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The Pack #1
Pack
[Siren Allure ManLove: Erotic Alternative Paranormal Romance] Despite being different, Zacky has maintained a strict level of denial, although his inability to digest anything but meat, preferably raw meat, is impossible to hide or deny. His puritanical and violent father controls him with religion and fear, and he leads a quiet, lonely life. After his twenty-first birthday, he starts to lose control of everything he's repressed, especially when he meets Tyler, a man who fascinates and terrifies him. Tyler and his friends force him to realize that he is not only gay but not quite human. Now he can no longer digest anything but blood, and his growing desires for Tyler and for blood conflict with everything he's been taught is right. He fights it, even knowing that he's hurting himself and Tyler in the process, and even when he accepts that he has to leave his home when the time comes for them to move on. ** A Siren Erotic Romance
280 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 22, 2010
2 people are currently reading
86 people want to read
About the author
Teya Martin
5 books23 followersMy mother likes to boast that I was reading at the age of three. I'm not sure if that's strictly true but my childhood memories are mostly of being indoors with a book of some description. I distinctly remember having a Ladybird copy (English young children's books) of Dracula so I think my tastes were set quite early. Like a friend once said, while other young girls wanted to be ballerinas, I kind of always wanted to be a vampire.
I grew up in Belgium and went to a multi-national school before moving back to England to get my first degree. Microbiology and Virology... what was I thinking? Naturally I didn't do anything with it, in fact the thought of real life was off putting enough that I went and did another degree straight away. Medical herbalism this time, much better although it was in my final year of this degree that I rediscovered writing. Not sure why I ever stopped because once I started again it became a compulsion.
Once the second degree was finished I was stuck, I didn't want to practice herbalism, I wanted to write... only write. So I got a job in a health food shop and that was the first in a long line of short term jobs to pay the bills while I wrote. Some of them were brilliant though. I met some of my best friends ever when I was a barista in a coffee shop and I got many wonderful books and ideas when I worked in a sex shop... okay not technically a sex shop as we didn't sell porn but still an adult 'toy' shop. During this time I lived with my sister which was also brilliant but made me incredibly lazy. It took nearly five years before I actually wrote a full length, complete novel.
Moving to the other end of the country to live with one of my best friends, and I would go as far as to call her my muse, really kick started the novel writing and now I have several that are complete, although again it took me a while to actually start sending them out. I don't know if other writers feel the same but they're my babies and rejection is extremely painful.
I grew up in Belgium and went to a multi-national school before moving back to England to get my first degree. Microbiology and Virology... what was I thinking? Naturally I didn't do anything with it, in fact the thought of real life was off putting enough that I went and did another degree straight away. Medical herbalism this time, much better although it was in my final year of this degree that I rediscovered writing. Not sure why I ever stopped because once I started again it became a compulsion.
Once the second degree was finished I was stuck, I didn't want to practice herbalism, I wanted to write... only write. So I got a job in a health food shop and that was the first in a long line of short term jobs to pay the bills while I wrote. Some of them were brilliant though. I met some of my best friends ever when I was a barista in a coffee shop and I got many wonderful books and ideas when I worked in a sex shop... okay not technically a sex shop as we didn't sell porn but still an adult 'toy' shop. During this time I lived with my sister which was also brilliant but made me incredibly lazy. It took nearly five years before I actually wrote a full length, complete novel.
Moving to the other end of the country to live with one of my best friends, and I would go as far as to call her my muse, really kick started the novel writing and now I have several that are complete, although again it took me a while to actually start sending them out. I don't know if other writers feel the same but they're my babies and rejection is extremely painful.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 20, 2011
It will seem hokey to say that this book has a helluva bite, but it is true.
I'm kinda over vampires. Thanks to La Meyers mawkish Twilit piffle, vampires are pretty much sparkly underwear models at this point. Most paranormal authors seem to have forgotten that they actually, uhh, drink BLOOD and attack people. It's a shame because since Mr. Stoker did his inventing a century ago, the Vampire has had a healthy unLife on the page and stage. But with the paranormal boom of the past decade, the undead have slowly devolved into a kind of broody cliché with the menace of a jar of mustard.
Not here.
