Title: Thicker Than Water
Series: N/A
Author: Becca Seymour
Publisher: Rainbow Tree Publishing
Release Date: March 14, 2020
Heat Level: 3/5 – some sex
Pairing: M/M
Length: 211 pages
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Shifters, Crime-Fighting, Law Enforcement
Synopsis:
Outcast operative in the Supernatural Investigation & Crime Bureau (SICB) Callen Blackheath finds himself doing what he does best: defying orders and giving his boss a headache in the thick of an operation he shouldn’t be in. And there’s no way he’s walking away, not when the investigation has become deadly personal.
Needing to protect the only family member he has left, this wolf shifter will do whatever it takes to stop the blood farms and destroy the dangerous drugs the vampires will kill for. But he doesn’t expect Liam “Thatch” Thatcher, the head of a special task force team, to receive a bite that pulls him into the centre of Callen’s world.
Bonded by memories and blood, together they navigate the operation that has wider reaches than they could ever imagine. And when it comes to matters of the heart, Callen knows in order to win, he needs to risk it all.
My Review:
I love a good Urban Fantasy story. I also love it when a book shows life from a different perspective. Seymour is an author out of Queensland, Australia, and as you might expect, her tale is one hundred percent Australian. Instantly, all the characters had accents as they read to me from the pages of the book.
For me, as a Canadian, that’s a different perspective, one I wasn’t expecting and it was a pleasant surprise.
Callum was our lead character, a wolf shifter (not a werewolf, that’s different), and professionally was a rule-breaking cop who stumbles upon a case that is already being investigated by the SICB (Supernatural Investigation & Crime Bureau). Quickly, Callum gets seconded over to the SICB where he takes on a lead position in the investigation of a criminal organization that is using the blood of shifters to create a potent elixir for Vampires.
Callum is gruff, likable, unpredictable, and definitely swoon-worthy. Through some twists and turns, the case ends up having ex-pack and family connections which certainly adds to the tension in the book.
Thatch is our romantic interest, Callum’s boss at the SICB, and one tough-as-nails law enforcement officer.
I liked the story. There were a few things that didn’t work for me, and I had to pull myself back into the story in order to get through it. I desperately wanted more world-building, background on the shifters (there were a handful of different species), how they came about, why they were different than werewolves. There are vampires in the mix too, and play central key figures, but we never really get a good handle on them…and at one point I thought perhaps maybe I had missed a previous book? As far as I can tell this is a stand-alone. For me, I need the magic and culture behind the creature. Some may not need this. So if that’s not a prerequisite, you’ll never notice.
I’ve seen some of the other reviews talk about how the romance in this story is insta-love, and I’d have to disagree – somewhat. In shifter lore, there are a lot of stories that revolve around the ‘fated mate’ trope. Wolves in the wild can form monogamous pairs, although pack alphas will be more promiscuous, and let’s face it, evolution favors wild and rampant sex. That’s how you ensure the continuation of the species, right? So, as much as Thatch and Callum are attracted to each other and become mates straight away, it fits in with the genre, and so I can’t fault that.
The romance is steamy, although there isn’t a lot of it – which is fine – it’s not the main focus of the book.
The action is certainly well written, and Seymour has her skills well-honed here.
I had a bit of a tough time believing that a cop who has family ties to a case was still allowed to participate in the investigation of that case. Normally, the minute a case establishes close familial ties the affected law enforcement officer is removed in order to mitigate any bias. So again, if you can just go with the flow, and ignore that aspect, you’ll be fine.
Overall, I enjoyed the book but was left wanting a little more in terms of the magic and urban fantasy background.
My Rating:
Purchase Links:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iTunes
Meet the Author:
Becca Seymour lives and breathes all things book related. Usually, with at least three books being read and two WiPs being written at the same time, life is merrily hectic. She tends to do nothing by halves so happily seeks the craziness and busyness life offers.
Living on her small property in Queensland with her human family as well as her animal family of cows, chooks, and dogs, Becca appreciates the beauty of the world around her and is a believer that love truly is love.
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