2014 Shifter Challenge

• The Shifter Challenge runs from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014
• The challenge is to read 10 books that have a SHIFTER as a main, or supporting character
• Books can be in any format and should be at least 100 pages. Short stories do not count. You can also post about rereads.
• Post about this challenge on your blog stating that you are participating or create a shelf via Goodreads, Booklikes etc. That post or shelf is the link that you will include in the link-up below. The link should be the post link not just your direct blog link. Please be courteous and include a link back to this post.
• Post your reviews on the Review Post: Click here to log your reviews!

BOOKS READ FOR CHALLENGE:

1. Pleasure of a Dark Prince by Kresley Cole
2. How to Run With a Naked Werewolf by Molly Harper
3. Bitten by Kelley Armstrong
4. Wicked Cravings by Suzanne Wright
5. Wild Things by Chloe Neill
6. Written in Red by Anne Bishop
7. Big Bad Bite by Jessie Lane
8. Alpha Instinct by Katie Reus
9. Walk on the Striped Side by Jessie Lane

Only 1 left to complete this challenge. I think I'll sign up for Parajunkee's Vamp challenge once this one is complete. 

Walk On The Striped Side by Jessie Lane 
Series: Big Bad Bite #2 
Rating: A 
Published by Jessie Lane on February 25th 2014 
Genres: Paranormal Romance 
Format: eARC 
Source: Author 
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Does he have his claws in her for good? Or is she just yanking his tail?

Elena Demos’s life has been turned upside down. Her mother has passed away, leaving Elena and her two half-sisters to deal with their mother’s will and the crazy stipulations it contains. For the three sisters to inherit the substantial amount of money left behind, they have to go to work with two aunts they’ve never met, in the family business they’ve known nothing about, Amazons Inc. If that isn’t bad enough, she runs into the man who once broke her heart, and it’s only their first day on the job.

Gage Ivanov is a stupid beast. He let the woman who should be his mate go because she couldn't be told of his Other identity. Now, Elena’s back, but she refuses to give in to his demands for her to be his mate. The timing for all of this couldn’t be worse, either, because Gage and his circle of friends are trying to subdue a rogue pack of wolf shifters in Germany who threaten to out the Others to the world of humans. Will he be able to juggle the oncoming conflict and win back his mate?

Claws, love bites and handcuffs - OH MY!

Just when I was enjoying Big Bad Bite, here comes Walk On The Striped Side. I love me some big cat shifters and Gage is one hot alpha tiger! I’d love to be his catnip.

While Walk On The Striped Side is the 2nd book in the Big Bad Bite series is could be read without reading the first book Big Bad Bite but I highly recommend starting with Big Bad Bite because there is a plot line that starts in BBB that carries over to WOTSS and will most likely continue in future books.

We first meet the hero, Gage in Big Bad Bite and at the end Elena shows up. These two are a CRAZY couple. They had me laughing through most of the book and fan myself when I wasn’t laughing. They both have messed up family members that are even crazier than them.

“Fine. But if I get turned into cat chow during this stupid bullshit, you better make sure to bury me in my Manolo’s. I wanna be the hottest chewed up dead chick anyone’s ever seen.”

 

Gage and his family of were-tigers are funny as hell. And I can’t wait to read the next book, The Demon That Loved Me, with Gage’s sister Lulu in it. I can only hope that the brother, Alec will get his own book in the near future.

Seriously y’all if you’re looking for a fun and sexy paranormal romance you need to pick up Walk On The Striped Side, I’ll never look at cat toys the same way. LOL

Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop 
Series: The Others #2 
Rating: A+ 

Narration: B+ 
Narrator: Alexandra Harris 
Published by Penguin Audio on 03-04-2014 
Genres: Fantasy 
Format: Audiobook 
Pages: 448 pages 
Length: 14 hrs and 13 mins 
Source: Publisher 
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After winning the trust of the terra indigene residing in the Lakeside Courtyard, Meg Corbyn has had trouble figuring out what it means to live among them. As a human, Meg should be barely tolerated prey, but her abilities as a cassandra sangue make her something more.

