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deannasworld's review against another edition
4.0
Thanks Fur Last Night is a collection of shifter stories bringing us fated mates as growly bears and hunky werewolves find themselves faced with the one who is their other half.
Overall, I enjoyed this collection of stories. Some more than others but I think all three authors will be authors I'm going to want to read more of.
Bearing His Sins by Eve Langlais
Bearing His Sins is a fun and sometimes wacky romp when a brash young woman bursts into the life of an shapeshifting bear assassin who is deciding whether to kill her or keep her.
I gotta say, for the better part of the book, I had no idea what the heck was happening beyond some crazy banter going on between Anja and Cole, and men with guns trying to either kill or kidnap Anja. It was all kinda hard to tell. And honestly, I'm not sure if I liked how wacky it all was. I mean, some of it was funny, but it was more a shaking my head, wondering what the heck was going on in a weird kind of funny, rather than a ha ha, rolling with laughter kind of funny. Still, it was an entertaining read once you got past Cole and Anja's antics.
I liked Cole. He's a no nonsense, straight-shooting kind of a guy. He's blunt, direct and honest. And he's also big and intimidating, what with being a bear shifter and all. And I loved his profession and the way he went about doing things. He was a man of means and ability. And while Anja didn't always need protecting, he was able-bodied and protective. I loved when Cole came to the rescue. It was satisfyingly efficient and impressive.
As for Anja, I'm not sure I liked her all that much. I didn't dislike her, but she was much too brash and outspoken for my liking. Don't get me wrong, I like a sassy and strong heroine as much as the next person, but boy, did Anja have a mouth on her. It didn't work for me when she kept trying to top Cole. It's not a character trait I like in a heroine.
I've read other books by Ms Langlais before and enjoyed them so I'm certain I'll be reading more of her from her extensive backlist in the future.
Bought By The Bear by Milly Taiden
Bought By The Bear is a fun, sexy story of a bear who finds his one true mate through an arrangement with a fake mate and the woman who becomes his whole world.
I loved this story. It was so much fun. The hint on danger and mystery surrounding Josie certainly got me curious as to what was going on. That was a rather strange plot twist that kept things thumping along.
I loved Xander. He's such a great guy. He's kind, charming and sexy as heck. And so adorable when he was being growly and frustrated by his mate who didn't understand how a fated mate bond worked. I loved how Xander was not afraid of letting his feelings show and being demonstrative about them. Definitely swoon-worthy!
And Josie was so sweet and caring. I loved how much she loved her nephew and how hard she worked. My heart broke for her at how much she suffered. And even with all she suffered, she never stopped being loving, kind and wonderful.
This is my first time reading Ms Taiden's writing and I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I will definitely be reading more of her. In fact, I think I have some on my Kindle that I should go look up.
The Alpha and I by Kate Baxter
The Alpha and I brings together an Alpha werewolf being hunted by an enemy and his very human fated mate who is thrown into the midst of the conflict simply for being his mate.
Honestly, I wanted to like this story a lot more than I did but the storytelling seemed a little stilted to me and I had a hard time connecting with Devon.
Devon is very independent. After a rather difficult relationship which caused her to leave her home and move to Lowman, Idaho, she's turned her life around. Her life now revolves around running her bar and caring for her dog, Mac, and very little else. It's a safe, comfortable life. Until she rescues Liam one snowy night. Then everything changes. While I admired Devon for her independence and her strength, I got annoyed at her stubbornness. Particularly, at times when things got dangerous and Liam wanted them to get to safety. Instead of complying, she argues with Liam. And when Liam wants to do something to ensure her safety, she decides to distance herself in order to think about it, in the face of a terrible danger coming after them. Gotta say, I have to admire Liam for his patience with her and he makes a lot of allowances for her being human. I would not have been quite so understanding. Mostly, I wanted to shake her out of her stubbornness and tell her to get with the program.
