We’re not dating, we’ve never been dating, we’re not going to hook up, no way, absolutely not…oh. Oops.
My primary focus has always been taking care of were-babies in the interspecies foster care system. I am unapologetically a fierce mama bear shifter and I am completely united with my team behind protecting at-risk were-children. So I have no idea why the appealing scruffy bear shifter PI … scruffy bear shifter PI David Auberon keeps hanging around, asking for sweets, and being charming and flirty. I’ve certainly got no time for shy solitary bears who can’t ask for what they want.
But what am I to do when a hideous bad guy shows up and I need to rescue a were-baby, except call on the skills of the handsome and growly PI? And if dodging enemies puts us in a tight spot…well, I’m not against tight spots.
Praise for MaryJanice Davidson:
“Slow-burn sexual tension and playful paranormal elements make this hilarious, sizzling romance perfect for fans of Kresley Cole’s Immortals After Dark series.”—Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW
“Davidson is in peak form in this hilarious, sexy, and heartfelt paranormal romance” —Booklist STARRED REVIEW
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BEARS BEHAVING BADLY by MaryJanice Davidson is a paranormal romantic suspense story that has a unique story line and it is the first book in the BeWere My Heart series. Werebear shifter Annette Garsea is social worker for at-risk shifter children and teens and works for the Interspecies Placement Agency (IPA) which manages the shifter foster care system. She teams up with bear shifter and IPA contract investigator David Auberon when multiple murder attempts occur after she has a selectively mute teen werewolf in her custody.
The characters are compelling with their own flaws and virtues and the secondary characters were well-rounded and did not overwhelm the story. The relationships between the characters were believable and not contrived. The stakes were definitely high and the tension made this a page turner. The story line was fresh and the plot twists were believable, but not totally unexpected. Serious themes of kidnappings, beatings, murder, attempted murder, a mole, cover-ups, romance and much more are included along with the suspense and action.
The plot was engrossing, moving, fascinating, heartfelt, and interspersed with humor. The one detraction was the excessive amount of cursing which did not add anything to the story. Overall, this was an enjoyable book and a good start to a new series. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
Thanks to SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca and MaryJanice Davidson for an ARC of this novel via NetGalley and the opportunity to provide an honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.
Suddenly I see
The snarky whit and dry humor between the characters make this a fast paced read that I just couldn’t put down. I love how the author layered the moments of intense emotions and stress with humor and the characters were fantastic! Each one added another layer to the story that kept me on my toes. I especially enjoyed the back stories and the way these two characters developed their relationship throughout the book. This author brought so many smiles to my face and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.
This was SUCH a fun read! The characters are quirky, fun, the plot was engaging and the world building was A-MA-ZING! Can’t wait for book 2!
Annette Garsea is a werebear shifter employed as a caseworker in the shifter foster care system. After Annette finds herself caring for super strong teenage werewolf who has decided to remain mute. The only way to save the girl is to unravel her secrets, and Annette hopes to do that before those who harmed the teen figure out a way to pull her back to them. When a private investigator finds himself in Annette’s corner she has to find a way to prevent him from interfering or distracting her.
David Auberon is a bear shifter employed as a private investigator who gets involved in the case surrounding the selectively mute werewolf. He thinks the teen is full of rage and should be locked up. When Annette, the teen, and another of Annette’s charges become embroiled in trafficking and find themselves the targets of murder attempts, David realizes something huge is at play.
Annette and David are compelling characters, imperfect yet strong and very protective of the kids and each other. The sparks fly between them but neither character is confident enough to believe the other would be interested. That was really the only drawback to the story. I would have liked Annette and David to have had higher self-esteem. Both are caring, capable, and excel at what they do yet don’t feel like they are good enough for the other. Annette, David, and the secondary characters are witty and humorous but serious as appropriate. The characters are quirky and likable.
The story was engaging, exciting, and full of suspense. I was on the edge of my seat, as the tension grew and the danger intensified. The interactions between Annette, David, and the two teens brought a little bit of levity to the seriousness of story. The undercurrent of romance adds another element to the book and the chemistry between Annette and David was off the charts but didn’t overshadow the foster care and trafficking elements of the book. I look forward to the next book in the series.
I was provided a review copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Really enjoyed this action packed, emotionally thrilling adventure filled with exciting charters, witty dialog, heart racing twists, exciting turns and undeniable passion….. was a great read! A real edge of your seat, cant put it down till the breath stealing end adventure!
Bears Behaving Badly by MaryJanice Davidson is the First book in the BeWere My Heart Series. This is the story of Annette Garsea and David Auberon.
