Shifter novel set in the same world as, the bestselling, Chosen and Program seriesIt all started with a dare. One little dare. Just a string of silly words that landed Alice smack bang in the middle of the ‘Dark Horse’ bar surrounded by utter chaos. Like most pick-up joints, the place was a meat market, but on steroids. The guys weren’t just simply guys, they were shifters.Taller, bigger … hot … shifters.
Taller, bigger … hot damn … talk about jaw-on-the-floor gorgeous. She can’t help but stare, back pressed against the wall, eyes wide, blood coursing just a little faster through her veins. That’s when he arrived. Impossibly big and brooding, seeming to look right through her with those dark eyes. She’s so tempted to leave with him, to let him make good on all of those dirty promises. Problem is, he’s just so annoyingly arrogant. Why does she feel like she’s punishing herself when she walks out … alone?
Ash watches in shock as the human turns and leaves. No female has ever turned him down. Not. Ever. He can scent that she wants him, so why is she denying her basic needs?
Try as he might, he can’t stop thinking about her … about what she would look like under him. Cheeks flushed, eyes glassy, biting down on her lip as she…
Ash decides that he has to have her. She’s awakened the hunter in him and he knows just where to find her. Just one time – he’ll give her exactly what she needs – and then he’ll be out of her life forever. He’s not looking for a mate, definitely not looking for love. Unfortunately, he’s about to find out that just once with this particular female might not be enough.
No cheating and a guaranteed HEA. Mini-cliffhanger ending.
Contains hot alpha males and therefore strong sexual themes/language
more
I enjoyed this story more than the first one. Ash and Alice are such a wonderful couple when they are one. Alice doesn’t fall for Ash as most women did, she actually makes him work for everything he wants. And what he wants is Alice.
Alice is a wonderful character, she is strong and independent. I loved her.
DELIGHTFULLY ENTERTAINING !!!
Title: Unbound
Series: Shifter Night
Author: Charlene Hartnady
Designation: Book Two of Series, Full-Length Standalone (Approximately 200 pages), No Cliffhanger, HEA
#paranormal #shapeshifter #romance #bearshifterhero #humanheroine
Reading Platform: Kindle Edition
My Rating: Five Delightfully Entertaining Stars
I love, love, love Unbound! I’ve been a Charlene Hartnady fan for years and followed her career as she became one of the most reliable authors in the paranormal romance genre today, consistently releasing original, unique, imaginative, well-crafted and edited stories, time after time. Hartnady is one of very few authors on my automatic one-click list. When she releases a new book or offers a preorder, I snap it right up, without even bothering to read the blurb or look at the price, and I’ve never regretted a single purchase. I subscribe to Amazon Kindle Unlimited but love her work so much, I buy her books rather than borrow, simply because I want them in my permanent library to read again and again. That’s quite a recommendation in itself. And her latest release, Unbound, Is no exception! I was thrilled when I discovered Hartnady was releasing a spinoff based in the same world as her bestselling The Chosen Series, but the inspiration for this collection is primarily shifters rather than vampires. In Sweetwater, you never know what you might find! All the paranormals in Hartnady’s Sweetwater Texas world, which (so far) includes vampires, elves, bears, wolves, cats, dragons (and who knows what else in the future), are in need of females – fertile females. And now that the Vampire Kings have successfully launched their ‘Date A Vampire’ campaign, which is nothing more than a politically correct way of describing their ‘Breeding Program’ brainchild, human females have become fair game and they all want to mate a vampire. This is the premise for Hartnady’s The Chosen Series, another fabulous collection if you enjoy hunky, possessive vampires, but the books in the Shifter Night Series have storylines featuring the shifters of Hartnady’s Sweetwater World who come into town once a month on Saturday night to blow off steam at the Dark Horse, a pickup bar where shifters mix with human women aspiring to ‘party hardy’ and, hopefully, do the dirty with the handsome, strapping shifter ‘party-animals’. (I just couldn’t resist that little pun!) Roar! And these guys really know how to make a woman scream, and not in fright! Shifter Night has been mentioned in several of Hartnady’s previous stories and I’d so hoped she would make it into a series… and she did! But some of these guys want more than just a good time, they want to find love. Unfortunately, there are so many shifters looking for mates that the Alphas have had to start their own program. It’s not really an organized campaign per se but they call it ‘The List’. Any of the shifters wanting to date a human female have to put their name in the hat and wait their turn. The shifters can’t afford to draw attention to themselves by stealing all the available women, right? It just wouldn’t be fair to all the human males of Sweetwater since all the women want to date shifters! But Shifter Night at the Dark Horse has become so popular, it’s now big business for the town. Enterprising entrepreneurs have decided to cash in on the phenomenon and organized Shifter Night tours, bussing in women from all over for the weekend, and business is booming! Sign me up! lol… I tend to get a little carried away when talking about Hartnady’s work, but the entire concept is imaginative, fabulously entertaining and a whole lot of fun, so allow me to tell you just a few of the reasons why I love it so much!