I liked Liam as an Alpha werewolf, strong, able, protective and determined to keep Devon safe while he is being hunted by an enemy. I suppose things are a lot easier for him to grasp because he is a werewolf and he understands the life and the dangers surrounding that life. I loved how tough Liam is and how quickly he healed. The supernatural aspects of him being a werewolf drew me in.
I also enjoyed Ms Baxter's world building a great deal. Even though this was a short story, I did not feel as though she rushed or stinted on the world building and I felt like I understood how everything and everyone came to be. How shifters and werewolves co-existed and how the supernatural beings of the world operated. I felt like I was falling into a very well-established world.
This is not the first story of Ms Baxter's I've read. It will not be the last.
See more from Deanna's World
Overall, I enjoyed this collection of stories. Some more than others but I think all three authors will be authors I'm going to want to read more of.
Bearing His Sins by Eve Langlais
Bearing His Sins is a fun and sometimes wacky romp when a brash young woman bursts into the life of an shapeshifting bear assassin who is deciding whether to kill her or keep her.
I gotta say, for the better part of the book, I had no idea what the heck was happening beyond some crazy banter going on between Anja and Cole, and men with guns trying to either kill or kidnap Anja. It was all kinda hard to tell. And honestly, I'm not sure if I liked how wacky it all was. I mean, some of it was funny, but it was more a shaking my head, wondering what the heck was going on in a weird kind of funny, rather than a ha ha, rolling with laughter kind of funny. Still, it was an entertaining read once you got past Cole and Anja's antics.
I liked Cole. He's a no nonsense, straight-shooting kind of a guy. He's blunt, direct and honest. And he's also big and intimidating, what with being a bear shifter and all. And I loved his profession and the way he went about doing things. He was a man of means and ability. And while Anja didn't always need protecting, he was able-bodied and protective. I loved when Cole came to the rescue. It was satisfyingly efficient and impressive.
As for Anja, I'm not sure I liked her all that much. I didn't dislike her, but she was much too brash and outspoken for my liking. Don't get me wrong, I like a sassy and strong heroine as much as the next person, but boy, did Anja have a mouth on her. It didn't work for me when she kept trying to top Cole. It's not a character trait I like in a heroine.
I've read other books by Ms Langlais before and enjoyed them so I'm certain I'll be reading more of her from her extensive backlist in the future.
Bought By The Bear by Milly Taiden
Bought By The Bear is a fun, sexy story of a bear who finds his one true mate through an arrangement with a fake mate and the woman who becomes his whole world.
I loved this story. It was so much fun. The hint on danger and mystery surrounding Josie certainly got me curious as to what was going on. That was a rather strange plot twist that kept things thumping along.
I loved Xander. He's such a great guy. He's kind, charming and sexy as heck. And so adorable when he was being growly and frustrated by his mate who didn't understand how a fated mate bond worked. I loved how Xander was not afraid of letting his feelings show and being demonstrative about them. Definitely swoon-worthy!
And Josie was so sweet and caring. I loved how much she loved her nephew and how hard she worked. My heart broke for her at how much she suffered. And even with all she suffered, she never stopped being loving, kind and wonderful.
This is my first time reading Ms Taiden's writing and I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I will definitely be reading more of her. In fact, I think I have some on my Kindle that I should go look up.
The Alpha and I by Kate Baxter
The Alpha and I brings together an Alpha werewolf being hunted by an enemy and his very human fated mate who is thrown into the midst of the conflict simply for being his mate.
Honestly, I wanted to like this story a lot more than I did but the storytelling seemed a little stilted to me and I had a hard time connecting with Devon.
Devon is very independent. After a rather difficult relationship which caused her to leave her home and move to Lowman, Idaho, she's turned her life around. Her life now revolves around running her bar and caring for her dog, Mac, and very little else. It's a safe, comfortable life. Until she rescues Liam one snowy night. Then everything changes. While I admired Devon for her independence and her strength, I got annoyed at her stubbornness. Particularly, at times when things got dangerous and Liam wanted them to get to safety. Instead of complying, she argues with Liam. And when Liam wants to do something to ensure her safety, she decides to distance herself in order to think about it, in the face of a terrible danger coming after them. Gotta say, I have to admire Liam for his patience with her and he makes a lot of allowances for her being human. I would not have been quite so understanding. Mostly, I wanted to shake her out of her stubbornness and tell her to get with the program.