The appearance of two addictive drugs has sparked violence between the humans and the Others, resulting in the murders of both species in nearby cities. So when Meg has a dream about blood and black feathers in the snow, Simon Wolfgard—Lakeside's shape-shifting leader—wonders whether their blood prophet dreamed of a past attack or of a future threat.

As the urge to speak prophecies strikes Meg more frequently, trouble finds its way inside the Courtyard. Now the Others and the handful of humans residing there must work together to stop the man bent on reclaiming their blood prophet—and stop the danger that threatens to destroy them all.

Anne Bishop continues to deliver an enriched world that is both complex and simple in the second book ofThe Others series, Murder of Crows.

I really love this world and characters. Meg is becoming stronger both physically and mentally with the help of her friends in the Lakeside Courtyard. And in turn they are becoming more human. They now think before they eat humans.

While Written in Red was very dark some of those dark undertones carry over to Murder of Crows but I see a little bit of lightening up in the way that Meg and Simon are starting to enteract with each other. They have become friends and now that line is being blurred a little by underlining sexual tension. Meg is very young in her real world knowledge and Simon thinks much like his wolf counter part and doesn’t understand how human friendships work. He doesn’t know why Meg is a little uneasy with his human form and not his wolf form.

I love how Bishop lightens the dark world with some humor. One of my favorite moments is between Simon and Vlad after they learn that Meg has not cut herself but that the scent of blood coming from her meant something else…

“Human females, they’re kind of crazy during this time aren’t they?”
“If you chose to believe the stories written by male writers.”
They heard a bang and thump from the kitchen. Followed by Meg yelling at something.
“That many males can’t be wrong.”

The supes at Lakeside Courtyard now sees Meg as their’s along with the small “pack” of her humans, the few humans left working at the businesses in the courtyard. They will protect them and not see them as food. There is big changes in the supes thinking. They are now working with a few of the human police that they’ve come to trust.

All of the characters from Written in Red are back (minus the humans that were eaten) plus a few new characters. My favorite in the new characters was Skippy. A young wolf male that is named Skippy because he’s not all there mentally and his mind “skips” over things. They way the other wolves talk about him and then his reaction to the human shaped cookies makes me wonder if Skippy isn’t ADHD.

Alexandra Harris’ narration job is perfect for this series. She brings the sweet and shy Meg to life like no one else could. Harris’ narration is a little slow but because the lead character is soft spoken and the supes think and speak much like their animal counter parts I think it really works. It makes them sound naive but not “stupid”. I love her wolf howls and other wolfie noises as well.

I highly recommend both books in this series. They have both made my 2014 Top Reads list. But be warned. They are dark and very dense in their world building and have many characters and POVs to keep up with. So they are by no mean a light read or a romance. Although there is a hint that a romance MIGHT be building.

Desperately Seeking Shapeshifter by Jessica Sims 
Series: Midnight Liaisons #2 
Rating: A-
Narration: B+ 
Narrator: Leah Mallach 
Published by Tantor Audio on 11-12-12 
Genres: Paranormal Romance 
Format: Audiobook 
Pages: 384 
Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins 
Source: Purchased 
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Sarah Ward, the werewolf sister of Bathsheba from Beauty Dates the Beast, and co-owner of their paranormal online dating agency, Midnight Liaisons, is voluntarily traded to a wolf clan in exchange for a kidnapped female were-cougar. Fearful of what might happen to her while with the wolf clan, she and Ramsey, a were-bear who’s part of the were-cougar alliance, pretend to be engaged so he can stay with her for protection. The last thing either of them expect is for their pretend engagement to lead to a very real love affair….

First Impression:

I want a bear shifter of my own!

What I liked:

Everything!

What’s not to like about a sexy, strong and silent were-bear? Ramsey is the everything that Sara needs. Protector, friend and sexy mate all rolled up into one.

