Lions and Tigers and Bears
Jodi Lynn Copeland, Kit Tunstall, and Kate SteeleParanormal erotic romance
Available from Ellora's Cave
ISBN: 1-4199-0131-1
June 2005
| This book is an anthology of three shape shifter
stories, the shifters being a lion, a tiger, and a
bear. There is also an interracial angle in each of
the stories.
The first story, Lion Eyes, by Jodi Lynn Copeland, is
set in a lion preserve. Liddy is the veterinarian in
charge, and is very attracted to a local businessman,
Kevin. Liddy is African-American, and her mother is
the mayor of the small town near the preserve. Kevin
is white and a lion shifter, king of the local pride.
Lions in the area have attacked local people, and
since none of Liddy’s lions have gotten loose, the
culprit must be a shifter. The local police have
focused on Kevin, and Liddy’s mother’s prejudices not
only include other races, but other species as well.
There is a great deal of romantic suspense in this
story, and the couple has a lot to overcome. Kevin is
worried about Liddy accepting his other nature, and
her family accepting the fact that he isn’t black.
Liddy has those fears also, and some secrets of her
own.
The second story, Tiger Eye, by Kit Tunstall, is also set on a preserve, this time in Africa. Grant, as a child, was mauled by a tiger, and to save him, a shaman merged his spirit with a tiger’s. He works as a vet on the preserve. Zinsa is a doctor in the local clinic. When the local civil war gets too close, she moves her clinic into shared space in Grant’s. They are immediately attracted and Grant fights it, as he has a great fear of losing control. The side story of the civil war provides excitement, and aids the development of the story. The third story, Hidden Heart, by Kate Steele, is about a nature loving toy maker named Lindy. She has been disappointed by love and turned all of her energy into her teddy bear business. She donates a great deal of her money to a foundation that researches bears. The head of the research group invites her to come stay with them. They are all friendly except for one man, Rafe Kutter, and that is the man she is very attracted to. All three stories are very good, although my favorite is the last. The sex and love scenes are very potent in all three novellas. Although short, each story is very complete and the characters are very well drawn and realistic. I recommend this collection and would read more from each of the authors here.
Overall rating:
Reviewer: Maura Frankman |
