Book Review: The Omega Objection: The San Andreas Shifters by G. L. Carriger (Gail Carriger)

The Omega Objection: The San Andreas Shifters

by G. L. Carriger (Gail Carriger)
November 4, 2018
317 pages
A werewolf walks into a bar. Tank is working as a bouncer when he notices something odd about the sexy-as-sin bartender. He’s odorless, he’s amazingly popular with shifters, and he’s terrified.

A man without a smell. 
Isaac is trying to escape his past. He hides in San Francisco because everyone knows that there are no werewolves in the Bay Area.

Until one walks into his bar.
Can a gentle werewolf with a trampled heart show a man who’s been running scared that sometimes there are monsters worth running towards?

New York Times bestselling author Gail Carriger (writing as G. L. Carriger) brings you the next in her charming gay werewolves series. The San Andreas Shifter books stand alone and do not need to be read in any order. but if you're a stickler this book comes after Bryan & Max's story, The Sumage Solution.

Delicate Sensibilities?
This book contains M/M sexy times and horrible puns. If you get offended easily, then you probably will. San Andreas Shifter stories include blue language, dirty deeds, and outright admiration for the San Francisco Bay Area. Not for the faint of heart or mouth or tongue.

The Omega Objection is the second book in Garriger's gay paranormal romance series The San Andreas Shifters. I really enjoyed book one The Sumage Solution and was looking forward to more stories set in this world. The series is full of snarky humor, warm and fuzzies, and representation. You find all sexualities, races (human and supernatural), and genders.

I loved Issac's character. Poor guy has spent his whole life on the run and disconnected from his wolf. He is an omega (this is not a/b/o story...if you don't know what I'm talking about it don't worry) A very rare occurrence and something all werewolf packs want and even kill for. And when it comes to sex, he wants to be in charge. Tank is a "...demigod-mountain-werewolf-dream-creature..." Issac's words. He has no rank in the pack and sees himself as just a grunt. And when it comes to sex, he's a sub all the way... put the two together... hubbahubba.

There are a lot of characters to keep up with in the SA pack. But each one is fun and essential to the pack family dynamic. The story moves at a fast pace from the POVs of Issac and Tank. And as expected in a house full of shifter men it's all about the rooster (euphemism) jokes. My favorite line from Tank "Come to the dude side, we have 🐓." (insert four letter word for rooster) 

Already looking forward to Jude (pack enforcer, no one knows how old he is) and the emotionally fragile and broken Colin. Both have secretive pasts and you can bet they will collide in a spectacular way.

4 "🐺🐓+🐺🐓=🌈🎆" Sheep

SharonS

About the Author:
website-FB-twitter
Instagram-tumblr
Gail Carriger is the author of over a dozen New York Times Bestsellers, her latest is The Sumage Solution written under the pen name G. L. Carriger. Almost 20 books later and she still gets excited every time she sees her book in a bookstore or library, and she still loves Drinks with Stuff!

Series Book Review: San Andreas Shifters (The Sumage Solution #1 and Marine Biology #.5) by G. L. Carriger + giveaway

The Sumage Solution (San Andreas Shifters #1)

by G.L. Carriger (Writing as), Gail Carriger

July 18, 2017
ebook, 313 pages

by Gail Carriger LLC

Can a gentle werewolf heal the heart of a smart-mouthed mage?

NYT bestseller Gail Carriger, writing as G. L. Carriger, presents an offbeat gay romance in which a sexy werewolf with a white knight complex meets a bad boy mage with an attitude problem. Sparks (and other things) fly.

Max fails everything - magic, relationships, life. So he works for DURPS (the DMV for supernatural creatures) as a sumage, cleaning up other mages’ messes. The job sucks and he’s in no mood to cope with redneck biker werewolves. Unfortunately, there’s something oddly appealing about the huge, muscled Beta visiting his office for processing.

Bryan AKA Biff (yeah, he knows) is gay but he’s not out. There’s a good chance Max might be reason enough to leave the closet, if he can only get the man to go on a date. Everyone knows werewolves hate mages, but Bryan is determined to prove everyone wrong, even the mage in question.

