Bear Meets Girl (Pride, #7) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

Nov 30, 2011 Mandapanda rated it really liked it

Shelves: paranormal-romance

This is my favourite Paranormal Romance Shifter series. 'Crush' (Lou Crushek) was an undercover cop whose cover was blown by his evil former foster mother, Peg. He's been forced to transfer to the NYPD Shifter division which he's miserable about. Crush is an honest cop, physically intimidating but with a secret weakness for the champion shifter hockey team, the Carnivores. He meets Cella (Marcella Malone), a tiger shifter, bare-knuckles fighting champion, contractor for the KZS, and player for t This is my favourite Paranormal Romance Shifter series. 'Crush' (Lou Crushek) was an undercover cop whose cover was blown by his evil former foster mother, Peg. He's been forced to transfer to the NYPD Shifter division which he's miserable about. Crush is an honest cop, physically intimidating but with a secret weakness for the champion shifter hockey team, the Carnivores. He meets Cella (Marcella Malone), a tiger shifter, bare-knuckles fighting champion, contractor for the KZS, and player for the Carnivores, when they both wind up naked in the same bed after drinking too many Jello Shots at a mutual friend's party.

Crush and Cella are thrown back together when their respective agencies start to investigate a series of shifter murders and disappearances. Then Cella needs a 'pretend boyfriend' to get her matchmaking aunts off her back and who better to enlist than Crush.

This series started off with an emphasis on the erotica, but as the overarching story and the different characters become more complex, the tone has turned towards paranormal romance, even urban fantasy. I really liked both MC's and their interactions are, as usual for this author, hilarious and irreverent. There are less sex scenes than usual and less unrestrained, wild passion than I'm used to with this author. But having said that, it is more in keeping with the characters of Crush and Cella, who are more mature and happily independant when they first meet. It's a slow burn type of romance.

The suspense plot is very interesting but somewhat unresolved at the end of the novel. But I'm hoping (and fairly confident) that it's because it is being continued in the next story with a new pair of would-be lovers (Sophie and Mike) who have enormous potential to be a great couple. There's lots of fun stuff here too, Crush's fangirl reaction to hockey players especially. Well-known secondary characters Blayne, Novikov, Ric, Dee Ann Smith and Des also add to the laughs.

I was worried that the series was dying after Ric and Dee Ann's book but this is a great entry and I think Whitlan is going to be a fabulous bad guy in the future.

I was confused by all the acronyms and agencies so I made a little list for readers like me:

KZS - Katzenhaus Securities - An international Feline Protection agency.

The Group - An nationally based organization that protects all species and breeds. Group Chief is wolf shifter Niles Van Holtz.

The NYPD Shifter Division - a secret division of the New York Police Department. Headed up by bear sow Lizzie Gentry.

BCP - The Bear Preservation Council - a Brooklyn based organization that on the surface fundraises and promotes Bear Shifter issues, but also has a secret armed force that protects bear shifters and their interests. Run by Peg Baisser.

P.S. Best to read these books in order but not completely necessary. My favourite is The Mane Attraction. ...more

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Feb 06, 2012 Missyb rated it really liked it

another great read by Laurenston. This one is about Crush (bear & former partner of Dez) and Marcella (Tiger). Funny, plenty of action and mystery, sex/romance. Sort of an abrupt ending to the case, but the ending for the book was good. Continues with what has been happening with Blayne, Bo, Gwen, Lock, and the the hybrids. Dee Ann & Ric are also in this book. Even Mace is in this one, and his mate & kid.

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Aug 07, 2012 Dawn (Kat N Hat) rated it really liked it

Shelves: paranormal-romance, funny-romance, shifters, erotica

I loved the continuing story and love how people just keep getting sucked into the group of friends. I did feel that Cella wasn't quite the same as she was made out to be in the last book. I expected her to be a bit more serious. She seemed like a mix of all the other females in the series so far. not really her own person. ...more

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Feb 02, 2013 KarenF rated it really liked it

Shelves: kindle, romance, paranormal, humor

Laugh out loud funny as usual. I made the mistake of reading this one while at the hair salon and I'm sure people were wondering what I was doing sitting there giggling. Cella & Crush were great but, also as usual, the larger cast of characters provided lots of laughs as well. ...more

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