TITLE OF BOX SET: RETURN TO BEAR BLUFF
ARUTHOR OF BOX SET: HARMONY RAINES
DATE READ: OCTOBER 16, 2016 – FEBURARY 12, 2017
This collection of books is actually one of my favorite collections written by Harmony Raines. It technically deals with second chances and how everyone, including stubborn bear shifters should get a second chance at love and life. Plus, it also deals with the people who want a second chance but are back to see that others who deserve second chances gets a second chance. Awesome series and I am sure you do not want to miss it. Anybody who has read the work of Harmony Raines knows that she rocks when it comes to BEAR SHIFTERS!!!!!! One of many reasons she is my favorite Paranormal Romance Author.
1.) The Bear is Back in Town: Dylan Taylor is a bear shifter who is originally from Bear Bluff but left town 10 years ago to hide his past and start over. When he left, his grandpa told him to never come back. This meant that Dylan had to make a new life for himself. Dylan took his grandfather’s advice he rebuilds his life and works hard to achieve success. He decided to make a quick trip to Bear Bluff to check on his grandpa who was getting on in years. He loved his grandpa dearly because he had raised him. Dylan had no idea that his short trip to Bear Bluff would last longer than he had planned. He surely never expected to find his mate. Stephanie “Steph” Summerfield is a bear shifter like her father and brother. Her mother is human. Steph decided she didn’t need a mate, especially if he was going to be like her father and brother; lazy and expecting her mother to do it all. And nor did she need a tall, sexy man like Dylan Taylor who just happens to drive up and stop to help her after her truck stopped on her on the side of the road. Now she wants to know why he is back in town after all these years, and why did he have to be the one to stop and help her? The biggest question is why does he have to be her mate? She was tired of men and didn’t need any in her life especially Dylan Taylor. She knows he is trouble with a capital T. Only thing Steph doesn’t realize is that Dylan could prove her wrong and show her that she did need a man in her life and in her bed. Will Dylan win Steph over and prove that he is there to stay? Will Steph give him the benefit of doubt when Dylan’s past demons show up? Or will history repeat itself?
2.) His Bears Necessity: Jed Creswell grew up poor and he had to get creative at times to help feed his younger brother and sisters because of a tragedy that left his father crippled and not able to work. Once the Sheriff caught him he got Jed a job out of town to help him get back on the right track. Now Jed is back in Bear Bluff and wanting to do right by his younger siblings. The one thing that Jed wasn’t counting on was getting a job working for Dylan Taylor especially since he had stolen Dylan’s lunch money when they were younger. Dylan was forgiving since it was used to feed his sister. Nor did he expect to find his fated mate on that day. Now that he knows who his fated mate is, he is torn between her and his family. Amanda Peaks moved to Bear Bluff because she wanted a new start, and she had inherited a log cabin and some money from her grandmother. So, she changed her name to Amanda Orson, which is her grandmother’s surname. She knew about Bear Bluff and the bear shifters that lived there because her grandmother’s second husband was a bear shifter, so she knew when she met Jed for the first time that he thought she was his mate. She hides her past from Jed and Dylan hoping they never cross each other. When her past catches up with her she thinks it may be best to run again, but Jed thinks she needs to stay put and let him take care of her past. Will Amanda run again? Or will she stay and fight for her freedom with Jed?
3.) Black Bear Down: “Black Bear Down” is about Jordan and Skyla and their road to happiness. Jordan was in the army and his helicopter crashes and kills all his buddies except for him, but leaves him paralyzed, and his bear disappears. Two months after the crash he transferred to Bear Bluff where he grew up. Nothing matters to him anymore. He has given up on everything. Enter his new therapist Skyla, and BAM…. she is his mate. He ignores the attraction between them because there is no way he can support her since he can’t walk. Skyla is a therapist who takes care of special cases…. Shifters because she knows about them. When she first meets Jordan, she notices the odd look he is giving her. She wonders if the stories are true about shifters knowing who their mate is at first glance? She doesn’t want to get her hopes up, so she continues to treat him as a patient she is to help. But it isn’t long before Skyla start to realize that her feelings for him are more than that of a caring therapist. But what if she misread the signs and she isn’t his mate? Dare she hope? Jordan himself is starting to realize that she is his best hope to living life even if he can’t walk or feel his bear anymore. Can he dare hope? Can Skyla be the one to pull him out of his funk?
