Prey (Infected, #1)

Sep 15, 2010 Mel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Mel by: Tara

Shelves: e-book, m-m

In Andrea Speed’s world of the Infected series: a part of the population is infected by a virus, similar to AIDS, which has turned people in to various types of cat strains. The cats have viral cycles which can’t be influenced and the transformation is accompanied by pain and loss of the conscious human mind. Being infected with the cat virus is nothing romantic or fancy: it’s scary, hurts like hell, eats away a great deal of your body weight and –depending on the type of strain you have- costs...more In Andrea Speed’s world of the Infected series: a part of the population is infected by a virus, similar to AIDS, which has turned people in to various types of cat strains. The cats have viral cycles which can’t be influenced and the transformation is accompanied by pain and loss of the conscious human mind. Being infected with the cat virus is nothing romantic or fancy: it’s scary, hurts like hell, eats away a great deal of your body weight and –depending on the type of strain you have- costs you your longevity.

Roan McKichan is a virus child: which means he is born with the cat virus and is used to being an outcast his whole life. On top of having the lion strain, Roan is a foster child, Scottish, gay and a redhead! Safe to say: he doesn’t have it easy. Except there is Paris Lehane; Roan’s superhunkydory boyfriend, formerly supermanwhore, now super manipulator.

The love between Roan and Paris is palpable. We get to feel their feelings of love, trust, insecurity and fear. The romance is very subtle but there is no sex (except for some kissing), the sex scenes are pretty much faded to gray.

That’s because Infected is mainly an urban fantasy series. The focus is very much on the story. The suspense plot is detailed, innovative and engaging. And while Roan is trying to solve his mystery cases, we try to solve Roan and Paris. Throughout the story we learn bits which we can piece together and I ended up falling in love with both Roan and Paris, while – mind you- they are imperfect in so many ways. Same goes for the secondaries, Gordo, Murphy, Matt, who are very lovable despite (or maybe because) their quirky ways.
Roan’s cynicism gave the story a humorous tone, but –together with the impending doom of one of the beloved characters- it also added to the bitter sweet feel in general.

I can’t wait for the next book to come out in December. I do hope we get to see more of Roan and Paris’ antics in the bedroom (I don’t want to sound dirty but I want to see their love consummated goddamnit!).

A great read for urban fantasy-lovers! 4 stars. (less)

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Sep 22, 2012 Monique ~ Sinfully Sexy Book Reviews rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is made up of two novellas; Book 1 - Infected 3 stars. Book 2 - Prey 4 stars. Overall 3.5 stars.

This is an Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance and Crime Thriller, really focused more on the mystery element than the romance. However, it was the complexities and the great characterization that was the driving force behind the story.

This book is a very different, unique and a more intelligent interpretation of how humans become shape shifters and as this is an m/m novel, I found it interesting...more This is made up of two novellas; Book 1 - Infected 3 stars. Book 2 - Prey 4 stars. Overall 3.5 stars.

This is an Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance and Crime Thriller, really focused more on the mystery element than the romance. However, it was the complexities and the great characterization that was the driving force behind the story.

This book is a very different, unique and a more intelligent interpretation of how humans become shape shifters and as this is an m/m novel, I found it interesting that the author used the same infection process of the disease, as that of the AIDs virus, transferred by bodily fluids through blood and sex. The infected victims also being dogged by the same hysteria and pariah status in the population as those of the AIDs virus, especially towards the gay community as this was also thought to be the origin of the infection....but of course, this is fiction and the infected take on a variety of forms from the cat family, however the cat has no attachment to his human form during the change and kills indiscriminately on instinct alone. This change is no fluffed up beautiful Hollywood transformation either, it is brutal in the intense pain suffered by the victims, some not surviving the broken bones and trauma to the body alone, never mind the gangs of vigilantes and religious freaks intent of ridding the world of this scourge.

Roan has grown up with the hatred, scorn and suspicion of 'his kind'. He is different, he was born with the virus and suffered because of it. Growing up as a ward of state, in and out of foster homes he was only too aware of the prejudice and fear of the ignorant. To them he was a diseased freak and learned to fight hard to defend himself from an early age...alone in a world that thinks of him an abomination.

When Roan meets Paris he is close to death, in complete meltdown having lost the will to live and burdened with the guilt of realising he had killed during the change. Paris is infected with the Tiger virus, the fiercest and deadliest of all the strains. As a Tiger he is capable of killing whole families with no recollection, it is also the strain with the highest mortality, where the victims die young, if they can get through the first transition at all.

I liked how this was different to normal romance novels, for as we meet our two MC's they are already in an established relationship, happy and comfortable, despite being total opposites on everything apart from the deep love and affection they share, their warped, wacky and snarky sense of humour and of course the virus that rules their existence.

I am so very glad the publishers/author combined the two novellas in one book, as I found the first a slow struggle, at times drifting and loosing interest through the cluttered descriptions, world building and characterization, some of which was lost and wasted as it wasn't pertinent to the future plot. I just couldn't seem to get a grip on the story, which was also challenging as there were two investigations ongoing! It was information overload!

This was mostly told from Roans POV and at times his inner musings were completely random...a small thread of information, taking him off in a different direction, only to return to the task at hand! In the first book I would have liked more interaction between Roan and Paris, Roan seemed to spend most of his time with and conversing with his former colleague and friend on the force Gordo, who by the way is just one of many great characters but I just wanted more of the beautiful and charming Paris who is also manipulative! this is repeated on numerous occasions unnecessarily.

