BEAR THE HEAT by Catherine Vale

Title:  BEAR THE HEAT

Series:  Bear Instincts #1

Author:  Catherine Vale

Publish Date:   10.10.2014

Publisher:  Wild Hearts Press

Category /Genre:  Paranormal Romance

Recommended for:  18+ due to sexual content

Grammar/editing:  A – near perfect

Received from:  Catherine Vale (via InstaFreebie)

Goodreads link: Bear the Heat

Date completed: 09.13.2016

Description from the publisher:

Rescuing Sonya from a fire is only the beginning. It's instant chemistry, a passion that burns as bright as the very fires that threaten to consume them.

They were destined to meet...

Caleb falls hard for the curvy woman despite knowing that he has little to offer her and that just by being with her puts her family in danger. After all, he's considered a traitor, a rogue shifter cast out of his clan. And worse, Sonya's been chosen to be Damien, Caleb's sworn enemy's, life mate.

Sonya knew the day would come when Damien would call to her. Her parents had groomed her since the age of thirteen, teaching her the ways and duties of becoming an alphas wife. She shares a hatred for Damien yet she can't allow her family to be punished, perhaps even murdered, by refusing to obey the alpha's call.

Caleb has only one move left - to challenge Damien as alpha in a fight to the death. If he wins he'll become the new alpha, get the girl, and lead his clan to higher ground.

But if he loses...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is the first book in the Bear Instincts series.  There was no cliff-hanger or unresolved situations, so I think it safe to say that they do not need to be read in order.

Okay, can I just start with a big ol’ sigh!!!  I love Caleb.  Sexy, hunky, and he has a heart of gold.

Damien is the villain and he is truly hateable!

Sonya is sweetly submissive to her father and her expected position in life, until she meets Caleb and dares to wish for a different fate.

Altogether, this story was such a classic twist of hero –vs– villain to claim the girl.  I swear I could almost hear Snidely Whiplash chuckling as he rubbed his hands in diabolical glee (Sorry, just showing my age, folks). 

I’m looking forward to reading much more from Catherine Vale!

Also from Catherine Vale:

• The Wolves Next Door
• A Touch Of Vampire
• Taste Of Honey
• Twice As Wild
• Along Came A Wolf
• Scent Of A Mate
• Double Trouble
• Between Two Wolves
• Wild Things

The Untamable series:

1. Untamed Hearts
2. Untamed Desires

AMAZON-US

AMAZON-UK

BARNES&NOBLE

STARSTRUCK SHIFTER by Kim Fox

Title:  STARSTRUCK SHIFTER

Series:  Celebrity Bears #1

Author:   Kim Fox

Publish Date:   10.15.2015

Publisher:  Kim Fox

Category /Genre:  Paranormal Romance

Recommended for:  18+ due to sexual content

Grammar/editing:  B – a few small errors

Received from:  Amazon purchase

Goodreads link: Starstruck Shifter

Date completed: 09.10.2016

Description from the publisher:

Mason is an action star on the tail end of his career and the good roles are getting as scarce as his disappearing paychecks. His agent wants him to date his hot coworker Gisella to boost his image but his bear has other plans when he bonds with Joni, the new intern on the set of his latest blockbuster movie.

Joni is a self-proclaimed dork. Well actually, everyone else proclaims it. She is thrilled when she gets a job on the set of a movie featuring Mason Maloney; her lifelong crush with the perfect abs that she's drooled over since puberty. But will she be able to handle it when the hot bear shifter unexpectedly turns his attention on her?

But not just the movie and their hearts are on the line. Something very important to Mason is relying on the success of this film. Will he be willing to give up his newly-found mate or will everything he’s worked for come crumbling down?

Standalone Book. No Cliffhanger. HEA.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is the first book in the Celebrity Bears series.  They are each stand-alone and can be read in any order.

Adorably cheesy.  Holy peach Snapple! 

This was a completely different shifter story.  The hunky, heavenly, drool-worthy, shifter….. oh, where was I – sorry, got lost in my daydream for a minute…. So, this time, the shifter doesn’t need to rescue our damsel-in-distress heroine.  Instead the ____ need help; yea, I don’t want to give it away.  I’ll just say this – if you’re in the mood for something a little lighter, a little funny, a little smexy, and a little sweet, then I highly recommend this quick and easy read.