I liked Liam as an Alpha werewolf, strong, able, protective and determined to keep Devon safe while he is being hunted by an enemy. I suppose things are a lot easier for him to grasp because he is a werewolf and he understands the life and the dangers surrounding that life. I loved how tough Liam is and how quickly he healed. The supernatural aspects of him being a werewolf drew me in.
I also enjoyed Ms Baxter's world building a great deal. Even though this was a short story, I did not feel as though she rushed or stinted on the world building and I felt like I understood how everything and everyone came to be. How shifters and werewolves co-existed and how the supernatural beings of the world operated. I felt like I was falling into a very well-established world.
This is not the first story of Ms Baxter's I've read. It will not be the last.
See more from Deanna's World
jeanz's review against another edition
4.0
REVIEW
I approached reading these novella's with trepidation as I know through checking on Goodreads that both Eve Langlais and Milly Taiden have series that are classed as erotica and it is a genre I usually steer away from, but this anthology is listed as paranormal romance and it was suggested I may enjoy it as I love shifter books so I decided to give it a go. For Kate Baxter I have found her books listed as paranormal romance so feel I should certainly get along with her novella okay. I haven't really read anything before by these authors but decided this Anthology would be a great way for me to try out three new authors.
The cover background has either an ocean or lake with a bear splashing his way through it, this part of the cover could certainly fit a scene from within the first novella by Eve Langlais. In the foreground of the cover is a rather passionately kissing couple. I love the title with the play on the word Fur/For. I immediately understood it and it made me smile and want to know more about the anthology.
The various genres I have seen listed for this anthology are Paranormal, Fantasy and Romance, Anthologies and I agree with those genres. I would also add it to "Novella's" as the Anthology is made up of three novella's.
I think the blurbs for each novella give away enough about them so my reviews are merely my personal thoughts and views on the individual title.
Bearing His Sin by Eve Langlais
So I'm being totally honest, as always, this did have rather explicit or what I term as erotica type descriptions which at time were a little off putting, but I guess that's down to my own personal reading preferences and my personal comfort zone. I found this novella a bit slow to start off, and felt it jumped about a bit too much and was in my opinion fragmented somewhat. I stuck with the novella and in the end I found a fairly good read. Would I want to read more titles by Eve Langlais . . hmm maybe.
Bought by the Bear by Milly Taiden
This novella was a faster paced read and even though it had some steamy hot scenes they were so well in context that it felt "right". I loved the character of Josilyn, how she is working a quite literally back breaking job to feed herself, but more importantly her nephew Nick, whom she has cared for since his parents died in a car accident. I adored the way the once womaniser Xander was totally out of his depth with Josilyn. I did really enjoy this novella, so much so I've put some other titles by Milly Taiden on my Want To Read List already! I really didn't want this novella to end!
The Alpha and I by Kate Baxter
This novella was also a really good read, enough to make me check out the authors other available books too! I love that Liam the Alpha werewolf who is used to everyone doing as he tells them without question has to try and go against his alpha nature and not just tell Devon how things are going to be. I liked the element of the whole will she choose to become a werewolf and the process and was a little disappointed when we didn't get the whole bite scene etc. The third novella in this anthology and the second one that I didn't want to end. I could imagine reading a whole series about the fantastic shifters in this novella!
So the anthology as a whole was a really good one. I've discovered two new authors I'd like to read more of. I usually avoid anything that has been labelled erotica like the plague but the publicist that recommended these authors to me thought I would love this anthology, so I decided to give it a go, not knowing what to expect and ended up with a great surprise read and a couple of authors I maybe wouldn't have given a chance before.
My immediate thoughts upon finishing this anthology were, Will definitely be checking for other titles by these authors. This anthology definitely allowed me to indulge my love of the werewolf & shifter genre.
