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The Wizard Shifter #1
Beyond the Tunnel
Adam Stephens is a man with a mission. It has been three years since they chopped that malignant brain tumor out of his head, and he is off on a solo motorcycle camping trip through the Appalachian Mountains.
When he rides into the Pine Mountain Tunnel in North Carolina and rides out into another realm--a realm that comes complete with a big sexy grizzly bear shifter, mages, and an evil sorcerer--he isn't sure he isn't lying in the tunnel after crashing his bike. Can such a world exist? Or is he dreaming? If he is dreaming...it sure is realistic.
Along the way, there will be some major hurdles to surpass including no indoor plumbing...and no coffee. A man needs some basic luxuries, correct?
When he rides into the Pine Mountain Tunnel in North Carolina and rides out into another realm--a realm that comes complete with a big sexy grizzly bear shifter, mages, and an evil sorcerer--he isn't sure he isn't lying in the tunnel after crashing his bike. Can such a world exist? Or is he dreaming? If he is dreaming...it sure is realistic.
Along the way, there will be some major hurdles to surpass including no indoor plumbing...and no coffee. A man needs some basic luxuries, correct?
338 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 5, 2018
45 people want to read
About the author
Daniel Mitton
3 books36 followersDaniel Mitton is not a statistic. When the doctors broke the news to him that he would be dead by the end of 2013 from brain cancer, he scoffed at them. He has proven them incorrect, and continues to prove them more incorrect every day.
He is now pursuing his lifelong dream of telling other people his stories in writing. His overactive imagination used to get him in trouble, it will be interesting to see if that continues to be true. Daniel tends to write what he knows, but any resemblance to his own life is purely circumstantial, and he will admit to nothing. He really did live in the barracks next to that creepy old haunted looking prison in New Hampshire, and might have made forays into its dark depths…but since that might be considered unlawful…we won’t talk about that.
The idea for the Wizard Shifter series came to him while he was riding through the Pine Mountain Tunnel in North Carolina and a ‘what if’ moment hit him. In real life he has a husband of nearly twenty-nine years named Stephen…who might get just a little upset if Daniel ran off into some foreign world with a bear shifter named Rafe.
Book two of the Wizard Shifter series is currently prepping for publishing and book three is in the final draft stage. Daniel just wishes the characters wouldn’t talk so much in his head…the story just keeps getting longer.
Daniel was born and raised in northern New Hampshire, but now lives in sunny Southwest Florida with that husband of nearly twenty-nine years and their pain in the butt cat, Cooper. He totally doesn’t get why some people complain it is too hot in Florida!
He is now pursuing his lifelong dream of telling other people his stories in writing. His overactive imagination used to get him in trouble, it will be interesting to see if that continues to be true. Daniel tends to write what he knows, but any resemblance to his own life is purely circumstantial, and he will admit to nothing. He really did live in the barracks next to that creepy old haunted looking prison in New Hampshire, and might have made forays into its dark depths…but since that might be considered unlawful…we won’t talk about that.
The idea for the Wizard Shifter series came to him while he was riding through the Pine Mountain Tunnel in North Carolina and a ‘what if’ moment hit him. In real life he has a husband of nearly twenty-nine years named Stephen…who might get just a little upset if Daniel ran off into some foreign world with a bear shifter named Rafe.
Book two of the Wizard Shifter series is currently prepping for publishing and book three is in the final draft stage. Daniel just wishes the characters wouldn’t talk so much in his head…the story just keeps getting longer.
Daniel was born and raised in northern New Hampshire, but now lives in sunny Southwest Florida with that husband of nearly twenty-nine years and their pain in the butt cat, Cooper. He totally doesn’t get why some people complain it is too hot in Florida!
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 20, 2018
I Want One!
I want a tunnel just like this one. Yep. Gimme. Portal to a magical world? Sign me up. Meet my life mate in the first five minutes. Where's the dotted line? Discover I now have magical powers and I'm Billy Bad-Ass, savior of shifters in another dimension. Hand me the knife, I'll sign in blood.
There's a May/December theme here ... sort of. There's a hell of a twist there, too. But it leaves us with a mature-thinking MC, which is a bonus in this situation. There's disability, too, in a way. I'm vacillating, I know, but you'll see what I mean when you read it. There's shifters and evil wizards, and good wizards and people who just wanna live a normal life fighting the good fight, underdog style.
