Marine Biology (San Andreas Shifters, #0.5) by G.L. Carriger, Gail Carriger Published by Gail Carriger LLC on October 4, 2011
Pages: 43
Goodreads
A short tale of seduction, selkies, and sushi.
Alex is a werewolf with problems – he’s unexpectedly alive, he’s quite definitely gay, and he’s been ordered into a partnership with one very flirty merman.
In this LBGTQ sweet short love story, New York Times bestselling author Gail Carriger brings her comedic voice to contemporary fiction and m/m romance. Explicit language warning but little erotic content. (11,000 words ~ 43 pages) First published in The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance 2 (2010).
WARNING
Contains confused lovelorn werewolves and very pretty ex-Goth mermen who are exclusively interested in each other. May also contain fish, Irish mafia, and a shocking lack of tea.
4 Nuts
Well now this is unexpected.
I’m still not really clear if these SAN ANDREAS SHIFTER books are in the same canon as Parasolverse or not but I find myself hoping that it is. Even if it’s not, this little prequel is telling me that I’m probably going to love it anyway.
MARINE BIOLOGY is tiny, clocking in just over an hour on audio. But in that hour I discovered one of the sweetest little werewolves to ever howl. Yo, Alec and Biffy might be fighting it out for that favorite slot here soon, no joke. What is it with the gentle, sweet Alphas that I just can’t get enough of? Screw that overly masculine garbage, gimme a sensitive and understanding alpha with a kind heart.
This short is a funny little mystery, a quick little introduction into the world and modern time period. But it’s not only werewolves and vampires anymore. Nope. SAN ANDREAS SHIFTERS has Selkies and Merpeople too! I can’t wait to see what other Supernaturals pop up in this series (and still hoping it’s related to the Parasolverse somehow).
The audio version of this story is pretty good but not up to the same par as many of her other self pub audios. Alec’s narrator is fine but the others tend to leave a little bit to be desired. I tend to feel if you don’t have a perfect all around cast for a casted audio then it doesn’t really do the book any good to have multiple narrators and voices. One really good narrator will do just fine. Don’t push it. But what really matters is the story itself, which is definitely solid. No complaints there.
I also really enjoyed the family dynamics of this one. This pack is very different from the ones we see in Parasolverse, though there are only two to judge by. I’d imagine it’s probably more akin to the Kingair pack than the Woolsey pack, being that many members are actually blood relations. IE Sidheag and her uncles/grandfather. But this pack seems to have many members from the same family, and can they breed? This is the biggest difference that lends to the idea that Shifters is an entirely different world. However, this is only a prequel short. I’m sure we’ll learn more in SUMAGE SOLUTION.
Mostly this book is just fun. Is it was good as any of the Parasolverse books? Nah, not really. I just like Alec. I waffled between 3.5 and 4 nuts on this one, as it isn’t the best piece Carriger has written. BUT it’s not meant to be. It’s a prequel short. You can’t really put the same kind of pressure on it. It’s just a good time and a fun read.
I NEED MORE ALEC GOODNESS! Don’t judge me.
I’m just happy to have more classic Carriger humor paired with supernatural goodness. Can’t wait to see where this goes.
Are you Team Parasol or Team Shifter? Put your pick in the comments.
From my shelf to yours,
Erin
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