David is a investigator who ended putting Caro a teenager who was mauling a man into custody. Annette is the social working for Interspecies Placement Agency. Annette is the one that looks into children’s cases that have been brought in. So David and Annette have somewhat worked together but this case with Caro seals the deal. David and Annette have dance around their attraction but haven’t really spoken or done anything about it. But this case brings them to work more closely and gets them to explore their feelings. Enjoyed this book.
Bears Behaving Badly is a sassy, humor filled bundle of joy. Annette is a social worker for the hidden shifter community and a safety “Net” for the charges in her care. David is a big sexy bear of an investigator with a major sweet tooth. When they begin investigating some missing children, the fur flies and pheromones fill the air as the bears slightly resist their attraction and jump claw first into danger to save some spunky young pups. The characters are pure enjoyment and their attraction heats up the pages and the teenagers are all sass and trouble for undeniably fun and action packed story. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from Netgalley.
Bears Behaving Badly is a story told as only the incredible MaryJanice Davidson can tell it. This is a laugh out loud tale of child abuse. Yes; I know there is nothing funny about child abuse but when you have two foul mouthed social worker bear shifters fuddling their way through an investigation I dare you not to laugh out loud. I totally enjoyed watching Annette and David find their way supported by a quirkily fantastic supporting cast. Run, buy this book.
I fell in love with MaryJanice Davidson’s books when I found her Undead series which follows the adventures of the Queen Vampire, Betsy Taylor. That series was always such a fun read, filled with lots of absurd situations and quirky characters. And Davidson continues with the quirky characters, but makes some of the situations more realistic in Bears Behaving Badly… although there’s still lots of crazy situations too!
One of the reasons I enjoy Davidson’s writing so much is the frantic pace that her characters end up talking from time to time. Four people will be talking, maybe not all about the same thing, and she doesn’t give you lots of definition as to who is saying what. For some people this can get confusing or they don’t like that style of writing, but I do, since this is in reality often how groups of people talk; everyone talking over each other, not really listening, but still wanting to be heard.
Davidson shines when it comes to character development, even if some of the characters are air-heads or vapid. And her secondary characters are always as complex as the main ones, and often one of them will become my favorite over the leads. I’m really enjoying Oz and Pat. Nadia is stealing my heart since she reminds me of myself a bit, seems to not really like people, but is a soft, squishy mess under that hard exterior.
And her romance scenes are always full of wonderful awkwardness that leads to some hot sex. I love how well Davidson incorporates the strangeness that can be felt at the beginning of relationships when you’re not completely sure how the other person feels. And even though she used the trope; I can’t be with the other person for whatever convoluted reason I cooked up in my mind, it didn’t feel like it was mentioned too often.
If you enjoy Davidson’s other books, you’ll probably enjoy Bears Behaving Badly, and if you’ve never read her before, you should definitely give this one a try.
An interesting and slightly zany Paranormal shifter story. It’s the first book in a new series so you get introduced to alot of characters…which can be very confusing at times. But once you figure out who everyone is, it becomes an intriguing mystery about animal/shifter trafficking that kept me guessing who the bad guy(s) might be. I look forward to more books in this series.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or favor.
– 3.5 stars –
Bears Behaving Badly is my first book by this author. I love paranormal romances, even if I don’t read them as often as I would like. The first thing I had to get used to was the writing style. It took me some time to figure out who was saying what, and sometimes I had to read a sentence twice before I understood fully what was going on. It was pretty chaotic at times, and there were a lot of characters I had to get used to in the beginning. This story is more of a paranormal romcom and it was pretty light for most of the story. I thought the suspense was done really well. I was trying to figure out who the bad guys were and what they were really up to. I loved seeing Annette and David work together and keep their lust for each other in check.
They both have been having fantasizing about each other, but they didn’t think the other was interested so they never pursued anything more. The whole I am not good enough thoughts got a bit annoying at times. I also didn’t like that the romance was put on the back burner until the last quarter of the book. I wanted more growth in the relationship, but the story was mainly focusing on the case they were investigating. If this book was part of a series and Annette and David’s story would pick up where this one ended, then it wouldn’t have bothered me as much. But I am assuming this is a stand-alone and the next book will focus on another couple. So I wasn’t satisfied with the romance aspect of this book. But the mystery, suspense, and comedy aspect was done really well. I did enjoy the world the author created, and I do look forward to reading more books in this series.
A handsome werebear with a sweet tooth to rival Buddy the Elf teams up with a beautiful and clever she-werebear to protect the discarded and displaced were-cubs of Minnesota. They’ll fight the bad guys but maybe along the way stop fighting their attraction to each other.
Bears Behaving Badly is the first book in a new series and it sets up a literary world that isn’t so unlike our own. Except of course, there’s a hidden community of shifters. Bad guys are still bad guys and foster care kids still need someone watching out for and fighting for them.
