Review: Shifted For Love

Shifted For Love by C.A. Tibbitts
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very short read that goes through the history of missed opportunities and miscommunications between Jace and Fiona. While frustrating throughout, we eventually get to a HEA (thank goodness!).

Jace was adopted into a family of other shifters when he was still a teenager. His adoptive sister immediately fell in love with him. Don’t worry; it isn’t as icky as that might sound. As they grew up, Jace maintained his position that they were only friends. All of this changed, however, when Fiona finds herself to be mated in a political arrangement. This, coupled with Fiona’s determination, finally forces him to confront their undeniable attraction.

From there, unfortunately, nothing goes as planned. Jace might be trying to do what’s right, but they both end up messing things up further. This could have been a straightforward romance, but instead we get a lot of running away and hiding. For two stubborn and strong characters, they just can’t seem to get on the same page. It ends up taking someone outside their troubled relationship to find them some common ground.


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Review: Press Paws

Press Paws by Celia Kyle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

These books are short, sexy, smutty reads that do not disappoint. They can all absolutely be read as standalone but you get a better understanding of the character dynamics if you have devoured all the books by this author (as I have).

Hannah, the sister to the last book’s main character, is hiding out in the small town of Deals Gap. While her sister is on a honeymoon of sorts, she’s trying to reconcile her own goals with where her life has led her. She’s agreed to mate with another powerful leader, but it isn’t making her happy. Sure, she’s got a powerful, well-known family, but she is determined to not let that define her existence.

Hannah’s vacation takes a quick turn when she suddenly discovers her true mate. Her mate is just as determined as expected, but has his own baggage. As a hybrid with some negative experiences with pure bloods, this couple has some hurdles to get over before they get a HEA. Oh, and there’s the small problem of her having already agreed to mate someone else, too. Don’t worry, though, because these two find a way to juggle their own expectations, families, and their undeniable attraction.


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Review: The Accidental Vampire

The Accidental Vampire by Lynsay Sands
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

OK, when I started this book I didn't know what to think. A vampire who puts an ad in the newspaper looking for a mate? Ugh, I thought this would be the same formula as I've read a hundred times before. I was completely shocked when I found myself completely addicted to this quirky and unique story with the most wonderful characters.

We meet Elvi after she's been turned into a vampire. She lives in a small town where everyone knows one another and she didn't even try to hide her change of nature (not that she could hide being suddenly years younger!). The town that loved her continues to love her in her new state. They all work hard to keep her fed and she works just as hard to live up to their vampire expectations (complete with changing her name from Ellen to Elvi). The ad has unfortunately drawn the attention of the enforcers of their race.

Victor is the lucky one tasked with looking into the extent of the rule-breaking in this small town. The ad, however, appears to have drawn a few suitors for Elvi to meet with. This group of varied vampires ended up winning me over - even the ones who were a little more... abrupt. Elvi, though, was the glue that held them all together. She was just so much fun to read about! Her strange group of friends in town, her even weirder vampire suitors, and her EXTREMELY strange turning makes this a story that is nothing like I've read before.

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Review: Driven

Driven by Kelley Armstrong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This Otherworld story put us once again with Elena as she tries to navigate her life as Alpha. In this case, we get to watch her do the impossible - make you agree that having Malcolm back is the right decision. The story itself starts with another Cain. We've had run-ins with them in a few other stories, but here we meet a sympathetic Cain (for once). Davis didn't ask to be a Cain, but he's trying to work with what he's got. He tried to go to college, but that didn't work out, leaving him living with his horrible relatives. Said horrible relatives are who he discovers murdered in the woods. Against everything that has been drilled into his brain since an early age, he calls the pack. Even as a rogue, he knows he has nowhere else to turn.