I approached reading these novella's with trepidation as I know through checking on Goodreads that both Eve Langlais and Milly Taiden have series that are classed as erotica and it is a genre I usually steer away from, but this anthology is listed as paranormal romance and it was suggested I may enjoy it as I love shifter books so I decided to give it a go. For Kate Baxter I have found her books listed as paranormal romance so feel I should certainly get along with her novella okay. I haven't really read anything before by these authors but decided this Anthology would be a great way for me to try out three new authors.
The cover background has either an ocean or lake with a bear splashing his way through it, this part of the cover could certainly fit a scene from within the first novella by Eve Langlais. In the foreground of the cover is a rather passionately kissing couple. I love the title with the play on the word Fur/For. I immediately understood it and it made me smile and want to know more about the anthology.
The various genres I have seen listed for this anthology are Paranormal, Fantasy and Romance, Anthologies and I agree with those genres. I would also add it to "Novella's" as the Anthology is made up of three novella's.
I think the blurbs for each novella give away enough about them so my reviews are merely my personal thoughts and views on the individual title.
Bearing His Sin by Eve Langlais
So I'm being totally honest, as always, this did have rather explicit or what I term as erotica type descriptions which at time were a little off putting, but I guess that's down to my own personal reading preferences and my personal comfort zone. I found this novella a bit slow to start off, and felt it jumped about a bit too much and was in my opinion fragmented somewhat. I stuck with the novella and in the end I found a fairly good read. Would I want to read more titles by Eve Langlais . . hmm maybe.
Bought by the Bear by Milly Taiden
This novella was a faster paced read and even though it had some steamy hot scenes they were so well in context that it felt "right". I loved the character of Josilyn, how she is working a quite literally back breaking job to feed herself, but more importantly her nephew Nick, whom she has cared for since his parents died in a car accident. I adored the way the once womaniser Xander was totally out of his depth with Josilyn. I did really enjoy this novella, so much so I've put some other titles by Milly Taiden on my Want To Read List already! I really didn't want this novella to end!
The Alpha and I by Kate Baxter
This novella was also a really good read, enough to make me check out the authors other available books too! I love that Liam the Alpha werewolf who is used to everyone doing as he tells them without question has to try and go against his alpha nature and not just tell Devon how things are going to be. I liked the element of the whole will she choose to become a werewolf and the process and was a little disappointed when we didn't get the whole bite scene etc. The third novella in this anthology and the second one that I didn't want to end. I could imagine reading a whole series about the fantastic shifters in this novella!
So the anthology as a whole was a really good one. I've discovered two new authors I'd like to read more of. I usually avoid anything that has been labelled erotica like the plague but the publicist that recommended these authors to me thought I would love this anthology, so I decided to give it a go, not knowing what to expect and ended up with a great surprise read and a couple of authors I maybe wouldn't have given a chance before.
My immediate thoughts upon finishing this anthology were, Will definitely be checking for other titles by these authors. This anthology definitely allowed me to indulge my love of the werewolf & shifter genre.
nikkisbooknook's review against another edition
4.0
Fab compilation of PNR!
Bearing His Sin by Eve Langlais - Witty, OTT, and fabulously funny!
Bought By The Bear by Milly Taiden - Fake mates have a way of becoming true mates! Great read - Grandma almost stole the show
The Alpha and I by Kate Baxter- I felt this was the weakest of the three but that could be because I've read less of this authors work so don't have a real feel for it. Felt it would have been better as longer story so characters had more time to develop.
Overall a great collection of stories adn well worth the money!
Bearing His Sin by Eve Langlais - Witty, OTT, and fabulously funny!
Bought By The Bear by Milly Taiden - Fake mates have a way of becoming true mates! Great read - Grandma almost stole the show
The Alpha and I by Kate Baxter- I felt this was the weakest of the three but that could be because I've read less of this authors work so don't have a real feel for it. Felt it would have been better as longer story so characters had more time to develop.