There's no indoor plumbing and then there is. There's a one-way ticket to another world and then there's a way out but maybe no way back in. There's soulmates and mysteries, murder and mayhem, genocide and death.
There's also love, friendship, camaraderie, second chances, first chances, new leases on life, and bright sunshiny places in which to live them.
Gimme. Gimme. Gimme more. If you like paranormals with a twist, if you like feel-good stories that talk a walk on the dark side, if you like it when the good guys win one even if they have to lose a few first, this is the story for you.
5 Hearts
Review cross-posted at:
More reviews by NeRdyWYRM can be found on Goodreads here.
Images (when present) may be subject to copyright.
An ARC copy of this title was provided for an honest review.
I want a tunnel just like this one. Yep. Gimme. Portal to a magical world? Sign me up. Meet my life mate in the first five minutes. Where's the dotted line? Discover I now have magical powers and I'm Billy Bad-Ass, savior of shifters in another dimension. Hand me the knife, I'll sign in blood.
There's a May/December theme here ... sort of. There's a hell of a twist there, too. But it leaves us with a mature-thinking MC, which is a bonus in this situation. There's disability, too, in a way. I'm vacillating, I know, but you'll see what I mean when you read it. There's shifters and evil wizards, and good wizards and people who just wanna live a normal life fighting the good fight, underdog style.
There's no indoor plumbing and then there is. There's a one-way ticket to another world and then there's a way out but maybe no way back in. There's soulmates and mysteries, murder and mayhem, genocide and death.
There's also love, friendship, camaraderie, second chances, first chances, new leases on life, and bright sunshiny places in which to live them.
Gimme. Gimme. Gimme more. If you like paranormals with a twist, if you like feel-good stories that talk a walk on the dark side, if you like it when the good guys win one even if they have to lose a few first, this is the story for you.
5 Hearts
Review cross-posted at:
More reviews by NeRdyWYRM can be found on Goodreads here.
Images (when present) may be subject to copyright.
An ARC copy of this title was provided for an honest review.
January 14, 2018
This was a really good book. But of course it has shifter and wizards and that just makes me all excited. My only thing is I'm not big on the hairy part *wink* but that is no complaint because everyone has their own preference. I was really drawn in to the story and I tell you, I was giggling so hard at some of the antics. (Especially during sex) (fabulous!) Some suspense, some drama and some comedy all wrapped up in one.
Being told you may not have much of a life left, kind of puts things in perspective. For Adam, already having part of his brain taken out was bad enough. But having to deal with chemo every time he turns around is enough to drive him nuts. So Adam decides enough is enough. It was time to get away for a bit and breathe. He sets off on his journey from Florida to New Hampshire, but somewhere in North Carolina things go a little haywire. He goes through a covered tunnel in his world and comes out the other end in another realm. Trying to get his bearings, he travels on hoping he is just having some kind of relapse and his tumor is the cause, because he really feels like he's going nuts. But he isn't. He runs into a bear shifter, who becomes his mate, and learns he is a powerful mage and is changing into a shifter himself. (After being bitten during a fabulous round of sex with his man) He learns there is a bad sorcerer who is killing shifters and gay people and Adam ends up learning it's up to him to do away with this man. Through some rough times, and having to do without some amenities lol, he forms alliances and does what he can do to make this realm and his mate safe.
I tell you the cast of characters in this book are great. The relationships are comical and loving and just good to read. Of course there's the bad guy that you just want to beat the crap out of, but other than that they were a joy. Adam and Rafe were so fun to read. They started off rocky, but it lead to them being able to tell each other about themselves and to open up and be together. What made them fun to me, though, were the antics they pulled. It was often during sex that it got funnier, but even during all the seriousness, there was a depth to them that made you love them more. Both of them having gone through some turmoil in their lives also made them more passionate. But it wasn't just Adam and Rafe that made this book. Everyone had a part to play, from Axe, the mage that taught Adam to use his abilities, to Adam’s friend George in Florida, who is such a drama queen. (And I loved him!)
I do love, too, that even through all the fun of the book, that there is an underlying message. At least to me. It's so wrong to 'target’ someone because they're different. No matter what color, sexuality, religion or anything else, we all deserve to love and to be loved. People are allowed, or should be, to be themselves and be happy. And we have to take a stand against those who are trying to 'beat down’ anyone who is different. We are all different. And no one should feel shame or anything bad for who they are. (Well, except for bad people but you get my drift.)
I had a ball reading every page of this story and I hope that you will all run out and get it.
