New Addiction

Wingspan #1

by April Kelley

alternate cover editions can be found here and here

A dragon shifter who doesn’t rely on anyone. A bear shifter too grumpy for his fated mate. Attraction isn’t the problem. It’s deciding whether to let love in.

Caerwyn needs to be at home in Wingspan. After his parents die in a tragic accident, picking up the pieces for his brother and sister hasn’t been easy. The last thing he needs is for the alpha to loan his tracking skills out to the Saint Lakes clan. And he certainly doesn’t need a fated mate.

Rory will do almost anything for solitude. He doesn’t like people or conversation. All he really wants is to cook at the local diner and stay home. What he doesn’t want is a mate who will demand his time and attention.

When Rory sees how much Caerwyn needs someone to rely on, he has to decide what’s more important. His solitude or his fated mate.

New Addiction is the first book on the MM paranormal romance in the Wingspan series. If you like growly bear shifters and dragon shifters too stubborn to ask for help, then you’ll love this romantic novel.

Buy New Addiction to begin your visit in a small dragon shifter town.

Genres: Paranormal, M M Romance, Dragons, Romance, Shapeshifters, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy

152 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 11, 2017

About the author

Living in Southwest Michigan, April resides with her husband and two kids. She has been an avid reader for several years. Writing her first story at the age of ten, the characters in her head still won't stop telling their stories. If April isn't reading or writing she can be found outside playing with the animals or taking a long walk in the woods.

If you wish to contact her email authoraprilkelley@gmail.com.

Please visit her website at authoraprilkelley.com

Reviews

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 🌟's new author and promising series for me. 😁

[Shelba · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 16%.

The typos are noticeable. There's no CWs for all the talk of depression and suicidal ideations. There's a million characters of no consequence being brought up. The writing is dull.

But what I absolutely draw the line at is this:

A hair net was the one thing Rory refused to wear. He didn't do it for vanity's sake. He did it because Andrea refused to buy beard nets for him and if he wasn't covering up the hair on his face as well as his head, he didn't see the point of doing either.

Shave your gd beard or put a hairnet on it, you heathen.

[Kathleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

The sheer number of misspellings, grammatical & punctuation errors, missing words, and use of wrong words is unforgivable. Amateur time. Author isn't my cuppa.

[Mimi]

3.25 stars

I have said this in my previous review of Saint Lakes, each book you read leaves you with more unanswered questions.

[Gerbera_Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why is it always miscommunication that propels the fated mates stories? The beginning is good, then the mates meet and absolute silliness ensues. So predictable and just boring. There is so much more to fated mates than $*x and getting their feelings hurt every 5 minutes. *sigh*

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (10/13/2020)! 🎁

[Catarina Águas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this one.
Caerwyn was awesome. I loved how he didn't let Rory's rejection faze him. He basically ignored him and Rory was the one that ended up after him. It was so hilarious.
Rory didn't want a mate and tried to stay away from his but he couldn't. He was the one that was constantly after Caerwyn. Either he was all in or it was a no.
Loved their push and pull, it really sucked me in

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

New to me Author

It’s nice finding new authors that you like. While there’s not a lot of world building - we know there are paranormals and that humans don’t generally know who they are, but not where the fictional towns are located - I enjoyed the characters, their struggles, and the setup for the rest of the series.

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love shapeshifters and I love dragons ... but this just did not work for me.
there was too much " I want him, I want him not" and not enough development.

the storyline was also strange, first Caerwyn is absolutely necessary to go there for tracking and then we never see him track ... the storyline, which brought him there just never really materialized

unsure if I will read the next books

[Trip · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book surprised me in that it was a lot deeper then i was expecting and i fell in love with the characters so much. Considering its short there is so much development in both of them and great world building, interesting look at mating bonds too.

I liked the way the bond was handled in that while theres that pull towards each other, its not an instant love and neither was really ready for it. The timing wasn't right, Rory is used to being alone and in his own space. While Caerwyn is used to looking after others and doesn't often think off himself.

While the romance is sweet and steamy i really enjoyed the conflict between them, with Rorys uncertainy and Caerwyns struggle between two places. I liked that he wasn't willing to put up with Rorys constant indecision and wouldn't accept being just part not all.

Yet i understood and connected with Rory more, i could feel with his enjoying his own space and routines.

However i did love how these two come together in the end, its so beautiful and can see how they balance each other it was great.

Also interesting side cast especially brother Sawyer, which is handled so well and glad wasn't skipped over. Teagan seems interesting and was glad to see Indra find her mate too.

