Not Quite Human by Kaye Draper – A Book Review

Posted June 14, 2020 by Booksandblurbs in Dystopian, PNR, Reverse Harem, Reviews / 0 Comments

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Not Quite Human

(Not Quite Series – Book 1)

by Kaye Draper
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Fantasy, Slow Build/Burn Poly, Novella
Available on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited

Down & Dirty

A unique Main Characters set in a dynamic, dystopian like world – Free on Kindle Unlimited.

What is it about?

(Blurb from GoodReads)

Not quite human, not quite beast. Not quite female, not quite male. Sometimes hunter, sometimes prey. Always alone. Until them.

Fiend hunter Sam “Sabertooth” Forest is used to being on the outskirts. A cur with a mix of shifter and human blood, Sam can’t fully shift to beast but can’t fully pass as human. Through sheer determination, and a desire to protect the broken shifter woman who raised them, Sam has managed to eek out a place of their own in a world devastated by the rift that allowed monsters to spill into the earth plane. Sam hunts monsters, sometimes curs and mongrels just like Sam. The work might be dangerous, and the humans might want to put the mixed breed hunter on their hitlist, but it’s a job. It’s freedom.

Sam works alone and trusts no one.

The next hunt should bring in a big bounty—big enough to pay the pack extortion fee and keep Sam’s adoptive mother safe through winter. But when a Leprechaun horns in on the unicorn hunt and tricks Sam into forming a hunter’s guild, Sam is suddenly burdened by an overabundance of people.

Setting off to hunt one-horned murder beasts with an annoying leprechaun and a nerdy half-ogre is bad enough. But when you add in a betrayal by the seductive siren Sam has loved since childhood, and the machinations of a rich human politician, well…Sam’s simple, lonely little life just got a whole lot more complicated.

Thoughts on Not Quite Human

So different!!

This author has set the standard for different…. the protagonists are not exactly what would be considered normal fare in this genre, nor are the people who love them. World building is superb and the flow well done. They may be novellas, but they don’t feel short for all the punch they deliver.

Sam isn’t quite like everyone else, a fact that is apparent on page 1. As the story progresses, we learn JUST how different Sam is, and what that might mean for the future. It’s a bit angsty, action driven and incredibly honest for so few pages.

I found myself wondering things I’ve never wondered before, asking questions I’ve never broached and contemplating my own sense of normalcy as the narrative built. That, right there, is the mark of a good author – and one I highly recommend.

Pros:

Sam. Just Sam.
There is an emotional punch to the flow, one that reaches out and smacks the reader with harsh reality.
The Leprechaun…. can I keep him?

Cons:

If you are not open minded enough to question yourself and your own sense of acceptance, this is not the right book for you.
It’s a Novella. Come on…. you knew I was going to dis the length. 😉

Perspective:

First Person, Multiple POV

Ending Type:

Episodic

Rating:

Mature

Romantic Dynamic:

I really have no idea….. MFM? For now? This is in flux, slow build

Character Age Range:

Adult

My Final Verdict on Not Quite Human

If you are looking for a Reverse Harem / Poly book outside the norm, this is the book, and the author, for you. Character driven and action oriented, this is more about discovery of self than romance, though that plays a strong role as well. Wonderfully done, though short as it is a Novella. Free on Kindle Unlimited.