This was a cute story with a great heroine. I love to read about intelligent, brave women who are sized like real human beings. The hero, Luc, was a bit more "traditional romance" - burned in the past, he has vowed Never To Love Again. And then he's determined to nobly give her up For Her Own Good. Fortunately, Ainsley slaps some sense into him. I liked his friend Ian, and hope to see more of him. This world has room for a lot more stories. ( )

I am going to admit it, I signed up to read and review this book purely because of the title! Yep, it is not just the cover that sells me, but when a name like this can seize me and inspire me to giggle like a schoolgirl with my friend, who also ended up reviewing for the tour, well… it’s a winner! Great job Entangled and Candace!

Though you all have heard it, I am going to say it again, I am not a romance reader. I SWEAR TO ALL THAT IS HOLY… BACON! I just cannot stand traditional romance, and yet due to me being the host for Bewitching Blog Talk Radio and a fan of I Smell Sheep and my girls (yes I am outing you all) in my Gutter Girl Party Crew group, I have been sucked into the world of Paranormal Romance, specifically of the shifter variety. Yea, yeah, yeah… Keep laughing! One day when you look up and realize you are reading a Bodice ripping shifter book with tons of hot alphas you will be singing my song!

What makes this book, romance at that, something I would devote time not only to review, but also a recipe creation also? Well first off it is FUN! I mean giggling laughing fun. Runaway heiress who frankly is not entirely sure what she is running away from other than she does not want to get killed. Our girl Ainsley’s antics had me rolling my eyes with her outfit choice. The fact she’s not even prepared for a Montana winter? She could have bought a jacket with the rust bucket of a truck! I laughed at her calmly having a conversation with a Tiger who appears to be laughing at her after causing the crash of her sparkly new rust bucket of a truck… In the middle of Montana… In a SNOWSTORM *Giggle.. Snort.. Giggle*

She is rescued by the local sheriff (yeah yeah keep cackling) and ends up walking into a bar owned by Luc who is at present watching his waitress go into labor. Since this is not the best time to be without help, the moon is coming up on being full, (SHIFTER BAR, remember?), he is somewhat stuck when Ainsley walks into the bar. Girl walks into the bar…. Wait this could be a joke, right? Except it is not, it happens to be pure magic, playful and spontaneous magic!

Ainsley quickly sheds what could easily have been a spoiled rich girl attitude and takes on a bunch of shifters with ease and finesse, even when she finds out just what they are. She almost doesn’t bat an eye. Well actually she doesn’t, she just grabs the pan of brownies, locks herself into the closet and deals with it!

I loved the characters; they were strong, loveable and even with a few of them being shifters… they were real. Ainsley is not the skinny ass Paris Hilton rich girl. She is a hard working college graduate with a head for business and quickly takes on the role as head waitress and also the person who will heal Luc’s broken heart.

Biggest issue? It is too fast a read! This is the reason I am not going to give it five stars. It felt rushed, and I was frustrated. Still, what I was planning on being a silly Bodice ripping paranormal romance turned into one of the most fun reads of the summer! In honor, I recreated my brownie in a cup (I included my better than orgasms coffee in my cup so if you want it REALLY yummy, try Green Mountain Black Magic.. OMG down to my … lady-bits, good!) ( )

2 1/2 stars.

This novel started out really strong. The scene where Ainsley just takes over the barmaid job that Luc denies her is quite funny--actually, every scene with Ainsley sweetly coercing the bar patrons into doing things her way is pretty darn amusing. Her stress eating during times of emotional trauma--especially when she learns Luc's (and the rest of the town's) big secret--made me chuckle. Some interesting tidbits about shapeshifters (Luc having to keep the temperature down in his home during the winter to prevent his body's desire to hibernate from taking over) made the world created here more interesting. Very promising stuff.

However, on the whole I found this novel lacked focus and detail. Once the action of the plot really got underway, it bounced around a lot. High stakes embezzlement, FBI involvement, murderous cartels—readers are given just the barest of hints about these dire proceedings, only to find them quickly resolved with very little explanation. More than once things were mentioned by characters—an allusion to Doc's good news toward the end?—and then never really explained. I couldn't help but wonder if a higher word count wasn't needed to really flesh out the plot and action, because a lot of times it felt like I was missing something. Even their relationship seemed like a lot more telling us about their extreme chemistry and feelings for each other than showing it in action, and it all happens pretty darn quickly. Luc especially capitulated with very little fuss for a guy who had sworn off love and a family.

An amusing couple of hours, but I really wanted more.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Reviewed by Kim
for Read Your Writes Book Reviews
www.readyourwrites.blogspot.com

First of all, I HAVE to thank a publisher at Entangled Covet for contacting me and allowing me to read and review this book. Paranormal romance isn't usually a genre I read. I have to say, I am so glad I said yes to reading this book. I'm a huge fan of Entangled's Bliss and Brazen lines. Their Covet line is like their Brazen line, but with some paranormal stuff thrown in.

Oh my gosh.. I love the characters of Ainsley and Luc. Ainsley is an heiress on the run for her life. But she isn't your typical, I'm a ditz and I don't work for my own money heiress. No...Ainsley is funny, tough and a breathe of fresh air to the town of Clarksville, Montana. She doesn't take lip from ANYONE. Luc is a man with a sad and troubled past. He's a former FBI agent (Goodie, goodie gumdrops. Yeah, I know that's kind of weird. But that's what popped into my head.) who lost his parents, wife and young child in a flood, while he was away doing FBI work. Luc has made a vow to himself that he will not get involved with women again and open himself up to so much pain.

While I don't want to give away the "paranormal" part of this book, I will say it was something I could wrap my head around. It wasn't creepy or scary. Honestly, it was super easy to overlook because of the true story itself.

Ainsley and Luc are two people who come into each others’ lives at just the right time. After events happen in her life, Ainsley becomes lost and needs someone to anchor her and be a pillar of strength. Luc provides that for her. Luc needs someone to stand up to him and not back down. He needs someone to let him know that it's okay to have strong feelings for someone and take a chance on love again, no matter what the risks or costs are. But the road for this hot-headed, stubborn couple will not be easy. Just when they can be happy, their tempers get the best of them and could cost them everything they've worked so hard for and the future they could have.

Lions, Tigers, and Sexy Bears Oh My! (don't you just love that name!?) was so much more than I thought it would be. You have humor, friendship, love, and hot furniture/destroying sex. There is also a little mini-suspense thrown in. Did I mention that Ainsley loves food and is often eating brownies? Yeah, those moments kept making me hungry. This book had me smiling and not wanting to put it down. I keep trying to find something to not like about this book but I can't. I highly recommend it!

Source: Publisher ( )