Teya Martin's PACK does a pretty marvelous job of claiming the legend for new and nefarious purposes. This book is entirely about sex and death and blood and sacrifice. She embraces all those nasty, delicious things that make the vampire myth so repellant and fascinating. What's more, she makes them her own... reinventing vampires thoroughly and laying the groundwork for a series that has some serious teeth. In her world, Vampires are a kind of subspecies with some (but not all) characteristics of Nosferatu who refer to themselves as "Pack"... and the cumulative ideas pack a wallop. Here is a book about vampires that doesn't, uh, suck.
Teya Martin knows what the hell she is doing. To start with, this is an M/M novel, and as such it is careful to establish two main characters whose desires and personalities are diametrically opposed and believably reconciled. Ding-ding-ding! Zacky starts the novel as an abused, repressed, churchbound near-masochist and over the course of 280 pages evolves believably into his own dark twin. The pain and anxiety are still there but because of the romance, his warped view of the world morphs to include sexiness and real intimacy and fierce loyalty. Martin works like hell to achieve this, and the effect is subtle and gratifying. Zacky's tenderness and fragility feel legitimate, not like yaoi-derived pedo-porno.
Tyler is another delightful invention. As the story's seductive, brooding alpha, He pushes every limit he encounters: sexual, social and otherwise. He is wildly appealing and beautifully anguished in exactly the way we want a romantic vampire character to be. And no delicate blood in bottles for him. He has teeth and he uses them. His aggression and pathos seem earned and critical to the story’s development. Again, Martin isn't just channeling Joss Whedon's schizophrenic televidiots or Meyer's whinging vegetarians or Rice's hysterical androgynes... Based on the novel she's written, I have a feeling she'd find those options dated and vaguely embarrassing.
Oh, and by the by.... the worldbuilding is fantastic. Martin has conceived a pretty fresh and intriguing take on the vampire/werewolf/nightwalker idea: genetic anomaly. What’s more she elaborates on the concept, considering the implications and complications and driving the story with them organically. These "Pack" members don't just sip blood from jugs or transform innocents easily... everything here has a cost and a history. I was especially intrigued at her idea of rogues being Pack members left to fend for themselves at the turning without their fellows to guide their steps. A VERY clever take and there are at least 4 or 5 books in that idea alone. Teya Martin is bringing some real guns to bear on an entire genre and the results are ridiculously satisfying.
But of all her many strengths, Martin has one thing in spades: the ability to establish and explore extreme conflicts that do not become repetitive or maudlin or sentimental. Her villains are motivated. Her conflicts are understandable and logical and believable. Many romances suffer from the "if only they had spoken" or "had I but known" mode of complication... unrealistic wrinkles keeping protagonists from the final clench. Not here: Zacky and Tyler come together painfully and inexorably; their road is a bumpy one and feels earned at each step. This means that in a 280 page novel I never feel like I'm stuck in an infinite loop of "I love you, but I can't" leading to a final heated embrace. She also sidesteps the "instant eternal love, just add hottie" problem that so much M/M fiction slides towards. Both these men are sexy, but interestingly it is their flaws and habits that make them so suited to each other.
I have minor quibbles: At times I felt like sex could have been particularized; it's difficult to motivate blood in erotic play believably over long stretches. There was a unnecessary moment of freaky awkwardness when a literal child appears as a destined mate which gave me the willies, and that could have been solved by adding some years to the character. There were two moments where antagonists caved too easily, but then, I'm a hard bastard, and I want my M/M heroes to SUFFER! :)
Bottom line: I f#$&ing loved this book. I'd give it a 9 out of 10 and I am THRILLED beyond belief that it is listed as the part of "The Pack series." I'll definitely be at the front of the line for her next installments.
Bite down, bitches!
I'm kinda over vampires. Thanks to La Meyers mawkish Twilit piffle, vampires are pretty much sparkly underwear models at this point. Most paranormal authors seem to have forgotten that they actually, uhh, drink BLOOD and attack people. It's a shame because since Mr. Stoker did his inventing a century ago, the Vampire has had a healthy unLife on the page and stage. But with the paranormal boom of the past decade, the undead have slowly devolved into a kind of broody cliché with the menace of a jar of mustard.
Not here.
