Bears Behaving Badly

Starred review from January 13, 2020
Characters banter a mile a minute in the excellent, screwball paranormal rom-com that kicks off Davidson’s Bewere My Heart series (after Deja New). Bear-shifters Annette Garsea, an indomitable interspecies foster system caseworker, and David Auberon, a stalwart private investigator, team up to stop a criminal who is targeting juvenile shifters. Though Annette believes she’s too busy for love and the charmingly bashful David thinks he has no chance with her, the romantic tension only grows as they work together, soon giving way to sexy make-out sessions. Annette’s intense protective instinct toward her young charges is backed up by smarts and shifter strength, making her an admirable heroine. David is her match in intelligence and muscle, but it is his blundering attempts at flirtation that make him so endearing. A host of secondary characters, including Annette’s wacky roommate, Pat, and mysterious colleague, Nadia, serve as entertaining diversions from the procedural mystery at the center of the story. Slow-burn sexual tension and playful paranormal elements make this hilarious, sizzling romance perfect for fans of Kresley Cole’s Immortals After Dark series. Agent: Ethan Ellenberg, Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency.

February 1, 2020
Bear shifters battle their attraction and awkward flirtations while trying to stop a criminal focused on terrorizing young shifters. Annette Garsea is one of the hardest and most dedicated caseworkers at the Interspecies Placement Agency of Minnesota, a foster care system for shifter species. It's her job to find homes and resources for at-risk shifter youth and children. At times, her work brings her within close proximity of private investigator David Auberon. Both are bear shifters with an obvious connection, but Annette thinks she's too busy for a relationship, and David can't seem to say more than five words to Annette before getting tongue-tied. It takes a shifter baby in grave danger to give the two bears the nudge they need to graduate from strictly business to something way more than friends. Davidson's (Deja New, 2017, etc.) trademark goofiness, over-the-top action scenes, and fierce heroines are all accounted for along with a memorable cast of characters, though her books can be an acquired taste for readers who prefer their shifters growly and full of angst. David is a sweetheart with a long-standing crush on Annette; in his mind, she's way out of his league. He's also supportive and completely comfortable letting Annette shine as the fearsome mama bear. The pair are wonderfully matched, whether they're watching each other's backs in the midst of danger or being two utter cornballs once they let their feelings show. There's some of the cadence of old Hollywood banter in how they speak and what they say--except they can both shift into huge bears. Despite more serious themes like homelessness, kidnapping, and violence, it's very much a Marvel movie-type paranormal romance with all the action and none of the detailed, gruesome bloodshed. A comic-book thrill ride with the added appeal of bear shifters falling in love.

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March 1, 2020

The interspecies foster care system is as tough as you can imagine, but werebear Annette Garsea is willing to fight for all the werekids that end up in her care. When David Auberon, private investigator, Annette's crush, and a fellow werebear, brings in a werewolf kid he prevented from killing someone, Annette knows she must get to the bottom of why. Caro, the werewolf, isn't talking, so Annette and David team up to unravel the mystery before more werekids are hurt. Someone doesn't want the duo to find out what's really going on, however, and Annette and David soon are caught in the crossfire. Trying to manage two teenaged werekids, a mystery that seems to get more disturbing the more they discover, and a crush blossoming into something more might be too much for even the most formidable of the weres. VERDICT Davidson (Undead and Unwed) is known for combining paranormal romance with a healthy serving of humor, and she brings a heaping dose of both to enhance this newest series.--Kellie Tilton, Univ. of Cincinnati Blue Ash

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from March 1, 2020
Davidson is in peak form in this hilarious, sexy, and heartfelt paranormal romance featuring beings who shift between human and animal selves. Annette Garsea, a werebear and caseworker for the Interspecies Placement Agency, deals with at-risk young shifters. Her diverse (mostly mammalian and avian) cadre of coworkers try to match her up with her secret crush, hunky private investigator and bear shifter David Auberon. They end up working together when Caro, a teen wolf shifter, is brought in with Dev, a delinquent tween fox shifter, who clams to be Caro's brother after she is taken into custody for attacking an adult shifter. As they investigate, Annette and David find heinous photos of child abuse and trafficking. Mayhem ensues, true friends and families bound by love, not blood, come to the fore, and Annette and David find passion while trying to keep the kids safe as they imperil themselves. While what Annette and David are dealing with is appalling, Davidson's focus on their dedication to protecting the young shifters turns this into a delightful feel-good romp. Readers will bearly be able to wait for the next book in Davidson's new BeWere My Heart series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)