** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Copy received through Netgalley

~

Single White Incubus, by E.J. Russell
Supernatural Selection, Book 1
★★★★☆
288 Pages
3rd person, dual character POV
Content Warning: mentions of arranged marriage, accidental mating, threat of violence, history of violence, mentions of past whippings and shunning.



I'll be honest, I had a hard time deciding how to review this book. I've had this book on my Netgalley list for too long, but when I finally started, it doesn't even tell you that it's part of a wider world and the second half of a continuing series. I didn't know that when I signed up to read it. However, I have actually read the Fae Out of Water trilogy, but it feels like it was a lifetime ago and I barely remember the details. Reading this book, I felt I probably should had re-read them, as there was a lot of stuff about Alun and David that left you feeling like you'd walked into the story halfway through. And if that's how I feel, having read their trilogy already, then I don't know how people new to the series feel about it, but it must be disorientating and confusing.

When it comes to main characters, I was torn. I really liked Quentin, but I didn't ever feel like I connected to Ted, which makes it hard to root for their relationship.
In comparison, I felt like I knew who Quentin was from the start and he never really deviated from that personality, or felt false in the same way Ted did. He was strong, opinionated and had a constant chip on his shoulder about his incubus nature, and maintained throughout the insistence of distance between him and any contact from other people.
For me, Ted flip-flopped between a childish fake-idiot persona to an adult who has the ability to take charge. He's like some caricature of a country-hick who is too stupid to function, but only when it suits him and when it's “convenient” for the story. It never feels like that's his actual personality.

Honestly, Ted was the real problem for me and why I struggled to figure out how to review this. For me, he was disingenuous and impossible to connect to for about 60% of the book. He made constant sex jokes, ignored Quentin when he was being serious, fixated on Quentin being an incubus but wasn't adult enough to use the word, instead calling him a 'sex demon'. He talks so derogatory toward Quentin, using the nickname Q-Bert, despite being asked and told to stop doing it. Ted admits he's ignorant about incubus and should be given slack for it, but he's only ignorant because he chooses to be. He never listens when Quentin explains his nature, and when he does listen he doesn't take it seriously, and never makes the effort to research or ask questions that would better inform him.

The constant Mission-style mentions of furniture design put me off slightly, because I'm not familiar with it and I had a really hard time caring or visualising it, despite the emphasis. I had to Google to find out it was a US thing, and that it really just means simply made furniture.

The constant “convenient” plot points really began to bug me after a while. Like the impossibly short lived phone batteries despite recently being charged, so that conversations were cut off halfway. How Ted and Quentin did the whole “I don't have time for this” routine, while discussing a HUGELY important ritual, only because it suited a delay in finding out more about how it was done. The confusing, complications and unnecessary misunderstandings were forced and made the story drag on a good 50-80 pages more than was needed or natural.

There was a big emphasis about wealth disparity that didn't feel right or genuine to the characters, at times. Like when Ted constantly pokes fun at Quentin for being rich, expecting him to want better things or making veiled accusations around his money. Or when he makes out Quentin is too much of a snob, who thinks he's better than everyone else, when really all his whining comes across the other way – as if Ted thinks Quentin's money and rich family are something to be sneered at, as if they make him any less real as a person with feelings, or that they minimise his troubles.

However, I did actually like most of the plot, which is where my problem lies. I really didn't like Ted or his attitude, but whenever Quentin was on page, I fell in love with the story and their relationship. It was only when Ted got his own POV or showed his prejudices that he grated on my last nerve and I felt like ditching the book despite not finishing. In the end, I did finish, but it was hard.

~

OVERALL

It was the plot and Quentin that got me through. I honestly thought about putting the book away a few chapters in, and not coming back to it, because of Ted and his attitude, but once Quentin entered the story, I really fell in love with him and wanted to follow his story through to the end. Then, at the end, I became intrigued by the side characters enough that I'll try the next book.

Honestly, I haven't had a good track record with E.J. Russell, because I'm always left sitting on the fence about whether to love/dislike their books. Since this is a connected series to the one I had the most trouble with, it will probably be my last by the author until they release a solo novel I find interesting. I never connected well with the Kendrick brothers, and had hoped this was the start of a totally new, individual trilogy. If I'd know it was part of the previous trilogy, I probably wouldn't have picked it up.

