Mary Calmes Week Review: Change of Heart

Guest Review by Gyn

Title: Change of Heart
Author: Mary Calmes
Series: Change of Heart #1
Heroes: Jin Rayne & Logan Church
Genre: M/M Paranormal Romance
Length: 260 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: November 8, 2009
Available at: Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, All Romance eBooks & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes

Blurb: As a young gay man—and a werepanther—all Jin Rayne yearns for is a normal life. Having fled his past, he wants nothing more than to start over, but Jin’s old life doesn’t want to let him go. When his travels bring him to a new city, he crosses paths with the leader of the local were-tribe. Logan Church is a shock and an enigma, and Jin fears that Logan is both the mate he fears and the love of his life. Jin doesn’t want to go back to the old ways, and mating would irrevocably tie him to them.

But Jin is the mate Logan needs at his side to help him lead his tribe, and he won’t give Jin up so easily. It will take time and trust for Jin to discover the joy in belonging to Logan and how to love without restraint.

Review:

So it’s no secret whatsoever that I love Mary Calmes. I love her smile. I love her characters. I love every single word that spews forth from her magnificent imagination. Change of Heart was the first book I ever read by her and let me tell you, it was hook, line and sinker! Her work is unique, enthralling. It’s — To be honest there’s no word to describe it exactly. There’s simply just something about Mary.

Maybe it’s in the cover! I have passed right over a book simply because of the cover but that certainly wasn’t a problem with Change of Heart. I love the art and feel of a drawn cover and think Anne Cain did an amazing job bringing the main characters to life. I love the possessive clutch of Logan’s hands, the shading and detail, the hesitant bend of Jin’s arm and the perfect portrayal of his hair.  And, as a little extra gift of information for The Blogger Girls readers, I want to mention that Mary herself once pointed out to me this little hidden clue: with each cover in the series Jin and Logan come closer together, symbolizing the progression of their story and relationship.

If it’s not the gorgeous cover, then it must be the magnificent world and plot. The story opens with Jin and his best friend, Crane, coming to the rescue of a female panther shifter. Right away the author begins to build her paranormal world and immediately we can see that it’s going to be different from many other shifter novels.  We learn that Jin, after being exiled and nearly killed for being gay, has been on the run with Crane and avoiding other shifter tribes out of fear.  Now, that doesn’t sound terribly different from many other gay romances, but then we get that special something.  We learn that Jin is rare amongst shifters. He’s a reah; a powerful and rare panther that is either coveted or feared amongst his kind.

The brave rescue sets into motion a chain of events that eventually brings Jin to the woman’s brother and Jin’s one true mate, Logan Church. Now, hold on!  I know what you’re thinking! And this is NOT your typical insta-mate kind of story. First off, not everything is honky dory, flowers and roses as soon as their eyes meet. Jin is broken, doesn’t trust and refuses to allow the vulnerability love would bring. Logan is headstrong, possessive and dealing with his new and powerful feelings. Calmes weaves instinct, betrayal and raw animal emotions into her world so well that I never once felt like it was too easy. And top of all of that, the other thing I simply love, love, love about Change of Heart is this feeling of sacredness that’s built around the traditions, intense loyalty and structure of this world. It reminds me of gladiators or samurai or… Something.

Let’s talk characters too. There are a crap ton of characters introduced in Change of Heart. Normally, that would not be a good thing because I often can’t visualize the difference and get people confused but once again, Calmes does not disappoint. Each and every single one of the characters, from Logan’s mom Eva to Jin’s cousin Danny, is remarkable and distinguished.  And the main characters themselves? Simply amazing! Logan is one of my all-time favorite alpha males. When he orders, “Look at me,” it makes my heart jump. And Jin, he’s like chocolate. Delicious and perfect no matter what form or how many times you’ve tasted it!

And last but certainly not least, maybe it’s the little something I like to call the ‘Oh my God so scorching fucking hot my panties are melting’ factor.  No one, and I mean NO ONE, can write sizzling hot alpha sex like Mary Calmes. The build up to the first touch between Jin and Logan alone had me holding my breath. And this was at least the sixth time I’ve read it! The connection between these characters is so powerful and intense and best of all, the author doesn’t just show it to you, she draws you in and lets you experience it.

In the end, I think it’s the combination of the gorgeous cover, unique world, distinguished characters and molten heat that gives Change of Heart and Mary Calmes that extra special Something with a capital S!

Overall Impression: It was amazing!

*I purchased my own, personal copy of this book for review.*