Being told you may not have much of a life left, kind of puts things in perspective. For Adam, already having part of his brain taken out was bad enough. But having to deal with chemo every time he turns around is enough to drive him nuts. So Adam decides enough is enough. It was time to get away for a bit and breathe. He sets off on his journey from Florida to New Hampshire, but somewhere in North Carolina things go a little haywire. He goes through a covered tunnel in his world and comes out the other end in another realm. Trying to get his bearings, he travels on hoping he is just having some kind of relapse and his tumor is the cause, because he really feels like he's going nuts. But he isn't. He runs into a bear shifter, who becomes his mate, and learns he is a powerful mage and is changing into a shifter himself. (After being bitten during a fabulous round of sex with his man) He learns there is a bad sorcerer who is killing shifters and gay people and Adam ends up learning it's up to him to do away with this man. Through some rough times, and having to do without some amenities lol, he forms alliances and does what he can do to make this realm and his mate safe.
I tell you the cast of characters in this book are great. The relationships are comical and loving and just good to read. Of course there's the bad guy that you just want to beat the crap out of, but other than that they were a joy. Adam and Rafe were so fun to read. They started off rocky, but it lead to them being able to tell each other about themselves and to open up and be together. What made them fun to me, though, were the antics they pulled. It was often during sex that it got funnier, but even during all the seriousness, there was a depth to them that made you love them more. Both of them having gone through some turmoil in their lives also made them more passionate. But it wasn't just Adam and Rafe that made this book. Everyone had a part to play, from Axe, the mage that taught Adam to use his abilities, to Adam’s friend George in Florida, who is such a drama queen. (And I loved him!)
I do love, too, that even through all the fun of the book, that there is an underlying message. At least to me. It's so wrong to 'target’ someone because they're different. No matter what color, sexuality, religion or anything else, we all deserve to love and to be loved. People are allowed, or should be, to be themselves and be happy. And we have to take a stand against those who are trying to 'beat down’ anyone who is different. We are all different. And no one should feel shame or anything bad for who they are. (Well, except for bad people but you get my drift.)
I had a ball reading every page of this story and I hope that you will all run out and get it.
February 15, 2018
2,5- Stars
I bought the book, because the blurb sounded interesting and the overall rating was good.
Well. Let me say it like this, if this wasn't the authors second book, my rating would be way worse!
Sorry to say, but how this book got a rating that high in any dimension is beyond me.
The story itself could have been decent, but the writing just isn't that good.
This book is in desperate need of an editor/proof reader. Words and sentences are repeated over and over. Words are choosen at random and make for some odd/awkward sentences.
I know this sounds weird, but I can 'feel' words, and this entire book just felt so very awkward.
Some scene I had to read twice, because I wasn't sure which 'the two men' he meant.
This book could work as fan fiction, but I expect more of a book that I actually pay for.
That being said, I wish the best to the author and hope he improves with time.
I bought the book, because the blurb sounded interesting and the overall rating was good.
Well. Let me say it like this, if this wasn't the authors second book, my rating would be way worse!
Sorry to say, but how this book got a rating that high in any dimension is beyond me.
The story itself could have been decent, but the writing just isn't that good.
This book is in desperate need of an editor/proof reader. Words and sentences are repeated over and over. Words are choosen at random and make for some odd/awkward sentences.
I know this sounds weird, but I can 'feel' words, and this entire book just felt so very awkward.
Some scene I had to read twice, because I wasn't sure which 'the two men' he meant.
This book could work as fan fiction, but I expect more of a book that I actually pay for.
That being said, I wish the best to the author and hope he improves with time.
January 12, 2018
Kinky sex jokes aside, this was a fun romp through many mm, shifter, and fantasy tropes. Because it is the first in a series, I am curious as to book 2, since this left a nice HEA flavor at the end, but a series makes me think it may only be a HFN. Anyway, if you don't mind you leads being on the hirsute side of things, and you are willing to laugh with the tropes and such, then I would suggest this one. It is fun, the sex is graphic initially, but it tames down as things go on, with just mentions and asides, as everyone knows what is happening, and they can't seem to not taunt the main characters about it.
Oh, the author's foreshadowing is a bit heavy handed, but it also creates that intensity to move forward to what comes next.
Oh, the author's foreshadowing is a bit heavy handed, but it also creates that intensity to move forward to what comes next.
