I am not usually a fan of anthologies so that may be the root of the dissatisfaction I felt with this book. Plenty of magic and fantasy, though, for readers who love that.

I am very sorry, but I couldn't get into this antho at all. I think I am needing more realism in my reads, a message that resonates, stuff relevant to LGBT people. Thank you for allowing me to try it, though.

Wolf in King's Clothing by Parker Foye - 3.5-3.75 Hearts

They call him "Prince".

A half breed, small assassin that has had the worst life ended up being my favorite of the anthology, go figure?

The unlikely hero who has been shat on, exiled and doesn't speak due to lacking social manners? My toes couldn't stop curling. Set in alternate Victorian period where werewolves are known, "Prince" aka Kent doesn't really know his true name. He's been collared and kept as a witch's assassin as an adult. He's been bartered over and kept like trash, exiled from wolf packs, he has no kind to call his own. His owner tasks him to do one more retrieval and he will have his freedom, Kent agreed before she even finished her sentence. Kent goes to the highlands to rescue an alpha who isn't like any alpha Kent's met.

But he doesn't care for the alpha, Hadrian's peculiar nature, he just needs to make sure he brings Hadrian back in one piece to his master. The road trip back to York is eventful, as the rival pack that kept Hadrian wants him back. The reasons why Hadrian needed to be retrieved are a little murky.

However personable Hadrian who has his own magical secret was a good choice as a foil to Kent's surly silence. The chip is mega wide on Kent's shoulder and Hadrian's steady persistence to at first befriend Kent was fun to read. The camaraderie, bodyguard/ward relationship takes a romantic turn. And it's subtle, which worked one hand and didn't on the other. The romance is pretty subtle, too subtle in the primal need department. Hadrian is alpha? He read like a beta which I can be down with. But when push comes to shove, he didn't claim his mate.

Kent still has to go through trials during this novella. And it endeared me to him. The story has a nice action/suspense twist and the reader gets to slowly learn about Kent's past and why he's so special.

I thought the reason why Kent is badass was cool. I haven't read about his type much in urban fantasy I've read.

The sex? One scene and no penetration for the smutsters keeping score. The story is interesting and evenly paced. I enjoyed the world building, pretty close to Victorian period with magical/paranormal exceptions.

Out of all the stories, this was the one that showed the most promise. If it's ever re-edited and lengthened, I'm there. Definitely would read more from this author!

The Alpha's Claim by Holley Trent - DNF Delight

A lot of anthologies have a stink bomb or two in their arsenal... this is Primal Need's

The writing style leaves a lot to be desired. Telling, shallow and none of the characters have substance. Then the setting bungle. It's supposed to be set in New York but the setting seemed like it was an internet search and find deal.

If a customer stiffs you repeatedly from tips for weeks... you end up in his bed to get the money you earned?

For what I've read, it's definitely stink face inducing.

Shifter fail. Plot fail.

NOPE.

Save yourself the time.

Dark Water by K.L. White - 2.5 Hearts

If you read the anthology, after the reading the previous stink bomb, Dark Water might read as manna from heaven.

Kelpie shifter lead is definitely on the unusual side of go to shifters.

Being as I didn't suffer through that, I read this without fume-weary eyes. This story is from a debut author... and it reads like it's from a new author. Not a bad thing, I love newbie authors. But the story, while more unusual due to the kelpie shifter mythology brought to the table, the execution has some hits and misses.

Benjamin is on the brink. He's a former naval officer in Maryland who leaves the hospital to kill himself. Trigger warning: attempted suicide. He's blind, has no friends or family other than a racist dementia diagnosed father who wouldn't recognize Benjamin on a good day. He best friend Rez was killed in front of him while trying to save his fellow officers. It's one of the last images in Benjamin's mind. He goes to the beloved beach to die.

At that beach, a kelpie marks him for sacrifice. The kelpie turns out to be Rez, Benjamin's best friend thought to have died on that deadly mission. The mark means Benjamin must die but Rez can't do it. And tries to save his friend. This mission of saving Benjamin gets buried under repetition, different threads to a plot that would've be best kept simple and an underwhelming chemistry.

The length could have been longer to tackle the heavy topics such as a veteran battling depression suicidal thoughts, a new permanent disability, PTSD. The items are touched on, but those are weighty topics that deserved more meat.

