GABRIEL by Becca Fanning

Title:  GABRIEL

Series:  Shifter Football League #1

Author:  Becca Fanning

Publish Date:   02.13.2017

Publisher:  Becca Fanning

Category /Genre:  Paranormal Romance

Recommended for:  18+ due to sexual content

Grammar/editing:  book received as an unedited ARC / errors excused

Received from:  Becca Fanning (as an ARC gifted copy)

Goodreads link: Gabriel

Date completed: 02.25.2017

Description from the publisher:

Gabe Randall's whole life fell apart, then he met the Mate who was destined to put him back together.

Gabe Randall was at the peak of his college football game when bureaucrats stole his future. Shifters were no longer allowed to compete in human sporting events, so his only hope was a new football league just for them. Just as he's getting ready to join a new team in this league, his whole world comes crashing down when tragedy strikes his family. Without hope or direction, he turns to alcohol. He finds comfort in the arms of a woman who he felt a real connection to, but he left before he could drag her down.

Carolyn knew how these one night stands worked, but it still hurt when Gabe walked out of her life. Just as she was about to get things back on track, she finds out she's pregnant. Will she ever even see Gabe again, and can she even be sure that he is the father to her unborn child?

Fate isn't done with these two...

This full length bear shifter paranormal romance novel has all the action, steam and true love that only a Fated Mates story can deliver!

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GABRIEL is the first book in the new Shifter Football League series from Becca Fanning.  Though each will be a complete story covering the meet-cute to HEA of one couple, there is an over-arching storyline that requires that they do be read in the order of release.

I loved some of the tropes that were not in this book.  This story was all about the shifters, but there was no talk of fated mates.  There was no insta-love.  Instead, our shifters were humans with a little extra something to add to their lives.  Their relationships were just as full of angst, joy, uncertainty, and fear as the rest of us feel.  I loved that Gabriel was a man of his emotions – good and bad.  I understood Carolyn;  Flight in the face of fear is a natural reaction.  It is psychology 101 and taught on the first day, in fact!  There are a lot of people who are going to hate Carolyn.  I struggled to not call her names myself.  In the end, I had to admit that she was just a human making her own mistakes and living with the consequences.  I did think her last one was cruel to Gabriel, but it fit her character.  All of this is set with the backdrop of major league football (don’t worry, you don’t need to know your end zone from your elbow) and it is definitely one of my favorite books so far this year.

Bottom line:  I love Gabriel.   I like Carolyn.  Then there is the other player – Kenny.  Like an old-time silent movie, I wanted to holler “boo” and “hiss” every time Kenny appeared in the pages.  Of course, it ends the way it should, but…. Book 2 is titled KENNY!

I’m looking forward to many more adventures in this new shifter football league world.

Note:  while I was given this book as a gifted ARC, my opinions are my own and are given freely.

Shifter Football League Series:

1. Gabriel
2. Kenny

Also from Becca Fanning:

• Kiss of the Bear
• Hunting for a Mate (4 parts)
• The Pirate and the Alpha
• The Witch and the Werewolf
• Werewolf in the Trenches
• Werewolves at the Lake House
• Shared by the Werewolves
• Between Two Werewolves
• Mounted in the Stable
• Mounted in the Boardroom
• Werewolf Next Door
• Taking the Babysitter
• Between Two Werewolves
• Mounted in the Stable
• Battle Scarred
• The Honey Pot
• A Voice Like Honey
• Made Bear
• Bearly Christmas

The Big Bear Easy series:

0.   Politics

1. Brock
2. Jules

Bear Dating Agency Series:

        1.      Dietrich

        2.      Ben

        3.      Kurt

        4.      Hart

        5.      Reinicke

Secret Baby Bears Series:

        1.      Alec

        2.      Rock

        3.      Jackson

        4.      Clay

        5.      Rust

Big Paw Security Series:

        1.      Bearly Tamed

        2.      Bearly Protected

        3.      Bearly Sheltered

        4.      Bearly Mended

        5.      Bearly Apart

        6.      Bearly Together

Bear Fitness Series:

        1.      Yoga Bear Ménage

        2.      Between Two Bears

BBW and the Firemen Series:

        1.      Brock

        2.      Ivan

        3.      Jason

        4.      Craig

Taming the Rapper Series:

        1.      Sandy Meets the Dragon

        2.      Jetsetter

        3.      In the Club

Bearly Saints Series:

        1.      Matthew

        2.      Mark

        3.      Luke

        4.      John

        5.      Bartholomew

Rodeo Bears Series:

        1.      Edward

        2.      Owen

        3.      Colby

        4.      Jacob

        5.      Holden

Grizzly Groomsmen Series:

        1.      Adam

        2.      Sam

        3.      Winston

        4.      Ian

        5.      Joel

FisherBears Series:

        1.      Hook, Line, and Sinker

        2.      Bear Anchor

        3.      Leeward Bear

Grit and Growl Series:

        1.      Road Bears

        2.      Bear Patches

        3.      Bear Leather

Bear Ranchers Series:

        1.      Riding Bearback

        2.      Saddled Bearback

        3.      Dancing Bearback

        4.      Spurred Bearback

        5.      Bucking Bearback

Star Bears Series:

        1.      Breakwater:  Leo

        2.      Breakwater:  Rick

        3.      Breakwater:  Custer

        4.      Breakwater: Hyde

        5.      Breakwater:  Dom

120 Proof Honey Series:

        1.      Daxton

        2.      Knox

        3.      Amir

        4.      Beck

        5.      Slade

MC Bear Mates Series:

        1.      Mars

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