Product Description

On the faraway planet of Belthola exists a group of extraordinary men, the Maleri. Born with empathic powers, they devote themselves to the service of their planet as mediators, diplomats, doctors, lawmen and scholars. Where help is needed by any planet or people, they generously provide it. But even those with powers have their weaknesses. For the Maleri, the use of their gift can eventually cause madness, even death. The one thing that can prevent such an ill fated end is the taking of a mate. Male. One with whom they can join -- mind, body and soul.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #415244 in Books
• Published on: 2008-02-13
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Customer Reviews

Excellent novellas
This book is composed of five novellas, each featuring a different Maleri. They are a special sect of an alien race (humanoid, of course) who must mate with a same-sex partner to keep their telepathic gifts from driving them insane. The bond is metaphysical, and usually instantaneous. Convincing their human mates of that is another matter entirely! Enjoyable, light-hearted gay romance with hot sex.

"Mate Hunt" - The first novella introduces the author's mythology with a few paragraphs and a hot threesome! The stage is set for the hot sex that will follow in every story. Col must finally seek a mate, and he goes to Earth to do so. Matthew isn't ready to accept who he is, and at first withdraws from Col. But this is romance, and they get their happily ever after. Oh, and more hot sex.

"Double Trouble" - As often happens in this kind of series, this second entry has loose ties to the first. In the first, Col bonded to Matt. Now, we meet Matt's brother Eric who has chosen to travel to an alien world in hopes of a new life. What he finds are two of the hottest men he's ever seen, twin brothers who are desined for him. Though enjoyable, this novella is pretty much just hot sex, albeit with some unique men, and a loose plot. It is the weakest of the 5 stories, and though the brothers don't have sex with each other, it was a little too close to incest for my taste. But worth reading.

"Between Love and Law" - This novella really demonstrates the potential of the Maleri series. There is still a lot of hot sex, but the backstory has more meat to it. Chase is director of the Taskin City Security Bureau. He is also Maleri, and his bond has reacted to Caz. Caz is a chameleon, and a thief. Chase knows Caz is being forced to break the law by a powerful person. Can Chase convince Caz to trust him enough to let him help? More angst, a more detailed plot and more of the trademark steamy sex.

"Ride 'Em Cowboy" - This is my favorite of the novellas because of a good story and an interesting hero. In the previous entries, the Maleri was always confident and self-assured. But in this tale we have Zebian. He's a computer geek who's not very good with people. He is sent to Earth to research ranching for use on another world. He knows nothing about such a life, and though he isn't used to the physical labor, he doesn't give up. Jace is the rancher tasked with teaching the new greenhorn about ranching. He soon finds himself attracted to young Zeb and teaching him other things. Zeb must return to his home world though, not fully aware of the bond he formed with Jace. But a Maleri needs his mate to keep him sane...

"Redemption" - The second best of the series. Jor has been exiled from the Maleri. He refuses to take a mate who would share such disgrace with him. But, a Maleri must mate or he faces a painful death. Dane is a human man once mated to a Maleri. When his mate died, Dane nearly joined him; the loss of that psychic bond almost drove him to suicide. When Dane finds himself coming to the aid of Jor, he at first denies the bond that forms. He feels that he's betraying his former mate. Jor wants nothing to do with the bond either. These two must overcome their grief and pain to accept a new love they both desperately need. This is much more of a love story than the other novellas. Very tender.

Overall, I highly recommend this series and hope the author writes more novellas about this intriguing, and highly erotic, race. One thing I don't like - the cheesy CGI cover. For e-books, I can accept them. But a print book should have more effort placed in an important marketing feature. "Never judge a book by its cover" is good, but rarely followed advice. I have never seen a CGI cover that was sexy; the people always look fake and this is no exception.

Bonds of the Maleri- A Joyfully Recommended Title
Mate Hunt

On the planet Belthola, a unique group of males are born empathic. When they reach adulthood, they become part of a brotherhood known as the Maleri. These men offer their skills to people on Belthola and other worlds as well.

One such Maleri is Coltas Oldarie, a man wishing for a mate of his own and determined to find him. Col journeys to Earth to seek his mate and discovers Matthew Ashton and his brother Eric. At first, Matt denies a bond between himself and Col, but Col is intent on overcoming every obstacle to make Matt see that they are meant to be together.

