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beanbaglove

Beanbag Love

I read. I write. I talk about reading and writing. That is when I'm not driving kids somewhere or teaching them. Married, educated, domesticated. I really enjoy the friends I've met through a variety of different message boards and venues regarding reading and authors. I try to take a positive view when I write reviews but sometimes I can't. Those times are few and far between, but they do exist. I'm mostly an old softy, though. I think so anyway.

Currently reading

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Susanna Clarke

Hard Mated by Jennifer Ashley

Hard Mated -  Jennifer Ashley

I enjoyed this installment of the "Shifters Unbound" series quite a bit. It's the story of Spike and Myka. Spike is the biker wildcat from the Austin shiftertown who was on the outs with the Morriseys in the first book. He's become a tracker for Liam, but he's also developed a reputation as one of the best fighters in the illegal and underground fight club.

I won't go into much detail because there's a lot of nifty stuff to discover in this one. Especially the softening of Spike. There were times when I didn't love him, honestly. He's a bit cranky much of the time, but he falls hard for Myka and that's definitely a nice thing.

One thing that does continue to bother me about the Austin shiftertown stories is that Liam is undercut regularly. Almost every story has the lead male aware that he could potentially (never a sure thing but very likely ... maybe) take down Liam. Why can't Liam just be dominant? It doesn't hurt the BDB stories for Wrath to stay dominant. It doesn't hurt Mercy Thompson for Adam to be dominant. Curran's unchallenged. Why does Liam have to be in a precarious position? But then, he's not! Not really. There's just always a moment where there's a stare-down and someone comes to the conclusion that dominance is uncertain and yada yada yada.

Dominance fights are boring, frankly. Leave them out. My opinion.

BUT, Spike is not boring. There's a moment near the end when he breaks my heart. Who knew the grizzled biker with the bad attitude could be so passionate and loving? Still tending toward cranky, but loving nonetheless. And sexy. There's always that. :)