What do you think?
Rate this book
Preters #2
Nick of Time
Gryphon’s in trouble. Captured and tortured by humans, the ancient vampire is dying. The humans gave him enough blood to continue his torture, but not enough to heal or free himself. He’s on the brink of death when a meal is tossed into his cell.
Nick knows all about the monsters lurking in the dark corners of the world. Unfortunately for him, it’s the human ones who try to kill him. Broken and bloody, he’s thrown into a cell with a vampire. Knowing he’s dying, Nick offers his blood to the vampire, willing to sacrifice himself to save the tormented man.
Gryphon accepts Nick’s offer and the first drink of blood will bind them together through a life-changing adventure. The worlds of human and supernatural collide, catching Nick and Gryphon in the middle...
Nick knows all about the monsters lurking in the dark corners of the world. Unfortunately for him, it’s the human ones who try to kill him. Broken and bloody, he’s thrown into a cell with a vampire. Knowing he’s dying, Nick offers his blood to the vampire, willing to sacrifice himself to save the tormented man.
Gryphon accepts Nick’s offer and the first drink of blood will bind them together through a life-changing adventure. The worlds of human and supernatural collide, catching Nick and Gryphon in the middle...
239 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2009
2 people are currently reading
244 people want to read
About the author
T.A. Chase
160Ìýbooks892ÌýfollowersThere is beauty in every kind of love, so why not live a life without boundaries? Experiencing everything the world offers fascinates me and writing about the things that make each of us unique is how I share those insights. I live in the Midwest with a wonderful partner of thirteen years. When not writing, I’m watching movies, reading and living life to the fullest.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
September 4, 2009
Blurb:
Gryphon’s in trouble. Captured and tortured by humans, the ancient vampire is dying. The humans gave him enough blood to continue his torture, but not enough to heal or free himself. He’s on the brink of death when a meal is tossed into his cell.
Nick knows all about the monsters lurking in the dark corners of the world. Unfortunately for him, it’s the human ones who try to kill him. Broken and bloody, he’s thrown into a cell with a vampire. Knowing he’s dying, Nick offers his blood to the vampire, willing to sacrifice himself to save the tormented man.
Gryphon accepts Nick’s offer and the first drink of blood will bind them together through a life-changing adventure. The worlds of human and supernatural collide, catching Nick and Gryphon in the middle...
Bottom line up front:
Weird. Definitely weird. Dunno what to make of this story, but it was nowhere near to the luminous beauty of Angel's Evolution.
The rest:
Nick is a geek who got seduced by a total jackass who couldn't be bothered to do his own research. However, Bad Guy miscalculated, because as soon as Nick figured out what was happening with all the research, he promptly stopped cooperating. For his troubles, Nick got beat up by Bad Guy and his goons and thrown into a cage to be dinner for a very hungry vampire.
Sadly for the goons, the vampire wasn't exactly cooperating either. Gryphon only drank enough to be able to have the power to teleport them out of their jail. He eventually takes Nick to some mysterious Cave of the Gods, and asks them to heal the battered and broken man. The gods healed Nick and summarily turned him into their avatar, sort of their walking talking representative, complete with a cobra spirit guide.
I was a bit apprehensive when I came to the talking snake part of the story. I've only read one other book that featured a talking snake (bible), and things didn't turn out so well for those characters. Of course, the snake in the current book- imaginatively named Serpens- was infinitely more interesting, and more inclined to urge Nick to eat assholes rather than apples.
Through some trial and error, Nick slowly discovers what his newly immortal powers are while being told that it didn't all come free. He is tasked with finding a spell book which, if landed in the wrong hands, could spell the end of all preternatural beings. The gods definitely don't want that, because the preternaturals are the only ones who still believe in them. If preters cease to exist, the gods go bye-bye too.
There were many odd moments in the story, particularly where the sex scenes were concerned. For the first time ever, I got the feeling that Chase sort of randomly threw them in. The end result is that Nick and Gryphon kept doing the nasty at odd times that just didn't make sense. The first time was shortly after Nick was rescued by Gryphon. He just got rather abruptly broken up with by his last boyfriend in the form of an ass beating that left him temporarily paralyzed from the waist down. However, he was quick to make out and subsequently bump uglies with Gryphon, all the while wondering why he was falling in love again. Uh...why? All he really knew about Gryphon was that the vampire saved his life after he saved the vampire. Not much to base a relationship on. Slow the heck down, dude.