~

Favourite Quotes

“What's so damn funny?”
“You've gotta admit,” Ted wheezed when he could speak again, “If Supernatural Selection thought we were a perfect match, they are the worst matchmaking service in history.”

Quentin Bertrand-Harrington is a wealthy celibate incubus looking for a mate, now that his mother has declared it necessary for him to marry. But, he’s terrified of harming another potential lover. His incubus power drains his lovers, and if he gets carried away it could turn one into a husk–so he thinks it best to find an undead lover of the same station. Casimir Moreau, an unmatched vampire of some renown, seems to be a perfect match, as guaranteed by the Supernatural Selection Agency.

Quentin takes a suppressor to dull his incubi urges, and he doses up in preparation for the cross-country flight from his Boston home to Portland, Oregon. He’s so out of it, he doesn’t know that the binding marriage contracts he signed were changed at the last moment, but he does find out rather quickly after being dropped off in the middle of a forest on the doorstep of his unexpected husband, Ted Farnsworth.

Ted is a grizzly shifter, and not too quick on the uptake. He’s not okay with what he suspects was Quentin’s interference. What good is a city-wise art historian out in the woods? Ted had been expecting to marry an industrious non-shifting beaver named Rusty. Rusty might not turn into a beaver, but he has a gift with wood, and construction. Ted wanted Rusty to help him finish a rental vacation lodge for other supes as a business they could run together.

He treats Quentin rather shabbily, and needs to reach out to the only people he trusts to help: Dr. Kendrick, his therapist, and David, Kendrick’s healer husband. These are characters from CUTIE AND THE BEAST, and they make some fun cameos. Ted and Quentin are officially married, even if the plan is to break their bond and unite with the original supes they were paired with. Only, it’ll take a month to get this managed, on account of the witches’ spell needing to take place in a certain phase of the moon. In the meantime, David helps Quentin to see that his chemical suppressors are actually toxic to him. Out in the woods, it’s less likely that Quentin will stumble upon a naive victim for his hunger–and once he and Ted agree to have some sexytimes, Quentin’s more healthy than he has been in years.

This is a charming odd-couple romance, with all sorts of zany characters, and fun adventures. Ted is a bear of a man, who’s also subject to fits of grizzly temper. The first part is attractive to Quentin, while the temper needs to be tamed. I liked how these guys fit each other so perfectly, both helping the other through the hard parts of their lives. While they originally thought it was imperative to manage a quickie divorce, they soon fall for one another. Should they go against the original match? Or, did the magic make a last-second switch for all the right reasons? Their choices sway the situation in favor of true love, and it works out to a very happy ending.

3.5 stars. A lovely little book with characterization, love finding its way despite initial resistance, and people from different worlds finding out they aren't so different after all. I loved the scenes when Quentin stood up for Ted. There was a minor amount of miscommunication, which is reasonable. People don't always say what they ought to say or ask what they ought to ask, but it never wandered over into the MCs needing a slap to wake up.

Great start to a new series!

Mate-matching service Supernatural Selection guarantees marriage to a perfect partner. Nothing can go wrong...until something did. Ted is waiting for his new beaver shifter husband to arrive. Quentin found his perfect match in the form of a vampire. But when their contracts get mixed up, they have to deal with each other, until they found a way to cancel their unwanted union and get finally marry to their perfect partners. But the feelings between each other start to grow. Now, they start to question if this accidental match might be more perfect than they thought.

I had a good time reading this book. The characters are both lovely. Ted is particularly sweet. The book had some humorous moments that were really entertaining. I loved the idea of a mistake in the matchmaking service. Both characters have issues fitting their expected place in their world. Both had personalities opposed to what people would expect from them. It makes them hard to find someone to share their lives with. The fact that it was a supernatural story makes it more appealing.

One of the things that I loved the most about the book is that it didn't try to force their relationship. They had some hard time accepting the other and it was perfect. I loved how they had to fight to get their happy ending. It was a slow burn love story, which I loved. One of the things that might be a bit of an issue about it was the fact that they get together too far in the book. It left the readers little time to enjoy them as a couple. Other than that, I had a wonderful time reading the book. They make a great couple.