Unbound is a well-crafted, fast-paced, easy to follow, full-length, standalone, paranormal tale filled with great characters, riveting drama, heart-wrenching angst, heated attraction, steamy passion, heartwarming romance, and even a bit of underlying mystery. The narrative is beautifully written in the third person with dual his and her perspectives. The dialogue is snappy, well executed and flows effortlessly. But without a doubt, my favorite component of every Hartnady story is the cast of diverse and engaging characters. Unlike Hartnady’s other heroes, I was NOT instantly smitten with handsome, stubborn, often arrogant, and always grumpy bear-shifter alpha Ash. He has been mentioned in several books but in the first book of the Shifter Night series, readers were given a little more insight into his character. I was NOT impressed. In fact, I thought he was a huge @$$hole, but I kinda figured the next book would be about him. But if I’ve learned one thing about Hartnady’s characters, it’s to never judge a book by its cover, so I decided to reserve my judgment of Ash and see how his story would play out. I’ll be honest, there were quite a few times I wanted to punch him in the snout or, at the very least, thump his ears a few times, just to knock some sense into him. And Alice Hargreaves, the female protagonist, I wanted to put her over my knee and spank her bottom! But once I finally learned her backstory, it broke my heart. Alice is a hardworking stylist who owns her own salon, Tease, in Sweetwater and works seven days a week, never taking any time for herself. Like Ash, she’s hardened her heart to the possibility of love and is determined to never allow anyone to hurt her again. Ash has no intention of looking for a mate; he just wants to have sex with a willing partner (but never in a bed!), and Alice wants no part of a relationship. Their attraction and sexual chemistry are explosive but each refuses to acknowledge they may have feelings for the other. I became quite angry and wanted to pinch them both! Although Ash and Alice were the last to recognize their true feelings, they were perfect together and complemented each other brilliantly. With a little help from family and friends, they overcame their fears and stopped fighting the inevitable, finally realizing what they each needed was right in front of them. Ash and Alice’s journey was often frustrating, sometimes hilarious, occasionally heartbreaking, but always fun and engaging. I snickered, snorted, giggled, snuffled, sobbed, and fumed through the entire book but by the end, I was happy, satisfied and entertained. I truly love the unexpected reactions I have to Hartnady’s characters, which brings me to another element I enjoy about her work. This may be fiction, but the stories and characters always deal with underlying real-life issues, making the story so much more emotional, realistic, and quite humorous. But never fear, after shaking your fists in anger and shedding a few heartbreaking tears, Hartnady always leaves you happy, satisfied and well entertained.
No spoilers from me but I will say this… A handsome, burly, brooding, intense, and very stubborn bear shifter alpha looking only for hookups with the human females in Sweetwater and has no intention of ever mating again( *oops, a tiny little spoiler*)-check! A beautiful, strong-willed, hardworking, and very independent salon owner who wants no part of another relationship(oops, another little spoiler) but, on a dare from a friend, may just be interested in a little ‘no strings attached’ hanky-panky-check! A cast of delightful characters including an adorable four-year-old and an irritating twin brother-check! An unexpected double bundle surprise-check! A mysterious and very dangerous new enemy-check! Humor, heartache, heated attraction, steamy passion, dreamy romance, and a sweet happy ending-you bet! That and a whole lot more!
Did I like this book? No, I LOVED it! Would I recommend it? You bet and I am but only for adult readers. If you’re into instant love paranormal romance with no conflict, this may not be the book for you. But if you enjoy a real tug of war between two very stubborn characters who both need their butts kicked, then this is one story you will enjoy. Will I read this author again? Absolutely! Just as soon as she releases her next book! And finally, was I entertained? Completely! Fabulous entertainment and an awesome read! I can hardly wait to read Unchained, the next book in the series, and I so hope it’s about Ash’s twin brother Gage and Dr. Pamela Evans!