By: Shelly Laurenston
Publisher: Brava
Published: March 25, 2014
Genre: Contemporary, Action/Adventure, Paranormal, Romance
Length: Novel
Heat Level: Spicy
Reviewer: Toni
Date: May 15, 2014
Livy Kowalski has no time for idiots. When you shapeshift into a honey badger, getting through life’s irritants is a finely honed skill. Until she gets stuck housing her nutso cousin and dealing with her dad’s untimely and unexplained demise.
That’s where Vic Barinov comes in—or his house does. Vic can’t step outside without coming back to find Livy devouring his honey stash and getting the TV remote sticky. It gets his animal instincts all riled up. But he’ll have to woo her at high speed: all hell is breaking loose, and Livy is leading the charge.
This novel had it all; romance, comedy, action, and a touch of craziness. All things that should have made up a great novel, but it was only very good for me.
Livy is a straight shooter who doesn’t take any duff from anyone. You bug her; she will knock you on your behind. You are loyal to her; she will have your back and your front. She is a fierce and scary fighter, but also an extremely talented photographer. She is a woman that can be very unpredictable yet you always know where you stand with her. She is an enigma.
Vic is a very strong determined man. He has to be since he is a hybrid. With Siberian tiger and Grizzly coursing through him, he has to keep himself in constant check. He is also a man that has conquered his beasts. He knows his buttons and how to avoid them from being pushed. Vic is also a man who loves his honey and he has a constant unwanted guest eating it all. Livy.
The basis of the story is actually quite complex and detailed. It starts with a funeral and ends with a wedding. Family comes to NY in droves and the action is carried all the way to Russia and back. Ms. Laurenston has built a crazy story around an even crazier set of families.
Bite Me was a very multi-faceted storyline. I enjoyed seeing old friends, but Ms. Laurenston is great with that. This community of shifters is all intertwined and I adore their interactions. I had several instances of where I had to stop reading because I was laughing too hard. I love that about her writing. I also had moments of shock and dismay. I met some interesting family dynamics this time around. The Kowalaski’s, Yangs’s, and Barinov’s really know how to have fun, fight and make each other completely miserable. They are all handfuls and together in the same room…potentially disastrous and deadly.
So back the rating. Something didn’t click for me. The special Shelly spark was not there 100%. Maybe it was too much family or too much side storyline. While separately they were fantastic, together it was just too much. I was left wanting more of Vic and Livy. I have always enjoyed Ms. Laureston’s writing when it came to her couples. She has an amazing talent and it shows when she brings total opposites together. While the chemistry was out of this world, I just didn’t get enough of them. That is why this rating is hard for me. Very solid story, writing was superb and the laughs were true belly laughs, but…
I’m very glad to have watched this couple come together. Many unresolved issues from prior novels were wrapped up and I loved meeting the new characters in this world. Bite me is a very good story, but not the strongest in the series. Well worth the read, but not my favorite.
Check out my other Shelly Laurenston Reviews
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