In general, it was an enjoyable love story with some humorous tone. It can be easily liked by readers who love M/M romance and who prefer paranormal books.

Having thoroughly enjoyed E.J. Russell’s Fae Out Of Water series, I was delighted to see she had begun a new series spinoff with the novel Single White Incubus. With a few characters from the Fae series playing cameo roles, Ms. Russell introduces us to some new paranormal creatures, namely an incubus and a bear shifter and honestly, they could not be more captivating.

When Quentin Bertran-Harrington nearly kills his human boyfriend, he decides to swear off human hosts for good. In fact, he makes the decision that only one of the undead will ever be safe around him and without telling his family, he signs up for a vampire spouse with the Supernatural Selection mate-matching service. Known for making the perfect matches with a 100% accuracy rate, Quentin gets his match—a vampire who is willing to marry. Or, so he thought.

Ted Farnsworth is the atypical bear. Gregarious and friendly, an introvert by nature, and a man who often finds himself saying the wrong thing most of the time. Ted can’t help himself, he doesn’t mean to accidentally expose the supernatural world to the humans, but he couldn’t help it as his friend Matt needed something exciting to photograph and submit to his boss. So, Ted played Sasquatch, much to the dismay of his fellow bears. This not being the first time Ted has put the community in danger of exposure, he decides it’s best to find a mate who is stable and marry so the council will not pursue charges.

He, too, requests his mate from the selection agency and is all set to marry Rusty the beaver shifter. But when his mate arrives, looking disgusted, well-groomed, rich and definitely not like a husky beaver, Ted realizes something is very wrong. Now Quentin and Ted are stuck together, and it will take a very risky ritual to break the contract they both signed in blood.

I think the juxtaposition of the warm and friendly Ted with the scared, prickly Quentin was pretty much a sheer act of genius on the author’s part. Poor Ted was a bear with what was akin to ADHD and trusted everyone he met whether they deserved it or not. Poor Quentin had nearly killed a man he cared for, and being the rare creature that he was—an incubus who lived off the life energy of his victims, but who was also incredibly empathetic, makes him a lousy incubus and a starving one to boot. Having lived so long on suppressants that were meant to curb his desires, Quentin is finally drug-free and lusting after Ted. Ted is falling slowly but surely for the slight, weak incubus, and both men are guilt ridden over the fact that their intended future husbands were still waiting for them to break the contract and marry them.

This was a lovely, funny and fast tracked romance that felt much longer than it actually was. Not once did I feel that the pacing was off. Somehow the author managed to take a few weeks and have it feel as though the two men were together for ages. It was so wonderfully done, their attraction, their lust, and the tenderness for each other that grew so strong in such a short time. We learned so much about Ted and Quentin, their fears, their desires and their actual needs. The two of them were such opposites that knit together so perfectly.

I loved how the author wove in a few moments with Alun and David and even a brief visit with Mal from the other series. It was done so masterfully that it felt as though we never left the Fae world when, in fact, we had. But it was Ted who stole the novel time and again for me. So tenderhearted, so in need of companionship and someone to guide him along the way so he stayed somewhat focused, so genuinely kind and trusting, Ted was just someone so easy to fall in love with, and Quentin did. The two men made me laugh, sigh, and laugh some more.

Single White Incubus signals the start of a promising new series by E.J. Russell. With a paranormal bent, some lovely intimacy between two polar opposites, and a lovely happy ever after, this is a must read for those who enjoy this genre.

This was good fun and I enjoyed it. This is the first book in the Supernatural Selection series which is a spin off from the Fae out of Water series. I really enjoyed the Fae series but I think I will enjoy this so much more.

Ted is a bear shifter who keeps getting into trouble with the supe council. He is an extrovert which is unusual for his kind and he decides to find a husband which he does through the Supernatural Selection dating agency. The agency matches him with a beaver shifter but there is a hiccup in the process and Ted ends up married to Quentin an incubus with issues.

And the fun starts when both men decide to dissolve their marriage through the use of a magic ceremony but getting everything they need and getting the ritual right is just not that simple. As they work together to undo the magic binding them together they get to know each other and eventually fall in love but they are committed to separating even though their hearts are bound to one another.