Delicate Sensibilities?
This story contains M/M sexitimes and horrible puns. If you get offended easily, then you probably will. The ­­­­San Andreas Shifter stories contain blue language, dirty deeds, and outright admiration for the San Francisco Bay Area. Not for the faint of heart (mouth/tongue/etc.).

This book stands alone, but there is a prequel short story featuring Bryan’s brother, Alec, the Alpha. Want to know why the pack moved? Read Marine Biology.

Marine Biology (San Andreas Shifters 0.5)
by Gail Carriger
October 4th, 2011
43 pages
by Gail Carriger LLC
A short tale of seduction, selkies, and sushi.

Alex is a werewolf with problems – he’s unexpectedly alive, he’s quite definitely gay, and he’s been ordered into a partnership with one very flirty merman.

In this LBGTQ sweet short love story, New York Times bestselling author Gail Carriger brings her comedic voice to contemporary fiction and m/m romance. Explicit language warning but little erotic content. (11,000 words ~ 43 pages) First published in The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance 2 (2010).

WARNING
Contains confused lovelorn werewolves and very pretty ex-Goth mermen who are exclusively interested in each other. May also contain fish, Irish mafia, and a shocking lack of tea.

You can get this story for free if you sign up for Carriger's newsletter.

I have never read any Gail Carriger...her previous books seemed interesting, but steampunk isn't high on my reading list. BUT she now has a gay romance urban fantasy series, San Andreas Shifters, and you could smell the burning rubber of my shoes as I came to a full stop. Then I read the blurb and this little nugget at the end:

Delicate Sensibilities?This story contains M/M sexitimes and horrible puns. If you get offended easily, then you probably will. The ­­­­San Andreas Shifter stories contain blue language, dirty deeds, and outright admiration for the San Francisco Bay Area. Not for the faint of heart (mouth/tongue/etc.).

If you aren't a mm romance lover or haven't tried one before...heed this warning! Carriger revels in the down and dirty of werewolf shifter natural tendencies. Of course, I couldn't read it fast enough...take from that what you will ;)

There is a quick and sweet (no sex) short story, Marine Biology, that introduces you to Alex (alpha of SA Shifters) and his OMFG fabulous mate Marvin. I read The Sumage Solution first and then read Marine Biology hoping for a little more info on Alex and Marvin but it doesn't give all that much. No need to read it first. After meeting Martin (a secondary character in The Sumage Solution) I want him to have a book from his POV. Love him!

Okay, The Sumage Solution...I haven't read Carriger's other books so I don't know if TSS represents her writing style or if she used it just for this series. The book is internal and external dialogue heavy. Which made for choppy reading, but not in a bad way...just different from what I'm used to. But this style does well for these very male characters. Carriger does a great job of writing horny supernatural males. This is kind of a subjective generalization, but if you've read lots of paranormal romance then you know what I'm talking about. Yeah, it's a genre stereotype, but that is why it tastes soooo good.

Carriger has created a unique world of magic for her series. But the word magic isn't used...it is called quintessence. Those who wield it are called Surges or mages. I'm not 100% clear on the mage hierarchy and the workings of quintessence or the savage power that the shifters have. In a successful attempt at no info dumps, it was hard to piece together the workings of this world. But Max is at the very bottom of it. Most of the info comes at the very end of the book. Not saying this is bad, just I would like a San Andreas Shifter's world tutorial on Gail's website...hint, hint, wink, wink. I still enjoyed the feck out of this story and world, but I hope there isn't a test.

This is getting kind of long...but it was such a reading experience! I'll just say a little about Max and Bryan. Max is about as fractured of a character as they come, figuratively and literally. And he deals with it through sarcasm and surliness. So, of course, I love him. Bryan is the beta of his homeless rag tag pack. This means he balances and brings calm to those around him. Which is in complete in contrast to his physical appearance. Betas are kind of like empaths, they know what you need before you do sometimes. When Max and Bryan meet it is instant lust. These opposites attract and it seems fate has brought them together. That's all I can say without spoiling. But I can tell you they have lots of dirty sex...I've never read about so much tongue action (is that too much info <G>).

