Jennifer Ashley – Primal Bonds
When a female Shifter comes to town seeking refuge, Feline Shifter Sean Morrissey claims the new arrival and finds a beautiful woman who looks him straight in the eye without fear, stirring the mating frenzy within him.
To relocate to a new Shiftertown, half-Fae, half-Shifter Andrea Gray must accept a new mate. But Andrea’s intense attraction to Sean is something she never expected-a perilous complication for a woman with a troubled past.
Primal Bonds, by Jennifer Ashley
This was a bit of a different read for me. As much as I might love the Psy/Changeling series, I’ve read a few of the other big-name paranormal series in the past and haven’t found them to be my cup of tea. Still, tastes change and I occasionally try to revisit that particular subgenre to see if there’s something that might catch my eye.
Primal Bonds is actually the second book of the Shifters Unbound series; I picked it up on sale (like I do so many these days) since the reviews indicated that the first book was helpful but not required to understand the universe. I think I would judge that as perhaps 75% accurate — while I could certainly follow the story easily enough, there are a few holes in my understanding of the universe that might not exist if I’d read the first book. I can’t be sure, however, since I have yet to read the first book. Keep that in mind as reading this review.
The book starts with an attack at the bar where Andrea Gray is working. She’s a relatively recent transplant to the Austin Shiftertown, having moved to escape the wolf pack where she grew up when the man who wanted to claim her as his mate refused to take no for an answer. Of course, in order to move to the new Shiftertown, she must accept a mate-claim from one of the males already in the pack. Sean Morrissey offers for her sight unseen, intending to give her some space to get settled before deciding what she wants to do. Of course, the best laid plans and all that…
Sean is a Guardian, one of the Shifters who uses a magic sword to sever the soul from the dead body. This allows the Shifter access to the afterlife. Even though there’s debate within the Shifter community about how necessary this act is, most Shifters still want his services available when the time comes. Rarely do they acknowledge the burden it places on him, however, especially when the soul severed is one of a close family member or friend. Sean had given up hope of finding a mate, since although he was popular with the ladies, none of them were interested in sharing that particular burden.
Andrea, on the other hand, is used to hiding her half-Fae side. For years, she’s been told she’s the lowest of the low and completely worthless in the pack, tolerated only because male Shifters heavily outnumber females. Her mother passed away when she was young, leaving her behind in the care of her stepfather. In the new Shiftertown, she’s hoping to learn more about the Fae who sired her — especially as her Fae magic seems to react to the Guardian sword that Sean carries.
There were definitely some interesting bits and pieces to this universe. Shifters are collared and forced to live together in Shiftertowns, even thought they might be members of different packs. There is definite discrimination by humans against Shifters. Less is clear about the Fae, but there are hints that they are involved in a more shadowy role, both with the Shifters and with the humans.
On the flip side, the story seems to move from instant lust into love very quickly and it feels like there are a lot of loose ends in the story. Some of this is likely deliberate, in order to keep the reader invested in the series, but to choose an example, it’s repeatedly emphasized how Andrea doesn’t seem phased by other Shifters’ displays of dominance where she should be reacting to them and the reason for this isn’t clearly articulated. There are multiple points like this, where something is clearly highlighted but no explanation is given. That’s frustrating for me as a reader. I can overlook it more easily if the love story felt more natural but…
In the end, I enjoyed the world enough that I will consider picking up another one or two of the books if I can catch them on sale. Hopefully the first book will be one of them — this does feel like a universe where that first world-building book is important!
Amanda Bryant has been a spy for five long years, but when aliens suddenly appear claiming a deadly enemy threatens Earth’s very survival, Amanda is asked by her superiors to accept the most dangerous mission of her life…volunteer to be an alien’s bride, to share the strange warrior’s bed and then betray him.