There are other matters afoot. Ted keeps running afoul of the laws of the Supe Council and he runs the risk of all kinds of punitive sanctions. Quentin is hiding from his all powerful and incredibly bossy grandmother who wants to marry him off and there are lots of other bumps on the road to true love. Of course there is a HEA at the end but it is the process of getting to the end which is so entertaining.

I really enjoyed this because I like shifter stories but to have the humour as well as a heart warming romance was an added bonus. I hope this ends up being a long series because this first book is a really enjoyable and engaging start.

Copy provided by Riptide Publishers via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

I read single white incubus and vampire with benefits, both are books by EJ Russell, back to back and I have to say even though I would normally pick the book with the vampire as the better one, this time it’s the opposite. I still enjoyed vampire with benefits but single white incubus was just a tad better.
I really liked the way it all worked out between Ted and Quentin in the end. I’ve always been a fan of the accidentally married trope or the married to the wrong person trope so this book played right into that.
I personally haven’t read a book by EJ Russell before Single White Incubus (and Vampire with Benefits) and just while writing this review I’ve found out that these books are a spin-off of another series – can absolutely be read as standalones though – so I will probably pick up the other series as well because I quite enjoyed it and I’m always on the lookout for some good LGBT paranormal romance. Those are quite rare in my opinion.

Rating: 3.75 stars

What a fun read this was!! This is the first book in the new Supernatural Selection series and it's an entertaining one! Although a spin off of a prior series, this story stands alone and I do not feel that needs to be read in order to enjoy this!
Supernatural Selection is a matchmaking agency for supernaturals. It encompasses all species not deemed human, so they can potentially help a lot of single supes as they call them. Ted signs up hoping to find someone to share a life with. He is an extrovert bear which goes against the norm of being immersed in solitude. Ted wants to be around others. Quentin also signs up for the service hoping to find someone that he will not decimate by sucking his life energy dry. He is an incubus so that is a bit hard to match, but he feels he was given the best outcome by matching to somebody already dead-a vampire. Both men are so excited about having a mate that they sign the contract without reading it. Unfortunately, when Ted and Quentin meet, they find out an error and are matched to one another, instead of the ones they expected. Now they must find a way to escape the contract and divorce.
As these two work through finding a way out of the contract, things have a way of changing. They realize maybe they have the correct mate after all. But they both feel they have to honor the original contract. Can they find happiness when it's not with the one you love??
This story was quite refreshing and a new angle to a matchmaking story! It had humor and heart! They both continually put the other first and that was endearing! Their attraction was instant from the very start and it was fun to watch them fight it as they fell head over heels in love!
This paranormal world was an interesting one and I look forward to a few more books to get more of it! I want to find out what happened with Rusty and Casmir(the original mates), and I would also like more on Zeke, or Matt!

A sweet, fluffy paranormal story, just like I've come to expect from E.J. Russell.

Single White Incubus was really exactly as I thought it would be, and I'm not mad about that. I love an opposites attract story, and we get that plus a quasi enemies-to-lovers and an adorable, huge bear-shifter rolled into one. That right there spells a win for me.

However, as with many books by this author, it just was a little off. There were oodles of miscommunications, which I hate, and some rambling tangent storylines that took away from the relationship development. I felt like the story was too long with too much going on, and I was a bit bored by the end. Also, it was SO frustrating that these two didn't get their act together earlier. I mean, we barely got to see them as a couple. This book was like their intro story, to be honest.

But... yeah, cute. And fun. And a nice change of pace from the heavier stuff. I'll keep reading this series and see what else E.J. Russell can dish up for me.