Anyway...I really enjoyed The Sumage Solution despite some of the issues I mentioned. It is a fun fated-mates story and we've gotten an introduction to the other pack members we will probably see in future books. There are lots of other shifter and supernatural types in this world too. Marvin is a merman.

I can't show some of my favorite quotes because we are a PG-13 site, but here is one from Biff's (Bryan) POV.

Biff went to make the tea before he had to respond to whatever pointed questions Marvin intended to throw at him next.
He brought back three cups of tea without having to be asked. Peppermint for Alex, because he was a putz, seaweed for Marvin, because he was a fish, and pu'erh for himself. Because I'm a real man.

This is my long winded way of saying this book gets 4.25 "licking" sheep

SharonS

About the Author:
website-FB-twitter
Instagram-tumblr
Gail Carriger is the author of over a dozen New York Times Bestsellers, her latest is The Sumage Solution written under the pen name G. L. Carriger. Almost 20 books later and she still gets excited every time she sees her book in a bookstore or library, and she still loves Drinks with Stuff!

GIVEAWAY
my slightly used signed copy of The Sumage Solution

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Author Gail Carriger Guest Post: My First Time (Seeing My Book In The Wild)

My First Time 

(Seeing My Book In The Wild) 

By Gail Carriger 

The first time I saw my book on a shelf in a bookstore it wasn’t in person. Instead, there it was, blurred by cell phone camera inefficiency, taken by one of my Twitter followers in Minnesota. There was something very peculiar about this.

It was a week before Soulless was supposed to be released, so both she and I were taken entirely unawares and understandably confused by its presence. It turns out, bookstores can do that with certain books: shelve ’em when they get ’em. No gag order ~ as it were.

Mine was one of those books.

A small but enthusiastic following had been anticipating Soulless, and they were gratifyingly a-buzz to find it arriving early. Suddenly, the spies-I-didn’t-know-I-had went to work and began reporting in from around the country.

Soulless spotted in Indiana! In Texas! In New York! Thousands panic!

(Oh, wait, different headline.)
And then, finally, a dear friend snapped a shot if it in my home state of California.

A day or so later, I was out shopping with a couple of girlfriends, as you do. We were consuming those Vietnamese beverages with the black tapioca in them, affectionately referred to by me as “Drinks with Stuff!” (Exclamation point absolutely necessary.) This process, three shopping females plus drinkies, involves much chittering and slurping and sideways perambulations.

Thus engaged, we wandered by a Borders. (I know, right? But this is 2009.)

“Ooo,” says I, “can we go in and see if they have my book?”

And so we do. And there it was! The chittering and the slurping became more enthusiastic as a result, which attracted the attention of one of the green t-shirted staff.

“Can I help you?” says she.

“That’s my book!” I crow.

“Would you like to sign it?” says she. Crazy authors, she’s thinking.

“Really? Of course! Me? I’d love to.”

And so she disappears and returns with a whole stack for me to sign, right there: Drink with Stuff! in one hand, cheap pen in the other.

As we leave the store one of my friends keeps saying. “I can’t believe they didn’t ask you for an ID or anything.”

“Oh, of course,” says I, “because there’s a mad plague of crooks masquerading as small-time authors dashing into unsuspecting stores and demanding to sign books they haven’t written.”

“Well, fine. But it’d be pretty funny if there were.”

And with that, I leave you to ponder what is obviously an untapped criminal market.

The Sumage Solution: San Andreas Shifters #1

by G. L. Carriger

July 18, 2017

315 pages

Can a gentle werewolf heal the heart of a smart-mouthed mage?

NYT bestseller Gail Carriger, writing as G. L. Carriger, presents an offbeat gay romance in which a sexy werewolf with a white knight complex meets a bad boy mage with an attitude problem. Sparks (and other things) fly.