Another weird boinking scene happened when Nick went out to the balcony. He looks over to the treeline and sees the shadow of someone watching him. Rather than investigate, his inner exhibitionist busts out waving the freak flag, and Nick is wanting to do the nasty outside for the delectation of the masses. Huh?? Gryphon wasn't much better. He did convince Nick to go back inside, but only so they could squirt sperms on the bedspread. They're in danger. People are trying to kill them, yet when they see someone spying on them, all they could think of was 'hey, let's fuck!' Does not compute.
So...yeah. Much gratuitous smexing happening here.
The other thing that annoyed me to no end is the simplistic naming of characters here. The snake was named Serpens. The only other known avatar had a jaguar spirit guide named Felius. The head bad guy's name was Grime. Really? Did somebody run out of character names and end up polling kindergartners?
I had to laugh at this particular innovative twist:
"Several of my pack members have died from a mutated strain of
±è²¹°ù±¹´Ç.â€�
Werewolves with parvo? Oh, dear. Now that's something I haven't read before. In this case, the parvo is the result of too much inbreeding in the pack.
Fans of Allergies will be happy to know that Lou, Ray, and the rest of the pack are back in this continuation of the series. However, Nick of Time can be read as a stand alone. The story was rather open ended, so we likely haven't seen the last of Nick or Gryphon either. I'll reserve judgment on whether to read on. Chase, a former autobuy, has been disappointing me lately with stories that are mediocre at best.
Gryphon’s in trouble. Captured and tortured by humans, the ancient vampire is dying. The humans gave him enough blood to continue his torture, but not enough to heal or free himself. He’s on the brink of death when a meal is tossed into his cell.
Nick knows all about the monsters lurking in the dark corners of the world. Unfortunately for him, it’s the human ones who try to kill him. Broken and bloody, he’s thrown into a cell with a vampire. Knowing he’s dying, Nick offers his blood to the vampire, willing to sacrifice himself to save the tormented man.
Gryphon accepts Nick’s offer and the first drink of blood will bind them together through a life-changing adventure. The worlds of human and supernatural collide, catching Nick and Gryphon in the middle...
Bottom line up front:
Weird. Definitely weird. Dunno what to make of this story, but it was nowhere near to the luminous beauty of Angel's Evolution.
The rest:
Nick is a geek who got seduced by a total jackass who couldn't be bothered to do his own research. However, Bad Guy miscalculated, because as soon as Nick figured out what was happening with all the research, he promptly stopped cooperating. For his troubles, Nick got beat up by Bad Guy and his goons and thrown into a cage to be dinner for a very hungry vampire.
Sadly for the goons, the vampire wasn't exactly cooperating either. Gryphon only drank enough to be able to have the power to teleport them out of their jail. He eventually takes Nick to some mysterious Cave of the Gods, and asks them to heal the battered and broken man. The gods healed Nick and summarily turned him into their avatar, sort of their walking talking representative, complete with a cobra spirit guide.
I was a bit apprehensive when I came to the talking snake part of the story. I've only read one other book that featured a talking snake (bible), and things didn't turn out so well for those characters. Of course, the snake in the current book- imaginatively named Serpens- was infinitely more interesting, and more inclined to urge Nick to eat assholes rather than apples.
Through some trial and error, Nick slowly discovers what his newly immortal powers are while being told that it didn't all come free. He is tasked with finding a spell book which, if landed in the wrong hands, could spell the end of all preternatural beings. The gods definitely don't want that, because the preternaturals are the only ones who still believe in them. If preters cease to exist, the gods go bye-bye too.
There were many odd moments in the story, particularly where the sex scenes were concerned. For the first time ever, I got the feeling that Chase sort of randomly threw them in. The end result is that Nick and Gryphon kept doing the nasty at odd times that just didn't make sense. The first time was shortly after Nick was rescued by Gryphon. He just got rather abruptly broken up with by his last boyfriend in the form of an ass beating that left him temporarily paralyzed from the waist down. However, he was quick to make out and subsequently bump uglies with Gryphon, all the while wondering why he was falling in love again. Uh...why? All he really knew about Gryphon was that the vampire saved his life after he saved the vampire. Not much to base a relationship on. Slow the heck down, dude.
