Author: Gillian St. Kevern
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: January 15, 2018
Heat Level: 3 - Some Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 119000
Genre: Paranormal, vampires, supernatural beings, werewolves, alternate universe, cliffhanger ending
Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37482280-life-after-humanity
Synopsis
Ben is a recovering vampire determined to pick up the pieces of the life that came to a halt when he was murdered over a year ago—even if that means distancing himself from his few remaining friends. Nate, struggling to navigate his new identity as a Class 3 Unknown paranormal, knows it will take more than mastery of his affinity with plants to convince Ben they belong together.
When Ben’s application for human status is denied, he must fight to leave the paranormal world behind him while Nate’s generous impulses drag him into conflict with a werewolf pack with designs on ruling New Camden. As Ben’s vampire family draws closer to finding him, his vampire instinct awakens—throwing his continued existence into jeopardy. The hunt for the missing werewolf continues, and Nate and Ben become pawns in Councilor Wisner’s plans to take control of the city. Their only hope is each other—if they can see that before all is lost.
I believe I have done an injustice to St Kevern with her last two books in this series by not extolling their virtues further than an "I loved this book" type of review. Shame on me! (Check out Thorns and Fangs and Uprooted on Goodreads.)
I shall attempt to remedy that with a more expanded review.
Life After Humanity is the third in the Thorns and Fangs series, and each installment of the series gets better. The saga revolves around Nate, a male escort, and Ben, a retired investigator for the ARX Security Company, and a vampire. Throughout the tale we see the two meet, watch them as they negotiate some rather tricky relationship issues, and are privy to their own journeys of self-discovery.
The setting is the city of New Camden, where the existence of supernatural entities is viewed as a normal occurrence, and the city denizens make allowances for such creatures, albeit with a healthy dose of respect. St Kevern has quite subtly added ripples of prejudice throughout the books - I mean, after all, who wouldn't be a little leery of ancient vampires who like to compel humans and werewolves with power-hungry political aspirations? The city even has a unique law enforcement branch referred to as Department Seven. Through laws and regulations, all supernaturals are given various classifications, including registries, one of which no one wants to be one: The Final Register.
Now Nate's case is unique. We're not exactly sure what he is - but the closest thing would be a dryad, but "Dryads are all girls." Nate has power over, or perhaps with plants, which brings some unusual abilities to the forefront.
Ben, on the other hand, started off as human, was changed to a vampire, and in Life After Humanity seeks to have himself reclassified as Human after his vampire form dies at the end of Uprooted (Thorns and Fangs #2). But can a vampire cease to exist?
St Kevern is a master at not revealing absolute truths. Nate's true form has never been given a name, and many questions were raised throughout Life After Humanity regarding Ben's human existence. The writing is comfortable and easy to slip into. The New Camden nightlife is vibrant and seedy, dark and creepy. Secondary characters are far from two dimensional, and I found myself wanting much more of Grant, the alpha-werewolf struggling to emancipate himself from his pack, and Vazul and Charlotte, two magic users. We can't forget Diya, the Department Seven caseworker with a vampire child, and Aki, Nate's best friend. There are many more characters, the cast of past books, that play minor roles throughout this story, and each remains true to their original introductions.
I've often said that finding really well-written LGBTQA+ Urban Fantasy stories is a tough task. Sure we have lots of them where there might be a gay secondary character or two, but the Thorns and Fangs series has definitely earned its spot on my bookshelves as one series I will go back and reread over and over. Thoroughly enjoyable, totally believable, and with creatures that are familiar and yet still have clever twists to the well-known mythos.Wait...A review of the fourth book, Dead Wrong is forthcoming!
Rating:
Available At:
NineStar Press: https://ninestarpress.com/product/life-after-humanity/
Amazon: http://hyperurl.co/2gry8y
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/772926
Meet the Author:
Gillian St. Kevern is spending Christmas in her native New Zealand, where the seasonal festivities include pavlovas, walks on the beach, and a distinct lack of sweaters, seasonal or otherwise. She will almost certainly get sunburnt at some stage.
Gillian reads and writes a variety of genres. She’s a huge fan of paranormal with an emphasis on vampires. The third and fourth books in her vampire series, Thorns and Fangs, are due for release in January and February 2018. She also explores Welsh Mythology in the on-going Deep Magic series. In 2018, she plans to explore another beloved genre―vintage mysteries. She loves discovering new books and authors, so please get in touch if you have any good book recommendations to share!
Author Links:
Website: http://www.gillianstkevern.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GillianStKevern
Email: gillian.stkevern@gmail.com
