As mentioned in the What are you Reading thread, a bunch of us are a reading the Infected series. That's certainly one of my favorites. For me, what I love about shifters is the balance between man (or woman) and animal. A shifter is a person who lives in two worlds, and is often torn between them. They must learn to balance their animal selves with their human selves, and this is something quite difficult, even dangerous. Perhaps society doesn't know about them, perhaps society knows about them and rejects them. Perhaps they're accepted--but only on human terms (sound familiar?)

On the other hand, as I read through a lot of shifter romances it has become clear that the balance of man and animal, civilization and the wild, isn't the main thing a lot of other people like. Mate-bonds and Alphas and Omegas with special powers abound. And knotting--hooo boy. Got to admit, I am not a fan of dog-dicks, even on otherwise people-looking-people. But obviously a lot of people really do like it, and if it works for you that's great! It seems that a lot of readers and authors view shifters differently than I do.

So, what is it about shifters that you like? do you like the who Man vs. Animal dynamic, or are you into the whole Alpha thing? Or is it something else, like transpecies fluid-identity? Outcasts of society? Living in secret from main society? Strict dominance hierarchies? Fluffy tails and cat ears?

Also, which species do you like? Wolves, cats, snakes, horses? Opossums? Elephants? or something more exotic like Dragons and Basilisks? Is there a species you'd like to see more of? Or would you like to see more general shape-shifters, the kind that can take any physical form like Otto on Deep Space 9?

And finally, how does this all tie into m/m for you? Or does it? Do you just like shifters in general (that's me) or does it seem to be related to m/m for you in some way?

Remember, everyone has a right to their own opinion and there is no 'wrong' answer. Not everyone is going to like the same thing, if we all did the world would be a much more boring place.

At top are some of my personal favorite m/m shifter books, feel free to list yours as well. If I can go back and edit I'll try to add them to The List.

Looks like I can't go back and add books. I wish there was some way to add books to the comments, like at GR. That was a nifty thing. So just list your favorites.

My favorite shifters? Joely Skye's Feral and JL Langley's Without Reservations have got to be my top favorites. I will say that I'm rather enjoying Andrea Speed's Infected series as well.

I like the ones who aren't invincible. Were is the challenge, the drama, the heartbreak in invincibility? Give me flawed characters who strive for more.

The Infected Series is one of my all time favorite series. I anxiously wait for each new book!