As the only human in a long line of beautiful and proud reindeer shifters, Holly Carter has borne contempt and abuse from her family for years. She avoids the cutesy Christmas enclave they’ve built whenever she can, but somehow her mother always convinces her to come home for the holidays.This year, though, she meets Claus, a polar bear shifter from a crime conglomerate looking to shake down one … shake down one of her cousins. When Holly and Claus concoct a fake relationship that will get Holly protection and Claus access to his target, they don’t expect it to go anywhere. But the relationship soon feels more real than fake. It would be perfect if only Holly weren’t convinced she’s not worthy to mate a shifter and Claus weren’t convinced that he’s got too much blood on his hands to mate to any woman.
Can Holly and Claus convince each other of their true value in time to salvage their bond?
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I’ve got your back
What a fantastic holiday story! The author really played up the dysfunctional family and sent Claus on a one bear mission to bring joy and happiness to his mate. I love how these two characters stood up for each other even when they had no idea fate was at work. This book was a quick read brought the spirit of Christmas alive and is sure to be a holiday favorite.
arc review I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review. Holly is dreading going home for Christmas to cartersburg being human to a shifter family .so when she meets Claus a polar bear shifter who looking for one of her family members she never though he would agree to help her too. Awesome story
Bait the Bear
The characters are not what your use to reading about and their situations when it comes to shifters. Just a little hint these people are just plain mean.
What an interesting change of pace.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
My favorite type of shifter story is a polar bear. So I was happy to read this one as Emilia Hartley knows how to write romantic shifter stories. The characters of Claus the polar bear shifter and Holly Carter a human with shifter strength was a great combination. Holly was born to reindeer shifter parents. She has no beasts, but all her life she has been abused and constantly bitten by her family to bring out her beast. Claus has no family other than his mob associates. His mob boss demands so much from him. Clause is a enforcer for the mob and he is after Holly’s cousin Robbie. There is great sex between Claus and Holly and it comes as a shock to Claus when he realizes Holly is his mate. Lots of shifter fighting action in this story too.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received this book with the understanding that I could leave a voluntary and honest review.
In this book we meet Holly Carter and Claus. Claus is looking for the Carter’s because they took something from him that he wants back. Holly is trying to avoid the Carter’s because she just doesn’t want to take the abuse one more year. So they agree to team up for one year and whatever happens happens. Each of them has a reason for coming to this family gathering neither knows the others reasons behind it but is willing to make this work. What happens though when the pretend doesn’t feel like pretend any more? Will they find a HEA or will the past be more than they can overcome?
This is an amazing story. It does have its ups and downs I really want to tell you about. However I don’t want to ruin it for any other readers. I will say this characters will take you on an emotional journey you won’t want to get off of. I would highly recommend it to anyone and everyone.
This story is light-hearted and the characters are kind of funny. Of course, after I learned what kind of man Claus is I would be running far away from him, not because he is a polar bear. I think it would be great to cuddle into a polar bear on a cold night. It’s the gang thing and the fact he is the gang leaders enforcer. Although I understand the bullying her family as done to Holly, in a way, it has made her stronger than her family. If my family was like Holly’s, I would have hooked up with something way bigger and badder than my family. Really on the family shakedown, did they really think they could take down a polar bear? This story made me laugh even though the story had a lot of holes.
I read this story as part of three book box set: A Shifter’s Christmas by this author. All three interesting steamy shifter stories had unusual pairings. Each story has a suspense element to it.
Potential Red Flag Warning For A Polar Bear’s Christmas. The Heroine has been bullied all her life by her family, but she is healing her self worth in the story. However this book has lots of negative self-talk at times by the Heroine, as well as the Hero who is working through guilt about his profession. Major Red Flag Warning for some Readers that some of the Bullying and Physical Abuse against the Heroine is described and experienced by the Heroine in real time on the page.
The story is set against a background of Christmas and family gatherings around the holidays (which might also be a trigger for those who experienced targeted family abuse at holidays.) However the Hero and Heroine get their HEA at the end.