Overall a great collection of stories adn well worth the money!
theladyinreds's review against another edition
4.0
Review originally posted at: http://goodbadandunread.com/2018/03/15/review-thanks-fur-last-night-by-langlais-taiden-baxter/
This novella collection features three mostly new-to-me paranormal romance authors. There’s a little bit of everything here with stories that vary in tone from wildly over the top to deadpan serious. All three stories feature variations on the fated mate trope.
Bearing His Sin by Eve Langlais – This story opens with the mercenary hero perched in a tree thinking about his penis and about possibly assassinating some people. Then all hell breaks loose when Cole is confronted by the Russian farm girl who owns said tree and is not at all interested in dealing with his shit. The woman, Anja, is also his fated mate and that is a complication he is so not interested in dealing with. The story is crazy over the top but fun and it kept me highly amused while reading. The hero POV can be kind of challenging to get through because he’s such an arrogant jerkwad. Fortunately, his amazing heroine and her feisty grandmother are more than worth putting up with him.
Grade A-
Bought By The Bear by Milly Taiden – Josilyn is struggling financially after a terrible divorce and custody of her young nephew could hang in the balance. A job as a “fake mate for hire” for her friend’s paranormal dating agency might be just the break she needs. Xander is looking for a fake mate to keep his grandmother at bay, but when he meets his fake mate and realizes she’s actually his real mate, plans change and he’s got some major wooing to do. Xander and Josilyn make a good pair and it’s entertaining to watch them get to know each other.
Grade B
The Alpha and I by Kate Baxter – In isolated Idaho bar owner Devon finds a half-dead naked man in the snow on her drive home and rescuing him sets her life on an unexpected course. Her handsome stranger wakes up the next day and brings with him more questions than answers. Liam can’t tell Devon what happened because he doesn’t remember. She’s human, so he also can’t tell her that he’s the alpha to a werewolf pack that recently relocated to the area and that she’s his mate. What he can do is try his best to reconnect with his pack while keeping Devon away from whatever or whoever is targeting him. I’m a fan of snowed-in stories and the isolated aspect worked really well here.
Grade B+
Overall, I enjoyed all three stories in this collection and I look forward to reading more.
This novella collection features three mostly new-to-me paranormal romance authors. There’s a little bit of everything here with stories that vary in tone from wildly over the top to deadpan serious. All three stories feature variations on the fated mate trope.
Bearing His Sin by Eve Langlais – This story opens with the mercenary hero perched in a tree thinking about his penis and about possibly assassinating some people. Then all hell breaks loose when Cole is confronted by the Russian farm girl who owns said tree and is not at all interested in dealing with his shit. The woman, Anja, is also his fated mate and that is a complication he is so not interested in dealing with. The story is crazy over the top but fun and it kept me highly amused while reading. The hero POV can be kind of challenging to get through because he’s such an arrogant jerkwad. Fortunately, his amazing heroine and her feisty grandmother are more than worth putting up with him.
Grade A-
Bought By The Bear by Milly Taiden – Josilyn is struggling financially after a terrible divorce and custody of her young nephew could hang in the balance. A job as a “fake mate for hire” for her friend’s paranormal dating agency might be just the break she needs. Xander is looking for a fake mate to keep his grandmother at bay, but when he meets his fake mate and realizes she’s actually his real mate, plans change and he’s got some major wooing to do. Xander and Josilyn make a good pair and it’s entertaining to watch them get to know each other.
Grade B
The Alpha and I by Kate Baxter – In isolated Idaho bar owner Devon finds a half-dead naked man in the snow on her drive home and rescuing him sets her life on an unexpected course. Her handsome stranger wakes up the next day and brings with him more questions than answers. Liam can’t tell Devon what happened because he doesn’t remember. She’s human, so he also can’t tell her that he’s the alpha to a werewolf pack that recently relocated to the area and that she’s his mate. What he can do is try his best to reconnect with his pack while keeping Devon away from whatever or whoever is targeting him. I’m a fan of snowed-in stories and the isolated aspect worked really well here.
