I guess you could say I’m sort of addicted to Shelly Laurenston’s books. I’ve read about half of her Pride books in less than a year and I keep going back for more (there’s eight in total and WOLF WITH BENEFITS is the latest one). She definitely entertains with her quirky characters and their non-stop witty humor. You have to be in the mood for funny moments because there’s probably a laugh-out-loud moment in every chapter. Each book tells the story of a different shapeshifting couple and that’s excellent because that means you can pick up any book from the series and not be completely lost. However, some characters do come back from previous stories so reading them in order could be helpful to understand some minor details. But you can trust me when I say it’s not necessary.
A new couple in every book does mean that characters are starting to add up. I might have said it before, but I find that Shelly always includes too many characters. As a reader, that can get confusing when trying to keep track of everyone. Especially with this latest book where the main character, Toni, doesn’t just have a few siblings. She has 10! And all of them prodigies with special talents in the arts, in music and in academics. Out of all her siblings, she’s the only one that doesn’t have a special talent, and as the oldest of jackal offspring, she has taken the unofficial job of manager/nanny/caretaker while her parents are busy doing their own thing. Managing their schedules is a full time job, and when Toni decides to enter the workforce and finally get a real paying job, it’s chaos at home as everything crumbles because Toni isn’t there anymore to prevent fights and control everyone’s agendas.
It takes Toni a little while to realise she has to start living her own life, and not the life of her brothers and sisters. I think it’s Ricky Lee, a huge wolf who’s attracted to her messy hair, that finally helps her realise that her own life is worth living the way she wants it, and not the way her family demands it. Toni and Ricky Lee are an unlikely duo. Jackals and wolves don’t always get along but Toni eventually warm up to Ricky Lee’s wolfy charm. They make a great team, especially when they go Siberia to negotiate with unpleasant bear shifters. Not only are they frigid, these bear are very serious when it comes to negotiating hockey. As a new member of the administration of an elite shifters-only hockey team, not only is this negotiation important to the hockey team and for her new job, it’s also important to Toni because it’s the only way she can prove that she’s much more than a nanny. However, bears aren’t the only new thing Toni has to worry about. Her little brother Freddy has gotten involved in something major and has been kidnapped, probably because his sticky fingers compelled him to steal something very important in the world of bad guys. It’s no wonder Toni has separation anxiety when she leaves her family. The first time she’s truly away from them, her younger brother gets into a huge amount of trouble.
Although I found this book rather slow and lacking in some action and story elements, it was still a very fun read. It was somewhat repetitive when it came to organising the jackal clan and the fights between the siblings. On the other hand, it didn’t hurt that the story involved hockey players. Since I’m a big fan of the sport, I can’t really complain about that. I only wish there could have been more hockey action. The book also redeemed itself with the great character interactions since the author excels at easy and fun dialogue. I can’t wait to see which shapeshifters she’ll pair up next and see what new mess will arise in her shapeshifting world.
I like this series and have from the beginning; they are easy to read, make me laugh out loud, have a nice romance and all in all just fun!!!
ReplyDelete