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galleytrot's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
READ: Jun 2023
FORMAT: Audio
BRIEF SUMMARY:
In this contemporary shifter romance, JT has a problem: a feral brown bear shifter has chosen his garbage can as a prime destination for table scraps. The guy is skittish, and while the local shifter community knows he’s around, nobody knows who he is or where he came from. Recognizing he could be in some form of distress, JT reaches out to Misha with compassion and patience, ready to help him remember his humanity and re-enter society.
ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: 3.5 / 5⭐
Let’s get this out of the way: this story is kind of Saviour Complex, The Book™. Both JT and the author show at least some awareness of that fact. It’s pointed at. It’s even noted that JT has gone through it before; but that’s it. It’s a character flaw that’s never really resolved. It’s just showcased, then left to be.
Misha went through a traumatic experience in the previous year that had him retreat into his bear form, drifting from Toronto to Sault Ste. Marie over the course, where he then settled in and made a routine for himself. As a bear, emotions are uncomplicated, memories are quieted, and basic survival as an apex predator is prioritized. Trash cans aren’t the most lucrative dining spots, however, and his condition is declining and in need of some TLC.
JT is getting tired of having to clean up scattered trash from his driveway every day, and his hot tub is at no small risk of being damaged and gunked up by a several-hundred-pound animal, but he decides to kill the problem with kindness. Some tasty peace offerings go a long way towards earning Misha’s trust, and it isn’t long before he can offer the man some long-overdue care and shelter. A language barrier complicates things, but it’s nothing a bit of technology can’t solve. What the tech can’t help with, though, is the attraction they feel for each other but couldn’t possibly act on.
TECHNICAL / PRODUCTION: 3.75 / 5⭐
I don’t really have too much to say about the technical side of this story. The writing didn’t go above and beyond, but neither was it tedious in any way. Both the author and the audiobook’s narrator were new to me, and neither stood out in a way that made me want more from them, but at the same time I’m not offended by their work. I simply feel neutral.
I liked the cast of characters well enough. There were a couple characters I wouldn’t mind seeing more of. The setting was pretty well-realized. As a Canadian who lives a few hours out from Toronto, there were a number of moments that made me chuckle and go, “Yep, that feels like home.”
FINAL THOUGHTS - OVERALL: 3.5 / 5⭐
This book is fine. It doesn’t lean strongly into any sort of shifter lore; they sort of just exist alongside humans and aren’t kept secret from them. There’s no mention of ‘mates’ or any sort of predestined/fated relationships. The romance is cute enough, it doesn’t really break any grounds, and the conflict sort of ends in an anti-climactic (but realistic) way.
This book has representation for gays. One of the main characters is Russian. A small handful of side characters are non-white, including at least one First Nations character.
The following elaborates on my content warnings. These may be interpreted as spoilers, but I do not go into deep detail.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Homophobia, and Alcohol
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Hate crime, Violence, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
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