Berkley Sensation brings four talented authors together to create one erotic
anthology infused with enough animal attraction to satisfy the most ardent
lover of shape shifter romances! Shifter will simultaneously
stir your most erotic fantasies while warming your heart with four stories
of love and romance.
~Mad Dog Love by Angela Knight~
With
not only her life, but the entire empire at stake, empress Zarifa Lorezo
needs a bodyguard to ensure she reaches her destination safely. When she
learns of a slaver in possession of a werewolf slave, she decides that “Mad
Dog” is the man for the job.
Even wearing a slave-collar, Rance “Mad Dog” Conlan proves himself more than
a match for the empress on the run…
Whether it is a full length novel or a novella length story, Angela Knight
never fails to sweep you up in any tale she spins. She effortlessly creates
edgy characters that enthrall the reader, making you wish this story were
not a work of fiction, but real people fighting the good fight in our own
world and leaving it a better place.
And so it is with her entry in the Shifter anthology,
Mad Dog Love. In this short story, she brings together a hero and
heroine of the highest caliber who, although they meet under decidedly shaky
circumstances, quickly learn to trust one another as they see each other
with more than their eyes, opening their hearts.
With a fantastic twist at the end that I admit to never anticipating, Ms.
Knight deftly wraps up a gripping plot while leaving the reader fervently
hoping for a continuation of this exciting universe with future stories.
Mad Dog Love is a must-read for any reader who enjoys a red-hot
interstellar romance!
~A Jaguar’s Kiss by Lora Leigh~
Hired as the first teacher to the Breed children in Buffalo Gap, Natalie
Ricci thought she was prepared for everything the job had in store for her.
Nothing could have prepared her for Breed Enforcer Saban Broussard and his
sexy Cajun accent. She was even less prepared for this thing they call the
Mating Heat…
Saban is determined to win the woman he recognized at first sight as his
mate. No one will come between them – not her overly aggressive ex-husband
and not the evil scientists intent on capturing a Breed Mate for their
nefarious studies…
It amazes me that after so many Breeds books, Lora Leigh is
still able to find fresh angles for stories in one of my favorite book
series. With A Jaguar’s Kiss, she brings the story of a Breed
male who finds his mate is a divorcee, with an ex-husband all too present –
something guaranteed to drive his jaguar fury wild, but exacerbated even
more when the man tries harder and harder to separate Saban from Natalie.
As a schoolteacher, Natalie brings a no-nonsense attitude to this story, and
as a recent divorcee, she brings the pain of a woman struggling to exert her
long-denied independence even as the Mating Heat drives her into Saban’s
life and into his arms.
Even with the frenetic pace driven by the Mating Heat and Saban’s courtship
of Natalie, Ms. Leigh manages to weave a very nice dose of intrigue
throughout the story, effortlessly tidying up any loose ends by the end of
this novella.
Whether you have previously read one of Lora Leigh’s Breeds
stories or not, A Jaguar’s Kiss is sure to tantalize, thrill,
and totally titillate.
~Shifter’s Lady by Alyssa Day~
First Maiden of the Nereids, Marie hasn’t left Atlantis for any reason in
four centuries, much less a vacation. With her brother’s mating to a
shifter in the land Above, it is time for her to make the journey to that
world to meet her new sister and the panther pack they belong to.
With centuries of life, she has had her share of lovers, but none could have
taught her quite what to expect from a man like Ethan, the Alpha of that
very panther pack. She finds him alarmingly irresistible, a situation that
Ethan is all too happy to use to his advantage.
Ethan swears his protection for the beautiful Atlantian, a feat which proves
more and more challenging as the mysterious threat to his lands and the
creatures within them grows daily.
I have to confess, although I have read the first book in Alyssa Day’s
Atlantis Rising series and have purchased all of the stories
released so far, I am woefully behind in reading this spell-binding saga.
Because of this, I was gratified to find that Shifter’s Lady
worked very well read out of series order, in addition to being perfectly
poised as a standalone story guaranteed to entice readers new to Alyssa
Day’s work into buying the rest of the books in this saga.
Although centuries old, Marie is charmingly innocent, having lived the
majority of those years as the First Maiden of the Nereids, a position that
keeps many of the Atlantian men from regarding the lovely woman as more than
a friend. It is that charm coupled with her beauty that instantly captivate
Ethan.
Marie may have met men like Ethan before, but none who harbored the desire
for her that Ethan does, much less who stirred the same yearnings within
her. Although she never imagined herself with a warrior, it isn’t long
before she succumbs to Ethan’s amorous advances.
The ending of Shifter’s Lady is very interesting, wrapping up
some of the storylines, yet leaving room for another tale starring this
endearing couple. In the meantime, this fan will be moving the other books
in this saga up in her TBR pile…
~Sea Crossing by Virginia Kantra~
After being ruined by a man and summarily dismissed from her teaching post
at an all-girl’s school, Emma March forges on with her life, entering
herself into service in exchange for passage to Canada. Long before her
boat reaches its destination, tragedy strikes, necessitating the abandonment
of the now sinking ship. In the midst of the turmoil, Emma falls overboard.
Certain she is to meet her death, she is surprised to wake nude in
the company of a virile stranger on a remote yet populated island. It seems
that the chances of a ship arriving anytime soon are slim to none, but lucky
for Emma, the odd residents of the island happen to be in need of a teacher…
Virginia Kantra was the only author in the Shifter anthology
that was brand new to me, and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. We began
the book with a futuristic science fiction romance, and Ms. Kantra closes
the anthology with a paranormal historical romance, titled Sea
Crossing. Incorporating the myth of the Selkie into a historical
setting, it feels as if the author has transported us to another world. And
I suppose the island of the Selkies could be considered just that, with
their own ways of life, removed from the human world, although still tinged
with bits of humanity through the children they’ve fostered with mortals.
As she struggles to find her place in a world that leaves unmarried women
with few choices, Emma’s dilemma is palpable. Her resolve to find a life
where she can be of good use while still maintaining her morals is
admirable. Of course, it is just those morals that keep her and the
handsome Griff apart for so long. Well, those morals plus the secrets he is
keeping from her…
It is easy to see why Emma is drawn to Griff, despite those pesky morals.
Strong, mysterious, and caring – he is the epitome of everything she could
want in a husband. For that matter, he is the epitome of what most women
want in a husband.
In the end, all secrets are exposed, and watching as Emma comes to term with
this strange new world she discovers is heart-warming. If Griff could fall
any more in love with her, then he most certainly does in the end. And the
very same could be said of Emma as she discovers the true depth of Griff’s
feelings for her and just what he is willing to do in order to be with her.
Reviewed by Jennifer