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The writing in this book is excellent and I understand the stigma attached to first novels, with lots of world building which I know is essential for the future series, but I just felt that perhaps she was trying to hard, at 30% if I were a DNF kind of person, I would have given up...so thank goodness I am not!....as I would have missed the second novella where the author completely redeemed herself. This had more action, flowed smoothly and we actually got to see more of the relationship between our main characters. So in the end I thoroughly enjoyed the second book and will definitely read the rest of the series.(less)

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May 06, 2013 Gwenith rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Gwenith by: deirdre

This is Paris Lehane

And he is Roan's Tiger~

"I'm sorry" Paris gasped. "I fell asleep upstairs, and woke up...I tried to get downstairs. but...

Those are the first words from Paris~ and he stole my heart swiftly...

The Book~

Roan, is one tough cookie, I loved him too~

Wow!

Lions, Tigers...
Mystery...
World building...
Toaster naming good stuff...and, gosh, I love this couple, they have such an endearing sweetness.

Book 1~ I like it , its a about 3 Stars, starts off a wee bit slow, but ends spectacular b...more

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Nov 30, 2010 Rachel Haimowitz rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own, m-m, mystery, shifters

First, a couple clarifications. This is actually two novellas, Infected and Prey, rather than one long novel. Also, there is no sex in this book (though it's very much M/M), but that didn't actually bother me at all.

I spent most of my reading time with Infected: Prey thinking about how great it almost was but wasn't quite. I actually put it down for a couple weeks in the middle of the first novella and felt no particular compulsion to return to it, though in the end I'm glad I did. Andrea crafts...more First, a couple clarifications. This is actually two novellas, Infected and Prey, rather than one long novel. Also, there is no sex in this book (though it's very much M/M), but that didn't actually bother me at all.

I spent most of my reading time with Infected: Prey thinking about how great it almost was but wasn't quite. I actually put it down for a couple weeks in the middle of the first novella and felt no particular compulsion to return to it, though in the end I'm glad I did. Andrea crafts a fascinating world, and though I've not read too many shifter books, I've seen enough of it in pop culture to say safely that her concept of the shifter felt quite unique to me. The infecteds live a brutal and unglamorous life and constantly battle both the impression that this isn't the case, and widespread hatred. Shifting is a disease spread by sexual or blood contact, much like AIDS. Also much like AIDS, it's an eventual death sentence (the stress of shifting eventually kills people), it carries a huge social stigma, people blame "the gays" for it, and children can even be born with it via infected mothers. It's a wonderful social commentary, subtle enough not to leave you feeling bludgeoned over the head, clear enough that you can't miss it.

My single biggest issue with these novellas was the writing itself. The author could really have done with a stronger editorial hand, for while her writing in general is solid, she is also extremely prone to tangents and repetition. I actually came to dread the introduction of new characters, because every single one, no matter how minor (random prostitute on the street, random barista behind a counter, you name it), got full descriptive treatment, generally several sentences long and almost universally pointless. I don't need precise physical descriptions of every person to wander on and off the page. And it happened so often that it really killed the pacing. I also thought the intro to the first novella was pretty weak (it was told from the POV of a minor character and meant to set up the mystery, but failed to draw me in), though by the end of the first novella, I didn't want to put it down. The weaving of the mystery in Infected was beautiful, the ending perfect, and the character development for Roan left me hungry to see what would happen next.

Prey starts off much stronger than Infected did, drawing me in right away. Again, it was told from the POV of a character about to be murdered, but it was much smoother, and even in her few short pages of life I was made to care about her. The pace of Prey was also much smoother and faster than Infected, the writing overall felt stronger, and while the glut of character description was still there, there were fewer random tangents where the author just went off and wrote a page about something completely irrelevant to the story. Overall I enjoyed Prey much more than Infected from a craft perspective, as if the author had really grown as a writer between the two pieces. Alas, I did have trouble keeping all the names straight in Prey--there was a big cast of characters involved in the unfurling of the mystery, and the author used their first and last names interchangeably, which made it very hard to keep track of who was who; just when I thought I remembered who one guy was, she'd call him by another name and I'd have to flip back and figure it out all over again. Still, there was a very satisfying conclusion to the mystery in the end. Despite that, the book ends on a distinct downer--an HFN at best--that felt kind of unnecessary to me, a bit like the author made the conscious decision to kick us in the teeth at the end. I respect that, from a craft perspective, it's not always realistic to have an HEA, and presumably the author made a conscious choice to remind us that even with the mystery solved it's not all rainbows and puppies. But in this particular case, I don't personally think that an HEA or an unblemished HFN would have affected the integrity of the story, and the ending as it's written left a very sour taste in my mouth.

That being said, if she writes more of Paris and Roan, I'll be reading it. The worldbuilding was wonderful, the characters multilayered, and Andrea makes us care about them deeply. Though there's quite a bit of ugliness in her world, and reasons to be depressed, there's also the kind of loving relationship that we could all only dream of, and some really fabulous humor, especially from Roan, the super-cynical detective at the heart of the books. (Favorite line? "There were so many good reasons for hating people on an individual basis that mass, generic hatred seemed idiotic. Hate a person for who they were, God knows he did, but for what they were? Moronic and lazy.")

If GR had half stars, I'd have given this one 3.5. If the editing had been sharper, I'd have given it 4, maybe even more; it's hard to tell how much more deeply I might have found myself sucked into the world if all the pacing problems hadn't gotten in the way, but I suspect the answer is "quite a bit." If you're not bothered by that sort of thing, and you love strong worldbuilding and strong characterization sexy shifters, you will almost certainly LOVE this book. Even if you are bothered by that kind of thing but love worldbuilding and characterization and shifters, you will almost certainly quite like the book. Read it and find out for yourself :)
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Aug 23, 2010 Tara rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: m-m, read-in-2010, weres-and-shifters, featured, detectives-private-investigators

I keep trying to start this review and I can't because I really loved this book. In the world of this story there is a virus- which is spread similarly to AIDS- and when you catch it, you shift in to one of four things: lion, tiger, panther, leopard. But it's not like other shifter stories. It's a virus so the transformations are not quick or painless and it manifests in a cycle. Roan McKichan and Paris Lehane are the main characters and the story is told mostly from their POV. Well, stories. Be...more

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Oct 20, 2011 Td marked it as dnf

Shelves: established, mystery-suspense, shifters, fantasy-urban

DNF Pg 279 of 376

I TRIED!!! Goodness gracious, for two weeks I tried so hard. I'm so upset. This story felt so different when I started it. I was drawn in by the world building, the whole concept and the characters. The interactions between Roan and Paris were so good I didn't even miss the sex. But unfortunately, once I notice something it starts nagging in a very irritating way and I couldn't overcome it.

