Shifting Dreams by Elizabeth Hunter
Cambio Springs series #1. Paranormal shifters mystery and romance.
Caleb Gilbert moves to the small town of Cambio Springs as the new Chief of Police. He thought moving to the small community would mean slowing down but there is a murder within days of his arrival and while wounds indicated scratches from an animal, he also realizes that everyone in the town is lying to him for some reason. It doesn’t make sense but he is dedicated to solving puzzle.
Jean Crowe thought the stranger at the bar was intriguing. Sharing a kiss with him was an innocent moment in time she could keep in her back pocket when dealing with two jobs and being a single mom to two growing boys. Finding out the new Chief of Police is human the night her relative is killed complicates her life more than she can handle. Avoiding Caleb is in her best interests.

The kiss Caleb and Jean shared, promised great chemistry and steamy nights. Murder and two teen boys slow things down on the romance front but bring the paranormal to the forefront. A town with all kinds of shifters is revealed that ramps up the mystery.
I loved the slow reveal of Caleb’s “personality” and his slow build of trust with the boys and Jean. Chemistry is great and exciting but fitting into everyday life is so much better.
Additional secondary characters make clear that future stories are sure to appeal just as much as this one. ( )

This one started out pretty slow, continued slow and only picked up the pace a bit towards the final climax. Basically just a typical Elizabeth Hunter book. I've read quite a few by her and was disappointed more often than not but this was one of the best I've read by her so far.
The romance was wholesome and sweet. Sweet enough to induce a significant risk of diabetes.
Naturally, the romance is a bit cheesy at times but never in a bad, out of place way.
I wasn't as taken with the other aspects of the story.
There just isn't really anything original anywhere. I am a sucker for cute romance so I enjoyed that part very much. It is well done and romance in itself really has not a lot of wiggle room for originality.
The supernatural aspects felt old and worn tho.
I can imagine someone with less experience in the genre falling in love with the story.
This one avoided the biggest weakness of the author because it basically just focused on the romance and kept the plot very simple.
The biggest sin in her other books is plot convenience mainly in the form of illogical thought processes and ridiculously volatile IQ.
Call me jaded but there simply wasn't enough plot in this book to necessitate any kind of cheap trickery like that.

I think I am finally at the point at which I will think thrice before reading another book by her again.
Even tho I enjoyed the romance in this one a lot it reaffirmed my assessment of the kind of writing to expect from this author.

I haven't touched it but I expect the next book in the series is about the romance of her best friend Ted. Not a direct continuation with Jena and Caleb as MCs. ( )

Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Cambio Spring series. There are three books and two short stories in this series. I borrowed this as an ebook through Kindle Unlimited.

Thoughts: I am a big Elizabeth Hunter fan. Previous to reading this series I have also read her “Glimmer Lake” series and her “Moonstone Cove” series and really loved them both. This was an excellent start to the Cambio Springs series; I fell in love with these characters and this town almost instantly.

The story follows Jena, a single mom of two boys, who recently moved back to Cambio Springs after the death of her husband. Cambio Springs has fallen on hard times with the closing of the nearby military base and there is a thought to revive the town with a resort. To this end the mayor hires a new police chief, Caleb, as one of the first expansions to the town's functions. Unfortunately, Caleb has to be kept ignorant of the town's big secret that almost everyone in Cambio Springs is a shapeshifter.

Caleb and Jena really hit it off right away, but then a murder in the town throws everything in disarray. Caleb is left wondering about the strange actions of the town's denizens and Jena is struggling not to tell him right off about the town's shifters.

The characters here are easy to engage with and very fun to read about. I love this small town with its magic spring and shifter community. This story was easy to fall right into and stay involved with. I loved the mystery as well and was sad when the story was over.

I always find Hunter’s writing style very easy to read. She does a great job of having fun characters, a great setting, an intriguing mystery and some humor as well. The towns in her stories seem so real that I would love to visit them myself. I immediately went and grabbed the second book and two short stories in this series.

My Summary (5/5): Overall I loved this. Hunter is definitely becoming a go-to author for me. Her writing flows well and is easy to read. There is always some humor and action. I love the setting and characters here as well. I would highly recommend this to those who enjoy small-town paranormal reads and are looking for something a bit different than “the single heroine who runs herself ragged”. Jena is just as compelling but has a family, a job, and a wonderful small town community to back her up. Can’t wait to read more books in this series; this was just such a fun, feel good read! ( )

The first novel in the Cambia Springs series is well written. The story contains characters with depth, secrets, & mystery. Strong character, plot, & storyline development. A bit of the supernatural with a lot of human elements thrown in. ( )

I just thought that if you mix Nora Roberts with Patricia Briggs you might get this particular book.

Elizabeth has a talent to take a simple contemporary plot, add a pinch of paranormal and still make us feel like the characters are a bunch of normal people we all can relate to.

I found this book adorable and refreshing.

Jena, a mother with two young kids comes back into her tiny town after her husband dies from a brain tumour. Not only she desperately needs her family's love and support, she is coming back so her own kids can shift freely for the first time, because Cambio Springs is a town of shifters, and they are keeping it a secret.

But in the current economy the town is struggling too much, and a local young entrepreneur comes up with a plan that involves hiring an outsider sheriff and allowing strangers into town.

When Caleb Gilbert comes to Cambio Springs he is really tired from detective work in the big city, he likes the idea of piece and quiet, and he likes a local diner's owner, sharp and flirty Jena, even more...

However before their relationship has a chance to develop into something more serious, there is a murder in town which hasn't seen the likes of it before, ad Jena and the rest of the town people will have to start trusting Caleb with their secrets, if they want to solve it.

Caleb and Jena had amazing dynamics. There was no instalove, you can be sure that Elizabeth Hunter does not do instalove, but there was slow wooing with plenty of humour and shy awkwardness, and I found it incredibly sweet.

Jena's friends and relatives also had character and were full of life, and I admit that I'd love to read more about them as the series slowly progresses. Overall, hugely recommended! ( )