And to add more issues: sexuality. Benajimn identifies as heterosexual and never had any sexual feelings toward his friend. Being savd, learning his friend is actually alive and hearing his friend kiss another man helps him discover a part of sexuality he's never questioned?

Benjamin loved Rez as a friend, and while they'd kissed and touched, he didn't know if he was seeking comfort in blindness.

I'm leaning toward that camp of questioning Benjamin's motives as Rez seemed like he wasn't attracted then he was, then he kissed another man even tough he shot the persistent guy down. And now he wants to mate for life to Benjamin.

The kelpie population is dying and the men are charged to mate and make new kelpie foals with female kelpies. Another factor that makes me question the entire relationship factor as Rez wants to do his duty but needs to save his friend more.

And when they have sex, it was "I'm not attracted to males" vs. "but I have to sleep with you to save your life". I'm not liking the way the chips are stacked. It read forced and not sexy. Rough sex for an anal virgin? The possessive streak is usually my go to hot factor but I wasn't feeling it in this context. And the suicidal thoughts were still there close to the end. I get why the need to mate was needed to keep Benjamin alive but I'm not liking the reasons.

And then way everything is neatly tied up? Uh-uh. Right. Sure.

The ideas are good. The execution is questionable. The story would have been better for me both men had an inkling of shared passion prior to meeting, the suicide and killing didn't happen and the plot remained simple.

My rating is for the kelpie folklore mostly and the premise.

The title of this anthology is Primal Need and not one story addressed that factor. So if you're a reader looking for primal shifters, look somewhere else. The good thing about this anthology is the stories are also sold separately. I'd read samples before getting any of the titles.


So, 1 1/2 out of 3?

Wolf in King's Clothing by Parker Foye 2 stars
The Alpha's Claim by Holley Trent 4 stars
Dark Water by K.L. White 5 stars


Two out of three good stories isn't bad I guess.

3.5 stars overall

I haven't read a lot of M/M shifter stories so I was happy to pick this one up to review via NetGalley.

The first story, <b>Wolf in King's Clothing</b>, was just plain confusing to me. It's set in York, England, 1912 but that wasn't the problem. I've read several historical M/M stories and loved them. (I highly recommend the Society of Gentlemen series by KJ Charles and The Innocent series by Victoria Sue.) I didn't want to DNF this story so I persevered until I finished it (it took me way longer than it should have to read a 32,000-word story. I will say the story got better as it went along but I just couldn't totally overcome my confusion. It's kind of strange to me because I really liked the book's blurb. The story itself seemed to be too difficult to understand; things just weren't clear for me and I didn't like that I felt confused and had to re-read portions more than once.

<b>The Alpha's Claim</b> was much better. Teddy, a server in a pancake house, is upset with Jim and his friends because of their crappy tipping. They day they leave him only 73 cents, after tying up his table for over 2 hours, is the last straw; he runs out of the restaurant to confront them. Jim is the Alpha of his coyote pack and they don't know that he is bi-sexual. Teddy is attracted to Jim but he doesn't know what he is and Jim isn't sure how to tell him. There's another problem – Teddy is terrified of dogs. This story had a lot of good point and made me laugh and cry a bit – always a sign that I'm enjoying a story.

<b>Dark Water</b>, by debut author K. L. White, was by far my favorite story. I've never read a shifter story about Kelpies before and it was really interesting. It was also heartbreaking in places and very HOT. I guess because this is an anthology the full book blurb isn't shown on Amazon. Normally I wouldn't add the blurb to a review but this one explains the story much better than I can and I think it's worth reading:

<blockquote>Debut author K. L. White takes readers into the watery depths of the Celtic Otherworld in this male/male paranormal romance

The magnificent Kelpies who haunt the waters, shape-shifting from horse to human, are disappearing into legend. Their numbers are dwindling, and they must take a human sacrifice twice a year to survive. So when Rez, a Kelpie stallion and former navy officer, spots a desperate man about to offer himself to the waves, Rez marks him for sacrifice.

The most talented diver the navy had ever seen, Benjamin D’Arcy has always lived on the edge of death; he's a crazy kind of brave. But now he’s blind and broken, his last sight that of his best friend, Rez, blown apart by shrapnel. All Benjamin wants is to join him in death.