*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*

What a fun read this was!! This is the first book in the new Supernatural Selection series and it's an entertaining one! Although a spin off of a prior series, this story stands alone and I do not feel that needs to be read in order to enjoy this!
Supernatural Selection is a matchmaking agency for supernaturals. It encompasses all species not deemed human, so they can potentially help a lot of single supes as they call them. Ted signs up hoping to find someone to share a life with. He is an extrovert bear which goes against the norm of being immersed in solitude. Ted wants to be around others. Quentin also signs up for the service hoping to find someone that he will not decimate by sucking his life energy dry. He is an incubus so that is a bit hard to match, but he feels he was given the best outcome by matching to somebody already dead-a vampire. Both men are so excited about having a mate that they sign the contract without reading it. Unfortunately, when Ted and Quentin meet, they find out an error and are matched to one another, instead of the ones they expected. Now they must find a way to escape the contract and divorce.
As these two work through finding a way out of the contract, things have a way of changing. They realize maybe they have the correct mate after all. But they both feel they have to honor the original contract. Can they find happiness when it's not with the one you love??
This story was quite refreshing and a new angle to a matchmaking story! It had humor and heart! They both continually put the other first and that was endearing! Their attraction was instant from the very start and it was fun to watch them fight it as they fell head over heels in love!
This paranormal world was an interesting one and I look forward to a few more books to get more of it! I want to find out what happened with Rusty and Casmir (the original mates), and I would also like more on Zeke, or Matt!

reviewed by Deb

I loved everything about this book and I can't recall the last time I said that. The world building was flawless with modern-day supernaturals living everyday lives while trying to keep their truth a secret. What's an outgoing bear shifter to do when all he wants is someone to talk to? Impersonate a sasquatch and call in a tip to the local tabloid photographer. Brilliant! Except, he's on the verge of being in really big trouble. Ted knows it's time to get his life together, so he joins mate-matching up and is eagerly awaiting his beaver shifter husband...only his perfect mate isn't what he thought.

Quentin is an incubus who nearly killed his human lover. As a result, he's doing everything to suppress his powers while desperately searching for some solution that will give him a quality of life. Solution? Marry a vampire. Dude's already dead anyway. Except...fate has other plans.

Alone in the woods, married to a stranger, this unlikely pair team up to split up and fall in love along the way. It was a delightfully funny, sweet, sexy, mildly-angsty, read that I stayed up way too late to finish. I just couldn't put it down and I can't wait to read more.

A highly enjoying, delightful read! I loved Russell's Fae out of Water series and was excited to see this new series. Ted and Quentin's characters were perfectly written and I loved the supernatural aspect. Definitely can't wait to read more in series!

4.5 - 5....

First, the Supernatural Selection is a spin-off series of E.J. Russel's Fae Out of Water series. You don't have to read one series before the other, but you'll be missing out just a little bit if you don't. Actually, the main characters in Cutie and the Beast, the first book in Fae Out of Water make a couple of appearances in Single White Incubus. To be honest, I may be just a little bit partial, but Cutie and the Beast was my favorite book in the Fae Out of Water series - mainly because of its lightness and Single White Incubus reminded me of that book... a lot.

So... Ted was adorable. I loved him from the moment he was introduced. He was honest, sweet, adorable and lonely. He wanted someone to share his life with, which is why he went to Supernatural Selection. He honestly thought it was his only chance at happiness. Then Quentin came into his life and threatened everything he hoped for - along with an apparent slip-up at Supernatural Selection.

As adorable as Ted was, Quentin was... well... prickly. He had his reasons though. He'd tried love once and it was disastrous. He came close to destroying someone he loved and he had no intention of taking a chance again. That's why he decided to allow Supernatural Selection find him a perfect undead match.

Through a crazy set of circumstances, things got a tad bit mixed up at Supernatural Selection, but did they? Things definitely got interesting and I'm pretty sure that it's going to get even crazier by the end. I can't wait to see what E.J. Russel has in store for the rest of the couples who decide to use Supernatural Selection.

I have been reading fantasy for most of my life (I'm 61), but when I stumbled into fantasy romance, I found my favorite versions of the genre. This universe, created in Cutie and the Beast, is complex, and I am delighted EJ has started a new series in it. SWI is clever, amusing, sweet, and the solution isn't simple. Ted's a cinnamon roll in desperate need of a companion, and Quentin is terrified he'll endanger another life. They're put together by accident, but do their best to correct the mistake.... Or is it a mistake?

Delightful. Highly recommended!

This is the first book in the Supernatural Selection Series, which is a paranormal MM romance. This was a wonderfully entertaining book. It was really funny in spots and very serious and sad in others. The characters were well developed and oh so love-able, even the demon. The author has taken some fairly unusual qualities to give a demon and bear shifter and it made for some very funny and sad situations. The pace was great, I had a hard time putting the book down. I can’t wait for the second in the series.

