Josie Barrett brings out the animal in men. Literally. As the local veterinarian in a town that’s approximately seventy percent Others—mostly shapeshifters—Josie deals with beastly situations all the time. It’s practically part of her job description. But when the werewolves of Stone Creek, Oregon, start turning downright feral, Josie smells a rat—among other, more dangerous critter. Teaming up with the ferociously sexy Eli Pace, a full-time sheriff and part-time were-lion, Josie tries to contain the shapeshifting problem before it spreads like a virus. But when more shifters get infected—and stuck in their animal forms—the fur really begins to fly. Josie and Eli have to find the cause, fast, before the whole town goes to the dogs. But first, they have to wrestle with a few animal urges of their own.
I'm so glad that Christine Warren came out with a new book that was actually a new book. I did a rant on it before, focusing on ebook authors republishing their old work as if it was new, and Warren's last book really frustrated me. I won't go into the whole thing here, but don't tell me that something's new when it's not! I am not an uninformed consumer ok? I know what's being published, and the fact that no one seems to realize how weird it is to be releasing things out of order, with seemingly no rhyme or reason, drives me slightly batty. But ok - you can go read my rant.
The whole point here is that this is a new book and a good one at that. Warren hasn't done a lot with lions, and she makes a good start with Eli. He's a very sexy alpha male, who recognizes pretty quickly the good thing he has in Josie. I also find it very interesting the way Warren has set up this book, with the two characters having lived in the same town for almost 3 years before bumping into each and feeling that spark of attraction. If I had to list a con for this book it would probably just be that the ending felt a bit rushed for me. Warren does all of this build up in regards to the mysterious white supremacist like organization, but then everything seems to be over in five seconds. Maybe it feels that way because Warren's going to continue with this particular storyline in a future book, but my opinion still stands that the end could have had some more 'kick ass'-ness and I wouldn't have complained.
Overall Feeling - Thumbs up! I liked the romance between Josie and Eli quite a bit, plus the extra little hints of danger didn't hurt the heat factor!
Series - 1) Wolf at the Door 2) She's No Faerie Princess 3) The Demon You Know 4) Howl at the Moon 5) Walk on the Wild Side 6) One Bite With a Stranger 7) You're So Vein 8) Big Bad Wolf 9) Born to be Wild