(view spoiler)...more DNF Pg 279 of 376

I TRIED!!! Goodness gracious, for two weeks I tried so hard. I'm so upset. This story felt so different when I started it. I was drawn in by the world building, the whole concept and the characters. The interactions between Roan and Paris were so good I didn't even miss the sex. But unfortunately, once I notice something it starts nagging in a very irritating way and I couldn't overcome it.

(view spoiler)

No rating. I liked most of what I read and would've been drawn to the rest of the series, but I can't get over that one thing. I won't put myself through the other two books, so I sadly give up on this one. (less)

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Dec 15, 2010 Kate added it · review of another edition

Oh so many good things in this book. Unique UF with an m/m twist. The romance is the backbone of the story, but not the focus of it. This gets a full 4 stars from me despite the fact that both stories started out way too slowly and were burdened with lots of unnecessary description. I had the same problem Rachel did (see her review) with repetition and pacing issues, but this book shines despite them. Roan and Paris are layered, complex men with horrendous issues to face and kudos to Andrea for...more

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Sep 06, 2010 Adara rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

This is now one of my favorite 'shifter' universes because it's relatively unique in its treatment. Werecat viruses are transmittable in several different strains (depends on the type of cat that bites you, of course) and for a week a month, at the peak of the individual's strain of the virus, each shifter is plagued by the shifts, completely losing their human side to the exceptionally painful process.

The werecat viruses infect a good-sized chunk of the population - enough to the point that the...more

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Nov 09, 2012 Jen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: m-m-romance, paranormal-fantasy, cops-detectives-spies-military, favorites, hot-like-fiyah, hi-freaking-larious, series, mystery

Prey is actually a book made of two separate novellas, "Infected" and "Prey." They are about Roan, a gay private detective/former cop who was born 'infected' with a werelion virus. I was expecting this book to be something silly but entertaining, though not really *good* - along the lines of Cut & Run. Or Twilight. Or a combination thereof. LOL

I was wrong (well, not about the entertaining part!), and damned glad about it.

I thought this book is very well written with interesting and clever m...more

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Jan 25, 2013 leigh rated it 4 of 5 stars

Well-written and substantial werecat mystery saga. The shifters are unique in that their condition is caused by a viral contagion and is poorly understood by both the infected and those who study them. In shifted form (lion, tiger, or some other form of big cat), all intelligence and memory of humanity is lost.

Roan is a former cop and now runs a PI agency with his lover, Paris. Both are infected and they specialize in cases involving those like themselves. While Roan was a complex and engaging c...more

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Nov 17, 2012 piranha rated it 5 of 5 stars

well, that was just awesome. interesting main characters who snuck up on me so that i care about them too much now (because i fear for their continued happiness; the foreshadowing is dire), interesting plot that doesn't make light of a PI's drudgery, but manages to not make the writing feel like a drag, and a shape shifter world that doesn't make me roll my eyes. very understated romance, and no sex (i'm down with that after unwittingly reading too much flowery stuff) -- so basically this is urb...more

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Sep 23, 2012 Cornerofmadness rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery, urban-fantasy, lgbt

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This is actually two novellas in one and for those who only pick up m/m books for the sex scenes, there aren’t any. I didn’t miss them in the least. Roan and Paris are a great couple as is. I admit it the thing I love about a lot of urban fantasies is that they combine my love of mystery with unusual characters and as a mystery both novella work so very well. I liked the world building in this too. Somehow a virus has spread throughout the population causing them to transform into cats when the...more This is actually two novellas in one and for those who only pick up m/m books for the sex scenes, there aren’t any. I didn’t miss them in the least. Roan and Paris are a great couple as is. I admit it the thing I love about a lot of urban fantasies is that they combine my love of mystery with unusual characters and as a mystery both novella work so very well. I liked the world building in this too. Somehow a virus has spread throughout the population causing them to transform into cats when the viral cycle is in full swing: actual large cats with no human intelligence behind them. There was a brief mention of a conspiracy theory that I liked because genetic engineering to create this virus makes the most sense as there are many strains and that would account for the divergent genetic make up that includes panthers, lions and tigers.

Roan McKichan wasn’t infected later in life. He was born that way, a viral child which makes him special from the start. Most viral children have severe physical issues but Roan’s main defect is he’s a sarcastic smart ass. He’s lion strain. His partner in life and at work in his private investigator busy is Paris, former anything goes sexually bisexual who got infected in college. He’s tiger strain which is set up as the worst type to be because it burns out the body (which you find out about half way through the first novella, setting the reader up with the idea that poor Paris isn’t going to be long for the series).

In the first novella, Roan who formerly was a police officer but ill-suited due to his temperament, is called on a suspected ‘kitty killing,’ where an unrestrained infected person has gone on a rampage (the infected need a secure lock down for that time of the month). The trail takes him to Eli and his ‘church.’ The viral victims tend to spur on either complete loathing and hate like many outsider groups do or the other extreme, the near worship of them as a superior form of humanity which is where Eli and his group fall. Roan and Eli already have a history of not liking each other and while Roan can’t connect him immediate to any of this, he can’t shake his suspicions. Worse more murders happen and Roan is forced to face something about his viral child nature, something that wasn’t supposed to be possible.

