Waking Hearts by Elizabeth Hunter
Cambio Springs #3. Paranormal shifter mystery and romance. Best read as part of the series.
Four kids, two jobs and a pile of debt keeps fox shifter Alison Smith busy. She ties to stay positive and is grateful for her best friend and boss, Oliver Campbell. When trouble from the ex husband threatens the family, Ollie, a bear shifter, is more than happy to step in and help.

Friends to lovers troupe after a slow burn start for the couple, which is prompted by danger that Ollie won’t ignore. I loved his support with the children and their trust in his presence. I’m not fond of snakes and this storyline didn’t help with that. 🤣 Bear shifter Ollie can be fierce, but is almost teddy bear when it comes to Allie and her kids.
Glad I read this prior to the next book in the series. It helps in the overall story arc. ( )

Series Info/Source: This is the third and final book in Cambio Springs trilogy. I borrowed this on ebook through Kindle Unlimited.

Thoughts: This is a fantastic addition in this series and a wonderful conclusion to the series as a whole. This book features Allie and Ollie. Allie has gone through a heck of a lot throughout this series and I was eager to see her get some happiness. In the second book Allie's husband left her with four kids to take care of and she is struggling to make ends meet. Things get worse when the cops find a corpse that they think might be her ex-husband Joe.

Meanwhile, Ollie has loved Allie forever and has never acted on his feelings. When the two are forced to work together to help track down the identity of the corpse and his murderer, things get pretty tense (and steamy) between them.

I absolutely love the town of Cambio Springs and will miss it. It was so fun to spend time with Allie and her kids and watch as Ollie slowly became a part of their family. It was wonderful to watch the other residents of Cambio Springs as they helped Allie out and had her back. I also loved seeing Allie finally get recognized for all her hard work and get some stability.

The mystery here was well done and tied in well with the rest of the series. I loved the inclusion of some more shapeshifters. The romance between Ollie and Allie is very engaging and incredibly well done. Part of this is because they have been lifelong friends that are finally turning that friendship into something more.

I highly enjoyed this whole series. There is a lot of humor and fun here. Hunter's writing is incredibly easy to read and flows well. I never got bored and found myself struggling to put this book down; I wanted to read it all in one sitting! This is the whole package; fun world, great characterization, a mystery that keeps you guessing, some romance, and some action!

My Summary (5/5): Overall I absolutely loved this book, it was such a fun read. I love Cambio Springs and the amazing supportive characters that live there. These books are incredibly easy to read and leave me feeling light-heated and happy. Hunter is definitely a go-to author for me. I loved her Moonstone Cove series and her Glimmer Lake series. I can't wait to checkout some of her other series as well! ( )

4.5 ( )

Ok, I'm going to be honest. I considered not reading book 3 because I didn't enjoy book 2 very much. However, I caved and man I'm glad that I did. Ollie & Allie's story is sweet, hot as hell, and on the edge of your seat exciting. Great character development, good storyline, and an interesting plot. Looking forward to book 4, which I believe will be Sean & Juni's story. ( )

4.5/5
Fantastic! Especially enjoyed the new curve in the series :) Review soon! ( )