The ghost town of Independence, Colorado is beginning to thrive again. A clan of black bear shifters has settled in and opened the Independence Dude Ranch.Alpha Corbin Hurst has dreamed of his fated mate ever since he and his clan began work in Independence. He longs for his mate and the future they will have.Eloise Freimont has sworn off men since breaking up with her boyfriend. She has come to … has come to Independence Dude Ranch to get her mind focused on her life, not on the sex-on-a-stick Corbin Hurst.
Julius has followed Eloise to get her back one way or the other. He has decided if he can’t have her no one else can.
Someone is spying on the Black Bears of Independence Clan. He has his plans for the town and wants the shifters gone permanently. He will stop at nothing to get what he wants.
When Corbin explains about shifters and fated mates to Eloise will she think he is crazy and run away? What will Julius do when he discovers Eloise is interested in another man? Who is this mysterious man that wants the shifters gone? At what lengths will he go to get what he wants? What is so valuable in an old mining ghost town?
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In Black Bears of Independence KR Hall makes a great start with her first book in a new series. These characters are likeable and you really want to know them and who they are. Corbin and Eloise both have reason to be wary and not trusting of others. Corbin and his brothers have sunk quite alot of money into the dude ranch and need for it to be successful and a new start. Elouse just wants to forget her stalker cheating ex boyfriend and have peace in her life. Add all of the drama inherent in their situation and add in that there is someone trying to destroy what Corbin and his clan have built and you have the makings of a good story. I like the chemistry between them and the fact that even though they have reason not to trust they still want someone to love and who loves them completely. I am a sucker for a good romance and that is what this book gave me. I will admit there are some editing errors that drove me nuts but didn’t detract from my enjoyment of this book. I definitely will read more by this author jyst because i want to see her grow as an author…she can only get better. You will enjoy Corbin and Eloise.
I’ve never read her work before and it was pretty good. I think there are a few things that stuck out for me like the different plots within the same book. Perhaps she’ll touch on these later I dont know. I think I would have enjoyed it to be developed a little more but really it was a good story. Corbin is supposed to be an alpha but I couldnt really feel it. I mean he gave up being Alpha and leaves the clan and I just thought he gave up too easily. He almost seemed too carefree and he also harbored some insecurity too. When you think alpha you think OTT pushy and dominant and I wasnt feeling that with him. I liked him though. I liked Eloise as well. I didnt have a problem with her. All around it was a decent start to the series.
Fated ones, bear shifters, plenty of romance and some suspense. The concept was good but I just couldn’t connect with the characters. The story jumped around a lot and just lack depth. The story and characters have promise perhaps if they were fleshed out a bit more.
Wow I loved this story, the depth of emotions, of the shared connections is so intense. A scary subject handled skillfully and with finesse. I need more of this series.
This keeps you hooked from beginning to end and leaves you wanting more. Very well written and the description of the characters is great and helps you to really understand and know the characters. Now I want a black bear with blue eyes.
This was the first book I have read from this author but believe me it won’t be the last.. She took shifter books to a new plane. The story was romantic,funny and a little scary at times. A definite must read for shifter fans.
Black Bears of Independence: Corbin
I liked reading this story and really felt for the characters in some parts of their story
Corbin has decided to open a dude ranch in Independence, Colorado. With a clan of bears, he completes his dream. Eloise is part of the first group to stay at the ranch. Spotting Corbin, she tries her best not to drool. Might I suggest a napkin?
I love a good paranormal, but Black Bears of Independence was a bit of a different read for me. I was torn in more ways than one. First I want to say how much I enjoyed this book. So much so that I am dying to read what happens to the Corbin’s friends, Jase and Cade. I especially want to read Benjamin’s story, which after checking out the author, I realized I have to wait until December for. There were however a few issues with the book that my OCD just will not let me overlook.