Teya Martin's PACK does a pretty marvelous job of claiming the legend for new and nefarious purposes. This book is entirely about sex and death and blood and sacrifice. She embraces all those nasty, delicious things that make the vampire myth so repellant and fascinating. What's more, she makes them her own... reinventing vampires thoroughly and laying the groundwork for a series that has some serious teeth. In her world, Vampires are a kind of subspecies with some (but not all) characteristics of Nosferatu who refer to themselves as "Pack"... and the cumulative ideas pack a wallop. Here is a book about vampires that doesn't, uh, suck.
Teya Martin knows what the hell she is doing. To start with, this is an M/M novel, and as such it is careful to establish two main characters whose desires and personalities are diametrically opposed and believably reconciled. Ding-ding-ding! Zacky starts the novel as an abused, repressed, churchbound near-masochist and over the course of 280 pages evolves believably into his own dark twin. The pain and anxiety are still there but because of the romance, his warped view of the world morphs to include sexiness and real intimacy and fierce loyalty. Martin works like hell to achieve this, and the effect is subtle and gratifying. Zacky's tenderness and fragility feel legitimate, not like yaoi-derived pedo-porno.
Tyler is another delightful invention. As the story's seductive, brooding alpha, He pushes every limit he encounters: sexual, social and otherwise. He is wildly appealing and beautifully anguished in exactly the way we want a romantic vampire character to be. And no delicate blood in bottles for him. He has teeth and he uses them. His aggression and pathos seem earned and critical to the story’s development. Again, Martin isn't just channeling Joss Whedon's schizophrenic televidiots or Meyer's whinging vegetarians or Rice's hysterical androgynes... Based on the novel she's written, I have a feeling she'd find those options dated and vaguely embarrassing.
Oh, and by the by.... the worldbuilding is fantastic. Martin has conceived a pretty fresh and intriguing take on the vampire/werewolf/nightwalker idea: genetic anomaly. What’s more she elaborates on the concept, considering the implications and complications and driving the story with them organically. These "Pack" members don't just sip blood from jugs or transform innocents easily... everything here has a cost and a history. I was especially intrigued at her idea of rogues being Pack members left to fend for themselves at the turning without their fellows to guide their steps. A VERY clever take and there are at least 4 or 5 books in that idea alone. Teya Martin is bringing some real guns to bear on an entire genre and the results are ridiculously satisfying.
But of all her many strengths, Martin has one thing in spades: the ability to establish and explore extreme conflicts that do not become repetitive or maudlin or sentimental. Her villains are motivated. Her conflicts are understandable and logical and believable. Many romances suffer from the "if only they had spoken" or "had I but known" mode of complication... unrealistic wrinkles keeping protagonists from the final clench. Not here: Zacky and Tyler come together painfully and inexorably; their road is a bumpy one and feels earned at each step. This means that in a 280 page novel I never feel like I'm stuck in an infinite loop of "I love you, but I can't" leading to a final heated embrace. She also sidesteps the "instant eternal love, just add hottie" problem that so much M/M fiction slides towards. Both these men are sexy, but interestingly it is their flaws and habits that make them so suited to each other.
I have minor quibbles: At times I felt like sex could have been particularized; it's difficult to motivate blood in erotic play believably over long stretches. There was a unnecessary moment of freaky awkwardness when a literal child appears as a destined mate which gave me the willies, and that could have been solved by adding some years to the character. There were two moments where antagonists caved too easily, but then, I'm a hard bastard, and I want my M/M heroes to SUFFER! :)
Bottom line: I f#$&ing loved this book. I'd give it a 9 out of 10 and I am THRILLED beyond belief that it is listed as the part of "The Pack series." I'll definitely be at the front of the line for her next installments.
Bite down, bitches!
December 23, 2012
Okay, I was shocked by now little I enjoyed this book. I mean, I knew after a few paragraphs that the writing would be inelegant, but the idea was good, so I thought it would reach at least a 4 for me. This is because I read it based on Damon Suede's enthusiastic 5-star review. It did not.
But first, the good. The idea was original enough to be interesting. And the sex started out really good. What the bad guy did was actually bad, which is nice. And Finnish vikings!
