Truth or Bear

Zoe

Shift
2
Paranormal Romance
Even a lone wolf’s heart can be broken. Nikolai’s life was going just fine—until he was betrayed. He’s lost his job, his family’s trust, and his purpose, all for the cost of falling for a pretty bear. Now his friends have turned against him and they won’t stop until he’s dead. The last thing he wants to do is join forces with the woman responsible, but she might be his only chance at survival. Getting kidnapped and shot was not part of Claire’s plan—and neither was falling for the lieutenant of the very organization she swore to destroy. Now working with Nik is dredging up all sorts of unwanted, heated memories. She couldn’t resist him when they first met, and nothing has changed when she sees his handsome face again. But when rogues threaten their families, claws come out. Keeping secrets might have been their job description, but they’ll have to come clean to beat their enemies.

Welcome back everyone, I hope you enjoyed last week’s dystopian review because we have another change of pace this week! This week I’ve gone back to Zoe’s Shifter series, this time with her latest release. So, if you like the sounds of it please go and support her by grabbing a copy.

Writing Style

This book felt more action packed than Trust the Wolf, and in a way it was. We started off with an action scene rather than a potentially romantic interlude scene.

Thinking back (I’m writing this review a week after reading the book, and after also reading Bearly Married, the prequel to the series) it feels like Zoe started off with what was safe and easy to write about. And with each book has explored something new.

Whether it be a new angle for love. A new level of intimacy and the build up of desire. And in this book, it feels like she’s exploring her ability to write about the action scenes.

There’s more detail in them, more focus on them and they feel like they belong more. From my knowledge, this series is Zoe’s first published books (sorry Zoe if I got that wrong!) so I’d say it’s normal to see that progression.

I just find it interesting coz I can’t say I’ve noticed it in other authors. It doesn’t mean it’s not there. I just haven’t noticed it like I have with Zoe’s writing.

Initial Thoughts

Initially I was a bit disappointed. But that probably has more to do with me not reading the blurb before asking for this book after finishing Trust the Wolf.

If I had have read the blurb, I wouldn’t have set myself up for disappointment, so that’s totally on me. Not Zoe.

Why was I disappointed?

Because this book doesn’t continue to follow Emilia and Jason. Instead it, follow’s Emilia’s cousin Claire and her love interest Nik from about 2 months into their relationship. And I wanted to know how Emilia went in her new job and how she was going adjusting to the Shifter world.

But I didn’t get my wish. Instead, I got two new characters that I wasn’t sure I’d like.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I actually ended up enjoying Claire and Nik’s story, which I really wasn’t sure I would.

It did get off to a rocky start, but over time I ended up enjoying their banter and their acceptance of their positions. I think it’s really mature of them and I’m glad Zoe brought up the issue of falling for someone when you weren’t meant to and struggling to figure out how it could possibly work.

Luckily, Claire’s father is really understanding which is something I can relate to. Reading about someone else facing these challenges reminded me of when I was experiencing the same issues.

The only difference is, I could at least turn to my mum which Claire couldn’t really do.

I’m not sure I love Claire and Nik as much as I love Emilia and Jason. But I don’t know how much of that is to do with the fact that I read their story first, or because their story was actually better. I’ll have to keep thinking on that one.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this review, next week I will be reviewing Brooklyn by Colm Toibin Continue to read further down to find out about the Zoe.

Author Bio

Zoe Ashwood is a romance writer with a passion for sweet stories with a sexy twist. While she’s always been a reader, Zoe’s writing used to be limited to diary scribbles and bad (really bad) teenage poetry. Then she participated in NaNoWriMo 2015 and never looked back.

Some 400,000 words later, she’s still in love with the art of making up stories—and making her characters fall in love. Trust the Wolf is her debut novel.

When she’s not writing, Zoe works as a literary translator. She’s happily married to her best friend and has two small boys who are as stubborn as they’re cute.

She’s active on Instagram and Facebook, but her newsletter or Facebook Group are the best way of keeping in touch! She is also on Pintrest if you’re interested.

Author page
Group page
Twitter
Facebook
Pinterest

Don’t forget to let me know what you think in the comments below!

This review contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link I, or the author, will receive a small commission from the sale. This comes at no additional cost to you.

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