Dark Wind: The New Ancients Book 1, Crista Crown

Shifters, magic, power, and mates...all things that have me diving in with both feet.  I enjoyed the introduction to this world despite feeling like I was lost when everything really got going.  I'll be adding the preceding series to my TBR list in preparation for the next book in this new series to be available.  There was a fair bit of character growth which I like to see in stories where sometimes lust and the supernatural can trump depth.  Definitely not recommending it as a standalone, but it's a great start to something that is promising to be exciting and interesting with a lot of twists, turns, secrets, and discovery.

While it was an interesting start to this series, I really wouldn't say it's a standalone.  It leans heavily on everything that happened in The Outcast Chronicles nearly halfway through this story and I highly recommend reading the parent series to fully grasp all the implications and the follow-through for all the story threads brought up here.  Especially because those threads aren't given any kind of conclusion at all, just a whole lot more questions and implications.  Pivotal characters and "educational" moments come from beings that play significant roles in why Sage, Gideon, and everyone else are now experiencing all the crazy so yeah, definitely not meant to be read all by itself.

As for Sage and Gideon themselves, I liked both men though I could have used a lot more individual background.  There are basics there and if you've read Outcasts I'm sure there's more about Gideon to satisfy that, but I didn't sink as deep into either person as much as I hoped to.  Powers and learning control were given a basic place in the story, though the importance of those things was given quite a bit of thought and page time in the beginning.  The focus was kept on the denial of feelings and the overall mystery that's going to carry the series.  Like I said before, this was a great start, not a comprehensive one, but a appetite-whetting kind that interests me to continue but doesn't inspire a craving to have more right this second.

*$3.99 on Amazon

Sage Wilkins had no idea he had secret super powers until he lost his temper and almost blew down his family home. After a week on the run with this curse spiraling out of control, he’s started to wonder if it wouldn’t be safer if he didn’t exist.

Gideon Ward thought having a secret super power was great when he was a kid. Now, it’s just kind of one of those things. But even an amazing gift seems pointless when there’s no villain to fight, no evil to undo. The most he uses it for is to reduce inflammation in his furry clients at the vet clinic. He can’t help but wonder if he’ll ever be accepted as more than the strange kid that Caspar and Theo adopted ten years ago.

It’s random chance when Gideon is the one to help rescue Sage… or is it? When one of your dads can see the future, you never really know. Someone has to teach Sage to control his power, and that someone turns out to be Gideon. But Sage isn’t the only one who has something to learn. Before Gideon can find acceptance in his community, he has to learn to accept himself first, and to find joy in the magic that already exists inside him.