Overall an entertaining and enjoyable read, with a good look towards the future. Shall look forward to reading more in the series and off the characters seen here 💕

[William Kibler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Get a proofreader!

This story of dragon and bear shifters and fated mates was confusing at times, contradictory at others. Many sentences were poorly constructed, and the misuse of the word "too" instead of "to" was rampant. The storyline was very messy, as we are led to believe that the dragons were being brought together to fight a vampire onslaught but then a male witch is thrown in the mix which hints at a subplot that never develops. The vampire storyline is ignored and the book shifts its focus on a rescue mission to find the grief-stricken, suicidal younger brother of one of the main characters. Once that subplot is concluded, the story comes to an end. WTH? The only consistent part of this story is the fated mates coming together.

[TracyG. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm liking this series. I read the short story first then this one.

[Tam · Rating 2 out of 5]

You kind of need to have a handle on the inter-connected worlds to really understand this. I had read some of them but I just kind of skimmed over and I didn't understand the whole vamp issue. However, what really annoyed me was Rory's weird behaviour. He was hot and cold and kept declaring he didn't want a mate then was following Caerwyn around and making moves then declaring he was never going to have a mate. The guy was so insistent on being alone that he lived in his car for year rather than live at his mother's home. Dude, you are at work all day, surely you can find enough alone time that living in your car isn't a step up... in winter?

Anyway, I was frustrated with both guys, Rory for pushing him away, then basically insisting on the mating bit while 30 min. earlier saying he didn't want a mate and Caerwyn for refusing to ask anyone for help despite his brother being completely suicidal. So they were both kind of assholes. The book also have more than it's share of editing errors and wrong words. I got this for free but I will not be following it up with the others in the series. I just didn't care enough.

[llv · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5 stars. I enjoyed this book about a stubborn dragon shifter who mates and equally stubborn bear shifter. I really liked Rory and Caerwyn as the MC's although their stubbornness and unwillingness to compromise drove me crazy at times. Caerwyn was sent to Saint Lakes to help them with a Vampire problem. This was never explored fully and he never actually tracked anything while in Saint Lakes that I could tell. This bothered me. I wanted to know what was going on there. Since this was on offshoot of Saint Lakes series which I haven't read, I'll probably go back and read them to see if I can get more back story on this situation. This book also left me wondering about the fate of a couple of the secondary characters. Sawyer, Caerwyn's brother, in particular. His parts of the story just broke my heart and I want him to have his own book and HEA. I recommend this series. You may want to start with the Saint Lakes ones first though it isn't really necessary.

[Raven and Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love dragons

This is the first book by this author that I have read. I enjoyed Rory and Caerwyn, but Rory’s hot and cold attitude towards his mate had to both anger and confuse him. Rory may say it’s blunt honesty but he is close to just having zero tact and being heartless. He needs to work on that and finally accepting his mate should help temper that a little. Caerwyn isn’t perfect either, having had to learn the hard way with at he couldn’t really depend on his parents to do the right thing. They loved him and his siblings but they weren’t very good at managing their farm. These two will be good for each other. The author does give you a look at how hopeless and hard to combat true suicidal depression is with Sawyer. Whatever trouble is going on with the vampires isn’t really discussed that much though. This is a good story and I will probably go look up the author’s backlist.

[DC · Rating 2 out of 5]

My head was starting to hurt trying to follow Caerwyn and Rory taking turns at passive aggression. Ugh! It really kept me from caring about either of them. Although this is not a long story, by any standard, it still seemed to drag on. Maybe it was because the writing was just plain bad. Too many grammatical errors, misspellings, wrong words (there is a difference between “then” and “than”) including this hum dinger in Ch. 17: “Sawyer would be dead if it were for Rory.” You get the complete opposite of the intended meaning. Also, considering its short length, way too much space was taken up by Sawyer. Caerwyn’s younger brother has serious mental health issues and I don’t feel it was handled in an effective or appropriate way.
I didn’t get very far with the Saint Lakes series because seemingly giving every character introduced their own story was just too much to care long enough to continue. I think Wingspan is heading down that same road.

[Fay MMBookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this. The emotions at the end as scenes get bad you cant help but feel.
Oh poor Rory he wasn't expecting to meet his mate but fate had other ideas.  Rory wanted piece and to be left alone but his bear shiftier wanted Caerwyn. Wished I was with them to kick there asses. The two and froing from Rory makes Caerwyn giddy and me too. Lol.   Scenes didn't include Caerwyn actually tracking in Saint Lakes for his reason for being there in the first place was missing.
Caerwyn is a dragon shiftier, with his sister they trained horses in the Wingspan coven. When their Alpha Gavin calls Caerwyn needed to go visit to see what was needed, taking Sawyer with him. The family was still grieving from their parents accident.  Caerwyn was there best tracker which Saint Lakes needs with a Vamp problem.
I'm thinking fire will erupt when Caerwyn meets Rory..