Another weird boinking scene happened when Nick went out to the balcony. He looks over to the treeline and sees the shadow of someone watching him. Rather than investigate, his inner exhibitionist busts out waving the freak flag, and Nick is wanting to do the nasty outside for the delectation of the masses. Huh?? Gryphon wasn't much better. He did convince Nick to go back inside, but only so they could squirt sperms on the bedspread. They're in danger. People are trying to kill them, yet when they see someone spying on them, all they could think of was 'hey, let's fuck!' Does not compute.
So...yeah. Much gratuitous smexing happening here.
The other thing that annoyed me to no end is the simplistic naming of characters here. The snake was named Serpens. The only other known avatar had a jaguar spirit guide named Felius. The head bad guy's name was Grime. Really? Did somebody run out of character names and end up polling kindergartners?
I had to laugh at this particular innovative twist:
"Several of my pack members have died from a mutated strain of
±è²¹°ù±¹´Ç.â€�
Werewolves with parvo? Oh, dear. Now that's something I haven't read before. In this case, the parvo is the result of too much inbreeding in the pack.
Fans of Allergies will be happy to know that Lou, Ray, and the rest of the pack are back in this continuation of the series. However, Nick of Time can be read as a stand alone. The story was rather open ended, so we likely haven't seen the last of Nick or Gryphon either. I'll reserve judgment on whether to read on. Chase, a former autobuy, has been disappointing me lately with stories that are mediocre at best.
October 8, 2009
I read the first book in the series and really enjoyed getting to know the characters. Sadly i felt that the adventure and mystery showed a lot of promise but it was not explored to its full potential. Hoping that the first was just the opening for everything to unfold, i went ahead to read the sequel. Well i shouldn't have worried because once i got started on this i was completely gripped. I couldn't stop reading and go to sleep, i just had to finish it to see what would happen next.
Now don't get me wrong these are no Ward or Kenyon novels, they are in a category of their own. One where a few have tried and in my eyes have failed to convince or entertain me all the way. The romance may have developed a little too quickly, but i took it as the wishful thinking in the authors part. Not to mention it's a fictional story, so as long as the love between the H&H is believable i personally didn't care. They did get to know each other as the story progressed and the "I love yous" didn't appear until a few chapters into the story, that should be enough for some.
So if you want a light paranormal series with likable characters give these books a try. They have quite the hot scenes and either will bring out the romantic in you, or the cynic who wants to roll their eyes at all the sugary going around. *LOL* The story does keep building even towards the end and i seriously have no clue which story will be next, it almost seems like any of the characters introduced from the first book or this one could be.
Now don't get me wrong these are no Ward or Kenyon novels, they are in a category of their own. One where a few have tried and in my eyes have failed to convince or entertain me all the way. The romance may have developed a little too quickly, but i took it as the wishful thinking in the authors part. Not to mention it's a fictional story, so as long as the love between the H&H is believable i personally didn't care. They did get to know each other as the story progressed and the "I love yous" didn't appear until a few chapters into the story, that should be enough for some.
So if you want a light paranormal series with likable characters give these books a try. They have quite the hot scenes and either will bring out the romantic in you, or the cynic who wants to roll their eyes at all the sugary going around. *LOL* The story does keep building even towards the end and i seriously have no clue which story will be next, it almost seems like any of the characters introduced from the first book or this one could be.
May 6, 2010
Too much crammed into one novel. I'm a huge fan of T.A. Chase, but it was hard to keep up with this one. So much had happened in the first two chapters I almost went back to re-read it before continuing on, because I felt I had missed something. Unfortunately, that was how it remained through the whole novel.
There were too many characters introduced in a flurry here and there, each holding what I took to be importance but none were given the true time they needed to actually sink in mind and hold on to the reader.
Last, I couldn't help but get frustrated at how everyone talked. Plenty of odd words that are grammatically correct but which are very rarely used in real life ["also" for one:]. And everyone was so NICE to each other. I got tired of hearing a character praise another because they ALL praised each other ["that is a good idea that you have thought of, and also we should do this...":]. I mean, huh? Why not use "yeah, but we could..." instead?
