conflicted over his disappearance and goes through a multitude of emotions. Her mother is pressuring her to move on. She never expects to meet Wesley at the Monsters Ball. She is even more surprised to find that he is the notorious Wolven King – her sworn nemesis. As much as Wesley still loves Phillipa, he is often his own worst enemy. Because he is a wolfman 24/7, he feels undeserving of Phillipa. Kristen Strassel does a great job of combining the flirtation and fun of a historical romance with the expected angst of some classic wolfman films. MUSCLES AND MONSTERS by Ashley Bennett couldn’t be more different from WANTON FOR THE WOLVEN KING – even though this hero is a Wolfman all the time as well. This story is more of a modern day romcom with a wolfy gym owner named Atlas and a curvy baker named Tegan who bump into each other. It’s an attraction at first sight. Atlas is a sweetie, but he is still a little gun shy after being burned by his controlling she-wolf ex. After getting to know Tegan better, he is drawn to her kindness and acceptance as well as her physical appearance. I like how Tegan has confidence and doesn’t obsess over her size. She sticks up for herself, as well as being fiercely protective over Atlas. Hooray! This couple is great together – adorable, amusing, and they make their spicy encounters fun rather than awkward or full of tension. I look forward to reading more books in this series.
Now we’ll enter the realm of furry yetis, trolls, and what one might refer to as Big Foot. SLIPPERY WHEN YETI by Tana Stone and MELTING THE FROST TROLL by Ella Maven are both part of the “Monster Between the Sheets: Season 2” series about people who were changed from regular humans to monsters after drinking from a mad scientist’s brew. When Scarlett finds herself lost in the woods and on the run from things that go bump in the night, she finds a furry troll protector. Victor comes off as growly, but when he was human, he could have been the sweet, strong hottie hero in any contemporary romance. Experiencing his drastic physical change has messed with his head. He remembers Scarlett from his time in their small town, and he doesn’t think he’s worthy of her in his troll form. It takes some work, but Scarlett finally convinces him that he’s all she needs. SLIPPERY WHEN YETI is a little different, but the hero experiences some of the same insecurities that the hero in MELTING THE FROST TROLL does. Elena is a Miami transplant looking to revamp her career up north. When the weather takes a downward turn, and she finds herself stranded in the snow, Flynn, the somewhat reclusive town Yeti, comes to the rescue. He takes her up to his luxurious mountain pad to warm her up. Elena has an expected moment of surprise when she initially meets Flynn, but after talking to him and getting to know the sophisticated artist underneath the Yeti outer shell, she can’t help but be attracted. This is very much a fun and flirty story of two strangers finding a soul connection and steaming things up.
SWEET GIANT is the third book in Sue Mercury’s excellent Cascade Beasts series. It’s an intriguing mix of dystopian, scifi, and fantasy romance. In this world, Earth is deteriorating from environmental damage and different factions fighting for power. In this series, the human heroines get away to the woods for some level of escape, and then unexpectedly find or are found by local (and extremely lovable) Sasquatches. Mastorr’s people are just supersized people with a shaggy layer of fur on their bodies. They have a mystical connection and deep respect for the land. They are extremely respectful of females and romantics who believe in a soulmate connection. Liv has been abused for years by a wicked man always fighting for territory and control. When she unexpectedly can achieve a measure of freedom, she also is surprised by Mastorr and a chance at true love. Mastorr is such a sweetie and so protective, but with her history, it takes Liv a little time to accept kindness and love. This series is amazing, and I highly recommend it to any fantasy or paranormal romance fans.
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