Sara has been in hiding from other sups. She was turned against her will into a werewolf by her abusive boyfriend. But at the end of book 1, Beauty Dates the Beast, Sara’s secret about being a werewolf is out of the bag and the local wolf pack is in need of a female. And the fact that Sara hasn’t managed the art of shifting everyone is wondered that she will not last much longer if she doesn’t figure it out.

Sara is inexperienced at shifting and Ramsey is inexperienced with women. They help each other out with their stamina problems. But after all practice makes prefect and Ramsey is a sex god in the making.

What I didn’t like:

Nothing!

The Narration:

Leah Mallach did a good job with the female characters but like many female narrators she didn’t do some of the male characters justice. But with the book being a light and fun read I think she hit the snark level just right. I think after listening to two books in the series I’m use to her narration. I don’t know I would seek out books just because she was the narrator but I happy to continue the Midnight Liaisons series on audio.

Lasting Impression:

A fun and sexy series to turn to when I’m in the mood for a light and fun listen.

Will I continue this series:

Yes! Book 3, Must Love Fangs is on my audio wish list.

Similar Books/Series:

Pride Series by Shelly Laurenston
Naked Werewolf series by Molly Harper  

Written In Red by Anne Bishop 
Series: The Others #1 
Rating: A+Narration: B+ 
Narrator: Alexandra Harris 
Published by Penguin on 03-05-2013 
Genres: Fantasy 
Format: Audiobook 
Pages: 448 pages 
Length: 18 hrs and 32 mins 
Source: Purchased 
Purchase Book |Purchase Audiobook | Add to Goodreads 

As a cassandra sangue, or blood prophet, Meg Corbyn can see the future when her skin is cut—a gift that feels more like a curse. Meg’s Controller keeps her enslaved so he can have full access to her visions. But when she escapes, the only safe place Meg can hide is at the Lakeside Courtyard—a business district operated by the Others.

Shape-shifter Simon Wolfgard is reluctant to hire the stranger who inquires about the Human Liaison job. First, he senses she’s keeping a secret, and second, she doesn’t smell like human prey. Yet a stronger instinct propels him to give Meg the job. And when he learns the truth about Meg and that she’s wanted by the government, he’ll have to decide if she’s worth the fight between humans and the Others that will surely follow.

 

Written in Red is my first Anne Bishop experience and WOW! This is not your usual story with fluffy and sexy shape-shifters. The Others teeth! Bishop has created a wonderful and complex world that I can’t wait to get more of.

I’ve had Written in Red on my TBR list since I saw how much Jen at Red Hot Books loved. But after Carmel at Rabid Reads told me I HAD to listen to it because it was AMAZEBALLS I knew I had to move it up my reading pile and decided to go with the audio book since I had one credit left on my Audiobooks.com account.

It took me a few chapters to get into Alexandra Harris’ narration but only because I felt like her male voices were not deep enough. And there’s not much of a pause when she changes scenes so I found myself confused in a few spots but once I got the hang of her narration it was all good. Her narration of Meg was just great. She had me crying for Meg when some of the shape-shifters were mean to her and at the times when she was scared. Harris’ narration and Bishop’s writing really made me feel connected to Meg.

I read mostly UF and PNR books and I’m use to the werewolves, vampires and other creatures that go bump in the night be on the sexy side. Anne Bishop’s creatures are NOT romantic, alpha yes but not the kind to seduce you into their beds. No they see humans as “monkeys” and nothing more than food. That’s right ladies when these sexy beasts threaten to eat you, they’re not talking about your lady bits.

The shape-shifters are more like animals that can change into human than humans changing into animals. Their animal sides control them in their actions, thoughts and even in their language. (I love how the crows called Meg, The Meg.)

Bishop has created a wonderful and complex world that I can’t wait to get more of. I’m glad I picked upWritten in Red. I can’t wait for the 2nd book, Murder of Crows to release next month (March 4, 2014).

Favorite Quote:

“You scare me like that again and I’ll eat you.”

 

Looking for Recommendations:

Anyone that has read Written in Red and has read books similar please let me know. I’d love to read more books with non-cuddly shape-shifters.