Fake it til you Mate it

 Fake it til You Mate it by Sarah Spade 302 pages

Synopsis: When I wake up in the morgue, I know it’s time to move on…When people think of shifters, they always bring up the wolves, bears, big cats. But prey shifters exist, too; the bunnies, the hedgehogs, and my old childhood nemesis, Roxy, who was an adorable raccoon and a huge headache.

Then there’s me. Honey Morgan, one in a long line of Virginia opossums—and who has a tendency to ‘play dead’ at the worst possible moments.

For nearly my whole life, I’ve managed to live among humans who have no clue that I’m a supe. But when I get startled and drop only to wake up in the morgue, I have to admit my mother was us opossums need to be around other shifters, even if the local predators have me hissing.
Or maybe that’s just one.

Max Lobo. To the outsiders who might pass through Moonburrow, he is the scowly sheriff. To the supe residents, he is the all-powerful Alpha of the Moonshadow Pack.
To me? He’s my mate.

He doesn’t seem to recognize me as his, though, and I’m okay with that. After all, I’m too busy taking over my witchy grandmother’s old bakery. With her recipes, my sense of humor and work ethic, and my sidekick, Gus, I focus on making Dough You Believe In Magic a success.

Which probably would’ve been a lot easier if I didn’t stumble upon a dead predator outside my back door—or if it didn’t bring the Alpha repeatedly to my front one.

Thrown together with Max, I have to figure out who targeted my bakery, why it seems like I might’ve been the one they were after, and how to survive being around the Alpha as he begins to realize that I’m not just some newcomer prey bumbling around on his territory that he needs to protect… but the other half of his wolf’s soul he has to claim.
Hey. Fake it ’til you mate it, right?

My Thoughts: This book was just going to be a book I read for fun and that I didn't take seriously. I was wrong, I adored this book. I love the fact that the author decided to write a book about an Opossum shifter, there are Never books about those types of shifters. This book had me laughing and kicking my feet. I love the main character and her tension with Max. 

A Most Unusual Duke by Susanna Allen

 A Most Unusual Duke (Shapeshifters of the Beau Monde #2) by Susanna Allen - 288 pages

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Duke said he'd never get married...

The Prince Regent insists his cousin and fellow bear shifter, Arthur Humphries, the Duke of Osborn, take a mate and rebuild his sleuth. Arthur is an Alpha who swore he would never lead his sleuth after his father is killed by an interloper who challenges him when Arthur is young. The duke would very much prefer to continue his comfortable bachelor lifestyle, but the Prince Regent is not a bear to be poked.

Beatrice, the widowed Marchioness of Castleton, is in possession of a powerful secret. She knows all about Shifters, her horrible late husband being one of them. At any moment, Beatrice could reveal the secrets of the Prince and those like him—unless the Prince can make sure she marries another Shifter.

A marriage between the Duke of Osborn and Beatrice is far from ideal for either one, but at least they won't fall in love...right?

I am definitely enjoying this series with its strong women characters and inclusion of characters from the first book in the series.

A Wolf in Duke's Clothing by Susanna Allen

 A Wolf in Duke's Clothing (Shapeshifters of the Beau Monde #1) by Susanna Allen - 352 pages

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Alfred Blakesley, Duke of Lowell, has long been an enigma. No one dares to give a man of his stature the cut direct, but there's simply something not quite right about him. What would the society mamas say if they learned that the something they sensed was the fact that Alfred is a wolf shifter...? He's been looking for his mate for a long time, but not just any young lady will do for him, or for his pack.

Felicity Templeton has one goal: to remain unmarried. If she can manage that until her twenty-fifth birthday, she stands to inherit a large fortune. But when she meets Alfred, the dashing duke is determined to have her for his very own...and a wolf who's a duke can be very persuasive...

I was hooked on this book from the beginning even though I wasn't familiar with all the terms related to the time period. It's bit of a different twist on shapeshifter romances, which made it fun and interesting.

Claimed by J.R. Ward

 Claimed by J.R. Ward (The Lair of the Wolven #1) - 509 pages

⭐⭐⭐⭐✰   

Lydia Susi is passionate about protecting wolves in their natural habitat. When a hotel chain develops a tract of land next to the preserve, Lydia is one of the most vocal opponents of the project—and becomes a target. One night, a shadowy figure threatens Lydia’s life in the forest, and a new hire at the Wolf Study Project comes from out of nowhere to save her. Daniel Joseph is both mysterious and someone she intrinsically wants to trust. But is he hiding something? As stakes get higher, one of Lydia’s colleagues is murdered, and she must decide how far she will go to protect the wolves. Then a shocking revelation about Daniel challenges Lydia’s reality in ways she could never have predicted. Some fates demand courage, others require even more, with no guarantees. Is she destined to have true love...or will a soul-shattering loss ruin her forever?

I enjoyed this book as I enjoy shapeshifter romance. This is the 1st book in a new series set in the Black Dagger Brotherhood world. Since I have not read any of the books in that previous series, I didn't know as much about characters from that series as I would have liked. The ending also sets things up so you want to read the next book in the series.

