Like A Wolf With A Bone (Howl For It) by Shelly Laurenston

Shelly Laurenston never fails to entertain me. Even with a novella, she is able to tell the story of two people coming together, falling in love while having fun with it at the same time.

I guess you could say Darla Mae is your typical Shelly Laurenston female protagonist. She can be self sufficient, she's intelligent and she is definitely strong and able to take care of herself. Meeting the intimidating Eggie was probably not in her plans but she ends up trusting the guy instantly even if he did kidnap her in order to save her life. As a marine and a werewolf, Eggie is known ny everyone, including his family, a wolf not to meddle with. He is a relentless hunter and a man that will do anything in order to protect, whether if its to protect his country or his female. He and Darla couldn't make it stranger couple with him being a marine, and her a baker. Despite the unlikely pair, their relationship simply works.

There's never a dull moment in the book, with humans hunting down Darla Mae, road car races and an endless supply of pies. The banter between characters also makes it ingesting and things can get out of control when family members get involved in Darla and Eggie's business.

Overall I would definitely recommend LIKE A WOLF WITH A BONE to anyone interested in a quick read in paranormal romance. Even if it's part of a series, it's the first book in the chronological order of the series, despite it being written later on. Truthfully, I've been reading this series completely out of order and now that I've read #0.5, I think I'll definitely read the rest in order. It's not a must since I strongly believe this series can be read out of order but I'm interested in learning more about all the different characters mentioned in this story and all the other books I've read so far.

A fun story, you can never go wrong with Laurenston. This is type of story that keeps me reading, even if I know it's time to sleep. It definitely kept me up late into the night because I wanted to know more, right away. It's not the best story ever written by the author but she makes you care for her character, which is truly important when it comes to romance stories.

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by Tynga at Sunday, November 10, 2013

 Kensington, Novella November, Paranormal Romance, Pride, Review, Shelly Laurenston  3 People left their mark

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Wolf With Benefits by Shelly Laurenston

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.

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by Tynga at Sunday, August 11, 2013

 Kensington, Library, Paranormal Romance, Pride, Review, Shapeshifter, Shelly Laurenston  1 Person left their mark

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Bear Meets Girl by Shelly Laurenston

Bear Meets Girl by Shelly Laurenston

Book Stats:

Reading level: Adult
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Trade Paperback: 407 pages
Publisher: Kensington Publishing
Release date: March 27, 2012

Series: Pride #7

Reviewed by: Stéphanie

Source: ARC provided by the publisher

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

He's big, burly, and way smarter than your average shapeshifting bear. He's also about to get trapped by own his game. . .

Lou Crushek is a reasonable, mellow, easygoing kind of guy. But once someone starts killing the scumbags he works so hard to bust, that really gets under his fur. Especially when that someone is a curvy she-tiger with a skill set that's turning Crush's lone-bear world upside down--and bringing his passion out of hibernation. . .

As a member of an elite feline protection unit, Marcella Malone has no problem body-dropping anyone who hunts her kind. But Crush is proving one major pain in her gorgeous tail. The only reason she's joined forces with him is to track down the wealthy human who's got her entire species in his ruthless sights. It sure isn't because Crush's stubborn and contrary attitude is rubbing Cella in all the right ways...

This is the first book that I’ve read from this series. Now usually, I’m not one to read a series out of order but this book sounded too intriguing to wait until I’ve caught up with the series. After a little investigating, I realized that, from book to book, the main characters are always different, so it bothered me even less to jump in so far into the series. I’m glad I decided to read it right away because it was an enjoyable paranormal romance. It’s exactly what I was in the mood for so it was perfect.

However, I must admit that it took me some time to really get into the book because this shapeshifting world is unlike any that I’ve encountered before, and it was a bit complicated. Especially with its many shapeshifting law enforcement agencies like The Group, the KZS and the BPC. Oh, and sometimes the regular NYPD. I’m sure by reading the previous books, I would have gotten a smoother introduction to all these agencies but, like I said, I was a bit to excited to read this novel.

Especially when I realized that the main female character, Cella, was in a pro shapeshifting hockey league. And a co-ed league on top of that. Awesome! Obviously, in real life, you would never see a female play in the NHL but as a shapeshifting feline, she was able to play with the boys and excel at what she did, which is bash every one that gets in her way. Since I’m a huge fan of hockey, I became a huge fan of Cella, just because of what she did for a living (she did have an other job as a sniper for the KZS, but I won’t go into details). Sure, Cella has an annoying and rowdy character at times but her fierceness and dedication made up for everything. I also really admired her dedication to raising her daughter. Everything was planned so that she could give her daughter the best of everything, and that was really touching.

Cella might not have been my favourite female lead but I did fall in love Crush, the typical stand-up cop, always doing the right thing kind of guy. I just wanted to give him a big hug since he seemed so huggable as a shape-shifting polar bear. Just reading about his size and muscles made me swoon. He was the boy next door with an immovable and strong, serious character, and was obsessed with everything hockey. He might have been broody from time to time but that’s what made him so charming.

I admit the storyline did not move much beyond the romance story but we did encounter a serial killer that hunted shape-shifters just for fun and cruelty. But what the book lacked in the mystery/action department, Shelly Laurenston made up for it with the romantic tension. Cella’s habit of calling Crush her pretend boyfriend was entertaining since, as readers, we all knew he’d end up being her real boyfriend eventually. The relationship between those two was interesting and amusing. Their playful banter and quick dialogue was funny and natural. I could actually imagine the characters in my mind, going at it with words (and with their fists, most of the time, since lets face it, they are shape-shifters). Like the title hints, this really is a “boy meets girl” story. Although, I must admit, not every “boy meets girl” story has an awesome hotel room scene that includes handcuffs. That was pretty hot.

Despite the lack of storyline beyond the romantic plot, I really did enjoy the book. It might have been predictable and unrealistic on occasion, but I will absolutely continue reading this series. I kind of regret not having read the previous books before. It would have given me a lot more background information about the secondary characters and the different shifter groups. However, trust me when I say it can be read as a stand-alone. The author gives us enough information and since the story mainly revolves around Cella and Crush, I never got lost in the romantic plot. I would suggest this book to anyone who enjoys a good romance, especially those of you who are  true hockey fans.

Excerpt

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by Unknown at Sunday, May 13, 2012

 Kensington, Review, Shapeshifter, Shelly Laurenston  9 People left their mark

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