Strays

By: A.J. Thomas

Narrated by: Noel Harrison

Orphaned at a young age and raised in the foster system, Jory Smith has no idea he's half incubus. He only knows he has the power to heal people, making himself sick in the process. Exploited by a crooked faith healer who sells his abilities and his life to the highest bidder and then left for dead, Jory flees, falling into a job at a small-town cafe where he can put his lifelong obsession with baking to good use. But the minister who exploited him wants him back.

Exiled hellhound turned bounty hunter Malpheus Pelle has no idea why his human client wants him to track down an incubus. Jory is traumatized and afraid to touch anyone, an emotional handicap that could prove fatal for a demon who requires physical contact. Needing answers, Mal concocts a disastrous plan: pretend to date Jory to uncover the truth. Unfortunately, his plan never included dealing with an ancient demon assassin, Jory's orgasmic pumpkin cookies, or losing his heart to the incubus he's supposed to be hunting....

Contains mature themes.

©2018 A. J. Thomas (P)2019 Tantor

Generally enjoyable, nice starting twist!

It would be easy for this story to be a predictable mess of demons and the humans in their way. Instead, there are some nice twists along the way, and a great opening that focuses on how anyone can be manipulated for someone else's gain.

Harrison's narration is perfectly pleasant and keeps the story moving. He doesn't get mired in theatrics when moments of drama pop up, which is a gift I appreciate.

My main complaint is that the story leans heavily into misunderstanding to fuel the conflict. When handled well, I can work with it. I do not think it was handled very well in this book. When Jory finally snaps, which the reader can tell a mile away is going to happen, he is the kind happy to burn it all down rather than assess the situation. For me that was a really unfortunate choice as Mal, and the guardian demons are really well written and have a clear intent on being a help rather than hindrance.

I still recommend, although without as much enthusiasm as I could have, if Thomas hadn't grabbed the easiest trope to propel the story forward. The first half of the book, including the mid portion as the guys get to know each other is really solid. Sometimes we have to overlook the authors choices.

Exciting and Adorable

Exciting and adorable. I will read more… I hope there are more!
Great Cinderella and the Huntsman vibe.

New to me narrator

I have several books by A.J. Thomas and they’re all good. I liked the world building in this book and see the potential for a series here, though this book had a satisfying HEA. I would love to learn more about Neil.
Mr Harrison did an admirable job distinguishing the various voices, including the feminine ones. Though his intimate scenes were acceptable, I feel I’m spoiled by a few other narrators who really make me feel the burn! All in all though, I will be looking for other books narrated by Mr. Harrison.

hoping for a sequel

loved the story and characters. hoping for a sequel. can't wait for more. .

yes, yes, all this, yes!!

Been looking for a good m/m incubus/cambion story for A WHILE. In fact, just listened to a **terrible** one with a **terrible** narrator. Was about to give up. Over several months I put STRAYS in my cart two or three times and then deleted it because I've just had such bad luck. Then, with nothing to listen to, I finally spent the credit and gave it a listen.

IT. IS. AWESOME. What great fun! Nuanced and sexy characters. Seriousness and silliness, GREAT world building that can easily and HOPEFULLY lead to a series. Plus a surprise take on Hellhounds! The sexy-time is well earned, and pretty hot.

Only criticism is although the characters actually have quite a bit of depth, we don't learn about it til late in the story, and I feel our understanding of the characters' actions as well as some of the world building would have been better if it happened a little earlier. But oh well, it will make the "re-read" all the better;

The performance by Noel Harrison is good. Love that he does women without being weird. His narration is clear, His Mal is gruff and sexy, Jory is sweet and charming. He is not as nuanced as some of the writing, but overall does a great job.

If you're wondering if STRAYS is worth the credit, and thus a listen, it definitely is!!

Thoroughly enjoyable

There's actual plot. The pacing and revelations of this world are engaging and you can't help but like the characters. The narration is good too. which is hard to find sometimes but in this case it fits well.

loved it

it was great!! The story kept me interested and I found the characters amazing! Must hear a continuation of this story.

I would love to have some more!!!

The world that AJ Thomas has created was a blast to discover. Each character had their own little quirk, where you could not get them mixed up with anyone other than themselves. Pug, love lol!

Noel Harrison was an awesome narrator, who brought the characters to life. And yes I would definitely love to have more books in this world. Which makes me feel silly now since I did not check before reading/listening, to this. Oops. Oh, well I love this, definitely going into my favorites. But if I say anything more I will give things away. And this is a book that needs to be discovered and enjoyed.

Almost perfect

I really liked it, but there were times when I couldn't tell who was speaking. I'm not sure if this was because of the naration or the writing style. Other than that I relaly liked the book and all its sweet characters.

Found Family

Strays checks all my paranormal fantasy MM boxes, sans dark erotica. I was skipping around in my library for a book with low angsts that also allowed multi tasking while listening to. Once started, I finished it with few breaks, it was that good. Demons,mixed human/demon, dragons find their way into a small town where an inncubus brought up as a human has run to in order to escape death and abuse. It’s a really good story with medium high heat and lots of heart. Delicious sounding pastries too!