Grade B+
Overall, I enjoyed all three stories in this collection and I look forward to reading more.
tanaise's review against another edition
1.0
In the third story, the main characters abandon their dog in an unheated house, and never come back to him. Seriously. It's a little more than halfway through the story, and the dog is NEVER MENTIONED AGAIN. I would have prefered they took the dog with them on their cross-country blizzard hike and he died of exposure/bear attack than just end the story with no mention of him at all, leaving me to believe he starves or freezes alone. (I mean, he isn't explicitly not-rescued, maybe they came home and picked him up before the epilogue started, but I am unhappy about this.)
A dog is for life, not for 10 chapters!!
A dog is for life, not for 10 chapters!!
fernbell's review against another edition
5.0
This is three stories by three different authors.
Bearing his sins by Eve Langlais was the first story. Loved the story. I was laughing from the start to the end. Actually was telling a family member about a couple things that happened just in the first part of story and they had to read it. This one will go on my keeper shelf and will have hard time lending as don't want to loose it. Humor with great characters. Loved the grandma, if you read it will know what I mean.
Bought by the bear by Milly Taiden Great female lead with a lot of things that happen to her that makes her stronger. He is a bear shifter that hires a her to act as his mate but when meets her realizes she is in fact his mate for real. Then the twist and turns happen from there. Lots of humor, great flow and good story follow. Definitely a book to reread and recommend to others.
The Alpha and I by Kate Baxter Good book that draws you in from the start. The story starts from her finding a naked man in the snow with blood all over him and then goes from there. He is an Alpha with some one after his pack and now after her for helping him. Great story.
Bearing his sins by Eve Langlais was the first story. Loved the story. I was laughing from the start to the end. Actually was telling a family member about a couple things that happened just in the first part of story and they had to read it. This one will go on my keeper shelf and will have hard time lending as don't want to loose it. Humor with great characters. Loved the grandma, if you read it will know what I mean.
Bought by the bear by Milly Taiden Great female lead with a lot of things that happen to her that makes her stronger. He is a bear shifter that hires a her to act as his mate but when meets her realizes she is in fact his mate for real. Then the twist and turns happen from there. Lots of humor, great flow and good story follow. Definitely a book to reread and recommend to others.
The Alpha and I by Kate Baxter Good book that draws you in from the start. The story starts from her finding a naked man in the snow with blood all over him and then goes from there. He is an Alpha with some one after his pack and now after her for helping him. Great story.
wolffe's review
3.0
Bearing His Sins
Eve Langlais
I couldn't finish this. The hero was an ass. The only redeeming quality was the grandmother, and she appeared too little to hold my interest. Despite the misogynist, overbearing hero the heroines panties were so wet (as we were told multiple times) you'd think her vagina housed a faucet. DNF around chapter 5.
Bought by the Bear
Milly Taiden
This one I at least finished, but it was a near thing. The front half is nothing but instant lust. There are a lot of wet panties and straining cocks. No real plot to speak of. In the last chapter or so, a story is attempted. It's typical romance fare with holes and problems but it isn't the worst.
The Alpha and I
Kate Baxter
This is a good werewolf romance. The story is well paced, the plot nicely developed and the characters likable and believable. There was only one small thing that bothered me. What happened to Mac? I would have liked a note that Mac ended up safe. I will be looking into Baxter's other work for sure.
Eve Langlais
I couldn't finish this. The hero was an ass. The only redeeming quality was the grandmother, and she appeared too little to hold my interest. Despite the misogynist, overbearing hero the heroines panties were so wet (as we were told multiple times) you'd think her vagina housed a faucet. DNF around chapter 5.
Bought by the Bear
Milly Taiden
This one I at least finished, but it was a near thing. The front half is nothing but instant lust. There are a lot of wet panties and straining cocks. No real plot to speak of. In the last chapter or so, a story is attempted. It's typical romance fare with holes and problems but it isn't the worst.