I'm hoping by the third Preter novel Chase will have switched back over to the style he used in "Allergies".
There were too many characters introduced in a flurry here and there, each holding what I took to be importance but none were given the true time they needed to actually sink in mind and hold on to the reader.
Last, I couldn't help but get frustrated at how everyone talked. Plenty of odd words that are grammatically correct but which are very rarely used in real life ["also" for one:]. And everyone was so NICE to each other. I got tired of hearing a character praise another because they ALL praised each other ["that is a good idea that you have thought of, and also we should do this...":]. I mean, huh? Why not use "yeah, but we could..." instead?
I'm hoping by the third Preter novel Chase will have switched back over to the style he used in "Allergies".
October 26, 2011
I simply didn't enjoy this second book. Maybe because I didn't feel real connection between Nick and Gryphon. There was again to much sex scenes and the story, even if well written, just didn't appeal to me. This avatar plot was blah....
September 12, 2020
The book jumped from the characters meeting to being immediately in love. I like a little supernatural romance, but the development of the characters was not fulfilling. I just read this book to relax but can't recommend anyone else reading it.
The pace at which books are published by the author indicates that there is a quickness to the writing. It is always easier to criticize than to do, but this isn't worth the time.
The pace at which books are published by the author indicates that there is a quickness to the writing. It is always easier to criticize than to do, but this isn't worth the time.
May 9, 2016
Notes:
Snake thing cool. Promising peril. Little guy is childlike as usual. Weird that after one light kiss before a horrible painful experience, a guy who had been horribly abused by his last lover, who said it was probably the first time he had been kissed by someone who didn't want something from him, wants to fuck a guy he barely knows and assumes the guy wants that from him as well.
So what does this snakeskin that's like it's part of him, do around his crotch? How does his shirt hang open? How does he take these clothes off (which he does)?
Blood looks like dark red spaghetti sauce? That's some mighty thin spaghetti sauce. Ew.
He doesn't want a sexual relationship yet but then succumbs because it's silly not to, then he tells Gryphon to claim him because, "You know I'm yours." But when they're done, he wonders why he jumped into bed with the man. Huh?
Why didn't Nick just ask Earl what he was when Earl acted weird. And if there has only ever been one, how did Earl recognize it?
Guys in these shifter books are so skanky. They started having sex in the car with others there while they were all talking.
Marcus would have died after he was an avatar and immortal?
Head jumping. Yet another book where that doesn't start until halfway in. Do the authors get lazy or something?
Cool that the author thought about the fact that the locals wouldn't speak English.
This story would be so much better if it weren't constantly being interrupted by sex or a sexual innuendo or sexual desire, or kissing that turns into something heated in the most inappropriate places. Someone is constantly having to tell them to knock it off. It's just stupid. They're in dire straits and all they can think about is sex.
Originally Gryphon was from 950 AD and later from 950 BC.
We already know Gryphon can teleport people even when he's weak. He later says he'll teleport them from England to the U.S., and he couldn't get the two of them out of that little scrape that way?
Why don't they just destroy the book as soon as they find it? Oh. Well they could have explained that earlier.
What kind of ending is that?? It was anticlimactic and then a cliffhanger, with one couple still missing and yet the sequel isn't about them!
That was one of the worst endings I have ever read.
The book was 4.5 stars up to that point but that ending blows.
Snake thing cool. Promising peril. Little guy is childlike as usual. Weird that after one light kiss before a horrible painful experience, a guy who had been horribly abused by his last lover, who said it was probably the first time he had been kissed by someone who didn't want something from him, wants to fuck a guy he barely knows and assumes the guy wants that from him as well.
So what does this snakeskin that's like it's part of him, do around his crotch? How does his shirt hang open? How does he take these clothes off (which he does)?
Blood looks like dark red spaghetti sauce? That's some mighty thin spaghetti sauce. Ew.
He doesn't want a sexual relationship yet but then succumbs because it's silly not to, then he tells Gryphon to claim him because, "You know I'm yours." But when they're done, he wonders why he jumped into bed with the man. Huh?
Why didn't Nick just ask Earl what he was when Earl acted weird. And if there has only ever been one, how did Earl recognize it?
Guys in these shifter books are so skanky. They started having sex in the car with others there while they were all talking.