Max fails everything – magic, relationships, life. So he works for DURPS (the DMV for supernatural creatures) as a sumage, cleaning up other mages’ messes. The job sucks and he’s in no mood to cope with redneck biker werewolves. Unfortunately, there’s something oddly appealing about the huge, muscled Beta visiting his office for processing.

Bryan AKA Biff (yeah, he knows) is gay but he’s not out. There’s a good chance Max might be reason enough to leave the closet, if he can only get the man to go on a date. Everyone knows werewolves hate mages, but Bryan is determined to prove everyone wrong, even the mage in question.

amazon-all other buy links

About the Author:
website-FB-twitter
Instagram-tumblr
Gail Carriger is the author of over a dozen New York Times Bestsellers, her latest is The Sumage Solution written under the pen name G. L. Carriger. Almost 20 books later and she still gets excited every time she sees her book in a bookstore or library, and she still loves Drinks with Stuff!

Spotlight/Excerpt: Romancing the Inventor (Supernatural Society Novellas) by Gail Carriger

Romancing the Inventor
Series: Supernatural Society Novellas
by Gail Carriger
November 1 2016
Publisher: GAIL CARRIGER LLC
ISBN: 9781944751074
ebook 9781944751067
Genre: LBGT romance
A steampunk lesbian romance featuring a maid bent on seducing a brilliant scientist who’s too brokenhearted to notice. Or is she?

Imogene Hale is a lowly parlourmaid with a soul-crushing secret. Seeking solace, she takes work at a local hive, only to fall desperately in love with the amazing lady inventor the vampires are keeping in the potting shed. Genevieve Lefoux is heartsick, lonely, and French. With culture, class, and the lady herself set against the match, can Imogene and her duster overcome all odds and win Genevieve’s heart, or will the vampires suck both of them dry?

Look for surprise appearances from popular Parasolverse characters and the occasional strategic application of cognac.

amazon

other formats

Imogene knocked, several times, getting progressively louder. There was a considerable racket coming from the other side of the door, and whoever was inside couldn’t possibly have heard her. So, she pushed it open herself, balancing the tray on one hip.

Inside, the shed seemed bigger than Imogene initially thought. And louder, full of hisses and bangs and the scent of hot oil and smoke. It was lined with shelves that were stuffed to bursting. There were stacks of engines and engine parts, some of which seemed to be moving. The air was thick with steam and smoke. There were coils and tubes, bottles of odd-colored liquids and any number of tools, some quite rude-looking. That one looks like a… never mind. Every available surface was littered with curiosities; larger implements were propped up against walls or hanging from the ceiling. A coil of glass tubing snaked around the crown molding, filled with a bubbling orange gas that lit the interior with an eerie artificial glow. Perched in one corner, like some sort of ship’s figurehead, was an oddly sinister wicker chicken. It frowned down upon her with an air of chubby disdain.

Imogene wasn’t sure she liked being judged by a chicken.

The only focal point in the chaos was a desk in the far corner, strewn with stacks of papers which turned out (to Imogene’s delight) to be sketches and annotated schematics (rather than lines of incomprehensible script). Concepts for more machines! She would have loved to page through them, but her hands were full, and that would certainly be considered prying.

Next to the desk was a massive piece of flat river slate, mounted on the wall; someone was using it to make calculations with chalk. Imogene might not have her letters, but she could read numbers and do complex sums. Or she’d thought they were complex, multiplication and division and all sorts that left her ma in awe and the littles confused. But the sums written on that slate also included letters, making them more mysterious and more intriguing than anything she’d ever seen before.

Imogene was studying it with her head cocked, holding the tea, and wondering where to put the tray, when a figure emerged out of the chaos.

A slender man straightened up from where he’d been crouched under one of the larger contraptions. He wore protective goggles, some kind of helmet, and large leather gloves. Good thing too, for sparks were flying from a heating tube he held in one hand. An arc of blue shot up from beneath his ministrations, casting purple sparks everywhere.