The second novella has Roan dealing with these new revelations about himself and he finds himself in the unenviable position of working for Eli trying to find whoever is shooting the infected. With Paris’s help, Paris being as charming and charismatic as Roan is snarky, they infiltrate Humanity First, Eli’s church’s polar opposite. They want to see the infected wiped out or at least caged away from humanity for good. While Roan doesn’t much care that Eli is being framed per se, he does care about justice. Throughout this mystery, Roan is not-quite-successfully hiding his new abilities from Paris and Paris is more successfully hiding that his heart is beginning to fail.

Roan, in spite of being a sarcastic bastard most of the time, is still very likeable (but I’m admittedly a complete and total sucker for guys with tragic backgrounds and Roan hits all those notes for me). Paris is a little less well developed (mostly because most of the story is in Roan’s pov) but only just. He’s extremely likeable and even if I didn’t already know this is a series (and spoiled myself by trying to figure out which order these read in) I figured he is someone I’m going to really miss when he goes. This is one of the better UF’s I’ve read all year and that includes the stuff from the big names in the industry. I can’t wait to get the next book.
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Jun 20, 2012 Becky Mrs Condit Reads Books rated it 4 of 5 stars

Andrea Speed’s Infected: Prey is two novellas published as one book. The worldbuilding that happens in these books is astounding. Ms Speed takes a new look at an old genre, shapeshifters, and makes it into something fresh and totally creative.
There are a number of positives to mention about this book. The worldbuilding is superb, possibly one of the best examples I’ve seen. The plot is unique and creative, and it flows well. The character development has depth and you feel like you *know* these...more

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Jun 17, 2012 Kez rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-books, genre-crime, genre-contemporary-fantasy, theme-gay-males, theme-shapechangers, theme-private-detectives, favorites

Imagine a world where a virus which causes you to shapechange into a cat is passed through bodily fluids, much the same as HIV. Now imagine an Infected gay ex-Cop detective with a snarky "fuck you" attitude a mile long. That's pretty much the Infected series in a nutshell. The cat virus is an interesting parable for HIV which Speed uses to its full potential. The way the Infected were treated throughout this book just broke my heart, and our hero Rone was doubly villified being Infected and gay....more

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Jan 07, 2012 Tinnean rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I finished Infected a couple of days ago. I haven't finished Prey yet.

I absolutely loved Infected. This starts with a dirty cop getting killed, savaged by an infected, a person who carries the virus that turns him/her into a werecat: lion, tiger, panther, leopard (and one more I can't remember).

Roan McKichan was a cop, now he's a PI. He also carries the lion strain, not because he was infected by chance, but because he was born that way. He's got a phenominal sense of smell, and he's called in t...more I finished Infected a couple of days ago. I haven't finished Prey yet.

I absolutely loved Infected. This starts with a dirty cop getting killed, savaged by an infected, a person who carries the virus that turns him/her into a werecat: lion, tiger, panther, leopard (and one more I can't remember).

Roan McKichan was a cop, now he's a PI. He also carries the lion strain, not because he was infected by chance, but because he was born that way. He's got a phenominal sense of smell, and he's called in to identify the spoor of the cat that caused this havoc. He doesn't tell all he suspects.

A wealthy couple come to see him, wanting to hire him to find their son, who may have run away because of all the pressure they placed on him, or as Roan fears, to become infected, since the boy is fascinated by 'kitty porn,' images of people transforming into cats.

While Roan follows leads, this is what had me following along with him:

1. He cares about his boyfriend even though he tries to be casual about it, expecting Paris to leave at any time, apparently unaware how much Paris loves him.

2. The sequence when Paris confronts Eli, who's allowed himself to become infected with the virus, and warns him that if he doesn't turn himself in to the police (all infecteds need to have a place that will keep them caged so they won't attack people. Paris' is in the basement of the house he shares with Roan. Keep this in mind. *g*) Paris and Roan are going to cage Eli with Paris, and since Paris is of the tiger strain, there wouldn't be much of Eli left come morning.

3. Roan was called in by the police to get a bite image from Leopard!Eli, and he responded to Eli's growls by roaring. (carrying the lion strain, Roan is not one to mess with.) All the cats in the containment section went into submissive poses.

4. There's another bad cop, and he breaks into Roan's home, ready to sic his own cat on the former cop and his boyfriend, unaware that Paris is a cat. In his basement cage (remember that?) because it's that time in his cycle, Tiger!Paris becomes furious that another cat has the temerity to enter his territory. Despite the bars of his cage, Paris breaks free and erupts (there's no other word for it) through the basement door and deals with the bad cop.

This is on my Kindle, and I read these stories while in my doctors' offices. Not this one. I can't wait until the next visit!

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Sep 03, 2010 Andi rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: eros-rising

Brace yourselves--long review coming!

I was not exactly sure what to expect when I started this book. I had read some good things about it, so I thought I would probably enjoy it. But I had not expected to be so blown away by it. Here's why:

The writing was crisp and professional, unfolding the story at a brisk pace without needing to rely on exposition. The plots of the two related parts of the story were coherent and well-developed; twists in the story were organic and didn't just come out of le...more Brace yourselves--long review coming!

I was not exactly sure what to expect when I started this book. I had read some good things about it, so I thought I would probably enjoy it. But I had not expected to be so blown away by it. Here's why:

The writing was crisp and professional, unfolding the story at a brisk pace without needing to rely on exposition. The plots of the two related parts of the story were coherent and well-developed; twists in the story were organic and didn't just come out of left field for shock value. I thought the author did an excellent job with the pacing and created a lot of edge of the seat suspense. Also, the two cases were given good, realistic closure.