Now, the rest. I love sex in my books. I love porn. The dirtier the better. But seriously? This plot could not get going because of all the sex. The book was literally two-thirds sex, if not more. But that's not even the worst of it. Because I've reads some great little books that were waaaay more than two-thirds sex. But the sex has to be interesting and varied if it's going to carry a book. And this book had one or two sex scenes, and repeated them ad nauseum. The actual plot of this book could have carried a much shorter book with style and flair. Instead, it got boring and annoying, because I had to wade through that stupid sex scene over and over.
A side-effect of NEVER fading to black with the sex, is that it took over space from plot-points that could have been explored interestingly. One being, what religion is Zachariah anyway? Now, I didn't actually expect Ms. Martin to go into this, because it's just a hot potato, but it would have been ballsy and really interesting for her to have done so.
Another plot-point: Finnish Vikings. Now, I know that there were Finnish Vikings, but I'm Scandinavian. How many people out there know there were Finnish Vikings? Almost none. You don't just throw that out there and not give it a little airtime. Seriously. And the fact that Zachariah (and boy do I hate his nickname--it's a baby name) never even expresses any real interest in this blows my mind, in a bad way. What an intellectually lazy person. And he was supposed to be doing well in school? Bah. But related to this, I really feel negatively about Tyler having a Scandinavian name (his real name) when he's Finnish. Yes, there were Finnish Vikings, but there's no reason to believe they had the exact same names for their gods that the Swedes, Norwegians, Danes, and Icelanders use for them. It's just weird to name your kid after another culture's gods. On the other hand, maybe Teya Martin is Finnish, and knows for a fact that there were Finnish vikings with that particular name. But she could have made that clear by actually talking about Finnish vikings! It would have been the second-most interesting thing in the book. Instead, there was no second interesting thing in the book.
Next, the entire "I love you" thing. OMG. I'm so tired of this trope--that it's so hard to say. At one point, it's even said, in Finnish, and still they act like it wasn't said. Bizarre. He even knew what it meant. So lame. But related to this, is the extreme emotional immaturity of both Zachariah and Tyler. For one of them, it's almost forgivable, since he's youngish and has been emotionally repressed through abuse and the like. For the other? Completely inexcusable, both because of his age and his life experiences.
At this point, I'm going to devolve into pet peeve rants. First, adding "flavor" by having a foreign-born character use the same phrase in their native tongue over and over. Rubs me the wrong way. And why do victims faint right away? She needs to explain that. And worst of all, magical wise mothers. How could she be so magically perfect and still have allowed the beatings? I mean, I don't actually expect a mother in her situation to have saved her son, but I also don't expect her to be so magically wonderful and understanding, either. Just felt off to me. And the best friend who has a magical change of heart. Way too convenient, even if it was nice. Also, the born "mates" thing is soooo sappy and, especially with the age gaps, felt like Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series. It was exactly the same concept, and since Twilight was published several years earlier, it just feels like a rip-off. And finally, I felt like it was a major drawback that we only saw Zach's point of view during the story's climax. Felt like the author couldn't figure out how to resolve the situation, so she kind of waved her hands and made it happen like magic!
Oh well. The idea was interesting, but I felt the execution was just so lacking. Cut out a lot of the sex (most of it after the first couple of chapters), revamp the sex that advances the plot, and use the leftover space to expound upon the other salient plot-points and help build the world. I will definitely not be buying the next installment, unless I come across some review somewhere that says the first book sucked but the next was head-and-shoulders above in quality. I will also be reading Damon Suede's reviews with a grain of salt from now on. I adore his writing, and I've found a number of fine books through him, but I just cannot understand how he saw what he saw in this book. Oh well!
But first, the good. The idea was original enough to be interesting. And the sex started out really good. What the bad guy did was actually bad, which is nice. And Finnish vikings!
Now, the rest. I love sex in my books. I love porn. The dirtier the better. But seriously? This plot could not get going because of all the sex. The book was literally two-thirds sex, if not more. But that's not even the worst of it. Because I've reads some great little books that were waaaay more than two-thirds sex. But the sex has to be interesting and varied if it's going to carry a book. And this book had one or two sex scenes, and repeated them ad nauseum. The actual plot of this book could have carried a much shorter book with style and flair. Instead, it got boring and annoying, because I had to wade through that stupid sex scene over and over.
