Mongrel

Outcast Mates

By: Lee Colgin

Narrated by: Tom Zadoyko

Mongrel, a creature more wolf than man, leads a lonely life on the fringes of pack society—until the night a handsome vampire shows up with a mysterious request.

Bowie, a vampire cursed to a life of endless nights, maintains close ties with his human family. When young girls in their village go missing, he must act quickly. But to find them, he’ll need to convince the local werewolf pack to loan him their best tracker—a wolf known as the Mongrel.

Though he hates the slur, Andras is used to being called Mongrel. When Bowie refuses to refer to him by anything but his given name, Andras can’t help a flicker of unexpected trust toward the stranger. He volunteers to help Bowie, risking banishment.

Can two tenderhearted men overcome their traumatic pasts and work together to rescue the girls before it’s too late? Or will the world’s most prolific killer snuff the flames of their passion along with the lives of the captives?

***This steamy love story spans the country of Hungary as Andras and Bowie journey through cities and wilderness on their quest to right a villain’s wicked wrongs. Mongrel features a sweetly possessive werewolf, a cinnamon roll of a vampire, and the worst killer in history. A surprisingly fluffy MM Paranormal/Historical Romance considering the subject matter.

HEA guaranteed with loads of laughs along the way and no cliffhanger ending!

©2021 Jana Colgin (P)2024 Jana Colgin

Captivating and Immersive Storytelling!

This is my first Lee Colgin’s book and I’m SO SO happy that I went with the audio as my first foray into her world. Lee’s paranormal version of 17th century Hungary was so immersive, I don’t think I could have done it justice to read it without the authentic pronunciations from Tom Zadoyko who made enjoying the world sooo much easier for me. (Also ENJOYABLE! his vocal range is impressive and his performance was SO GOOD!) Lee’s world had such a Witcher feel imo and it made all the European folklore, history and settings feel so real. I was SO SO impressed with the level of research and attention to detail made to bring this paranormal romance historical story to life.

But back to the story, it’s basically a precious Mission!story where upon discovering that a bunch of village girls have gone missing, a once noble Vampire, Bowie, entreats with the local werewolf pack to borrow their best tracker, which happens to be a mongrel (a werewolf that still has ears and tail 🥲🥹 in human form) named Adras. Together they trek the breadth of the kingdom of Hungary hunting one of history’s worst killers, Erzsébet Báthory.

On the way, they share beds, hugs, flirt (their playful flirtations are EVERYTHING) and fall in love (while being completely possessive and protective of one another’s difficult existences) I should mention that Tom’s voice for Bowie is absolutely swoon worthy and I ADORE how doting he is of Andras. Please, they are BOTH cinnamon rolls. And it is SO CUTE.

And when they finally… FINALLY hook up? Please. 🙏🏻 I melteth away I COULD NOT HANDLE THAT, LEE. there was just SO MUCH UST. 😭🥲

Anyway, the hard earned HEA is just perfect for two perfect fluffy outcasts with the sweetest most tender hearts to ever exist.

Read this in audio. 💯 worth it if you’re like me and you’re useless as pronouncing ANYTHING in your head when you read. Let Tom do it for you and make it sound SO much better and authentic.

5 stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Good tale

I really enjoyed this story. It was such a different take on a vampire and shifter story. Not to mention where it was set! Mongrel and Bowie were a breath of fresh air.

Struggled

I loved reading this book. In fact, I’ve reread it about 5x. But I honestly struggled listening because of the narrator. I hated the voice for Bowie. Hated it! It made him seem so weak and timid, and I ended up not liking him as much… when I absolutely LOVE him in the non-audio version. Otherwise, the narrator’s tone was just emotionless and drawling, so I struggled feeling attached, even in a bit faster speed. I ended up pausing this story too many times, yet I can hardly put it down on my kindle. Bummed.

Great take on the Erzebet Bathory fascination

Both the author and the performer are new to me and I found this listen interesting alone for the world building - geological and historical references aplenty. I've always had a curiosity of the alleged crimes committed by Bathory so at the first mention of girls going missing in this title I already figured it was because of The Blood Countess. The supernatural creatures introduced were also interesting and I enjoyed following Beau and Andres on their perilous journey to their HEA. Tom has a great voice and I enjoyed his performance enough that I looked up other titles performed by him.

4 starz - worthy of a repeat listen

Love padded softley

I enjoyed the narration of this audiobook. Both MCs dedication to stopping the disappeared and their growing love for each other was explored well.