Imogene nearly dropped the tea tray.

The man swore loudly, either because of the sparks or because one cuff was on fire. He slapped at his sleeve absently, so it wasn’t that.

Finally, the man put down the tube, muttering in a slippery sort of foreign language.

Imogene took the momentary lull as an opportunity to say, “Sir? I’ve brought your tea.”

The man jumped and dropped the tube, which began hissing. He cursed roundly, then jerked back as an arc of purple flew up to the ceiling.

He whirled, charging at Imogene in a sudden sprint. He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her (still balancing the tray) behind a large metal something that, if pressed, Imogene would have called a fish tank.

Behind them came a loud bang and an even louder crash.

The man yanked off his goggles and helmet in a smooth movement and cast them carelessly to one side. This revealed a sweet pixie face framed by short, dark, wavy hair.

“What on earth do you think you’re doing?”

Imogene could only stare.

He, as it turned out, was a she.

About the Author:

website-FB-twitter

Instagram-tumblr

Gail Carriger writes steampunk comedies of manners mixed with paranormal romance. Her books include the Parasol Protectorate, Custard Protocol, Supernatural Society, and Delightfully Deadly series for adults, and the Finishing School series for young adults. She is published in many languages and has over a dozen NYT bestsellers via seven different lists (#1 in Manga). She was once an archaeologist and is overly fond of shoes, octopuses, and tea.

Book Review: Poison or Protect: A Delightfully Deadly Novella by Gail Carriger

Poison or Protect: A Delightfully Deadly Novella
by Gail Carriger
June 21, 2016
ebook, 147 pages

ASIN: B01GBJM326

ISBN: 978-1944751043
Can one gentle Highland soldier woo Victorian London’s most scandalous lady assassin, or will they both be destroyed in the attempt?

New York Times bestselling author Gail Carriger presents a stand-alone romance novella set in her popular steampunk universe full of manners, spies, and dainty sandwiches.

Lady Preshea Villentia, the Mourning Star, has four dead husbands and a nasty reputation. Fortunately, she looks fabulous in black. What society doesn’t know is that all her husbands were marked for death by Preshea’s employer. And Preshea has one final assignment.

It was supposed to be easy, a house party with minimal bloodshed. Preshea hadn’t anticipated Captain Gavin Ruthven – massive, Scottish, quietly irresistible, and… working for the enemy. In a battle of wits, Preshea may risk her own heart – a terrifying prospect, as she never knew she had one.

Buy Poison or Protect today to find out whether it’s heartbreak or haggis at this high tea.

Warning: Contains men pleasing women, and ladies who know what they want and ask for it, sometimes in detail. May also contain plaid, appearances from favorite characters, and the strategic application of leather gloves.

Lady Preshea Villentia is also known as the Mourning Star, due to the deaths of her four husbands and her nasty reputation. For she is an assassin. Her husbands had been marked for death by her employer. And she is summoned to the vampire Lord Akeldama (same vampire in her Parasol Protectorate series.) to his home, charged to protect Duke Snodgrove who had hired her to break up his youngest daughter, Violet from a foolish romance with Jackson, a friend of Scottish Captain Gavin Ruthven. Gavin too had been charged with guarding the duke and at first, he thought it was Preshea who was the assassin, but then he learns she too is there to protect the duke. Besides trying to find the enemy, Preshea and Gavin find themselves becoming interested in each other. In fact, Gavin realizes he is falling in love with her. Now the problem gets more complicated, will he be able to woo her with gentle persistence?

An enjoyable novella, I look forward to more from Gail Carriger. If you enjoy alternate historical fantasy with steampunk and erotic romance added, you will enjoy this story. I knows I did.

I gave Poison or Protect: A Delightfully Deadly Novella 5 sheep.

