A review by melodicfate
Stripped Bear by Kate Baxter

3.0

A nice little novella, though it had quite a lot of love scenes. Since the characters had a previous history, though, I didn't mind that as much as I normally would've. I liked the heroine Leah, who was stubborn, strong, and protective of those she loved. She refused to let the hero, Cade, boss her around. I liked Cade too, but he didn't really stand out among all the other alpha shifter heroes to me. The plot was all about Cade and Reah's reunion after Cade's grandmother set them up. Cade had left home sixteen yeears ago because of the age difference between himself and Leah, who was fourteen at the time and had a crush on him. When the book started though, Cade's grandmother got him to visit by faking being sick. Then, knowing that when Leah touched Cade that Leah would claim Cade as her mate, his grandmother orchestrated a handshake between the two. The rest of the book followed Leah and Cade as Leah struggled with the fact that Cade had left all those years ago and insulted her feelings. Cade had to win Leah over, as well as let her in on the fact that he was a shifter.

I liked the setup for this story. It did a good job with the friends-to-lovers and second chance tropes. The world was interesting, and I'm curious how I'd like a full novel set in it. I could've done without some of the repetitive writing in the love scenes, and I wish Cade had stood out more as a character. However, I did like this story, and recommend it to paranormal romance fans looking for a quick read.