4.) Who Bears Wins: Caleb is a bear shifter and a very good carpenter. He is in Bear Bluff talking to Dylan about a job with his construction company with the hopes of moving back to Bear Bluff where he was born. Caleb is skeptical about the job being permanent and told Dylan he would think about it, well that is until the hairs on his neck stands up and his stomach get butterflies when a car pulls into the parking lot of the construction company. Dylan is talking to the girl who got out of the car and she is looking at Caleb and not even paying attention to Dylan. When Dylan realizes, what is going on he introduces Zoe to Caleb. The two of them know right then that they are mates. Now Caleb knows that returning to Bear Bluff is not a choice, but a necessity. Zoe is a rabbit shifter who moved to Bear Bluff to start over with her brother Tony. She isn’t even sure she wants a mate, especially with her teenage brother, Tony and trying to keep him out of jail. Tony is the reason that Zoe moved to Bear Bluff. She was somewhat worried about being in a town filled with bear shifters when she was just a tiny rabbit shifter. Zoe starts to have second thoughts about Caleb when he takes the job with Dylan just so he can help Tony get a handle on his life before he winds up in jail. But she fears starting a family because her mother was never around for her and Tony, and she was worried that she may not be mother material. Will Caleb get through to Tony? Will he be able to convince Zoe to take a chance on him? Will Zoe give into Caleb or will she resist him?
5.) When Bears Collide: Grace is helping at the wedding Caleb and Zoe from “Who Bears Win”. She decides that the fates have it in for her when she meets her fated mate at the wedding and he is a billionaire. She doesn’t want a mate because she doesn’t believe in love and happily ever after. But seeing her mate Matt talk to another woman kind of sparks some jealousy in Grace, but she believes the woman he is talking to is more suitable for him. Matt is a billionaire and he is in town to talk business with Dylan because he wants to work with Dylan and Bear Bluff Construction by expanding the program for helping offenders in need of a second chance. Matt sure didn’t expect his mate to be one of the offenders. Can Matt convince Grace that her past is in the past, and he wants a future with her? Will Grace give in and take a chance on Matt even though they are from two different worlds?
6.) “Wish Upon a Bear” is a Christmas story where Dylan has invited his friend from juvey to come spend Christmas with him and his family, which not only includes his wife/mate Steph, their two kids, and all his employees from Bear Bluff Construction Company. Zara had worked hard after leaving juvey and got her teachers degree and this trip to Dylan’s was a sort of vacation for her since she normally worked through Christmas. But she remembers back when she and Dylan were in juvey and had a crush on him. That was when he showed her his bear and explained about the “Fated Mates” and let her know she wasn’t his. Zara is nervous to meet Dylan’s family but takes the challenge head on and finds that his wife Steph is glad to see her. Zara sure didn’t expect to get a gift that was better than any gift that could be put under the tree, her fated mate! Theo works for Dylan’s construction company as a roofer and he promised Dylan that he would help work on Dylan’s granddad’s roof. Boy, did he get a surprise when he pulled into Dylan’s yard and starts feeling like he is going to pass out. This of course makes Dylan happy because he knows by the way Theo is acting that Zara is his mate. Boy, does he have a surprise for Theo. When Dylan introduces Theo to Zara, Theo believes all his Christmas’s have come at once. Theo’s biggest challenge is Dominic the young offender who Theo is mentoring and teaching him his roofing business hoping the young boy will settle down and stay. But Theo is noticing signs that make him scared that Dominic is going to run and therefore breaking the terms of his probation and possibly his last chance to change. Will Theo and Zara be able to work together to ensure that Dominic doesn’t have to go to jail? Will this be the best Christmas for Dylan and his big family? Will Zara get all her dreams this Christmas by wishing upon a bear?
No Spoilers. Advanced Reader Copy read voluntarily and loved.