The author has our hero, Corbin, giving up being an alpha in his family clan, a role he was groomed for since he was born, in order to set off with his friends and start a completely new clan elsewhere because his view of how the clan should be run differs from the way his father wanted things run. I would think that as an Alpha, Corbin would be able to bring the clan into the current century as he would like to without his father’s approval and the clan would have to follow. Instead, he just leaves. Who does that? Also, for someone groomed to be the next alpha, Corbin is surprisingly insecure about everything. If this were the only issue, I could probably overlook it and give the story the 5 stars it obviously would deserve just on plot and story line alone. I mean I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen next.
However, then we had the issue of aspects getting repetitive. The author needs to get her money back from whomever edited this book. There were no less than 3 parts in the book where entire paragraphs were repeated with the difference being a few words here and there. Yes, we know that the death of his mother was a severe blow, but we do not need the entire thing explained again almost verbatim in the next chapter. What happens to a shifter should he lose his life mate is tragic, but again… not something we need repeated again almost word for word in the next chapter. This is where an editor earns their keep and this one obviously did not.
CAUTION… Possible SPOILER ahead
My final issue with the book was Benjamin. Well, not really Benjamin, but Corbin’s home clan as a whole. Although come to think of it, this may be part and parcel a part of Corbin’s insecurity and solely located all in his head. It sounds as if Corbin’s relationship with his brother and former clan is not the best. They hate him for not taking up the role of Alpha and leaving the clan to his younger brother. Who was never meant to be their leader. Yet when it comes down to it and we finally meet Benjamin, he is warm and cordial. Not at all how I would have thought someone who hates his brother would behave. This inconsistency bothered me the most.
Don’t get me wrong, all these things aside, the author is a fantastic story teller. I found myself so engrossed in the story and the building mystery that I could not put the book down. I literally read the entire thing in less than a day and found myself wishing I had the next book in the series so I didn’t have to stop reading about the Black Bears of Independence. Sadly, I would have to giving a 5 star story and plot line merely 3.5 stars rather than the 5 stars I am dying to give it. I also find myself hoping the author gets the issues with the story fixed because the errors do a disservice to her talent as a storyteller. I am so glad I decided to read this and am dying to read Cade’s story next.
Pretty good read, Eloise has some thinking to do about her ex-boyfriend but meeting Corbin changes everything. Together they have to deal with a crazy stalker and an even crazier group of nuts wanting to rid Indepencence of all shifters. Hope the “nuts” will be clarified more in the next book
Eloise and Corbin’s story is intense. I love the Foreward, explaining the shifter-verse in this series. There’s still some unfinished business for the dude ranch. Looking forward to following that up the next book.
Corbin Hurst decided to leave his father’s clan, in which he was suppose to step up as the next alpha, to start his own clan because he had different beliefs than the ones his father had.
Eloise Freimont is taking time from life at Independence Dude Ranch to try and find herself again after breaking up with her boyfriend of 3 years.
From the minute Corbin lays eyes on Eloise he knows she’s his mate. However, he’s got a more pressing situation, and that’s explaining to his HUMAN mate about shifters and what she is to him.
Trying to read through this book was a bit difficult. I’m not sure if this is the author’s first published work or not, but it certainly felt disjointed and could really use a better read-through. There were gaps in time periods, then there was abrupt changes in what characters would be doing, there was inconsistencies with conversations between the characters. All in all the book was very hard to follow because it didn’t have a smooth flow. I wasn’t much into the 2 “villians” for this book. We had the crazy stalker ex who apparently has done with Eloise to other women, but took it a step further and killed them. Then we have a “militia” type group is determined to run the shifters off from Independence. I felt this villian wasn’t meshed out too much and could’ve been. Like it would’ve been nice if we could’ve learned how they came to know about the shifters considering that secret is a close kept one to all shifters. Who was their informant within the group that was helping them? What happened to the guy that was suppose to kidnap Eloise but was caught? These are things that were just left to slip through the pages I guess in hopes the reader would forget.