February 7, 2018
Let me start by saying that I don't usually read Fantasy or Sci Fi. I love watching movies of it but reading it is slightly out of my realm. I truly enjoy Mr. Mitton's writing. He is fun and entertaining. He makes references I can relate to and creates an engaging story. I am not sure where he gets his ideas from but I love the concept of this book. The people and the buildings are incredibly interesting they way there are described. The other thing I really like about Mr. Mitton's writing is he tried to describe things through dialogue instead of just written paragraphs. I personally am a dialog person and it's another reason I love this book. A very entertaining book and I look forward to the next one.
April 13, 2018
This is a promising story. I liked it. If you like shifter you'll probably enjoy this one.
January 12, 2018
Not for me, either writing or plot. The basic idea is more than silly or preposterous, it is unadulterated lunacy (a fifty-something man using the resting time between two rounds of chemotherapy to ride his 750-pound motorbike around the country on a FaceBook-fueled whim, who enters a well-maintained mountain tunnel somewhere in North Carolina only to come out of an abandoned mine shaft in a magical word, all of this happening within six or seven pages !) ; far from turning this vile material into gold, or at least silver, the literary execution leaves so much to be desired, what with bad punctuation, poor or hispid vocabulary, mindless repetitions of words at close intervals, complete absence of descriptions, and wooden dialogues, that the tale comes off flat, boring, and uninspired. The worse a magical tale could turn out to be is prosaic and random ; the present book fits this label to a T. The magic, locales, entire casting, vainly struggle to come to life in the reader's mind, since the writing simply exhibits neither conviction nor skill. One looks vainly for world building between these covers ; a few clumsly explanations scattered in the first half make for a really paltry substitute. The pacing is all wrong, inasmuch as everything happens far too quick, without foreshadowing of any kind nor any rationale beyond clumsily placed and awkwardly phrased info dumps. As a consequence, the actions of all the magical beings Adam encounters come off as irrational or brainless, not excluding the former human turned arch-villain Dannecker ; I would have taken over the top heroes and extravagant action any day over the tedious materials Mr Mitton crammed into his story. Even the mating pull between Adam and Rafe signally fails to be romantic, despite the extremly dirty sex the two are quick to engage into (lovers of hairy men will find much to wax poetical about the, shall we say, creative ways this human manifestation of Rafe's other half has been woven into the acts).
August 15, 2023
I really enjoyed this book and had a hard time putting down when I needed to get other things done. For a first book it is incredibly well written. There is a second book , but if the story ended exactly where it leaves off at the end of this book I would still feel complete. I won't say more because if I did I would be going into spoilers, which I always endeavor to avoid.
September 12, 2018
What a great story! Horny shifters who can't stay away from or out of each other for any length of time, a delightful cast of characters, humor, magic, action... I really enjoyed it. Starting the sequel now.
January 2, 2018
3.5 stars- full review to come
February 9, 2018
Beyond the Tunnel
A truly enjoyable story. The characters are likable and the story is magical. A twist of wizard of oz but didn't think that until the very end but with a twist.
A truly enjoyable story. The characters are likable and the story is magical. A twist of wizard of oz but didn't think that until the very end but with a twist.
April 2, 2018
Give it a minute
You gotta give this one a minute. I almost dropped it at first, but then the story started getting really good! I’m so glad I kept going with this one. 👍
You gotta give this one a minute. I almost dropped it at first, but then the story started getting really good! I’m so glad I kept going with this one. 👍
December 30, 2024
3.5, debut novel. Did have a novella published earlier. I don't read with a critical eye but to enjoy, so issues have to jump out at me.
The premise was interesting. The story was engaging. There were a few growing pains, but overall it was good. The world building was very strong. The characters were well developed and distinct. It was very solid, and I will continue reading. Very worth trying if a preferred genre and blurb sounds interesting.
The premise was interesting. The story was engaging. There were a few growing pains, but overall it was good. The world building was very strong. The characters were well developed and distinct. It was very solid, and I will continue reading. Very worth trying if a preferred genre and blurb sounds interesting.
January 24, 2018
Gay high-fantasy. My favorite kind of gay, and my favorite kind of high-fantasy!
November 22, 2018
I really don't think I'll be hitting the next book. Here's why...
Rafe is like a big blubbering baby. Ok, so that is a LITTLE bit of exaggeration. But not really. It's also not like he's crying all the time. But the times he did, really turned me off on the story. Why? Cus from the very beginning he was presented as this big bad ass and actually threw Adam. After he comes after him and explains his past... it's not that I had a problem with the tragedy, but you just turned this big bad ass persona into feeling wimpy to me.
