Nature of the Beast by Amylea Lyn is a homoerotic paranormal futuristic story and the first book in Outside the City series.

A shape shifter is running for his life even though he knows that he will be captured in the end. He was once a leader of his people, but he has been running so long that the only thing he remembers is he was betrayed and one day he will get his revenge!

Raine O'Kelly has never fit into life in the City. Everything is controlled by the leaders leaving nothing unnoticed, but Raine has a secret. He can talk to the growing things of the earth with an affinity that has never been seen before. That is a dangerous skill when plants are forbidden and anyone caught with them is immediately tried and executed. One day, Raine is arrested at work, but before the guards arrived he sent out an encrypted message on his computer to notify other people so they could grab his plants before they could be destroyed by the City guards. When they couldn't anything incriminating, Raine was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in jail with no hope for reprieve. Raine put up with the physical and sexual abuse without a fight, but he knew that the separation from his plants would be his undoing. While in prison, Raine heard many rumors about a beast in the prison that would kill anyone who was placed in his cell. The guards learn about Raine's affinity with plants and immediately sentence him to be sent to the beast. Will Raine survive? Who is this beast and where did he come from? Will Raine ever find a place to call his own?

This incredible story began as a look into a completely totalitarian society where everyone's movements were controlled by the government. Raine's ability to talk to and interact with nature was considered an aberration, but how he managed to keep his gift a secret for so long was a miracle itself. It was sad how when Raine was taken by the guard, no one was willing to speak up for him in fear of being arrested themselves. The lies about there being nothing outside the City dome were so ingrained in the citizens that few question it and the rest are so scared they will do whatever they are told to stay safe. The initial meeting between Raine and the Beast was completely different and a surprise to Raine. He assumed he would be killed immediately, but that was far from the truth. There are many hidden agendas that are unveiled as the story unfolds, but you will have to read it to find out what was really going on.

Reviewed by: Teresa