All that being said, of course, it's the characters that are most important to me, and these characters were wonderful. I'm madly in love with both of them. I loved Roan's cynical snarkiness (he has some great comebacks) and Paris's charismatic manipulativeness (boy, that's a mouthful!). They couldn't have been more different, and yet it was clear why their relationship worked. The author slowly peeled back the layers in their personalities and doled out bits of their backstories to create dimensional characters. Both have issues up the wazoo, but both are essentially good men--a fact that comes out most noticeably in their relationship with each other. Interestingly, the sexual aspect of their relationship is handled subtly--playfulness, love and affection, but no graphic sex. Sometimes, hot graphic sex is, well, hot, but in this instance I honestly didn't miss it at all.

There are any number of vivid secondary characters as well, some good guys and some bad... and some really, really bad. Lesbian cop "Dropkick" Murphy stands out, as does barista who can't shut up Matt. Even the villains are given personalities and meaningful, if screwed up, motivations.

Despite the fast action and interesting investigative work going on, the book had a lot of poignancy as well, most notably in the depiction of the reality of living with the were-cat virus with its attached stigma. To say nothing of its potential devastating effects on life expectancy.

I think I'm safe in assuming that there will be more to Roan and Paris's story. The author left threads reaching into the future untied, in addition to having created a world with almost unlimited potential for stories. Personally, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a nice, meaty (if you'll pardon the pun) series, and I can't wait for the next addition.
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Aug 02, 2010 Nancy rated it 4 of 5 stars

(this is an e-book)

Roan and Paris lived in the middle of nowhere. It was a pain but necessary as each month the guys changed. Roan in to a Lion and Par into the biggest, baddest tiger around. They were infected with the "kitty virus" as were millions of people in our country. Most kept to the smaller, nicer felines but some, ah some you just dind't want to mess with.

Running a Detective Agency was a good job for them both. Par could charm the pants off Gramma Whistler while Roan could shoot anyon...more

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Nov 13, 2012 Vivian rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adored, gaymance

Overall I think this was quite an interestingly unique world that made for entertaining reading. It is very non-explicit, with the small tidbits of foreplay described, but the sex itself more insinuated than anything. The love between them was very real and tangible. They both have had hard lives, have issues and secrets kept (which I was incredibly frustrated about).

I did find myself skimming at times though, which made the mysteries all the more harder to understand, as there were many names...more

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Jul 27, 2010 Jenre rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: m-m, mystery, paranormal, romance

Infected: Prey is a masterful urban fantasy that effortlessly weaves in flawless world building with mystery and an affecting relationship between the two leads, lovers Roan and Paris. From the first page I was drawn into the story and were it not for a couple of flaws, this would have been a beyond excellent read.

The novel is split into two stories, linked by the setting and the characters of Roan and Paris. Roan is a ‘virus child’, born with the cat virus which means that for 5 days out of eac...more Infected: Prey is a masterful urban fantasy that effortlessly weaves in flawless world building with mystery and an affecting relationship between the two leads, lovers Roan and Paris. From the first page I was drawn into the story and were it not for a couple of flaws, this would have been a beyond excellent read.

The novel is split into two stories, linked by the setting and the characters of Roan and Paris. Roan is a ‘virus child’, born with the cat virus which means that for 5 days out of each month he changes into a big cat at sunset until sunrise. In Roan’s case the cat is a lion. Paris also has the cat virus, but unlike Roan he was infected during his time at college. Paris is a tiger, the most deadly cat and the the most deadly strain of the virus. The two men have been lovers for some time after Roan ‘rescued’ Paris, and now work together as private detectives with Roan as the investigator and Paris as his assistant. The first story follows that of a set of murders, attributed to ‘cats’, and how that links with a missing college student who Roan is investigating. The second story follows Roan as he is employed by the leader of a cat cult to find out who is sending death threats and how this links with a spate of murdered young people who all have the cat virus.

The world building throughout the story was the book’s greatest positive feature. The sheer breadth and complexity of the cat virus, its many forms, how it works, society’s reaction and views towards the infected and the personal feelings of Roan and Paris about their infection was covered in detail, but so skillfully interwoven throughout the main story that I never felt that I was overwhelmed with information or that everything was dumped on me at once. I also liked that the cat virus is just so far removed from some of the shifter romances usually found in paranormal books. There’s nothing romantic about these cats and no sentience. Once an infected person shifts, they become a big cat in all its cold-hearted glory. Thus quite a lot of the book deals with the laws which govern the infected people and how crime is governed both against the infected and to those who are attacked by the cats they shift into. I found it all quite fascinating, especially as much of the information is given by the droll Roan.

The second positive in the book is in the characterisation of Roan and Paris. Two very different men who strangely complement each other. Roan is an ex-cop, now private investigator who is all dour honesty and has a world weary tone of voice and attitude which reminded me of those 1940s detectives – and in fact Roan likes to liken himself to detectives such as Sam Spade in a very tongue in cheek manner. Roan also has a bone dry sense of humour which I found greatly appealing, and a weary acceptance of his life as a virus child. Added to this is the very male trait of ignoring any personal problems which may crop up in favour of burying himself in work. Paris, on the other hand, is handsome and charming, a born manipulator who uses this to good effect. The scenes where the two men discuss the case, the banter and the fondness between them were some of the best scenes in the book. The romance between them is shown through their thoughts for one another and the love which shines through their interactions. The physical side to their relationship happens firmly behind closed doors, and apart from the odd lustful look and teasing comment, these men keep that part of their life private from the reader. This worked well within the context of the story because the focus really is on the mystery, and on Roan’s attempts to solve the case.

