A Bear in Need: What sacrifice is too much in the name of love? 4 Star 7/2/15Home for the unfavorable task of settling her grandmother’s estate, Liz decides to drown her sorrows after a frustrating day of packing. And why should her trip to the local bar be any better? All she wants to do is avoid her old high school tormentors. Who should walk in? None other than Brandon, the guy she had the biggest crush on and he’s looking right at her. Figuring Brandon is a hot commodity and still out of her league she attempts to avoid him. But that’s just not happening.

Enticed by her witchy powers and a scent he can’t resist Brandon approaches the woman at the bar only to discover it’s Lizzie and he definitely wants some of that. A few drinks later and he’s walking her back to her hotel where things get hot and heavy between the two. No one knows that there is a reason why Brandon is the king of one-night stands. He’s cursed. When he wakes and realizes Liz is his mate he slinks out the door. Unless he can find a cure for his curse no good can come of his mating Liz. Having a mate brings it all home for him and lights a fire under him to find that cure now.

Just so happens Liz is his best bet for finding a cure. While the above sets the stage it by no means conveys the challenges these two face. The sexual tension, hot sex, violent pursuit of their enemy and inner turmoil these two face sets an even pace. I thoroughly enjoyed this story.

A Bear in Hiding: Sometimes love helps us find the strength within … 4 Star 7/11/15

At the start of A Bear In Hiding, Emma wakes in a jail cell with no immediate memory of why she’s there. She’s nervous and paranoid that her ex will find her. Distrustful of all men she’s reluctant to accept the help Brian offers. But amazingly she finds herself trusting him almost from the get go. She has no clue of her true nature since the bite. It takes Brian’s shocking reveal for her to acknowledge something inside is definitely different. In the ensuing days, she will have to come to terms with her duality, her growing attachment to Brian and her need to keep running. They’ll both have to deal with a witch with questionable motivation and an ex on her trail. Emma will need to find the strength within. Brian will need to come to grips with accepting his bear and learning the balance that has eluded him. Both are in need of healing from their pasts. Luckily they have each other to work through the issues.

While this was a good continuation of the series I have to admit to liking the first in the series more. A Bear In Need had just a bit more of a sense of urgency and a stronger sense of the villain. This book was a bit more angst-ridden rather than driven by the need to conquer their enemies. Don’t get me wrong I like a book with a bit of angst. I guess I just like that spark of danger a bit more. All in all, though I really did enjoy A Bear In Hiding.

A Bear in Charge: A perfect wrap up… A villainess that’s not much of a villain after all 5 Star 8/15/15

This is the showdown the first two in the series have been leading to, Alana and Bryce. The first story A Bear in Need had you totally seeing Alana in the villain’s role. She is evil through and through. Well, that’s what it looks like anyways. Then along comes book two A Bear in Hiding and you discover Alana has a few redeeming qualities. There is enough alluding to he did her wrong and she did him wrong, I was getting anxious to figure out just who did what. In A Bear In Charge, we finally get a clue to what is going on. We also discover that Alana has her own demons that ride her. Life hasn’t been so easy since the loss of her family. She’s experienced abuse which led her down the road to dark magic. She’s felt unwanted. She’s felt betrayed. Is it any wonder she comes up short in the trust department? Alana has been doing for herself for so long she frankly doesn’t know how to trust someone else to be there for her. So when she perceived she’s been betrayed once again she packed up her bags, cast a curse and walked out the door leaving her mate behind.

Bryce is the oldest of three bear shifters and he’s been left with the responsibility of two siblings and guarding the secrets of the Hollow. A decade ago he was very much in love with Alana and she chose magic over him. Now he’s a surly and cantankerous ole bear with little patience. Bryce is also having the devil of a time with his inner bear. It’s a constant fight from moment to moment to stay in control. Recent events involving Alana have him totally on edge. His bear wants his mate and the human wants nothing to do with the evil witch. Well, that’s what he tells himself anyways. Now something is wrong with the magic in the Hollow. Shifter’s are changing and not being able to return to their human forms. After dealing with a near disaster of discovery Bryce, his siblings and their mates head to the heart of the hollow to figure out just what is happening. Perhaps he could have gone on pretending he was fine if he hadn’t scented his mate. Alas, life doesn’t work that way.

What Alana has already discovered and what the rest soon figure out is that the magic is draining from the Hollow. Of course, they’re all ready to blame it on Alana. Just one problem with that little notion, Alana’s magic is tied to the Hollow as well. She has her work cut out for her convincing them all to work with her to solve the mystery and protect the Hollow. There is evil afoot and it’s going to take some major sacrificing to make things right. If they are all lucky they’ll save the Hollow, Bryce and Alana will rediscover their love and trust and everyone will get their HEA. Well, I’ll let you guess how that turns out. Just know there will be a few challenges to deal with and battles to be won. All in all this was a great ending to the series. I understand Ms. Kelley has plans for another series in this world and I’m looking forward to seeing what she comes up with.

The Marked Series:

A Bear In Need, Book 1
A Bear In Hiding, Book 2
A Bear In Charge, Book 3

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