Max needs 3 things – magic, a boyfriend, and a wolf. Bad boy mage with an attitude problem meets a hot werewolf with a white knight complex in this charming gay romance from a New York Times bestselling comedy author. SUMAGEMax fails at magic, relationships, and life. So he works as a sumage, cleaning up other mages’ messes. The job sucks and he’s in no mood to cope with redneck werewolves. … up other mages’ messes. The job sucks and he’s in no mood to cope with redneck werewolves. Unfortunately, there’s something irresistible about the sexy muscled Beta visiting his office.
WEREWOLF
Bryan is Beta to a new pack in a new city. He’s also closeted. Except, there’s a good chance Max might be reason enough to come out, if Bryan can only get the snarky sumage to go on a date.
Everyone knows werewolves hate mages. Bryan is determined to prove everyone wrong, even the mage himself. Sparks (and other things) fly.
“This might be the closest my Kindle Fire has ever come to, well, catching fire.” ~ Rally the Readers
Delicate Sensibilities?
This story contains M/M sexitimes and horrible puns. If you get offended easily, then you probably will. The San Andreas Shifter stories include awkward but sweet muscled shapeshifters, hilarious blue language, dirty deeds, and outright admiration for the San Francisco Bay Area. Not for the faint of heart (or mouth or tongue).
Perfect for fans of Amber Kell or TJ Klune, the humorous San Andreas Shifter books stand alone and do not have to be read in any order. However, this one comes after Marine Biology and before The Omega Objection.
Also by G L Carriger
The 5th Gender
As Gail Carriger
The Curious Case of the Werewolf that Wasn’t
The Finishing School series (start with Etiquette & Espionage)
The Delightfully Deadly novellas
The Parasol Protectorate series (start with Soulless)
The Supernatural Society novellas
The Custard Protocol series (start with Prudence)
The Claw & Courtship novellas
Crudrat
more
This is the beginning to a very good shifter series. This first book drops us headfirst into a magic system and worldbuilding that is a bit complex. It does not infodump (which I approve) but as a consequence it took me about three chapters to feel secure enough in my understanding of the worldbuilding elements to focus more deeply on the characters. Once that happened, I was hooked.
Biff, or Bryan as he secretly prefers, is a Beta werewolf in a small pack. Betas are the wolves whose role and function is to soothe, and stabilize, their powerful Alphas. Betas are calm, solid, deliberate oil on troubled waters. A pack with a Beta runs better and is less likely to cause trouble. Which is why Bryan’s Alpha sent him to register their pack with the local authorities. A building full of mages and shifters, kitsune and merfolk, bureaucrats and berserkers, is a bad place for a werewolf who isn’t cool and collected. Luckily, Bryan is an excellent Beta.
Max is a sumage, a failed mage whose only ability is to act as a power sink. Max can take the full-on blast of magic from some pissed-off user and transform it harmlessly, other than a headache for him, and some odd physical manifestation that soon disappears. He’s a man who stands back and observes the world, his snarky, sharp-tongued personality hiding a real concern for others. As a failure, when his family meant him to be a culmination of power, he has fellow-feeling for the misfits, quirky characters, queer folk and loners who gravitate to the Bay Area.
The last thing he wants is a pack of typical, homophobic, biker, werewolf grunts moving into his territory. The Bay Area was without an approved werewolf pack for a reason. But Biff, the Beta sent to his desk, doesn’t seem to be homophobic. And as huge as the man is, he’s even-tempered and reacts to sarcasm with humor. Against his will, Max begins to believe that, if his Alpha and the rest aren’t raging assholes like most werewolves, it might not be a terrible thing, to allow this pack to stay.
This book is both a lot of fun- full of humor, sarcasm and snark, word play and eccentric characters- but also a fast-moving adventure with a good plot, fallible heroes, a slow burn romance, and wonderful, intriguing found family. By the time I reached the end, I’d already bought book two and had it cued up. Despite having the latest KJ Charles drop onto my Kindle. And that’s high praise.
(ETA: I’m told that reading the prequel short Marine Biology first helps with the worldbuilding speed. I personally think its lightweight snippet of the Alpha and his mate means more read after this book, but it would get some of the worldbuilding in place.)
This is a funny and very quirky – and as Carrigery as can be – romance. It features all kinds of shifters, Mages and also some very explicit M/M shenanigans. It’s simply delightful.
To enjoy this read, open-mindedness is a requisite. There are shifters and gays all over the place. There’s sexual innuendo to the max (often expressed by Max in fact) and lots of nudity. If plenty of di**s and serious tongue action isn’t your thing, I recommend you move along.
But for the rest of us, this is a wonderful, fast-pacing och so funny story. Exactly what I expect from Carriger. She has world-building down to an art and always manages to surprise and delight me with her humour and wit. As anyone who’s familiar with Carriger’s work knows, her books are truly dry humour heaven. That’s true for The Sumage Solution as well.
If I didn’t know any better, I would have sworn Carriger was British.
It’s a fast-pacing story, but the character development is still brilliant. Both Max and Bryan grow as individuals (alright, it’s mostly Max since he had some catching up to do) and as a couple. And there are so many lovely characters that I’d like to get to know better. The way Carriger is able to cram so many interesting, quirky and thought-provoking individuals in one story is a true testament to her talent.
You don’t have to have read any other of Carriger’s books before The Sumage Solution, but I did enjoy the fact that it appears to take place in the same world as her steampunk “historical” series; the Parasol Protectorate, the Custard Protocol and the Finishing School series. Only now it’s modern time. In The Sumage Solution, there are several references to historical events which actually sheds new light on happenings in those other series, which is a big plus in my book.
To be honest, I wasn’t really persuaded by the blurb. But since it was a Carriger book I got it anyway. And I’m so glad I did. I’ve already started in on the second installment, The Omega Objection, and I will get the third one as well when it (hopefully) comes out next year. This is an awesome read – for those so inclined. I strongly recommend it!
https://reflectionsofaswedishgirl.blog.se/
Gail Carriger in non steampunk mode is as entertaining as when she is in steampunk mode. An interesting world and good romance!
If I weren’t already familiar with Carriger’s work, the world building would have baffled me at the beginning, but as long as you focus on the relationship between Max and Bryan the story will flow from it and eventually make sense.