Shannon C’s review of Waking the Bear (Shifter Wars, Book 1) by Kerry Adrienne
Paranormal Romance published by Carina Press 01 Aug 16
Paranormal romance is the genre I keep coming back to over and over again. I love the possibilities for world-building it presents, and the chance to do something unique and interesting with established tropes and conventions. Unfortunately, so often I end up reading the exact same stories over and over again, using the exact same tropes.
Unfortunately, this book is no exception. In fact, I couldn’t finish it, having spent the first half in such a state of utter boredom that I couldn’t fathom slogging through the second half.
Amy is camping in the wilderness because she’s just left a high-stress job and a controlling boyfriend. She’s renting a cabin from Griff, an overprotective park ranger who is constantly warning her not to go too far from the cabin. Griff, it turns out, is a bear shifter, and he senses right away that Amy is his mate, because of course he does. Amy is, of course, drawn to his rugged good looks and the fact that she senses he’s truly a good person beneath his rough exterior. And there is an immenent war between the bear shifters and the lion shifters, fueled by some resentment between Griff and a lion shifter named Evers.
The setup should have been exciting. I should have thrilled to the slow-burn romance Amy and Griff have going. But I couldn’t. The author gives the characters a lot of inner monologues all saying the same thing. Amy doesn’t want a man right now. Griff can’t handle a mate because of shifter wars. Evers, the villain lion shifter, wants to go after Griff right now. Ad nauseum. Rinse and repeat. Yet, for all the inner monologuing, nothing was happening. The characters all think about the things they will eventually do, but they make no attempt to do them.
I need to feel that characters aren’t spinning their wheels pointlessly just to keep up the tension. And because I wasn’t engaged with the plot surrounding the characters, I wasn’t compelled by any of their big questions. Will Amy and Griff hook up? Well, obviously. This is a romance. Will I care if they do? No, probably not.
Grade: DNF
Summary:
Sexy shifter passion is awakened when two unlikely lovers are challenged by secrets, danger and an unstoppable need to claim one’s mate…For human Amy Francis, the secluded cabin in Deep Creek is the haven she needs to map out a fresh new start. She never expected her heart to be reawakened
by a distraction like Griff Martin, commanding yet gentle, too ferociously sensual to ignore. It’s clear that patrolling the forest is more than a job
to Griff—it’s a means of survival. But what Amy doesn’t realize is she’s reawakened the beast within him.Griff’s dormant hunger is stirred by this intoxicating woman…and threatened by the secret she must never learn. Duty-bound to defend his bear clan against
an avenging pride of lion shifters, Griff’s entire world is upended when he meets Amy. His animal need to claim his mate has taken hold, but that very
desire could seal her fate as an unwitting pawn in battle.Now, as a shifter war looms, Griff must decide between letting Amy go or following his most carnal instincts. To have her would change his life…but risk
everything he knows and was born to protect.Book one of the Shifter Wars series
Previously published, newly revised by author
This book is approximately 75,000 words