Most of the rest of the story is spent either with the pack members and Malcolm sniping at one another or chasing the hunters who are trying to take out the Cain family. Lucky for everyone, Malcolm appears to be pulling his weight and acting as the enforcer of the pack properly, even if he isn't the easiest to work with. One of my favorite things about this story was the interaction between the kids, the Cains, and the world at large and Malcolm. He's been the "big bad" for so long that it was amazing to watch him get cut down at every turn. Aside from the "who's killing Cains" angle, we watched Clay and Elena confront their past decisions and accept that they are not who they once were (for good or bad).

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Review: Forsaken

Forsaken by Kelley Armstrong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This story takes us back inside Elena's head. She's Alpha of the North American Pack, mother of twins, and mate to the most feared wolf in the world. Oh, and Malcolm is still missing. Sigh.

We join Elena as she tries to negotiate with other Alphas who obviously believe that she's just a figurehead and Clay is the real Alpha. They might have taken her more seriously if she had actually brought him, but instead she left him at home for this trip. This trip, by the way, that pulled her away from her annual family getaway. Her kids are obviously upset (her daughter more than her stoic son), but she does her best to balance pack business with family. All of this collides when her daughter turns up missing.

While they all try to track down where she went, we get confronted with a bunch of questions - did she just run away? is Malcolm involved? are the political issues crossing over into her person life? This story kept me guessing all the way to the end, just like Elena was. It was nice to get a good mystery with some classic pack moments.

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Review: Brazen

Brazen by Kelley Armstrong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It is so nice to be able to dive back into the world that Kelley Armstrong built. While Elena and Clay are still some of my favorite wolves to follow, Nick is definitely up there. Here, we get to watch the newly "grown up" Nick settling into his life, complete with some pretty hefty responsibilities.

The story begins with Nick pretty much turning down some sex. For any other character, it might not be so startling, but for Nick it was a big change. It has been some time coming, what with his acceptance of essentially becoming a foster father for the new younger generation of pack members. Along with these responsibilities comes the task of coordinating the hunt for Malcolm. This whole Malcolm storyline is endlessly frustrating with near misses galore. This story, however, had all the makings of a good Malcolm capture. Nick's hired the best set of mercenaries and given them all they need to track down the pack's bogeyman.

Vanessa is the half-demon leading the hunt for Malcolm. She's been so driven that she can't seem to make time for romance, until Nick walks into her life. Sure, they get off on the wrong foot, but with Malcolm being... Malcolm, these two are forced to spend a lot of time in close quarters. What seems like it might have been another one-night-stand for the infamous Nick Sorrentino actually ends up being something completely different. That's the only type of HEA we get, though, sadly.

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Review: Wolf on the Hunt

Wolf on the Hunt by N.J. Walters
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I haven't read any of the previous books in the series and this is book 5. It might sound like a recipe for disaster, but it really wasn't that hard to jump into this world. Sure, the beginning was a little more challenging to follow, but once I got into the book it was well worth the effort.

This book joins a pack of wolves that have split from their abusive, old-school pack leader. Most of them have already found their mates and their group has grown into a pack of its own. One of the last to find a mate, Louis has accepted that he will just have to accept his role as pack protector and stop hoping for the love of his life to walk into the woods. Just as he's accepted this, of course, a woman just so happens to move into the woods. OK, so it might not be exactly the woods, but it is another pack mate's old house, and it's close enough to the woods to let these two meet.

Gray has always had an affinity for nature. She is an artist who has not quite figured out where she wants to put down roots. She moves around quite a bit for her work, but has constant company in the form of her half-wolf. Her love of nature and animals is what ultimately leads her to save a wounded wolf on the run from some illegal hunters. That wolf ends up being so much more than she imagined. Louis would have felt guilty about putting such a burden on Gray if he wasn't immediately smitten. These two immediately have chemistry that lights up the pages. When we weren't spending time with them in the bedroom, we were watching them both try to make room in their lives for one another.

Aside from the obvious romantic storyline, we also get to see the conclusion of the tension between the old and new packs. This book had a really great blend of action, romance, and world-building. Now I wish I had discovered this series earlier!

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