Book Reviews

Book Blurb

Anax Tobias Rogan, ruler of all werewolves in the United States, has never liked Christmas. But this year, his mate, vegan werewolf Kyle Slidell, and their young guard Quinn Boucher are eager to celebrate, and Tobias is trying to find the holiday spirit. He’s even planned the perfect gift for Kyle, one he hopes will revitalize the relationship that has been frayed by Tobias claiming the rank of Anax.

A call from Jed Howe, the Alpha who took in Tobias after he was changed as a teen, changes everything. Jed has slipped into dementia and believes the Alpha of a nearby pack is trying to steal his rank. Although Tobias manages to calm Jed, he knows the time he has dreaded has come. Jed is no longer fit to rule a pack, and Tobias must intervene before he causes any harm.

But before Tobias is able to stop him, Jed takes drastic and dangerous action against the other Alpha. Now Tobias, battling his own demons, is faced with the most difficult task of his life: Removing the man he considers a father from his rank--permanently.

This book includes references to abuse and sexual assault in characters' pasts, depictions of PTSD, and the off-page suicide of a character.

Book Review

‘Sorry About the Seitan’ is set a few months after the previous book, and it is now Christmas. The events begin with a phone call in the middle of the night – and we all know that nothing good can ever come from one of those! Indeed, what follows is yet another crisis in werewolf land – and one of the next calls is even worse because it involves Jed, the werewolf who took in Tobias when he was first turned, who is now going senile. Tobias has known for a while that he will have to do something about the situation before Jed’s pack is hurt, but his own emotions and gratitude toward Jed make this exceptionally difficult. It was interesting to read about dementia and its consequences for shifters, and in this universe the author has created, they are pretty bad.

 

Tobias tells this story and now that I have gotten used to the alternating point of view every few books (rather than by chapter) I am beginning to like it. Tobias is still struggling with being the Anax and because he never wanted to lead in the first place, this continues to be difficult for him. Especially because the “Anax power” seems to be on an entirely different and much stronger level than that for Alphas and Arkhons. Tobias is still deciding what kind of an Anax he wants to be, only certain that he needs to be very different from the previous dictator in that position. But this is hard when the power-hungry side of the magic that gives him an Anax’s power keeps interfering.

 

Kyle is trying to be patient with Tobias’s increasingly frequent irrational outbursts. He knows that it’s the Anax power that causes it, but that does not make it easier to be pushed away and having an emotionally unavailable partner. I have to admire Kyle for how supportive he is despite all the issues. It’s partly because he is stubborn – about everything! – but partly it shows how much he loves Togias.

 

Quinn sees the issues with Tobias as well: “There’s you-you, and then there’s Anax-you. Sometimes even when you’re being the Anax, you’re still you, but there’s something else that shows up sometimes. Almost someone else. Still you, but more than you.” His abilities to see colors increases, but he still finds it difficult to explain what exactly it is that he sees. There is some progress with Malachi, his mate, and that turns out to be an interesting relationship.

 

Since it is Christmas in this volume, I got to see Kyle, Quinn, and Alisa enjoy the time, where Tobias can’t let go because this time of year is always difficult for him. Still, for a few days Tobias manages to get over himself and it was fun seeing him loosen up a bit. Of course, right afterwards the proverbial sh*t hits the fan, and we are back to Tobias having to deal with the reality of Jed’s (his foster father when he was first turned) dementia.

 

If werewolves at Christmas are your thing, if you want to see Tobias deal with his foster father’s dementia, and if you’re ready for a big surprise as Tobias and Kyle take the next step in their relationship (surprise!), then you will probably like this novel.

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by Other Worlds Ink for the purpose of a review.

 

Additional Information

Format	ebook and print
Length	Novel, 238 pages
Heat Level
Publication Date	10-July-2025
Price	$4.99 ebook, $15.99 paperback
Buy Link	https://www.amazon.com/Sorry-About-Seitan-Real-Werewolves-ebook/dp/B0DRGQK4SG