Marcus would have died after he was an avatar and immortal?
Head jumping. Yet another book where that doesn't start until halfway in. Do the authors get lazy or something?
Cool that the author thought about the fact that the locals wouldn't speak English.
This story would be so much better if it weren't constantly being interrupted by sex or a sexual innuendo or sexual desire, or kissing that turns into something heated in the most inappropriate places. Someone is constantly having to tell them to knock it off. It's just stupid. They're in dire straits and all they can think about is sex.
Originally Gryphon was from 950 AD and later from 950 BC.
We already know Gryphon can teleport people even when he's weak. He later says he'll teleport them from England to the U.S., and he couldn't get the two of them out of that little scrape that way?
Why don't they just destroy the book as soon as they find it? Oh. Well they could have explained that earlier.
What kind of ending is that?? It was anticlimactic and then a cliffhanger, with one couple still missing and yet the sequel isn't about them!
That was one of the worst endings I have ever read.
The book was 4.5 stars up to that point but that ending blows.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 16, 2011
There is so much to like in this story, but there was also much that I didn't like. In the end it came down to the point that there was more that I liked than what I didn't like. I felt that the story rambled on too much, with very little clarity. Towards the end it felt like scenes were just being added in order to get the word count up, and still we were left dangling, without an ending and no promise of a third book. (maybe there is a third book, but I couldn't find any reference to one)
Regardless of the things I didn't like, in general I did like the book, but not as much as I liked Allergies. I give Nick of Time three stars.
April 23, 2019
What A Series!
This was such a good story from start to finish I really enjoyed this second part of this series. Nick, Gryphon, Pavel and Jess were such characters that you couldn't help but like and root for them to survive. The romance between Nick and Gryphon was smoking the story line was well written easy to follow and keep up with plus you got to catch with the Canis pack while meeting new ones. I can't wait to see if our hero's come out on top and are able to save the preternatural face from extinction. Bring on the next story with Pavel and Jess story to follow.
This was such a good story from start to finish I really enjoyed this second part of this series. Nick, Gryphon, Pavel and Jess were such characters that you couldn't help but like and root for them to survive. The romance between Nick and Gryphon was smoking the story line was well written easy to follow and keep up with plus you got to catch with the Canis pack while meeting new ones. I can't wait to see if our hero's come out on top and are able to save the preternatural face from extinction. Bring on the next story with Pavel and Jess story to follow.
September 3, 2010
I had trouble on deciding between 3 and 4 stars - would really be a 3 1/2 in my mind. I enjoyed it. I fell in love with the characters but was disappointed by the end mostly because I hadn't realized it was part of a series so when it just ended, I felt left down because of all the loose ends that were still ... loose.
I love the world T.A. created, love the fantasy and the mixture of personalities. I'm looking forward to the sequel.
I love the world T.A. created, love the fantasy and the mixture of personalities. I'm looking forward to the sequel.
August 30, 2016
The plot was a little rushed, lacking details, at the same time containing too many not-so-important characters who only confused me. I did read a couple of pages about them in the beginning, but by the end of the book, where they're mentioned again, I had to made an effort to remember - who is who and why they are there.
Overall, I did like the premise of the book. Might get the third one.
Overall, I did like the premise of the book. Might get the third one.
September 3, 2009
I think there will be a sequel to this book, too! The first 1/2-3/4 of the book was awesome and then it sort of fell apart. Lots of loose ends... but my guess is the next book will fill it all out.
February 15, 2010
3,5 stars
June 20, 2015
I really enjoyed this story. I always enjoy the preternatural element and this has both vampires and were's. Can't ask for more than that! I'm looking forward to the next installment.
February 4, 2011
Good book, can't wait for more of this series.
September 20, 2011
This was a sort of sequel, or tied to, the other book by T.A. Chase called Allergies. I found it enjoyable, but personally liked Allergies more.
July 22, 2012
3.5 stars
January 12, 2015
Out of TA Chase's books this series is not my favorite. 2.5 stars
May 24, 2013
3.5 stars
January 29, 2014
One whole star for Serpens. *nods* Cuz he was nifty! Kinda long and too drawn out in places and then bam! ends. *huff*
December 23, 2010
I love Nick!!!
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.