Sooo much fun! The “misunderstanding” mostly works in this story. Our incubus Q-bert – LOL – thinks he’s going to kill any living lover so he agrees to marry a dead one – a vampire.

Our Teddy Bear thinks he needs to settle for the first guy who’ll have him because he keeps getting into trouble.

We get to see some of the MCs from earlier books, have some pretty sweet smexy times, lots and lots of giggles and some pretty sweet feelz, too.

All in all another great one from this author and this series!

Highly recommended!

4.5 of 5 stars

What a delight this was! This is the first story I have ever read from this author, and also the first story in a spin-off series from her Fae out of Water series (however, I will be going back and getting that series because I seriously loved this story). I thought that this story stood on its own very well, so you could totally start with this story if you wanted to.

The Supernatural Selection is a matchmaking service for the supernatural/paranormal community. Ted signs up for it hoping to find someone he can share a life with and who can put up with him - a bear who wants to socialize rather than be alone in life. And Quentin signs up for it hoping to find someone that he won't accidentally kill through his incubus ways. They are accidentally contracted to each other despite being originally given different intended partners. As the two work on the way to dissolve this marriage contact, they find out - maybe they don't want to?

I loved this story! I thought the writing was fresh, witty, a bit funny without being too over the top funny, and I adored Ted and Q-Bert (as Ted adorably nicknames him) together as they work together and ultimately fall for each other. Ted was just such a lovable character - seriously, how can you NOT fall in love with Ted and his genuineness, his gentle nature, and good heart?!

I thought the world building was interesting (I'm assuming we might learn more through the series that this book comes from) and I can't wait for stories with the other characters. I'm thinking there will be something for Zeke, maybe Matt, and what ever did happen to Rusty and Casmir?! I think we'll be finding that out, too.

Definitely look forward to more in this series and going back and checking out other work from this author!

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted something light to read after tackling some more serious books, and this romance definitely filled the bill.

Ted is a bear---a bear shifter, that is. But he’s not your average bear; he’s loves to be around people, which makes relationships with other bears hard, since most of them tend to be solitary creatures. So, Ted decides to use the Supernatural Selection matchmaking agency to find a husband to share his life. When his match shows up, however, he’s not the shifter Ted was expecting but rather an incubus, Quentin, who is appalled to discover a grizzly bear rather than a vampire waiting for him. Quentin really wanted to marry a vampire, since it’s hard to drain the life out of a guy who’s already dead. Getting out of a blood contract isn’t easy, though, and the more time the two men spend together, the more each of them wonders if they haven’t already found the perfect person for them. But there’s still the problem of Quentin being a life force-draining sex demon . . .

This book is set in the same world as Russell’s Fae Out of Water series, and a few of the characters from those books make an appearance in this one. The book also has much the same feel—mostly light-hearted, sometimes downright funny, paranormal romance with the occasional more serious moment thrown in. If that’s what you’re looking for in a book, this is a fun read.

The next book in the series is going to be about the men who find themselves without partners in this one, Casimir the vampire and Rusty the (sort of) beaver shifter. I’m curious about their story, so I’m going to be keeping my eye out for Book 2.

A copy of this book was provided through NetGalley for review; all opinions expressed are my own.

What a satisfying and sweet story..
Q-Bert and Ted are two paranormal guys that use
A dating agency. They end up together instead of
with the mate of their choosing.
The story is a bit typical. Storyline is cute.
The real saving grace for this whole book is how sweet
Ted is. You can't help but want to by hug him.
He is such a loving and cuddly bear.
This is a fun read and is entertaining.
One afternoon of some sweet love and talk of smores.
There is more of the same world to come in more clients
and this fun series.
(Given a copy for an honest review) (Thanks) (NetGalley)

I really grew to love this weird little world where bear and weasel shifters live next to each other and the fae invent apps when normal cell service just won't cut it. 
Ted and Quentin couldn't be more different on paper but I loved them together. They work well together and play even better. You do have to suspend believe a little though and just go with things to really enjoy this story. 
But if you do you get a really lovely and funny little story.