A side-effect of NEVER fading to black with the sex, is that it took over space from plot-points that could have been explored interestingly. One being, what religion is Zachariah anyway? Now, I didn't actually expect Ms. Martin to go into this, because it's just a hot potato, but it would have been ballsy and really interesting for her to have done so.
Another plot-point: Finnish Vikings. Now, I know that there were Finnish Vikings, but I'm Scandinavian. How many people out there know there were Finnish Vikings? Almost none. You don't just throw that out there and not give it a little airtime. Seriously. And the fact that Zachariah (and boy do I hate his nickname--it's a baby name) never even expresses any real interest in this blows my mind, in a bad way. What an intellectually lazy person. And he was supposed to be doing well in school? Bah. But related to this, I really feel negatively about Tyler having a Scandinavian name (his real name) when he's Finnish. Yes, there were Finnish Vikings, but there's no reason to believe they had the exact same names for their gods that the Swedes, Norwegians, Danes, and Icelanders use for them. It's just weird to name your kid after another culture's gods. On the other hand, maybe Teya Martin is Finnish, and knows for a fact that there were Finnish vikings with that particular name. But she could have made that clear by actually talking about Finnish vikings! It would have been the second-most interesting thing in the book. Instead, there was no second interesting thing in the book.
Next, the entire "I love you" thing. OMG. I'm so tired of this trope--that it's so hard to say. At one point, it's even said, in Finnish, and still they act like it wasn't said. Bizarre. He even knew what it meant. So lame. But related to this, is the extreme emotional immaturity of both Zachariah and Tyler. For one of them, it's almost forgivable, since he's youngish and has been emotionally repressed through abuse and the like. For the other? Completely inexcusable, both because of his age and his life experiences.
At this point, I'm going to devolve into pet peeve rants. First, adding "flavor" by having a foreign-born character use the same phrase in their native tongue over and over. Rubs me the wrong way. And why do victims faint right away? She needs to explain that. And worst of all, magical wise mothers. How could she be so magically perfect and still have allowed the beatings? I mean, I don't actually expect a mother in her situation to have saved her son, but I also don't expect her to be so magically wonderful and understanding, either. Just felt off to me. And the best friend who has a magical change of heart. Way too convenient, even if it was nice. Also, the born "mates" thing is soooo sappy and, especially with the age gaps, felt like Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series. It was exactly the same concept, and since Twilight was published several years earlier, it just feels like a rip-off. And finally, I felt like it was a major drawback that we only saw Zach's point of view during the story's climax. Felt like the author couldn't figure out how to resolve the situation, so she kind of waved her hands and made it happen like magic!
Oh well. The idea was interesting, but I felt the execution was just so lacking. Cut out a lot of the sex (most of it after the first couple of chapters), revamp the sex that advances the plot, and use the leftover space to expound upon the other salient plot-points and help build the world. I will definitely not be buying the next installment, unless I come across some review somewhere that says the first book sucked but the next was head-and-shoulders above in quality. I will also be reading Damon Suede's reviews with a grain of salt from now on. I adore his writing, and I've found a number of fine books through him, but I just cannot understand how he saw what he saw in this book. Oh well!
November 19, 2010
What to say, surprisingly complex and interesting story but not sure about the ending. Not sure if this was meant to be the start of a series? But did enjoy it and will look for this author again.
January 27, 2019
It was like reading two people having sex. There was nothing in the story except that. The rest of the story could be told in one chapter max. It dragged on and on and got so dull after a while.
July 25, 2013
I wanted to like 'The Pact' more than I did. The idea is original and you can really tell that the author wasn't trying to rush or not include plot.
In the end though, there were huge things I enjoyed and huge things I didn't which is why my rating was right in the middle.
PROS:
- instead of relying solely on the standard vampire or werewolf myths, the Pact is an odd species that incorporates myths from both species
- even considering there the whole 'mate' theme, the characters still struggled with their relationship and didn't fall in love immediately
- the characters weren't cookie cutter and each had their own personality so that you didn't have to be reminded of who was talking to know who was talking
CONS:
- despite some of the characters' age (we're talking 100s of years), they didn't give off a feel of their age such as a sense of wisdom or experience
- the sex scenes were too numerous which took away the impact they were supposed to have sometimes
- franky... as much as i have to admit that i ended up liking him, he acted much younger then he was
WARNINGS:
- a lot of blood play so if you're grossed out by that type of thing, you'll hate this story
- the relationships among the pack were more open with their relations. the mated pairs were strictly in love with each other but, similar to animals, they used physical contact to help other pack members. imo, it was done well but if you strongly believe that there can only be two in a physical relationship at one time and you're sensitive to that then you might not like this story
In the end, I say that if you like shifter stories and the few warnings don't scare you away, definitely give this story a shot. I enjoyed reading it, even if I couldn't say that I'd ever re-read it.
