They both have felt the attraction but everything blossoms when Walker saves Rebecca from the Shifter Bureau jail and they hunt for the missing shifter groupy Nancy. Their investigation leeds to new interesting story arcs. Quick read.
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~ 4 Bear Attraction Stars ~

Ashley knows how to make a great paranormal romance. Bear Attraction comes complete with bears, sexy shifters and humans, mystery, and bit of danger. We get to meet some old and new shifters and learn a little more about the world these shifters live in. This novella can be read out of order, but I recommend reading in order.

Rebecca, a Kodiak bear shifter and Walker, a human working for the Shifter Bureau end up having to team up to solve a missing persons case.

I enjoyed Rebecca. She is no damsel in distress and pulls her own weight even against other shifters. Walker a former soldier, comes to her aid, but he understands her dominate nature and does not shy away from it. I like that he does not hold her back and that these two can work together. The relationship; well these two have been dancing around their attraction for each other for quite some time. Even in this novella it takes most of the book for them to finally give in to their feelings. The romance is sweet, not as intense as other couples in the series, but still a great mating dance with little sex.

The investigation for the most part is predictable until the end when we are introduced to a new shifter. The author does leave us hanging on what happens with this new shifter, so I’m a little curious to see where this storyline is going. Dylan shows up and we get to see how far his reach is, even though he is no longer the leader of the Austin shifters, he still has a big influence. Broderick also makes an appearance since he is protecting Joanne who’s sister is the one missing.

Overall, I had a great time return to the Austin shifters. This novella is a nice fun quick read and I look forward to more installments in the Shifters Unbound series. It’s a great mix of characters and romance.

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Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: A bear shifter forced to work with a military liaison, will she be able to help him without falling for him?

Opening Sentence: “Rebecca could still hear the hunters with guns behind her.”

The Review:

Rebecca is a Kodiak bear forced to live in a shiftertown since humans have forced collars on shifters. Walker is the military liaison between the Shifter Bureau and Shiftertown. He is forced to confine Rebecca after a complaint is made about a bear running around. He decides that the length of her confinement is however long it takes them to solve this missing person case. Shifter groupie Nancy has disappeared and humans don’t care, but Dylan, the unofficial leader of Shiftertown wants her found.

As Walker goes undercover as Rebecca’s groupie and they get closer to the truth things begin to heat up between them. Will they be able to find Nancy and uncover what is going on?

This was a quick, easy, and fun novella to read. I haven’t read any of the other shifter unbound series, but that didn’t matter. The author filled in enough background so I didn’t feel lost at all. I used to love paranormal romance, so I have read a ton of were, shifter, and vampire type novels, but the one thing that really stood out for me was the whole collared and towns thing. The humans are in control of Shifters in this world. So all or almost all shifters have to wear collars that shock them the moment they start acting violent. It keeps them from damaging people or property.

That was a completely new world for me, and it was totally refreshing because the only downfall to paranormal romance is after reading a ton of it, it all starts feeling the same and then it starts getting old for you. So this new aspect really allowed me to enjoy Rebecca’s and Walker’s romance. I was a tad disappointed that it was only a novella, bear shifters aren’t as popular as wolves and cats so that was kind of new and exciting. Plus, falling in love with a human is really rare in most of those kinds of romances. So I am on board to check out the rest of this series, I like this world and want more of it.

Notable Scenes:

“Rebecca came out here several times a week to run out her frustrations, her hormones, or whatever, and just to be alone under the sky.”

“He hadn’t survived all this time in the most dangerous parts of the world by letting his hormones take over.”

“The thought of being kept in a jail like this made her panic rise.”

“Rebecca was the first woman Walker had wanted to stick around with to have conversations with–beyond this awkward one tonight–to be friends with.”

“This was a mother and her cub, a protector and the protected, no matter what shape they happened to be.”

“He needed to hurry and find Nancy Grace and get out of Shiftertown before he died of combustion."

FTC Advisory: Penguin Intermix provided me with a copy of Bear Attraction. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. ( )

Read for Fun (Library)
Overall Rating: 3.75
Story Rating: 3.50
Character Rating: 4.00

First Thought when Finished: Bear Attraction by Jennifer Ashley is not my favorite in the series but it was still good.

Overall Thoughts: Bear Attraction added another layer to the Shifters Unbound series. I am really curious to see where it goes from here. I liked both Walker and Rebecca but wanted more romance in their story. I thought they deserved more. However the story forward in this one is something not to be missed. Now I wait for the next one.

Part of my Read It, Rate It, File It, DONE Reviews ( )

I've only read WILD WOLF & MATE BOND, two werewolf-centric books, but Jennifer Ashley's writing is undeniably addictive, and female bear protagonists are uncommon in Paranormal Romance, so this novella was an easy yes. The addition of a Shifter Bureau added another level to this series' world-building, although this organization might have made its presence known already for readers who took a more linear path to SHIFTERS UNBOUND than I. Rebecca & Walker were great characters, and the pacing of their romance was perfect for a short story. When I think 'bears' big and burly immediately comes to mind, and Ashley's most certainly can hold their own when need be; however this author also painted them in a quirky, close-knit light which was both unexpected, and charming. The plot took a few unforeseen turns that I wouldn't mind seeing further explored in future full length installments, and Walker in a cat shifter groupie get-up was hilarious! BEAR ATTRACTION is worth every penny! ( )