There were a couple of negative points: Firstly the writing is rather dense at times, with the narrator drifting off into thought for paragraphs at a time. Although much of what they are thinking about is adding to the world-building or giving important background information on the characters, there were a few time where I felt that a bit of pruning wouldn’t have gone amiss. Some of these passages could have been streamlined which would have made the prose and the story as a whole tighter, especially as these passages slowed the pace of the story almost to a standstill. A second negative point is that the overall tone of the book is very sombre, and whilst this fitted in with the murder-mystery story most of the time, I found it rather heavy-going. The book does not end on a happy note, although both the mysteries are concluded satisfactorily, and those readers looking for at least a HFN, may be disappointed. I finished the book almost in tears.

Overall, this story was addictive and compelling. If you like urban fantasy and mystery novels then this book is an absolute must. I’m hoping that there will be more books in this series as the world building is too good to stick only to one book.(less)

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Jun 12, 2013 Christy Duke rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery, fantasy-paranormal, m-m, on-my-kindle, reviewed, favorite-series-and-stand-alones

A friend recommended this book to me and based on the description and other reviews I figured I'd try it out. Andrea Speed was a new author, to me, and I was fairly impressed with her writing style and more than fairly impressed with her world building. This world she created is very fascinating and takes the shifter story/lore to a whole new and very different level.

Roan is the ex-cop, private detective who takes smart-ass to a whole new dimension. I really liked him. He's cranky, grumpy and a...more A friend recommended this book to me and based on the description and other reviews I figured I'd try it out. Andrea Speed was a new author, to me, and I was fairly impressed with her writing style and more than fairly impressed with her world building. This world she created is very fascinating and takes the shifter story/lore to a whole new and very different level.

Roan is the ex-cop, private detective who takes smart-ass to a whole new dimension. I really liked him. He's cranky, grumpy and a curmudgeon but he cares about people and saving them. Of course you'd have to kill him before he'd ever admit that! He's a virus child, meaning he was born with the werecat virus entwined within his own DNA. He has no family and grew up in state or foster homes. He's a genius at investigating and if he hadn't "beaten" an abuser he'd probably still be a cop. He's better at being a private detective though.....he doesn't need to keep his snarkiness inside and that makes for way more fun reading.

Paris is the ultimate man whore....his own description, I might add. He was infected by the virus while in college and he got the worst strain: tiger. The tiger strain takes so much physically out of the body that these cats don't usually live past thirty-five. So, Paris knows he's going to die. He works as Roan's "guy Friday" in the office and does what he can to help investigations. Paris' strength is his consummate acting/lying/manipulating skills that enables him (and, Roan, too) to get information out of people that might otherwise be difficult. I also really liked him.

The cases and the mystery/detecting part of the writing, which is pretty much 95% of it, is really fantastic. Kept me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out the answers. I really, really would have liked more romance and interaction between Roan and Paris but their love for each other is obvious. I am going to continue to read more and hope that the writing stays as crisp and clean as this first book, which is actually two novellas sold as one book.(less)

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Oct 08, 2010 Feliz rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, fantasy, m-m, cops-detectives, shifter

There is a new virus in the world. It makes the infected turn into big predatory cats for about one week every month. The cats don't retain the slightest bit of humanity, killing mindlessly whoever they come across. The virus is transmitted by bodily fluids, mostly through sexual intercourse, and by blood,and it shortens the life span of those who have it considerably. There are also the virus children, humans born with the virus.
Mostly the infected are feared and avoided, but some people actua...more There is a new virus in the world. It makes the infected turn into big predatory cats for about one week every month. The cats don't retain the slightest bit of humanity, killing mindlessly whoever they come across. The virus is transmitted by bodily fluids, mostly through sexual intercourse, and by blood,and it shortens the life span of those who have it considerably. There are also the virus children, humans born with the virus.
Mostly the infected are feared and avoided, but some people actually worship them, building a cult around them and actively searching to get infected.
Roan McKechan thinks of himself as the freak of freaks, a virus child whose cat leaks out into his human existence, giving him supernaturally fast reflexes and acute sense of smell, and he is gay - on top. An ex-cop turned PI, he's still sought out by his former colleagues since he's rumored to be a "kitty specialist". Compared to Roan, his boyfriend Paris Lehane is just an "ordinary" infected, but an unusually beautiful man with the gift of charming everyone, male or female.

I liked this unusual approach to the "shifter" theme. The virus's origins are never quite explained, it's just there, incurable, dangerous, looming over the head of every sexually active adult, and people have learned to deal with it. Much like the not too recent days of HIV. And I very much liked the story in itself, or stories, since this book is actually two shorter novels in one tome. Roan and Paris are just living with it, helping each other through the change,supporting each other while going on with their life. Which is, dealing with grisly crimes in a very realistic way, as odd as it is to say this in a fantasy universe like this. The actual mystery was action packed and really suspenseful, although the way the police turns to Roan for help is a bit over the top. The world is logical in itself, and flawlessly built. Also, Roan and Paris are likeable characters who almost never act out of it. The author manages very well to get across why those two different men are just perfect together, even without a single on-page sex scene.

Unfortunately this otherwise very good book had some major issues which kept it from being really excellent.
The biggest problem was the narrative flow, which occasionally turned chatty to the point of annoying. There is a lot of "telling, not showing" going on. Sometimes the action is broken by totally misplaced musings going on in the acting character's head, or just randomly strewn in by the narrator. During many scenes, it is hard to follow who does what at which point, since the acting persons are just referred to as "he", which gets confusing quite fast even if only two "he's" are involved. Also, Roan is just too good to be true, particularly in the end when he almost turns into some kind of superhero. And, there are a lot of secondary characters, some of which are lovingly molded but simply don't forward the plot, while others, who actually have roles, remain flat.