First in a scorching hot futuristic series, "Mate Hunt" neatly sets up the Maleri men and their place in the universe. Extremely sexy and fast paced, yet somehow endearing and light hearted at the same time, "Mate Hunt" is very entertaining.

Double or Nothing

After witnessing his brother Matt happily mated to Maleri empath Col, Eric Ashton agrees to journey with them back to Col's home in Taskin City on Belthola. At a party upon their return, Eric meets twins Greyian and Sethian Dennon who turn out to be Eric's fated mates. Instant lust and a growing bond have Eric accepting Grey and Seth fairly quickly, but chaos ensues when Eric is kidnapped by a scientist and taken to the planet Arela. It's up to Grey and Seth to save their mate and unearth a growing conspiracy before it is too late.

Adventure and sizzling encounters make "Double or Nothing" an exciting story you can't put down. Twin hotties Grey and Seth and the more sexually experienced Eric heat up the pages, while the mysterious kidnapping gave me another reason to thoroughly enjoy "Double or Nothing" even more.

Between Love and Law

Head of Security for Taskin City, Chasetien Kaldor is a man dedicated to his time-consuming and fulfilling job, yet he yearns for the one thing he doesn't have: a mate. As he gets older, though, the psychic energy in his brain is building steadily and only his mate can bring him relief and happiness. A gut feeling one night leads him to the man who would be his, a thief named Cazius Rey. Questionable art collector Kogan Delmon, recently arrived from the planet Lamarra, is blackmailing Caz into stealing a Belthola national treasure, but not if Chase has anything to say about it. Chase plans to help his mate catch a blackmailer and then claim Caz for his very own.

"Between Love and Law" is sexy, provocative, and all-around wicked fun to read. The Maleri stories just keep getting better and better, and I am having a great time reading this series. Chase and Caz scorch the pages, all male and hot as blazes! A greedy collector, an unwilling thief, and a cop make a solid triangle in "Between Love and Law".

Ride `Em Cowboy

At the tender age of twelve, Zebian Bakar lost both his parents and learned early to keep his emotions tightly bottled up. Years later, Zeb is highly skilled in data gathering and computer analysis while still emotionally distant to others. Zeb is sent to Earth, to Wyoming and the Free Plains Ranch to learn about cattle ranching and breeding for another planet planning on starting their own ranching system. Part owner of Free Plains Jace Fremont doesn't want a `green horn' on the ranch, but one long look at Zeb and the distractions begin for both men. When danger threatens, the men stop denying their love, but how can two men from different worlds work things out?

Sexual tension between main characters Zeb and Jace literally jumps off the pages in "Ride `Em Cowboy." Two very different men from Zeb, the Taskin City computer expert, to Jace, the rugged cattle rancher, offer a unique perspective on life to each other. These characters make the plot fun, sexy, and most importantly a pleasure to read.

Redemption

Years ago Jorrian Tavaris, a Maleri empath, commited an unforgivable sin and was banished from Belthola. Since then, Jor has spent his life drifting from planet to planet, living as a gambler determined to not search out his mate and die by himself when the psychic energy buildup is too much for his brain.

Dr. Dane Jeffers once loved a Maleri, but his mate was killed while on a diplomatic mission. These days find him on the backwater planet Casithia where he treats patients with what little medicine is available. Fate brings Jor to Dane and to the horror of both, they are destined mates. Although they plan on ignoring their bond, another stroke of fate shoves the two together during a quarantine and makes things incredibly tough for the men to ignore each other and the bond between them.

"Redemption" pulls at the heartstrings and demonstrates the importance of turning left or right when you reach that fork in the road. Powerful emotions make "Redemption" the strongest one-two punch in the Bonds of the Maleri series. Two hot guys in pain are hard to beat and what a great pair they are!

Bonds of the Maleri runs the gamut from light-hearted to heavy drama with just about everything in between. The one common thread in all the stories is the very strong characterizations and the incredibly hot, carnal sexual situations between the men. Talented author Kate Steele doesn't hold back and makes sure each story is even better than the last one. This is definitely a something-for-everyone kind of series. I Joyfully Recommend Bonds of the Maleri.

Lisa
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Not so bad after all.
Ok, this book was not so bad if you are looking for a love story. In one word it was "sweet." No hard core stuff, and not a lot of detailed graphic erotic scenes. So if you are looking for something nice and sweet, this is it. She is a great writer and I do recommend this book, just remember that this is not "too graphic."