Too late, Rez discovers that the man he so hastily marked is Benjamin—the man he loves, the man he’s crossed oceans to find. Overwhelming joy is tempered by the knowledge that their reunion must be short—the mark of sacrifice has set Benjamin's path. Facing a near-impossible obstacle, Rez must find a way to overcome the mark's power and prove to Benjamin that theirs is a love worth fighting—and living—for.</blockquote>

I'm a sucker for stories about veterans and this one tore me up in all the best ways. I found the writing compelling and I didn't put it down until I finished the whole story. I think it takes an extremely talented writer to construct a story with as much depth to it as this one has in only 29,000 words. I will be looking for more books by this new author.

A review copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley but this did not influence my opinion or rating of the book.

Primal Need: Sexy Male/Male Shifter Anthology contains the following full length stories, Wolf in King's Clothing by Parker Foye, The Alpha's Claim by Holley Trent, and Dark Water by K.L. White. Each story is very unique and also release on its own. We have already reviewed Ms. Trent's book, and it is a must read for any paranormal shifter lover.


Wolf in King's Clothing by Parker Foye is 32,000 words long. I found myself very drawn to this story. It is the first in the anthology. We meet Kent a pack outcast. He has a collar that prevents him from shifting. He is mostly silent only speaking when necessary. When his mistress offers to free him if he gets Hadrin an alpha wolf for her, well that is an offer he cannot refuse. He would love to be free. He has never had that in his life.


Hadrin at first cannot fathom why Kent would be “rescuing him” from his own people. After all a wolf is safest with their own kind. But he does go along with the savage but silent Kent. The more he gets to know him though the more Hadrin realizes that Kent is much more than he first though. He could be his mate.


The ending to this story is a happy for now one. I would love to read more in this world. This story had me wanting more. I loved it.


Over all each story in this anthology is unique and has characters I loved and would like more of in the future. There is contemporary, paranormal, historical, a little something for everyone. I highly recommend this one. I know I even found some new to me authors that I will be looking for more of in the future.






Five Shooting Stars

I enjoyed Wolf in King's Clothing by Parker Foye the best of the three because it featured an atypical, almost feral, hero, but it still felt like I was jumping into the middle of a preset world/story with little explanation. And most of the stories felt that way. The Alpha's Claim by Holley Trent was unique in it featured coyote shifters instead of the typical wolves, but it had unanswered questions and glossed over problems. And Dark Water by K.L. White introduced kelpies, which are definitely not typical for shapeshifter romances, but the basic plot resolved itself fairly easily and left other questions unanswered, maybe for another book. Overall, this is an interesting trio of books, but I won't be rereading them.

This is a quick read and very well written. It is set in the past which is a change for me. The test one must go through to be free is heartbreaking and rewarding in the end.

3 Stars - Wolf in King's Clothing by Parker Foye was a good read. I would have liked more for Kent’s character but overall, I did enjoy the story.
2 Stars The Alpha's Claim by Holley Trent. I felt I was missing something with this book and the story seemed to drag at times. I hoped for more from this book
4 Stars Dark Water by K.L. White. I really enjoyed this one. From the unique world building to the character interaction this one was a joy to read. I look forward to reading more by this author

Wolf's Clothing - 3 stars:

Overall the book was okay. I didn't like how they portrayed Kent as being a simpleton who is only good for killing. I did like When he met his alpha/mate he started to come more alive. The story was a little hard to follow at times when I didn't always know who was the good guy and who wasn't. This is a new author for me and I will be trying other books.

The Alpha's Claim - 1 star:

I'm not sure even how to review this one. This didn't read like a story, it read more like an outline of what could be a really cool story. There isn't a plot, you don't know any of the back story or why there are trust issues, was Teddy mated or not, why didn't he change, what the heck is up with the maid who is supposedly so lazy that Jim needs to fire her but never does, the entire story happens in like a 24 hour period. I really wish that the author would retake a look at this and re-write it before releasing it.

Dark Water - 5 stars:

I loved this book and the world building with the Kelpies. I have never read about thes typ of shifters before. I loved watching these two best friends grow to be lovers. I don't think they are quite to the I love love you stage yet but it's there. I would love to read more from this world and see kelj find his mate.

I also can't wait for this author to write more stores so that I can read them.