This is not for those who want their m/m to be about the romance, for there is almost none in here with Paris and Roan in an established, loving (and to my opinion, actually heartwarming) relationship. Also, this is not for those who insist on their HEA's, because there isn't such, the book even ending on a somewhat melancholic note. This is more like a fantasy mystery where the main characters are gay. But for those who are open to a new experiences, who like a perfect worldbuilding, great plot and a suspenseful mystery, it's very much worth reading. Recommended. (less)

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Jan 17, 2012 Melanie rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is the first book of Andrea Speed's that I read and it is a case of love at first read. Infected Prey includes the first two books in this series and what a fabulous introduction to this author.

The world created here is one in which a werecat virus has spread much like HIV through society and governments are struggling to deal with it much like they did with AIDS in the initial stages of discovery and scientific research. At this time, there is no idea how this blood born pathogen came into...more

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Jul 28, 2012 John rated it 5 of 5 stars

This novel, really two novels, is dark fantasy that sucked me in and kept me wanting more. It examines what could happen if a life threatening virus created a readily identifiable subgroup of humanity that could become another easy target for hatred. A recasting of AIDS and Sexuality into Were-virus and Homosexuality with actual love and super-human abilities thrown into the mix. But, it is really about the way the protagonist views life and reacts to uncontrollable circumstances. Very little in...more

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Nov 16, 2011 LdDurham rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: gay-fiction, shifter, urban-fantasy, favorites

The characters really move this story. Every one of them, from the stars to the peripherals, are detailed and interesting. Roan and Paris, though, are the best. As they should be. There is so much heart here, it was beautiful to watch. I was surprised this book started with an established couple with no interior complications. There is no infidelity or secrets that the other doesn't know about. They are a solid couple right from page one. That's rare to find in this genre. But the author was rig...more

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Aug 30, 2012 Tammy K. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adult-content, gay-fiction, goodreads-author, kindle-book, lgbt-character, mm-bingo-read-aug-oct-2012, mystery, plague-virus-disease-outbreaks

As this book is actually two novellas in one book, I feel a need to divide my review up between the two novellas and give an over all rating of the book.
The first novella is called Infected. I give that book three stars.
This story is the weaker of the two and had it been the only story in the book might have caused me to stop the series right here.
In Infected we meet Roan, an angry, often hypercritical private detective who is our main character. We also meet his significant other Paris, and an...more
As this book is actually two novellas in one book, I feel a need to divide my review up between the two novellas and give an over all rating of the book.
The first novella is called Infected. I give that book three stars.
This story is the weaker of the two and had it been the only story in the book might have caused me to stop the series right here.
In Infected we meet Roan, an angry, often hypercritical private detective who is our main character. We also meet his significant other Paris, and an entire cast of characters who turn out to be regulars in the series.
This novella is overly compact in character make ups, back stories, and internal dialogue all with the attempt to set up the series for the reader. I found keeping all the characters names and roles straight to be a major hurtle, having to write notes.
While both books are laced with Swearing, this first book seems to be bathed in it. Personally I do not mind a little cursing here or there to spike up the dialogue but too much cursing ends up taking away from the dialogue (in my view).
The next major hurtle and almost a deal breaker with me here, was the shear amount of faith bashing that goes on in this novella. The second novella has some but it’s not nearly as out right hostile towards individuals of faith as this one.
The mystery in this novella was ok but not nail biting or edge of the seat kind of thing. This author uses a fair amount of red herrings in her stories, which I like.
Yet I feel that in this novella the mystery element seemed to get buried under the character exposition.

The second novella in this book was called Prey. I give Prey 5 stars.
To me Prey made this book worth putting up with the flaws in the first novella.
The romance of the main characters unfolded and flowed so much better then the first. I could really feel both sides of the relationship here.
The characters were more endearing. I found myself able to relate to Roan where in the first novella his hostility prevented me from bonding to him. Paris comes alive much more as well.
The mystery was exciting, I found myself reading until late in the night trying to figure out who did it.
Of course I did not manage to guess the correct person, and ended up thinking it was one of the red herrings but that added to the fun of the book.
I am now onto the authors tricks so I know to find the person least spoken about, that is hardly even mentioned but for one line, and that will be the murderer .. ;) Let's see if I am right in the next book?!
My overall rating of this book, both novellas together is 4 out of 5 stars.
So do I recommend this book? Yes but with warnings to future readers to not judge this book by the first novella alone. And to say that the story’s characters/author is openly hostile towards religion/faith.
Putting that aside, you will find a good murder mystery, action book with a splash of romance.(less)

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Sep 26, 2011 Cheryl rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book read like a really awesome first draft, a story that is going to be amazing once it goes through an editing process. My understanding is that this book started as an online fic, and it seems like Dreamspinner Press picked it up from there and started charging money for it without putting it through any edits. The overall spelling and grammar are fine, but the writing itself needed some polishing. There are paragraph-long descriptions of every character to walk into the book, no matter...more This book read like a really awesome first draft, a story that is going to be amazing once it goes through an editing process. My understanding is that this book started as an online fic, and it seems like Dreamspinner Press picked it up from there and started charging money for it without putting it through any edits. The overall spelling and grammar are fine, but the writing itself needed some polishing. There are paragraph-long descriptions of every character to walk into the book, no matter how inconsequential they were. The writing seemed to meander and paragraphs just seemed a bit unorganized. The authors overuse of parenthesis was extremely jarring to me. They were everywhere, at least one pair every two pages. Perhaps they would have been more effective and less noticeable in a first person POV with a more conversational narrative style, but here they just seemed like the author pulling me out of the story to annotate or further explain what she had already told me. Much of what was in the parenthesis was unnecessary and could have been cut completely. Other times the parenthetical phrase could have been worked more smoothly into an existing sentence with just a little bit of restructuring and a few well placed commas, or left alone as a stand alone sentence. It seemed like sentences that would have normally been a seamless part of the story's world-building, setting, scenery and mood were picked at random and enclosed in parenthesis. Then there were times when the information in parenthesis didn't make any sense at all and the parenthesis made it impossible to skip over and pretend you didn't read it.