Pamela Kinney

About the Author:
website-FB-twitter

Instagram-tumblr

Gail Carriger writes steampunk comedies of manners mixed with urban fantasy. Her books include theParasol Protectorate and Custard Protocol series for adults, and the Finishing School series for young adults. She is published in 18 different languages and has 13 NYT bestsellers via 7 different lists (including #1 in Manga). She was once an archaeologist and is overly fond of shoes, octopuses, and tea. www.gailcarriger.com

Sheep Review: Soulless: Manga Vol 1 by Gail Carriger

Soulless: The Manga, Vol. 1 (The Parasol Protectorate Manga#1)

By: Gail Carriger (Author), Rem (Illustrator)

Paperback, 224 pages

Published March 1st 2012 by Yen Press

ISBN: 031618201X (ISBN13: 9780316182010)

Synopsis: The life of a spinster in Victorian London isn't an easy one on the best days, but such a life becomes infinitely more complicated when said spinster is "soulless"-a preternatural bridging the gap between the natural and supernatural worlds. Miss Alexia Tarabotti has the unique distinction, and when she is assailed at a formal gathering by a rove vampire, an encounter that results in the death of the half-starved creature, her circumstances become exponentially more complicated indeed!

Now caught up in an intrigue with life or death stakes, Alexia must rely on all her talents to out match the forces conspiring against her, but it may be the man who has caught her eye- Lord Conall Maccon- and their budding flirtation that truly drives her to her wit's end!

I have to say that when I first heard that this book series was going to be turned into a manga I had some very mixed feelings. Although thrilled that there was going to be a "visual" version of the book, I was worried that it was being done by an English team and no one on the team who is known for their manga work. I am happy so say that I was not let down; I loved this manga and I cannot wait for the second volume to come out later this year.

If you have read the book of the same title you will have no issues knowing what is going on, there is more explanation of certain things in the novel that are sadly left out of the manga. If you have not read the book you may be confused about what a preternatural is [IE. going beyond nature:exceeding what is normal in nature (formal or literary)] or the meaning of the vampire hives.

For those not familiar with the story, Alexia is born without a soul and has this odd ability to turn supernatural beings(werewolves, vampires) back into their "human state" just by touching them. After accidentally killing a vampire, Alexia draws the attention of Lord Maccon (who happens to be an Alpha werewolf and the leader of the BUR [The Bureau of Unnatural Registry]), the Queen and a few hive leaders. None of the supernatural leaders are quite sure where this rouge vampire came from or who his maker is. Alexia takes it upon herself to investigate what is going on and who is behind it, much to the dismay of Lord Maccon. In Lord Maccon’s eyes Alexia is more of a hindrance than a help, the fact that he has some very strong feelings for her doesn’t help the overall situation either.

Alexia and Lord Conall find out that there is a group of scientist who are behind the rouge vampire that are showing up, as well as the mysterious disappearances of known vampires. During the investigation into this secret scientific society, Alexia finds out that Connal has been kidnapped and she is thrown into a cell with Connal while he's in werewolf form. With her touch she is able to turn Connal back to human form and explain the scientists' conspiracy.

Outside of the main story line, the background romance between Alexia and Connal was silly at times, and at others they could not stand being around each other. But the romance plot is what kept me going in the book.

"Alexia decided, then and there, that Lord Conall Maccon clearly had only two modes of operation: annoyed and aroused. She wondered which one she would prefer to deal with in a regular basis. Her body joined her in that discussion and she actually managed to shock herself into continued silence."

One of my favorite scenes is when Alexia and Connal are alone discussing a gentleman friend of Alexia’s and Connal was telling her how he felt about it and her, to the point of pulling Alexia on his lap and kissing her. Alexia’s family walks in on them and Mrs. Tarabottis's reaction to this is classic “ Strict Victorian Mother”demanding that they get married right away since they were caught canoodling!

I will strongly suggest getting this for your collection, the art style is amazing, it strongly highlights the Victorian fashion of the times, and the odd hats are even added. My biggest compliment is that the females in this have CURVES!!!! Rem made the woman look like real women, not the thin stickish figures that some other mangas have.

The second manga, Changeless, is due out by the end of the year.

4.5/5

DD