The Alpha and I
Kate Baxter
This is a good werewolf romance. The story is well paced, the plot nicely developed and the characters likable and believable. There was only one small thing that bothered me. What happened to Mac? I would have liked a note that Mac ended up safe. I will be looking into Baxter's other work for sure.
poisonivy70's review
3.0
2.5-3 stars
Three stories, with varying degrees of success, let's dive into this shindig.
Bearing His Sin - 1.5-2 stars
*blinks* I...yeah, I don’t know. There’s some (very subjective) humor to this and if that was all I was interested in, I might have liked it more. But romance is what brings me in the door, and this was definitely lacking. Cole makes some token comments about how Anja’s his, and Anja says she’s attracted to him. But their actions speak louder ….
Yeah they’re basically assholes. Both of them. Which, if you think about it make them perfect for each other, even if it didn’t make their romance particularly palatable. I wanted to like this, but it just didn’t work for me.
Bought By The Bear - 2 stars
This story has the same problem I have with most of Ms. Taiden’s books, though I keep hoping it gets better because there’s always something that draws me in. I love her plot ideas. I love that her heroines almost always are confident and curvy. The heroes are fairly standard if serviceable alphas. But then the story itself….it just goes sideways. Her heroes/heroines talk about being attracted to personality, I always seem to say to myself “how do they know each other’s personality? They barely spoke to each other.”
Internal monologues do not count as conversations and they spent way too much talking in their own heads or to other people, not to each other. Another story I wanted to love, but it ended up just being an ok read.
The Alpha and I - 4 stars
My favorite by far of this antho. I just enjoy Ms. Baxter’s writing, and I thought there was a good amount of information shared regarding this particular ‘verse and werewolf mythology without it feeling forced. I liked Liam and Devon’s chemistry and while I wasn’t as big a fan of the climax (it felt kind of rushed), or perhaps because I was just dying to really like a story, I think this was the best of the bunch.
The Bottom Line 2.5-3 stars
Overall, this wasn’t as strong as I hoped. This is a very conditional rec - If you’re a fan of these particular authors, you may enjoy this more than I did. If you're a general fan of shifter romances, I would absolutely recommend the Baxter story, but the other two were just meh for me.
**ARC provided by publisher via netgalley for review**
For more reviews, visit
Three stories, with varying degrees of success, let's dive into this shindig.
Bearing His Sin - 1.5-2 stars
*blinks* I...yeah, I don’t know. There’s some (very subjective) humor to this and if that was all I was interested in, I might have liked it more. But romance is what brings me in the door, and this was definitely lacking. Cole makes some token comments about how Anja’s his, and Anja says she’s attracted to him. But their actions speak louder ….
Yeah they’re basically assholes. Both of them. Which, if you think about it make them perfect for each other, even if it didn’t make their romance particularly palatable. I wanted to like this, but it just didn’t work for me.
Bought By The Bear - 2 stars
This story has the same problem I have with most of Ms. Taiden’s books, though I keep hoping it gets better because there’s always something that draws me in. I love her plot ideas. I love that her heroines almost always are confident and curvy. The heroes are fairly standard if serviceable alphas. But then the story itself….it just goes sideways. Her heroes/heroines talk about being attracted to personality, I always seem to say to myself “how do they know each other’s personality? They barely spoke to each other.”
Internal monologues do not count as conversations and they spent way too much talking in their own heads or to other people, not to each other. Another story I wanted to love, but it ended up just being an ok read.
The Alpha and I - 4 stars
My favorite by far of this antho. I just enjoy Ms. Baxter’s writing, and I thought there was a good amount of information shared regarding this particular ‘verse and werewolf mythology without it feeling forced. I liked Liam and Devon’s chemistry and while I wasn’t as big a fan of the climax (it felt kind of rushed), or perhaps because I was just dying to really like a story, I think this was the best of the bunch.
The Bottom Line 2.5-3 stars
Overall, this wasn’t as strong as I hoped. This is a very conditional rec - If you’re a fan of these particular authors, you may enjoy this more than I did. If you're a general fan of shifter romances, I would absolutely recommend the Baxter story, but the other two were just meh for me.
**ARC provided by publisher via netgalley for review**
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