The element of foster kids as were-shifters was a definite draw for this reader. The fact that one, Caro, is described as ‘selectively mute’ had me wondering about her story. I knew it wouldn’t be pretty but I didn’t see the direction the story would take and that’s a good thing. It wasn’t cookie cutter lit.
A major theme or thread in the story deals with child trafficking. If that’s a sensitive subject, be forewarned. It’s handled very well but it’s there.
The dialogue is pretty funny, clever really, but what I thought the author did especially well was to make the actions of the characters, while in human form, fit their inner were-beast. The werefox are quick and nimble. The bears are protective and strong. The prey animals are meek. Loved Nadia’s fierceness! And Pat is…something different. Pat added some serious color to this novel.
I really enjoyed watching David and Annette’s story develop. They both start out in denial outwardly but totally on board, inwardly, with admitting their attraction. I could see right away it wouldn’t take them long to give in but not without bumps and bruises along the way. Someone is out to kill Annette’s charges and this mamabear isn’t playing around.
Pop culture references are always a win with this reader and the story is chalked full of some of my favorites. There’s also a decent sprinkling of Gen Y and Millennial speak. Having teenagers at home helps to decipher.
An exciting foray into the paranormal with a well built story and a mystery to solve.
If laugh-out-loud funny dialogue, hot sexy times with humorous moments and werebears willing to fight to the finish to protect innocent cubs is your thing, this is the book for you.
You know a story is going to be a fun read when it starts out that she likes him and he likes her but she thinks he doesn’t like her and he thinks she doesn’t like him. Meet Annette Garsea, werebear shifter and caseworker for the Interspecies Placement Agency(IPA). Everyone in the office keeps asking Annette if she has gone on a date with David yet. Like she doesn’t wish it was so but “Nope.” No dates with David.
Meet David Auberon who is a werebear shifter and special investigator who sometimes does work for IPA. He has been attracted to Annette for a while but hasn’t acted on that attraction. Now they are working together on a case. Annette has taken temporary custody of Dev Devoss, juvenile delinquent werefox who is always getting into trouble. He was taken into IPA along with Caro Daniels, silent lone werewolf who almost killed an exotic animal import-export merchant named Lund. She gives no answers to Annette when she questions her about why she attacked Lund. Caro is voluntarily mute. When Caro disappears from IPA custody Annette and David team up to find her and discover why she is so attached to Dev and what has been happening to her in addition to why she attacked Lund. Little did David, Annette and friends realize that their answers to those questions would be found along a very dangerous, deadly path.
Bears Behaving Badly by MaryJanice Davidson is the opning salvo in Ms. Davidson’s new series, BeWere My Heart. This book is a can’t-put-down, funny, serious, sexy story. The characters are fun and likeable. The author did a great job keeping me guessing who the bad guys were. The plot is quite interesting and runs smoothly. Annette and David are a fun couple who manage to discover their attraction to each other could lead to great things as long as they manage to stay alive long enough. I just loved this book!
Well this was a quirky, fun read about shifters living amongst us. I loved that the lead was a rather unusual type of heroine as bear shifter Annette is what I can only describe as a social worker determined to protect young shifters. She’s constantly worried about a certain Fox shifter and now he’s apparently related to a rather dangerous and mute Wolf. Add in the fact that everyone is constantly pushing her towards David an investor that works with the department and poor Annette really has a difficult job on her hands.
I found this to be very enjoyable with an interesting storyline and very amusing characters. Annette and David clearly fancy the pants off each other but neither one of them realises that the attraction is mutual and the author really had fun with their budding relationship. Yes this was fun but it’s not exactly light because there are dark undertones in this story but I think it’s the zany characters that essentially made it so readable.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair
A Fun first book to a new series! I have read a lot of this authors books and was not disappointed with this one! A fast paced shifter story with a mystery to solve. Annette is a social worker for the shifters and is very protective of those in her care. With the help of PI David Auberon they must help the kids and keep them all from getting murdered while keeping the world from discovering the shifter community. Loved the interactions between the characters had some good laughs in places. looking forward to see what comes next.
I am an avid reader – but I had to force myself to keep reading this book to the end. It is, undeniably, one of the worst written books it’s been my displeasure to read. The characters and overall storyline were OK. However, the manner in which the story was written was very chaotic. At times, it was hard to follow. Definitely not a book I would recommend.
I enjoy Ms. Davidson’s books and although this one was not my favorite of hers, it was cute and entertaining.
I love Mary’s books… this is a new series and fun. Great characters built the foundation for her next great read series
I really enjoy shifter novels, but bear shifters in particular. This was a well done one.
Fun read