That aside, I actually liked the story. Quite a bit, in fact. The characters are likable and multi-layered, especially Roan, with his gruff exterior covering up his soft, tender heart of gold. Paris is a little bit of a Mary Sue, IMHO, but a very well rounded one who doesn't detract from the story and will have the reader tied up in knots over any hint of harm heading his way. The plot moved along once you learned to skip the descriptives, and the world-building was complete and complex without bogging down the story. I don't read a lot of shifter stories, but the paranormal elements were well done and about as believable as they could be.

If I had read it for free online I would have been very impressed with what the author had accomplished on her own. I still am, in fact. The world is intriguing and the characters are well rounded and endearing. I want to read more of this world, I just hope that future volumes get the editing they deserve.

*ETA I tried reading the second story in this book, thinking that a little time away would ease the tic I had developed at the site of parenthesis or the overstating of a fact that would generally be considered common knowledge or something easily inferred from the story. It didn't, and the writing hasn't improved from one story to the next. I'm really blaming the editors here, because this is a story that I want quite badly to read, I just can't get past the all the clutter. I haven't been this frustrated by a book in a long time. It's absolute torture to start a series with so much promise and not be able to finish it because no one bothered to edit the book properly. I normally give a DNF one star, but I'm going to give this one two stars because I know many people won't have the issues that I have with the writing or will be able to overlook it, and because there are still quite a few things done right.(less)

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Oct 19, 2010 Karen K rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ebook-owned, gay-au, gay-drama, gay-established, gay-faves, gay-fantasy, gay-hurt-comfort, gay-law-enforcement, gay-paranormal, gay-romance, gay-series-or-related, gay-shifters, gay-tear-jerkers

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Dec 01, 2010 Justacat rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: m-m, re-read

This is a tough one for me to rate. As other reviewers have said, the urban fantasy world building is first rate. The author has created a rich, complex, fully thought out and imagined, and unique world, and she has the skill to thoroughly immerse you in it. Her characters are similarly well developed, complex and compelling, particularly the primary protagonist, Roan, and his partner Paris. Roan in particular is flawed and damaged and utterly aggravating at times, and yet once again the author...more This is a tough one for me to rate. As other reviewers have said, the urban fantasy world building is first rate. The author has created a rich, complex, fully thought out and imagined, and unique world, and she has the skill to thoroughly immerse you in it. Her characters are similarly well developed, complex and compelling, particularly the primary protagonist, Roan, and his partner Paris. Roan in particular is flawed and damaged and utterly aggravating at times, and yet once again the author has the skill to write him in such a way that you find yourself drawn to him, loving him. The relationship between the two is understated in some ways - no explicit sex, which, while I have nothing against smut and in fact love it on the relatively rare occasions that it's done well, I nonetheless have to admit I find something of a relief after reading book after book in which I find myself skimming monotonous, unnecessary sex scenes - and no explicit declarations - but as another reviewer noted, their affection for each other is obvious nonetheless (again a testament to the author's skill; she shows us the characters' feelings, no statements required), and the scenes between the two of them are wonderful.

The writing is, for the most part, a joy to read. It's the kind of writing I love - complex, correct, smart. It's a little dense at times, but density in this author's hands didn't bother me; there were only a very few occasions I felt it went a little overboard. There are not-infrequent long tracts of internal thought; though often I find these unbelievably annoying and an indication that an author doesn't know how to "show" and has to "tell," that was not the case here. However, while not knowing how is clearly not this author's issue, telling too much is still something to watch out for as an editing issue: I was struck by some scenes toward the end of the second half of the book that were described after the fact in thought/narrative in a way that left me feeling cheated; those scenes felt important enough to need to be written out, for readers to see unfold as they happened rather than hearing about afterwards.

These are relatively minor criticisms, though; I seldom encounter writing that I enjoy so much. And overall, I found this book utterly compelling. It's one of the rare books that stayed in my head for quite a while after I finished it, that even colored my dreams. It got inside me.

My only hesitation about giving it five stars relates to the darkness of the ending. I wouldn't say it's depressing, but this is not an uplifting book. On the one hand, that's part of its effectiveness and fits with the story. On the other, though, I usually reserve five stars for books that I want to re-read over and over. I have a little trepidation about doing that with this one; knowing I'm going to finish a book in near-tears, or feeling like I'll need to immediately seek out something else to read to enable me to escape from the dark feelings it has left me with, is a bit of a deterrent when it comes to re-reading.

Nonetheless, I feel the book deserves that rating for the way it got under my skin, and for the way the world and characters the author created now have a permanent place in my head right alongside so many others from the best fantasy books I've read throughout my life. And the fact that there is more to come - this is not the end, or anywhere near the end - somehow makes the darkness easier to bear.(less)

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Oct 25, 2011 Kaje Harper rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, favorites, m-m

This book is imaginative, well written, and totally engrossing. It gives me what I love best - a great plot, a pair of complex MC's in whom I am very invested, and a level of realism where acts have real consequences and not all goes well. The parallels between the feline virus and HIV are obvious, but do not detract from the novelty or the emotional intensity of the story. Perhaps it evens adds to the punch, because if you substitute HIV, then the pain that is clearly looming around the corner...more

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May 15, 2011 Mari Evers rated it 5 of 5 stars

I saw this one recommended and thought, what the heck, were-cats can be sexy too.

Right. This is not the usual were-cat/wolf/whathaveyou story. Ms. Speed has a twist to it that will run throughout the whole of the story and is at the core of the depression, frustration, and ultimately self-hate of the main character. I couldn't help but feel so much for Roan, while at the same time wanting to smack him over the head.

The storyline is written around Roan's occupation as a P.I. and as such will be f...more

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