Chris T. Kat

Alpha Unit One, New York is the first book in the ‘Alpha Unit One’ series. It focuses on Nicolas Reed, a baby snow leopard shifter, and Sam Black, a lion shifter and leader of Alpha Unit One. This is told in first person from Nicolas and Sam’s pov.



This book is not what I expected. I expected a plot that was serious with an intricate mystery. Instead, Alpha Unit One is over the top. There’s a lot of drama with shifters and humans constantly arguing and snarking at each other. Alpha Unit One focuses on drug cases, they are the elite of the elites. Drugs that alter shifter behavior and emotions played a significant part in this story.

Alpha Unit One is composed of a mix of shifters and humans, although the shifters are all adult shifters, no baby shifters allowed. Shifters are biased against baby shifters, similar to the attitude of women should stay home and have babies or only be teachers and nurses. That’s what baby shifters are up against. Humans don’t care, but the shifters do. This story is about how baby shifters fit into society and the Alpha Units, and what the shifter drug is and where it’s coming from. I didn’t care for the shifter beliefs about baby shifters, it was too close to how women are treated, but I suppose that’s what the author was aiming for.

Nicolas is a baby shifter and has always wanted to be a cop, so he hides his baby scent under loads of cologne. Other shifters take a drug to smell human although it has bad side effects for them and other shifters around them. Nicolas and Sam are attracted to each other immediately. Nicolas knows that if he accepts Sam as his mate, Sam won’t allow him to be a cop once he finds out he’s a baby shifter. I mentioned the story is told in first person, and I thought that Sam and Nicolas’ voices both sounded the same. Nicolas’ voice only changed when he was in baby form and after he mated with Sam. Nicolas sounded more helpless and submissive, which was disappointing since he was trying to prove he was still a valuable team member. The secondary characters were interesting. There was an established weretiger/human couple, and two potential couples.

I liked the idea of shifter and human teams and the mystery, but not sure about the over the top ridiculousness of their behavior. It was drama, after drama, after drama. Even though this is a paranormal fantasy, it’s one where the characters are all over exaggerated. If you can suspend belief for this kind of story, then you’ll probably like it. It did make me laugh because it was a bit ridiculous. I’ll probably read the next story because the characters were interesting and I want to see where the author goes with the drug problem.

Despite Alpha Unit One, New York being way over the top, I was still entertained. I’d like to give it 3.5 stars because it wasn’t as good as it could be, and because Nicolas’ and Sam’s voices were too close to being the same. But, I did enjoy the story, so I’m upping the stars to, 4 Stars

… (mer)

When I read Attachment Strings last year, I have to admit I hated Jeff. There were so many things he said and did that made me want to slap him, he was such an insensitive SOB. (I tend to get very involved in the books that I am reading.) But by the end of that novel, while I hadn't completely forgiven him for his sins, I was feeling more inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt and I loved Alex and Sean so I wanted to read the next novel when it came out.

Read the rest of the review:
Love Bytes… (mer)

Secret Chemistry is the first book in a new gay wolf shifter series by Chris T. Kat. This first story recounts the romance of young wolf shifter Tim Evans and Jayden Cox, a hybrid wolf-fox shifter. These two young men first meet as children in the aftermath of a wolf pack meeting that ends in a tragedy that will separate them for 18 years. On the night they meet, Tim is 13 and Jay is three. In addition to the 10-year gulf between their ages, Tim and Jay also face opposition in the form of ethnic prejudice from the pure breed wolves in Tim's pack.

The bulk of Secret Chemistry deals with Tim discovering that Jay is his mate and his attempts to ensure his safety. Kat handles this part of the book with skill. The characters are strong and colorful. Tim's younger brother, Robin is a charming delight. He lends the novel much of its humor and lightness. On the other hand, Tim's sister, Debra is completely obnoxious. Her behavior made me want to know more about her motivations. Why is she the way she is? Paula, Tim's mother is also a strong presence in the novel. Her courage in the face of a life-altering physical challenge makes for an interesting read. Indeed, several of the secondary characters provoke a great deal of curiosity with plot lines that maybe pursued in later novels.

As I read Secret Chemistry I got the feeling that I was stepping into the middle of a larger story. This can help with the realism of a novel, since in the real world you don't know the complete story of every person you meet, or situation you get involved in. Still, I kept getting this feeling that I was only hearing half the story. This feeling increases after the reunion. The plot moves entirely too fast from Tim finding Jay, essentially in his own backyard, to their first sexual encounter. Even understanding the whole "mate recognition thing" in wolf shifter stories, Kat moves the main characters from reunion to passionate sex much too fast. Another weakness in Secret Chemistry is the lack of back-story for Jay. What happens to Jay from age 3 to 21? Where's his mother? What happened to the rest of Jay's family? These are just a few of the questions I asked myself as I read Secret Chemistry.

Reviewed by Creative Ink Romance Reviews… (mer)