LION EYES / Bad Wolf (Shifters Unbound 7.25 & 7.5) by Jennifer Ashley-a review

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Lion Eyes
Shifters Unbound 7.25
Dark and Damaged: Eight Tortured Heroes Anthology (June 12, 2015)
by Jennifer Ashley
Genre: adult, contemporary, paranormal, romance, shifters
Release Date: July 2015

LION EYES can be found in the DARK AND DAMAGED ebook anthology ONLY 99¢: Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date June/July/Aug 2015

Bree has just decided to give up trying to be a Shifter groupie when a lion Shifter slams into her truck and tells her to drive. Seamus is on the run from hunters, other Shifters, and who knows who else. All Bree knows is that he’s compelling, needs her help, and most intriguing of all, wears no Collar …

Seamus McGuire fears he’s gone crazy—feral—and become a killer. His only hope of getting away from the hunters and police on his tail is Bree, a human woman who not only knows a lot about Shifters but has great compassion for them.

Things are more complicated than they seem, however. Seamus is on a mission, to protect those in his care after the destruction of Kendrick’s compound of un-Collared Shifters. Seamus must keep it together and keep his charges hidden, but at the same time, he’s pulled to Bree as he’s never been pulled to a woman before. He needs to prove he’s innocent and not crazy before it’s too late for himself, Bree, and those he’s vowed to protect.

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NOTE: Lion Eyes debuted in the boxed set DARK AND DAMAGED (June 12, 2015) and will be released on its’ own  August 2015.

REVIEW: LION EYES is the latest novella in Jennifer Ashley’s adult SHIFTERS UNBOUND paranormal romance series. This is lion shifter Seamus McGuire, and shifter groupie Bree Fayette’s storyline. All of Jennifer’s Shifter Unbound storylines can be read as stand alones but for cohesion and backstory, I highly recommend reading the series in order as many characters and premises cross over between novels. Jennifer always gives the reader a hint as to what is to come including an introduction to new characters and potential new storylines.

BACKGROUND: Jennifer Ashley’s shifters are persecuted and discriminated against by the humans but the humans have help in their attempts to bring the shifters under control using magic-infused collars and segregated towns. The Shifter history reveals that the Fae created the Shifters but in doing so left a little bit of magic behind.

Told from dual third person perspectives LION EYES follows the hunt for a killer. When two humans are found ripped apart, a feral shifter is suspected of the killing. Enter Seamus McGuire, an uncollared and rogue lion shifter who doesn’t recall the events leading up to the murder; but a bloodied and wounded Seamus soon takes refuge with Shifter groupie Bree Fayette and the mating frenzy begins to take hold. With Seamus the number one suspect, the trackers from the Austin Shiftertown go on the hunt for the shifter they believe is responsible for the attack.

The relationship and mating between Bree and Seamus is quick to develop but, in defense, the Shifter male knows when he has met his mate and, in this, Seamus tries to hold himself back knowing that to mate with Bree would put her in danger as Seamus is potentially a wanted man. The $ex scenes are limited, intimate and seductive.

Many of the previous storyline characters play secondary and supporting roles throughout the novella for a familiar and cohesive blend between storyline installments-the inclusion allows for another glimpse into the lives of the couples, the children and the shifters we have come to love.

The world building continues to focus on the Shiftertowns, the persecution of shifters, and their history: from collaring, Fae magic, and The Guardians who keep peace within the species.

Jennifer Ashley writes a fascinating, entertaining and engaging paranormal series with a blend of several different shifter species who, in order to get along, must exist side by side and together, along with the humans who are determined to keep them under control.

Reviewed by Sandy

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BAD WOLF
(Shifters Unbound 7.5)
by Jennifer Ashley
Genre: adult, contemporary, paranormal, romance, shifters

ebook ONLY 99¢: Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date July 14, 2015

Wolf Shifter Broderick is stuck looking after his three younger brothers and a Collar-less Shifter who is driving him crazy, but he’s putting up with it for Joanne, the human woman he, for some reason, wants to impress. Joanne Greene, while grateful to Broderick for rescuing her sister, doesn’t know what to make of him. She’s been a loner most of her life, better able to relate to computers and coding than to people, until she’s drawn into the world of the Shifters.

Broderick is everything Joanne is not—a fighter and a tracker, from a rough-and-tumble family, better at working with his hands than understanding the netherworld of Joanne’s computer programmer life. Broderick is also extremely protective, wanting to draw her under his care as he does everyone else.

When Broderick is captured, mistaken for a Guardian, it’s Joanne who figures out that hackers are after the Guardian Network, the database that holds the deep secrets of Shifters past and present. Strangely, Broderick now holds the key to stopping the deadly danger of the network’s breach, and Joanne with her coding skills is the only one who can help him.

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REVIEW: BAD WOLF is the latest installment in Jennifer Ashley’s adult Shifters Unbound paranormal romance series. Jennifer Ashley’s shifters are persecuted and discriminated against by the humans but the humans have help in their attempts to bring the shifters under control using magic-infused collars and segregated towns. The Shifter history reveals that the Fae created the Shifters but in doing so left a little bit of magic behind. This is wolf shifter/alpha Broderick McNaughton, and human/computer geek Joanne Greene’s storyline.

Told from third person point of view BAD WOLF follows the abduction and rescue of Broderick McNaughton, and the discovery that someone is searching for a way into the Guardian Network. The Guardians hold the secrets of the Shifter species and their connection to the Fae. What ensues is the search for the people responsible for Broderick’s abduction, and an unexpected trip to Faerie where Joanne and Broderick find themselves prisoners of the Fae. A couple of surprises greet our couple upon their arrival.

The relationship between Joanne and Broderick is one of friendship but Broderick refuses to believe that Joanne is his mate. The romance is limited; it is almost an afterthought as our couple traverse between worlds and attempt an escape in order to save their lives.

The secondary and supporting characters include several of the previous storyline characters –Seamus, Sean, Tiger and Spike as well as the Broderick’s younger brother Mason. Someone presumed missing and dead makes a surprising appearance.

We are introduced to Commander Kian of the Fae army; and feline shifter Daragh whose life is no longer his own. The requisite evil comes in many forms but a young computer hacker by the name of Cilla will soon realize that tampering with things she knows nothing about has placed her in a very precarious position.

BAD WOLF is a fast paced storyline that continues to move the focus of the series towards the Fae connection to the Shifter species. The premise is interesting and engaging; the characters colorful and energetic; the romance was a little lacking. If you are fan of Jennifer’s SHIFTERS UNBOUND series, BAD WOLF is another welcome and entertaining addition.

Reading Order
.5. Shifter Made
1. Pride Mates
2. Primal Bonds
2.5 Body Guard
3. Wild Cat
3.5 Hard Mated
4. Mate Claimed
4.5 Lone Wolf
5. Tiger Magic
5.5 Feral Heat
6. Wild Wolf
6.5 Bear Attraction
7. Mate Bond
7.25. Lion Eyes
7.5. Bad Wolf

Reviewed by Sandy