Helpful Score: 8
I will try to make this a spoiler-free review.
First off, I love Shelly Laurenston. She is always an auto-buy for me. Maybe its for this reason that I hold her to a higher standard. When reading a Shelly Laurenston book, I expect three things: Humor, Action, and Heat.
With this book, we have the story of Blayne Thorpe who is the sweet-hearted, lovable, scatter brain and Bo "the Marauder" Novikov who is the complete opposite. Blayne is a wolf-dog hybrid. Bo is a bear-lion hybrid who is also a professional hockey player. Ten years ago when Bo first saw Blayne, he was so intense that she ran away screaming. As always with a Shelly Laurenston book, it was funny. Some of the things Blayne did were just hiliarious, especially when she was aggravating Dee.
Humor: 5 out of 5
The action was also great in this book. I loved how Blayne was more than she appeared and more than most people gave her credit for. As for Bo, nothing says "I Love You" like destroying someones property.
Action: 5 out of 5
My only problem with this book was that there was not enough heat for a Shelly Laurenston book!!! In my opinion, Blayne kept Bo in the "friend zone" WAY TOO LONG! It was almost like she didn't have any romantic thoughts about him one minute, then she is all over him the next. And for Bo to make a career decision to be near her, he didn't really act like he WANTED her until later in the book. It just wasn't the passionate build-up that I was expecting. The friendship was well developed but the actual romance felt rushed. I appreciate seeing how all the clans, packs, and prides love Blayne, but I would have rather seen more of how Bo loved Blayne.
Heat: 3 out of 5
First off, I love Shelly Laurenston. She is always an auto-buy for me. Maybe its for this reason that I hold her to a higher standard. When reading a Shelly Laurenston book, I expect three things: Humor, Action, and Heat.
With this book, we have the story of Blayne Thorpe who is the sweet-hearted, lovable, scatter brain and Bo "the Marauder" Novikov who is the complete opposite. Blayne is a wolf-dog hybrid. Bo is a bear-lion hybrid who is also a professional hockey player. Ten years ago when Bo first saw Blayne, he was so intense that she ran away screaming. As always with a Shelly Laurenston book, it was funny. Some of the things Blayne did were just hiliarious, especially when she was aggravating Dee.
Humor: 5 out of 5
The action was also great in this book. I loved how Blayne was more than she appeared and more than most people gave her credit for. As for Bo, nothing says "I Love You" like destroying someones property.
Action: 5 out of 5
My only problem with this book was that there was not enough heat for a Shelly Laurenston book!!! In my opinion, Blayne kept Bo in the "friend zone" WAY TOO LONG! It was almost like she didn't have any romantic thoughts about him one minute, then she is all over him the next. And for Bo to make a career decision to be near her, he didn't really act like he WANTED her until later in the book. It just wasn't the passionate build-up that I was expecting. The friendship was well developed but the actual romance felt rushed. I appreciate seeing how all the clans, packs, and prides love Blayne, but I would have rather seen more of how Bo loved Blayne.
Heat: 3 out of 5
Helpful Score: 4
The thing about SL's books is that they always leave you feeling happy, and BBB is no exception. When I learned who the heroine was, I was honestly a little worried...Based on the previous books, Blayne wasn't exactly a favorite of mine.... so I was pretty sure this one wasn't going to be all that entertaining for me, but I was totally blown away! Full of laughs (I was literally cracking up throughout the book, and I'm usually a hard sell on that score) a a fun, 'keeps you reading long after you were supposed to have stopped' storyline and quirky characters, both old and new, this was an amazing read: Total Keeper! and I love her Bears!
I won't go into the plot, as the synopsis does a pretty good job and I think her books are soooo much better the less you know going in, but it's definitley worth the price or a credit or would make a great surprise for any SL fan (You don't absolutely have to read the books before it, but it's better if you do) And long as it was, It was still too short! So now I'm on tenter hooks waiting for her next book (which I've already pre-ordered as her titles are so worth it!) and wondering who the next set of main characters will be!
And I love her Bears!
I won't go into the plot, as the synopsis does a pretty good job and I think her books are soooo much better the less you know going in, but it's definitley worth the price or a credit or would make a great surprise for any SL fan (You don't absolutely have to read the books before it, but it's better if you do) And long as it was, It was still too short! So now I'm on tenter hooks waiting for her next book (which I've already pre-ordered as her titles are so worth it!) and wondering who the next set of main characters will be!
And I love her Bears!
Helpful Score: 2
I LOVED THIS BOOK!!! (This is the first book that I have read by Shelly.) I laughed out loud several times and pretty much kept a smile on my face the for the entire book! I was afraid I was just punch drunk from everything going on around me so I asked my trusted reading buddy check it out and tell me if I was losing it. She immediately started reading and within 60 pages had called to tell me she thought I right. It is so funny!! We now own this entire series and are HUGE Shelly Laruenston fans!! GO SHELLY GO!!! I guess I should say WRITE SHELLY, WRITE SHELLY, WRITE!!!
Helpful Score: 2
Another winner!!!! Love the bears, mmmmmm. And definitely agree about the heat, took too long to start and so not enough. But still amazing book :)
Helpful Score: 1
It's Shelly Laurenston so it's a fun read. You laugh during it and feel good at the end. Throw in a good plot, fun characters, and a sloppy ADHD heroine and an OCD ice-hockey superstar hero and what more could you ask for?
