Claws Bared (Blood of the Pride) Price: $4.19
Getting Better as the Author Moves on With the Story, January 21, 2013 This review is from: Claws Bared (Blood of the Pride) (Kindle Edition) Claws Bared by Sheryl Nantes * File Size: 415 KB * Print Length: 186 pages * Publisher: Carina Press (January 21, 2013) Book two of Blood of the Pride The debut novel, Blood of the Pride, was published last year. I recommend that you do read it before tackling this book. The back-story it will give you will make things so much clearer for you. I had read and reviewed it and thought that it was a good start to a new series. Now that I have read the next book in the series, I know it was a good debut and it is a good series. This second book is nearly as strong as the debut novel. Oh, don't get me wrong, it has a few things that make it not quite perfect, but I think this series is on the right track. In this second novel, cat shifter (and not a lion or tiger mind you!) Rebecca Desjardin a shifter who is unable to shift at will, (read the first novel for a clearer explanation) and is also a PI in Toronto Canada, has been asked to come to America to investigate a murder. The thinking is that this murder has been committed by one of the communities many shifters and may have been a lovers' quarrel. Bran, Rebecca's new human lover whom we met in the first novel, is a bit concerned when Rebecca needs to head off and is quite unhappy. They had just entered this new relationship and Bran is just starting to come to terms with the fact that Rebecca is a `shifter'. Now Bran wants to, as the synopsis says, "mark his territory". The story is good with an interesting mystery and a red herring that may really throw you off of the correct track.. It is medium paced and at less than 200 pages, it is a fairly fast read. The characters for the most part, are very well written. What I do see as a problem is that Bran and Rebecca have some, shall we say, quirks that are nearly enough to almost make me give up on this book. Bran is almost always winking, waggling his finger in someone's face or giving huge grins. He is very nearly written as a clown would be. Rebecca on the other hand, can come off as a *itch instead of the tough as nails PI that the author wants us to think of when reading this book. They both can sometimes be super childish. Be prepared for this to be a relationship with a dominant and a submissive, with those roles being interchangeable. The sex scenes are few and not too explicit. *ARC COMPLIMENTS OF PUBLISHER