First a Marine, then a black ops agent, Victoria Morgan knows the military is where she belongs…until a sniper’s bullet changes her life. Trying to prove she’s not washed up, she rescues a young man from kidnappers. When the dying boy transforms into a cougar—and bites her—she learns of an entire hidden society. He begs her to inform his grandfather of his death and to keep the secret of the shifters’ existence. She can’t refuse, but what if the creatures pose a danger to the country she swore to protect?
As guardian of the shifter territory, Calum McGregor wields the power of life and death over his people. When a pretty human female arrives in their wilderness town, he and his littermate become increasingly concerned. Not only is the little female hiding something, but she is far more appealing than any human should be.
While investigating the shifters, Victoria begins to fall in love with the werecat brothers and the town as well. For the first time in her life, she might have a real home. Her hopes are crushed when a deadly enemy follows her from the city, and the shifters discover she knows their secret. Now nobody is safe—least of all Victoria.
Hour of the Lion, by Cherise Sinclair
I should preface this review by saying this is far from the first Cherise Sinclair book that I’ve read (and enjoyed). Still, I didn’t pick up this book until it came through as a sale on Bookbub, because (and stop me if you’ve heard this before) paranormal romance can be hit or miss for me and while I don’t dislike menage books, they’re also not something I tend to seek out.
I’m also saying that I should have had more faith in Cherise because wow, this book was outstanding.
Victoria is a Marine and black ops agent who’s been forced to take a medical leave of absence after being shot. She’s itching to get back into the field and prove that her injuries aren’t going to keep her down, which is probably why she gets herself in over her head trying to rescue a woman from being kidnapped. She fails to save the woman but is determined to save the severely beaten and malnourished young man trapped in the basement with her, even after he shifts into cougar form and bites her.
Unfortunately, she’s too late to do that either, but she can’t deny his request to inform his grandfather of his death and to keep his secret. Her quest to do so takes her to the small wilderness town his grandfather lives, where she meets the local sheriff, Alec McGregor — while attempting to break into the cabin she’s planning to rent, since the realtor was running late and she desperately needed a bathroom. His brother, Calum runs the local bar where Victoria ends up looking for work.
He also happens to be the guardian of the territory, responsible for making sure humans don’t discover the existence of shifters and maintaining order within the community. Victoria’s presence in town is complicated enough without the fact that something about her sets every one of his possessive instincts on high alert.
I won’t go too much more into detail because I don’t want to spoil the plot, but suffice it to say that things move along at a good pace with believable characters and character growth, particularly for Victoria. Her past has left her scarred and not just physically, and she has to move past that in order to find her “happily ever after.” Alec and Calum might have less obvious scars but they still have some growing to do in order for the relationship to end up working, especially when Victoria’s past comes back to haunt them all.
I also like that there are reasons why the shifters end up in menage relationships that make sense in the context of the world. The world-building as a whole is well done and while there are definitely some unanswered questions, that just gives her something to work with in future books — books I definitely intend to read. If you’re looking for a hot (hot!) read with well developed characters and a plot that makes sense, I highly recommend this book.