Now, there's a big deal made out of Adam's changes after mating. He gets bigger and hairier. Ok so he likes hairy guys... but he also wanted to be MUCH hairier than he was.. some due to his medical obviously. And the sex... kind of kinky, and kind of wax poetic of not cleaning up (on the regular) afterwards and waking up with dried itchy flakes and making pubic hair pull. Um, yeah I don't need to read that.. more than once...
Annnnnd... now he's turned into the most powerful mage in a thousand years as they think...
to finish reading...............
Update: NOPE, can't do it, I just really can't... dead at 62%
Rafe is like a big blubbering baby. Ok, so that is a LITTLE bit of exaggeration. But not really. It's also not like he's crying all the time. But the times he did, really turned me off on the story. Why? Cus from the very beginning he was presented as this big bad ass and actually threw Adam. After he comes after him and explains his past... it's not that I had a problem with the tragedy, but you just turned this big bad ass persona into feeling wimpy to me.
Now, there's a big deal made out of Adam's changes after mating. He gets bigger and hairier. Ok so he likes hairy guys... but he also wanted to be MUCH hairier than he was.. some due to his medical obviously. And the sex... kind of kinky, and kind of wax poetic of not cleaning up (on the regular) afterwards and waking up with dried itchy flakes and making pubic hair pull. Um, yeah I don't need to read that.. more than once...
Annnnnd... now he's turned into the most powerful mage in a thousand years as they think...
to finish reading...............
Update: NOPE, can't do it, I just really can't... dead at 62%
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January 11, 2018A Joyfully Jay review.
DNF
Let me start by saying that when I read the blurb for this story, I thought it was right up my alley and was quick to pick it up. I was really looking forward to it. But unfortunately, it was problematic right from the start. In the end, I chose to stop reading at 25%, rather than continue.
I had immediate problems with the writing. I found the overabundance of passive voice distracting, and while I would have overlooked it if that were the only problem, it wasn’t. There were also large passages of info dump that dragged down the narrative. Add to that a few punctuation errors and formatting issues, which I normally ignore but all those things combined made reading tedious instead of engaging. So the author’s style isn’t for me, and it made it hard for me to get absorbed in the story.
On top of that, I had a serious issue with the world building. Or lack thereof. Adam ends up in a different world when he emerges from the tunnel, and I was expecting details. What I got instead was a lot of half formed thoughts with nothing fulling explained. Unless there was one of those aforementioned info dumps, and then there was a pile of information that didn’t quite add up. The levels of magic users was explained, but that was about it. There was a passing attempt at explaining shifters, but to me it felt like the author was just throwing things out and cobbling things together. My problem here was that everything felt disconnected and that was a real issue for me. I need things to make sense in a world like this, or at least for there to be enough information for me to suspend disbelief. I didn’t get that here. Though I will say things could be better explained as the book goes on, and I’m just missing it because I stopped where I did.
Read Kris’ review in its entirety here.
DNF
Let me start by saying that when I read the blurb for this story, I thought it was right up my alley and was quick to pick it up. I was really looking forward to it. But unfortunately, it was problematic right from the start. In the end, I chose to stop reading at 25%, rather than continue.
I had immediate problems with the writing. I found the overabundance of passive voice distracting, and while I would have overlooked it if that were the only problem, it wasn’t. There were also large passages of info dump that dragged down the narrative. Add to that a few punctuation errors and formatting issues, which I normally ignore but all those things combined made reading tedious instead of engaging. So the author’s style isn’t for me, and it made it hard for me to get absorbed in the story.
On top of that, I had a serious issue with the world building. Or lack thereof. Adam ends up in a different world when he emerges from the tunnel, and I was expecting details. What I got instead was a lot of half formed thoughts with nothing fulling explained. Unless there was one of those aforementioned info dumps, and then there was a pile of information that didn’t quite add up. The levels of magic users was explained, but that was about it. There was a passing attempt at explaining shifters, but to me it felt like the author was just throwing things out and cobbling things together. My problem here was that everything felt disconnected and that was a real issue for me. I need things to make sense in a world like this, or at least for there to be enough information for me to suspend disbelief. I didn’t get that here. Though I will say things could be better explained as the book goes on, and I’m just missing it because I stopped where I did.
Read Kris’ review in its entirety here.
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