I loved the juxtaposition of Joni and Mason’s places in their careers.  Joni is at the beginning of her career – young, eager, doing the dirty work just to get her foot in the door.  Mason is threatened with the thought of being a has-been and just as eager to accomplish what needs to be done for the sake of ____ (there I go almost giving it away!).  I had a special affinity for Joni and her love of an older man, since I’ve always preferred them that way.  Isn’t she lucky that the man who was once her teenage crush is ready for her when she is finally of a proper age, fresh out of college?

This is the first book I have read from Kim Fox.  I do not want it to be my last.

The Celebrity Bears series:

1. Starstruck Shifter
2. Rockstar Shifter

Other Books from Kim Fox:

• Smokejumpers:  Werebear (7 books)

Bear Shifters of Vega Ranch Series:         

         1.      Julius

         2.      Khan

         3.      Alexander

         4.      Hannibal

Ultimate Shifting Championship Series:

         1.      Bear Knuckle Bear

         2.      Bear Knuckle Grizzly

         3.      Bear Knuckle Black Bear

         4.      Bear Knuckle Kodiak

         5.      Bear Knuckle Luke

Werebears of New Hampshire Series:

         1.      Bearly Breathing

         2.      Bearly in Control

         3.      Bearly Interested

         4.      Bearly In Time

Bear Shifters of Clawed Ranch Series:

         1.      Stetson

         2.      Royal

         3.      The Twins

AMAZON-US

AMAZON-UK

BEARLY FURGOTTEN by Aurora Woodlove

Title:  BEARLY FURGOTTEN

Series:  Shifting Impulses #4

Author:  Aurora Woodlove

Publish Date:   10.05.2016

Publisher:  Aurora Woodlove

Category /Genre:  Paranormal Romance

Recommended for:  18+ due to sexual content

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

Received from:  Aurora Woodlove (as an ARC gifted copy)

Goodreads link: Bearly Furgotten

Date completed: 10.11.16

Description from the publisher:

Shifting Impulse is a club where shifters who don’t believe in fated mates find theirs. Nine years ago was Devin and Leon’s chance.

Thirty-year-old Devin Bennet, successful jeweler, adventurous hiker and single mother to a six-year-old hyperactive boy, takes her son to a survival camp on the other side of the country, expecting a relaxing, uneventful holiday.

Leon Whitman, bear shifter with a dying bear inside, adventurous explorer and mountain resort owner and manager, struggles with the guilt of losing his mate in a white-water rafting accident. Making the resort eco-friendly is Leon’s only interest and that leaves no time for his personal life.

That accident left Devin with no memory of the man she has a child with and Leon with nothing but his family business to live for. After being separated for seven years, will they be able to make their relationship work?

This is the 4th book in the Shifting Impulse series and it is a standalone with NO cliffhangers and a "happily ever after". It contains explicit language and sizzling hot scenes that might set your Kindle on fire. Intended for readers 18+.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is the fourth book in the Shifting Impulses series.  Though each book does stand alone, there are cross-over characters whose stories continue to evolve.  I would definitely recommend reading the entire series and in the order of release.

I have loved this series so far and I am looking forward to reading much, much more from Aurora Woodlove.  She has created a shifter world that allows me to drift away from the dismal realities that life sometimes brings.  Unfortunately, this particular book felt incomplete at the end.  I know that we will be updated in future books and I’m sure the HEA is coming, but in this book it felt more like a happy-for-now.  Without giving away the story, I can only say that it seemed that Devin never allowed herself to fully embrace all that was being offered.

Okay, that’s the ugly.  The beautiful of this book is that it is a second chance romance.  It is definitely a story different from the others in this series (and unique among the genre).  I loved Leon so much that I wanted to throat punch Devin for holding back for even a minute!  He is so in love with her from page one to the end that I was aching for all that he had to hold back.  I want their HEA so badly. 

My final note:  do not miss this series.  Join me in the angst of waiting for the next installment.  Aurora Woodlove makes it all worth the wait.

Shifting Impulses series:

1. Anna and the Bear
2. Celine and the Bear
3. Janet and the Bear
4. Bearly Furgotten
5. Christmas Mate (coming soon)

AMAZON-US

AMAZON-UK