Protector of the Alpha by @ParkerWAuthor #REVIEW

Protector of the Alpha, Parker Williams
Shifting Needs #1
Adopted at an early age by a wealthy family, Jake Davis has always seemed to have an easy life. Even in college he was blessed with good grades and an apparently clear path to a pro football career. Good thing his best friend keeps hanging around to keep his head from getting too swollen.
Zakiya Incekara has always been...odd. Being fluent in six languages and having a flair for international cooking should open the world to him, but those skills leave him isolated.
When Jake sees Zak for the first time, with water beading down his slender form, something inside him shifts, and it hungers for Zak. To have him. To claim him. And Jake knows that whatever it is, it won’t be denied.
When they are approached by a man who claims knowledge of a secret past they share, Jake and Zak are thrust into a world they would never have believed existed. The forests of Alaska might seem an odd place to find your destiny, but these men will meet the challenges head on, as they learn that sometimes you have to make sacrifices to be Protector of the Alpha.

REVIEW:
This book takes all of the tropes of a paranormal shifter story and tweeks it. So no one is really who you expect them to be which makes for a great read. I am a fan of shifter stories, I love that there is a cosmic reason that that is the one person for you. That undeniable attraction and feeling of satisfaction of finally finding the "one".

Jake Davis is BMOC, he is the starting quarterback for the football team, good looking and smart.  You would think that this would make him kind of a jerk, but it doesn't because he is a genuinely nice guy.  Everything just seems to come easily to him but the one thing he really wants, Zak.

Zak is testy, prickley, a smartass. But you are ok with that because that's just him. He even speaks in a completely different cadence than everyone else. He is attracted to Jake but he doesn't know why, and so he fights it, and that just makes it funny.

So while these two are circling around each other sexually, their world is being turned upside down with some pretty incredible revelations. How they deal with it will make or break not only their lives but all the lives that they are eventually responsible for. There is a big bad out there that is stalking them and working together is their only chance for survival.

This is the first book in the series and as such has a lot of back story and world building happening. So be prepared to take in a lot of information. I for one am a big fan of that type of world building so I enjoyed it but some people might feel like it's too much. There is one FABULOUS secondary character who is not only the comic relief but also the voice of reason through out most of the book. Pretty sure his world is going to be rocked even more in the next installment so that should be an interesting read.

This is a strong first book that hooked me on the characters and I will definitely be back for more.



RATING: 4 Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries.  This book was given to us by the author. Many thanks.