[Sara Sigler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rory worked at a diner and had a good life he thought until he glanced at Caerwyn in a car. Caerwyn was sent to help track out the vampires causing problems and his mate rejected him. He was also trying to help his brother who just wanted to die since he was the only one alive in the accident that killed their parents. Rory’s bear wanted Caerwyn for his mate but he didn’t but finally he felt the same, Caerwyn had to go home to help out but never discussed how they were going to work. Sawyer went missing so he went back and his sister called Rory and told him what was going on and the money owed. Rory came to help and asked for some other bears for help and that was a surprise. Good book!

[Cafe Dragon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute but all over the place

I started reading this on accident, thinking it was written by a different author.
The characters are ok. They kept me here for the end, but the author clearly didn't have a proof reader/editor.
There was only one instance of the word 'to' that wasn't spelled 'too'... unfortunately, it was one that should have been (shakes head).
Add that to what I imagine was an attempt to follow a rule of 'every scene should have a conflict and resolution '.. it was a bit exhausting.
All in all, I am curious about Sawyer, so I am going to read the next book. I just really hope it's a little better.

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.8

Pleasantly surprised by this book and the character development. It's difficult to write a grumpy character that doesn't come off as an asshole, but this author did a great job while also simultaneously giving up a good stubborn character. Their relationship was cute and endearing. This book also handled emotional and mental trauma and suicidal thoughts rather well.
The
I would have rated this higher, but the writing was a little choppy in some areas and didn't flow, but overall definitely worth the read. Looking forward to exploring the rest of the series.

[Helke · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is nicely written. I like this writing stile and it is entertaining enough to keep you going. Why only 3 stars? Because the plot isn´t so good. First the grumpy bear rejects his mate and then he can´t make up his mind. That is ok but suddenly he is all you need me so lets mate? This part wasn´t so convincing. Then there is the story with the vampires which is no story at all as the vampires are a no show in the book. So that was a bit of a let down.

[Nessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was simply awesome. I loved the characters and I loved how the story focused on the relationship between Rory and Caerwyn. Poor Caerwyn had to struggle while Rory fought to decide if he would be or wouldn't be accepting of their mating. I totally enjoyed how there were other mates who found each other also. The plot invoked so many feelings as I read about the dilemmas of each character. I loved the style of writing and overall, this was thoroughly delightful.

[Jeanette Waters · Rating 5 out of 5]

April Kelley extends her shifter series to the town of Wingspan, home of the dragon shifters. The main characters in book one are both stubborn. The bear, Rory, is grumpy, preferring his own company rather than peopling. Caerwyn, the dragon, is unused to and unwilling to ask for help. They butt heads from the beginning.
Their story is sweet. Wingspan fits nicely into the Saint Lakes universe. Looking forward to more stories in this new series.

[Mim Crenshaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great quick read

I really enjoyed this book. It was well written with action, humor, and great chemistry between the characters. There were only a few grammatical errors, but they didn't take away from the story. I loved Rory being so grumpy and so straightforward; he was exactly what Caerwyn needed.

[Keith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mostly Erotica

There is a bit of a storyline here, but it is frequently obscured by long sex scenes and eventually I lost interest in the book. If what you want is lots of sexy descriptions, then maybe you will fare better. For me, the focus was not on the storyline or plot and the rest of the book failed to maintain my interest.

[Sue Milkovich · Rating 5 out of 5]

EXCELLENT!!!

This is my first APRIL KELLEY Book. I really do love Dragon Shifters. Caerwyn is a Dragon buried under family obligation. Rory is a Bear Shifter who had no clue. These two are stubborn to the extreme. THIS is going to be a great series. I really enjoyed this Book. I'm looking forward to more. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK!!

[Patdbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very enjoyable shift book from April Kelley. shifter books that include dragons are one of my favorites and through in a grump bear and you know you are in for a treat. book one of a new series and I look forward to reading how the other characters get along and find their true mates.

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

just being difficult

Main conflict came from a shifter who didn’t want to mate—but changed his mind after tying both of them in knots for no reason.

There may be a larger arc, but that didn’t develop much this time: it was mostly depressed dragons and surly bears.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a great start to a new series. I thought that how the author handled the mating between Rory and Caerwyn, their relationship was not easy and they had to actually work at it. The story caught my attention and held it. Looking forward to Sawyer's book. Recommend reading.

[Theresa · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. Meh - lost interest.