It's the second bear book - we met Blayne as the heroine's best friend in The Mane Squeeze. DeeAnn and Ulric's non-relationship continues to heat up. The Smith pack and the Kudnezov pack have bit parts.
This author [and her alter-ego G. A. Aiken] are on my "must have" list...
Pride
1. The Mane Event (2007)
2. The Beast In Him (2008)
3. The Mane Attraction (2008)
The Mane Squeeze (2009)
Beast Behaving Badly (2010)
It's the second bear book - we met Blayne as the heroine's best friend in The Mane Squeeze. DeeAnn and Ulric's non-relationship continues to heat up. The Smith pack and the Kudnezov pack have bit parts.
This author [and her alter-ego G. A. Aiken] are on my "must have" list...
Pride
1. The Mane Event (2007)
2. The Beast In Him (2008)
3. The Mane Attraction (2008)
The Mane Squeeze (2009)
Beast Behaving Badly (2010)
Helpful Score: 1
Paranormal romance by Shelly Laurenston, Book 5 of her Pride series. Blayne Thorpe is a female hybrid wolf-dog, high-strung and unpredictable. Bo Novikov is a hybrid Polar Bear-Lion mix. While I love all of this series, this one isn't my favorite. In the beginning, I had a hard time recalling the histories of all the other characters. I was pretty bored with the first half of the book, until the plot picked up. Once that happened, it was as good as expected. Love the Bears of Ursus County, and how Blayne won them all over. Love Blayne's father who apparently figured out how to handle his high-maintenance daughter. Blayne and Bo make a great couple.
I agree with previous reviews, Shelly Laurenston always delivers the humor, the action and the heat and this keeper is no exception. Although it could stand alone, there are so many characters and references to previous books it could leave new readers with lots of unanswered questions about the packs, clans, hybrids and pure breds.
Blayne and her father take tough love to a whole new level. Blayne's "go with the flow" attitude and Bo's obsessive/compulsive behavior would seem to elimate any possible relationship but instead leads to such hilarious,laugh out loud situations that my family was looking at me like I was crazy because I was laughing until I was almost in tears. Blayne is such a do-gooder trying to fix everybody and make them happy.
I would have liked more information on the group that was trying to kidnap Blayne, instead they seemed to be an after-thought. But the actions was great as usual. I wanted to hear more about the Derby Girls championship since that was what Bo was helping Blayne train for but it was just skimmed over with no details at all.
All in all I loved this book and gave it 5 stars. Can't wait for the next one to be released. Since Dee and Ric are still dancing around each other maybe their story will be coming soon.
Blayne and her father take tough love to a whole new level. Blayne's "go with the flow" attitude and Bo's obsessive/compulsive behavior would seem to elimate any possible relationship but instead leads to such hilarious,laugh out loud situations that my family was looking at me like I was crazy because I was laughing until I was almost in tears. Blayne is such a do-gooder trying to fix everybody and make them happy.
I would have liked more information on the group that was trying to kidnap Blayne, instead they seemed to be an after-thought. But the actions was great as usual. I wanted to hear more about the Derby Girls championship since that was what Bo was helping Blayne train for but it was just skimmed over with no details at all.
All in all I loved this book and gave it 5 stars. Can't wait for the next one to be released. Since Dee and Ric are still dancing around each other maybe their story will be coming soon.
I had a hard time getting into this book. I was actually tempted to put it down for about the first 60 pages. Once the main characters actually began to relate to each other, it did get funnier. There wasn't all that much steaminess, but I did enjoy the way the hero and heroine got on each other's nerves- the dialogue was quite funny. At times I found the story to be confusing because there were just too many characters to keep track of, and the whole bunch of "hybrid shifters" were a bit strange. Not the best book I've read, but it was entertaining.
Yes, I enjoyed the characters in the book. I like the author's sense of humor, and the way the characters interact. The sarcasm is enjoyable. The book made me laugh.
Spunky Blayne Thorpe, wolfdog, a flyer on a shiftier roller derby, best friends of Gwen 'freaky neck Tigon', complete messy girl, can make everyone either love her or hate her meets Bo "the Marauder" Novikov, bear-lion hybrid, all around inforcer for hockey ( views no one's allowed to touch his puck), OCD, control freak. His life changes for the better with a few pet peeves from the messy and schedule cutting Blayne. Her life is in danger and his can be also as long as he is around the spunky wolfdog. After their bad run in with the pit fighting people, Bo takes Blayne to his home town that he hadn't been in over 10 years to hid Blayne and a forced vacation form Bo.
Bo Novikov - part polar bear, part lion, and pure alpha male - can't leave Blayne Thorpe alone. He's determined to protect her from stalkers who want to use her in shifter dogfights, even if he has to drag her off to an isolated Maine town where the only other neighbors are bears almost as crazy as he is. Let sleeping dogs lie. Bo knows its good advice, but he can't leave Blayne be. Blame it on her sweet sexiness - or his hunch that there's more to this little wolf dog than meets the eye. Blayne has depths he hasn't yet begun to fathom - much as he'd like to. She may insist Bo's nothing but a pain in her delectable behind, but polar bears have patience in spades. Soon she'll realize how good they can be together. And when she does, animal instinct tells him it'll be worth the wait...