Gaslight by Dannika Dark

 Gaslight by Dannika Dark - 12 hrs and 35 mins

Crossbreeds series #4

Vampire trafficking is a sinister business, and nobody knows that better than Keystone. After Raven discovers hidden clues in a cold case, the group sets a trap in hopes of catching an elusive criminal. But when the plan backfires, Raven’s world is thrown into chaos, and Christian’s loyalty is put to the ultimate test.

Buried secrets come to light, and the only thing keeping Raven grounded is her insatiable thirst for vengeance. The stakes are high as they travel to a place where the landscapes are as treacherous as the immortals who live there. This time, there’s no room for mistakes.

Deathtrap by Dannika Dark

 Deathtrap by Dannika Dark - 10 hrs and 37 mins

Crossbreeds series #3

For Raven Black, hunting criminals is second nature. So is denial. It’s not easy moving forward with one foot stuck in the past. But a new case offers her a much-needed distraction when Keystone accepts their toughest assignment yet—to track down an elusive criminal who’s selling children on the black market.

Their investigation leads them deep into the underbelly of the Breed world, a place both treacherous and enticing. With no room for mistakes, Raven makes a tough decision to lock the door to her past before it interferes with her job. The only trouble? Christian holds the key.

This series is pretty good. I would recommend if you like fantasy books.

Ravenheart by Dannika Dark

 Ravenheart by Dannika Dark - 10 hrs and 40 mins

Crossbreed series #2

Two weeks after joining Keystone, Raven Black is ready to take on the world as a criminal hunter for hire. If only her partner wasn’t a bloodsucking Vampire with a penchant for getting under her skin. Despite her lavish surroundings, Raven misses the freedom of life without rules. And Keystone’s next assignment is about to test her self-control in more ways than one.

Dead bodies are popping up in the human district, and all signs point to a Breed serial killer. In order to catch him, Raven and Christian embark on a mission that takes their partnership into uncharted waters. Lives are at stake. Can Raven trust her instincts, or will she fall into a web spun from lies and deceit?

I'm still getting use to the main character, she is getting better. I really like the secondary characters. 

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses #1) by Sarah J. Maas, 448 p.

"When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a terrifying creature arrives to demand retribution. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she knows about only from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not truly a beast, but one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled her world.

At least, he’s not a beast all the time. As she adapts to her new home, her feelings for the faerie, Tamlin, transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But something is not right in the faerie lands. An ancient, wicked shadow is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it, or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever."--Goodreads blurb 

This was a re-read for me, as it was finally time for me to read the 4th in this series. I remember being enraptured the first time I read this series. Maas certainly knows how to weave a good fantasy world. Love and hate and all emotions in between keep me reading this story.

 

Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs

Bone Crossed (Mercy Thompson #4) by Patricia Briggs - 309 pages

By day, Mercy is a car mechanic in the sprawling Tri-Cities of Eastern Washington. By night, she explores her preternatural side. As a shapeshifter with some unique talents, Mercy has often found herself having to maintain a tenuous harmony between the human and the not so human. This time she may get more than she bargained for.

Marsilia, the local Vampire Queen, has learned that Mercy crossed her by slaying a member of her clan—and she's out for blood. But since Mercy is protected from direct reprisal by the werewolf pack (and her close relationship with its sexy Alpha), it won't be Mercy's blood Marsilia is after.

It'll be her friends'.

I'm still enjoying this series and would recommend this series to anyone who enjoys Urban Fantasy. 

Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs

 Iron Kissed (3rd Mercy Thompson) by Patricia Briggs - 287 pages

Mechanic Mercy Thompson can shift her shape - but not her loyalty. When her former boss and mentor is arrested for murder and left to rot behind bars by his own kind, it's up to Mercy to clear his name, whether he wants her to or not.

Mercy's loyalty is under pressure from other directions, too. Werewolves are not known for their patience, and if Mercy can't decide between the two she cares for, Sam and Adam may make the choice for her.

Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs

 Blood bound (2nd Mercy Thompson) by Patricia Briggs - 304 pages

Mechanic Mercy Thompson has friends in low places-and in dark ones. And now she owes one of them a favor. Since she can shapeshift at will, she agrees to act as some extra muscle when her vampire friend Stefan goes to deliver a message to another of his kind.

But this new vampire is hardly ordinary-and neither is the demon inside of him.

I am still enjoying this series. I would recommend it to anyone who likes Urban Fantasy. 

Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

 Moon Called by Patricia Briggs - 304 pages

1st in the Mercy Thompson series

Mercedes Thompson, aka Mercy, is a talented Volkswagen mechanic living in the Tri-Cities area of Washington. She also happens to be a walker, a magical being with the power to shift into a coyote at will. Mercy's next-door neighbor is a werewolf. Her former boss is a gremlin. And she's fixing a bus for a vampire. This is the world of Mercy Thompson, one that looks a lot like ours but is populated by those things that go bump in the night. And Mercy's connection to those things is about to get her into some serious hot water.

I really enjoy this series. I read this series several years ago and decided to reread it. I am enjoying it on the second time around also. The author is still writing books in this series and I look forward to them when they come out.