In the end though, there were huge things I enjoyed and huge things I didn't which is why my rating was right in the middle.
PROS:
- instead of relying solely on the standard vampire or werewolf myths, the Pact is an odd species that incorporates myths from both species
- even considering there the whole 'mate' theme, the characters still struggled with their relationship and didn't fall in love immediately
- the characters weren't cookie cutter and each had their own personality so that you didn't have to be reminded of who was talking to know who was talking
CONS:
- despite some of the characters' age (we're talking 100s of years), they didn't give off a feel of their age such as a sense of wisdom or experience
- the sex scenes were too numerous which took away the impact they were supposed to have sometimes
- franky... as much as i have to admit that i ended up liking him, he acted much younger then he was
WARNINGS:
- a lot of blood play so if you're grossed out by that type of thing, you'll hate this story
- the relationships among the pack were more open with their relations. the mated pairs were strictly in love with each other but, similar to animals, they used physical contact to help other pack members. imo, it was done well but if you strongly believe that there can only be two in a physical relationship at one time and you're sensitive to that then you might not like this story
In the end, I say that if you like shifter stories and the few warnings don't scare you away, definitely give this story a shot. I enjoyed reading it, even if I couldn't say that I'd ever re-read it.
February 27, 2011
I love werewolf stories i love vamp ones too but i dont think i liked them mixed up...
I think story could be a good one but its story telling is actually wrong and incomplete at some parts.
For example our little werevamp starts to crave blood but whenever he drinks from his mate he escapes the scene without asking his mate what the hell they are and why he wants to drink blood so 1/3 of the story he cant learn what he is...
And our little werevamps best friend ohh joyy!!!
He nearly pukes on the floor when he learns his best friend is becoming gay cause it s against the gods wishes, but next day he can donate his blood to him without blinking!!!
He know his best friend is gay and he knows he is a werevamp or whatever and he think oh ok your father beat you so i must donate a pint for you here you go drink...
Absolutely hillarious if you ask me...
Story could be much more and characters could be much more unfortunatelly i couldnt power to finish it yet..
I hope i can someday....
I think story could be a good one but its story telling is actually wrong and incomplete at some parts.
For example our little werevamp starts to crave blood but whenever he drinks from his mate he escapes the scene without asking his mate what the hell they are and why he wants to drink blood so 1/3 of the story he cant learn what he is...
And our little werevamps best friend ohh joyy!!!
He nearly pukes on the floor when he learns his best friend is becoming gay cause it s against the gods wishes, but next day he can donate his blood to him without blinking!!!
He know his best friend is gay and he knows he is a werevamp or whatever and he think oh ok your father beat you so i must donate a pint for you here you go drink...
Absolutely hillarious if you ask me...
Story could be much more and characters could be much more unfortunatelly i couldnt power to finish it yet..
I hope i can someday....
February 4, 2012
Pack: not werewolves, not vampires, just annoying. This was a real struggle to get through because one of the main characters, Zacky, was such a pain. He was supposed to be 21 but acted 12. The main problem was the repetitiveness of the interactions between Zacky and his mate Tyler. In particular, Zacky's strict upbringing and it's impact on their relationship was labored to death. The book needed some judicious editing, because the premise of the Pack was interesting.
November 9, 2010
The plot is good and it keeps you drawn till the end. The main couple, Zacky and Tyler, are good together. I liked them.
Recommended.
Recommended.
July 11, 2011
Loved this book! I would love to read more from this author. However, I couldn't find anymore of her published work.
September 17, 2014
Zacky's striction was too unreasonable sometimes.
June 27, 2012
Only got 60 pages in, could not get into at all just too weird without enough explanation to get my interest
February 26, 2013
I enjoyed the book. A lot.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews