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BeWere My Heart #1
Bears Behaving Badly
These social worker bear shifters give the term "mama bear" a whole new meaning! Bestselling author MaryJanice Davidson is back with this brand-new paranormal romance series featuring a foster care system for at-risk shifter babies and teens.
Werebear shifter Annette Garsea is a caseworker for the Interspecies Placement Agency. When a selectively mute and freakishly strong teen werewolf is put in her custody, Annette has to uncover the young girl's secrets if she's to have any hopes of helping her. And not even the growling of a scruffy private investigator can distract her from her mission...
Bear shifter David Auberon appreciates Annette's work with at-risk teen shifters, but he's not sure if her latest charge is so much a vulnerable teen as a predator who should be locked up. All that changes when he, Annette, and her motley band of juveniles find themselves dodging multiple murder attempts and uncovering a trafficking cartel that doesn't just threaten the kids, but risks discovery of the shifters by the wider world of homo sapiens.
BeWere My Heart series:
Bears Behaving Badly (Book 1)
Werebear shifter Annette Garsea is a caseworker for the Interspecies Placement Agency. When a selectively mute and freakishly strong teen werewolf is put in her custody, Annette has to uncover the young girl's secrets if she's to have any hopes of helping her. And not even the growling of a scruffy private investigator can distract her from her mission...
Bear shifter David Auberon appreciates Annette's work with at-risk teen shifters, but he's not sure if her latest charge is so much a vulnerable teen as a predator who should be locked up. All that changes when he, Annette, and her motley band of juveniles find themselves dodging multiple murder attempts and uncovering a trafficking cartel that doesn't just threaten the kids, but risks discovery of the shifters by the wider world of homo sapiens.
BeWere My Heart series:
Bears Behaving Badly (Book 1)
384 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 31, 2020
550 people are currently reading
887 people want to read
About the author
MaryJanice Davidson
144 books5,319 followersMaryJanice Davidson is an American author and motivational speaker who writes mostly paranormal romance, but also young adult and non-fiction. She is the creator of the popular UNDEAD series and the time-traveling historical fiction A CONTEMPORARY ASSHAT AT THE COURT OF HENRY VIII. MaryJanice is a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author who writes a bi-weekly column for USA Today and lives in St. Paul with her family. You can reach her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.
www.maryjanicedavidson.org
@MaryJaniceD
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www.maryjanicedavidson.org
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 296 reviews
April 15, 2020
Oh my god. The month is only halfway over. This is never going to end.
To my husband: Go back to work!! For god's sake! You're young and healthy. Ish. You can do it!
Okay, so yeah, no time to read because somebody wants all of Jilly's time and attention these days. (Hint: it sure as hell isn't my children.)
On the few stolen hours I get, I try and escape this hellscape of reality in my book-world. Oh book boyfriends, why can't real-life husbands be like you? All sex and cuteness and romance and making me giggle, but then I can put you down and never think of you again unless I feel like it. Never making messes. Never asking me 35 times a day where something is...
Anyone have a tiger available to rent for the day? Asking for a friend.
But, I digress. I promised to bitch this entire apocalypse, and I intend to live up to that promise. You're welcome.
Okay, so this book was fun. The best part of it really was that the characters were so damn likable. They were complicated, quirky, and had great banter going. The side characters were even good. It was super easy to get invested in the story because of how well-written they all were.
There were a lot of different kind of shifters in the book, but our main hero and heroine were bears. And, they had very bearish qualities going on. That was a lot of fun.
Yes, maulings happened.
Annette is our bear-girl. She is a social worker and likes food to the point of dangerous. You know, like a bear. Our guy works for an agency that occasionally does work alongside her department, so the two of them team up for a "mystery" involving missing cubs. These two have been crushing on each other for a long time, so sparks fly immediately. Plus, cute-awkward crush stuff.
I loved them immediately. However, because they are running for their lives a lot, and trying to save other lives, the actual sexy bear stuff didn't show up until the end of the book. To me, that was a bit funny because the book could have just ended, but no, there hadn't been any of the porny stuff yet, so it kept going to include the gratuitous sex. Because it would have been wrong to skip the sex. Kind of like watching a porn where the college chicks order a pizza and the pizza guy delivers the pizza and they eat it. I mean, sure, there was the satisfaction of a job well done. The pizza got there. But, something is left wanting...
This book is a good, cute, entertaining diversion in quarantine hell. Go for it.
To my husband: Go back to work!! For god's sake! You're young and healthy. Ish. You can do it!
Okay, so yeah, no time to read because somebody wants all of Jilly's time and attention these days. (Hint: it sure as hell isn't my children.)
On the few stolen hours I get, I try and escape this hellscape of reality in my book-world. Oh book boyfriends, why can't real-life husbands be like you? All sex and cuteness and romance and making me giggle, but then I can put you down and never think of you again unless I feel like it. Never making messes. Never asking me 35 times a day where something is...
Anyone have a tiger available to rent for the day? Asking for a friend.
But, I digress. I promised to bitch this entire apocalypse, and I intend to live up to that promise. You're welcome.
Okay, so this book was fun. The best part of it really was that the characters were so damn likable. They were complicated, quirky, and had great banter going. The side characters were even good. It was super easy to get invested in the story because of how well-written they all were.
There were a lot of different kind of shifters in the book, but our main hero and heroine were bears. And, they had very bearish qualities going on. That was a lot of fun.
Yes, maulings happened.
Annette is our bear-girl. She is a social worker and likes food to the point of dangerous. You know, like a bear. Our guy works for an agency that occasionally does work alongside her department, so the two of them team up for a "mystery" involving missing cubs. These two have been crushing on each other for a long time, so sparks fly immediately. Plus, cute-awkward crush stuff.
I loved them immediately. However, because they are running for their lives a lot, and trying to save other lives, the actual sexy bear stuff didn't show up until the end of the book. To me, that was a bit funny because the book could have just ended, but no, there hadn't been any of the porny stuff yet, so it kept going to include the gratuitous sex. Because it would have been wrong to skip the sex. Kind of like watching a porn where the college chicks order a pizza and the pizza guy delivers the pizza and they eat it. I mean, sure, there was the satisfaction of a job well done. The pizza got there. But, something is left wanting...
This book is a good, cute, entertaining diversion in quarantine hell. Go for it.
March 1, 2020
BEARS BEHAVING BADLY by MaryJanice Davidson is a paranormal romantic suspense story that has a unique story line and it is the first book in the BeWere My Heart series. Werebear shifter Annette Garsea is social worker for at-risk shifter children and teens and works for the Interspecies Placement Agency (IPA) which manages the shifter foster care system. She teams up with bear shifter and IPA contract investigator David Auberon when multiple murder attempts occur after she has a selectively mute teen werewolf in her custody.
The characters are compelling with their own flaws and virtues and the secondary characters were well-rounded and did not overwhelm the story. The relationships between the characters were believable and not contrived. The stakes were definitely high and the tension made this a page turner. The story line was fresh and the plot twists were believable, but not totally unexpected. Serious themes of kidnappings, beatings, murder, attempted murder, a mole, cover-ups, romance and much more are included along with the suspense and action.
The plot was engrossing, moving, fascinating, heartfelt, and interspersed with humor. The one detraction was the excessive amount of cursing which did not add anything to the story. Overall, this was an enjoyable book and a good start to a new series. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
Thanks to SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca and MaryJanice Davidson for an ARC of this novel via NetGalley and the opportunity to provide an honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.
The characters are compelling with their own flaws and virtues and the secondary characters were well-rounded and did not overwhelm the story. The relationships between the characters were believable and not contrived. The stakes were definitely high and the tension made this a page turner. The story line was fresh and the plot twists were believable, but not totally unexpected. Serious themes of kidnappings, beatings, murder, attempted murder, a mole, cover-ups, romance and much more are included along with the suspense and action.
The plot was engrossing, moving, fascinating, heartfelt, and interspersed with humor. The one detraction was the excessive amount of cursing which did not add anything to the story. Overall, this was an enjoyable book and a good start to a new series. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
Thanks to SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca and MaryJanice Davidson for an ARC of this novel via NetGalley and the opportunity to provide an honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.
March 31, 2020
**ARC provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review**
- 3.5 stars -
Bears Behaving Badly is my first book by this author. I love paranormal romances, even if I don't read them as often as I would like. The first thing I had to get used to was the writing style. It took me some time to figure out who was saying what, and sometimes I had to read a sentence twice before I understood fully what was going on. It was pretty chaotic at times, and there were a lot of characters I had to get used to in the beginning. This story is more of a paranormal romcom and it was pretty light for most of the story. I thought the suspense was done really well. I was trying to figure out who the bad guys were and what they were really up to. I loved seeing Annette and David work together and keep their lust for each other in check.
They both have been having fantasizing about each other, but they didn't think the other was interested so they never pursued anything more. The whole I am not good enough thoughts got a bit annoying at times. I also didn't like that the romance was put on the back burner until the last quarter of the book. I wanted more growth in the relationship, but the story was mainly focusing on the case they were investigating. If this book was part of a series and Annette and David's story would pick up where this one ended, then it wouldn't have bothered me as much. But I am assuming this is a stand-alone and the next book will focus on another couple. So I wasn't satisfied with the romance aspect of this book. But the mystery, suspense, and comedy aspect was done really well. I did enjoy the world the author created, and I do look forward to reading more books in this series.
- 3.5 stars -
Bears Behaving Badly is my first book by this author. I love paranormal romances, even if I don't read them as often as I would like. The first thing I had to get used to was the writing style. It took me some time to figure out who was saying what, and sometimes I had to read a sentence twice before I understood fully what was going on. It was pretty chaotic at times, and there were a lot of characters I had to get used to in the beginning. This story is more of a paranormal romcom and it was pretty light for most of the story. I thought the suspense was done really well. I was trying to figure out who the bad guys were and what they were really up to. I loved seeing Annette and David work together and keep their lust for each other in check.
They both have been having fantasizing about each other, but they didn't think the other was interested so they never pursued anything more. The whole I am not good enough thoughts got a bit annoying at times. I also didn't like that the romance was put on the back burner until the last quarter of the book. I wanted more growth in the relationship, but the story was mainly focusing on the case they were investigating. If this book was part of a series and Annette and David's story would pick up where this one ended, then it wouldn't have bothered me as much. But I am assuming this is a stand-alone and the next book will focus on another couple. So I wasn't satisfied with the romance aspect of this book. But the mystery, suspense, and comedy aspect was done really well. I did enjoy the world the author created, and I do look forward to reading more books in this series.
April 10, 2020
Annette teams up with fellow bear-shifter, David, investigating an assault by one of their at-risk juvenile charges, and that’s what starts this whacky, fun-filled mystery.
David’s had a crush on Annette, but hasn’t found the courage to ask her out, and when a rumor gets out at the office that they’re dating Annette forcefully denies it making it seems she’s not interested. Little does he know that she really, really is, and just denies anything going on because Annette thinks David isn’t interested. They operate under this misconception all the while hunting down a horrible, abusive group of shifter traffickers. But the more they work together, the more their undeniable attraction surfaces, and it’s impossible to hide that they’re falling a little more with every hour spent together. These bears were made for each other!
Bears Behaving Badly was slapstick mayhem, with a sweet romance, and hilarious characters. It was a little on the long side, and went around in circles a bit, but pretty fun, and downright steamy in the end! I think fans of Shelly Laurenston would enjoy Ms. Davidson’s brand of storytelling.
David’s had a crush on Annette, but hasn’t found the courage to ask her out, and when a rumor gets out at the office that they’re dating Annette forcefully denies it making it seems she’s not interested. Little does he know that she really, really is, and just denies anything going on because Annette thinks David isn’t interested. They operate under this misconception all the while hunting down a horrible, abusive group of shifter traffickers. But the more they work together, the more their undeniable attraction surfaces, and it’s impossible to hide that they’re falling a little more with every hour spent together. These bears were made for each other!
Bears Behaving Badly was slapstick mayhem, with a sweet romance, and hilarious characters. It was a little on the long side, and went around in circles a bit, but pretty fun, and downright steamy in the end! I think fans of Shelly Laurenston would enjoy Ms. Davidson’s brand of storytelling.
May 6, 2020
+Digital ARC gently provided by Netgalley and author in exchange for an honest review+
3.7 don't-mess-with-my-cubs stars
It's been years since I read anything about MJ Davidson, and this book surprised me in a good way.
The setting is a world where shapeshifters coexist with humans, but it is a secret and underground world. And they live in fear that soon that would stop being secret.
...the skyway was for the naturae fixed, the Stables, those poor souls who were stuck in the same shape from birth to death: Homo sapiens in all their stable, savage glory.
Shifters, the naturae flex, had to keep to the Beneath—figuratively if not literally, the ground and what was below it. If it was raining they got wet, and if it was snowing, they got snowed on, and if it was fogging, they got fogged.
Annette Garsea is an IPA (Interspecies Placement Agency) employee, working with children and adolescents at risk and whose recurring case is a werefox who is an adorable rascal. And David Auberonis a researcher who has a crush on Anette but have never spoken more than 5 words outside of work even though his colleagues insist on spreading rumors about them just because they are both werebears. The entire length of the novel is a case of "Please speak clearly to each other!" Anyway, the case now involves a teenager, Caro, whom savagely attacked another werewolf. From there it becomes a kind of movie of action, attacks , suspicious baddies, and hidden things that the reader probably discovers at the third paragraph, but well ... the excuse is worth discovering the past of Anette, David, and Pat, Olaf and ... well, no one knows anything about Nadia, yet, other than their snark-self.
It's a story full of witticism and tropes, and proud about it! Made fun all the time about the issue.
“And stop with the matchmaking-roommate trope.”
“I’m the original, dammit! Tropes come from me, not the other way around. Take. That. Back.”
Sure, Pat, all the gender-fluid roomate tropes come from you. ..
Still, Dev Devoss is a favorite.
“Were you yelling at them to play dead?”
“Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do with werebears?”
“No. Pure propaganda. It just makes us hungry.” And she laughed
I will read the next book.
---------
Han pasado años desde que leí algo de MJ Davidson, y este libro me sorprendió en el buen sentido.
El escenario es un mundo donde los cambiaformas coexisten con los humanos, pero es un mundo secreto y subterráneo. Y viven con miedo de que pronto esto deje de ser secreto.
Annette Garsea es una empleada de IPA (Interspecies Placement Agency), que trabaja con niños y adolescentes en riesgo y cuyo caso recurrente es un werefox que es un adorable sinvergüenza. Y David Auberon es un investigador que está enamorado de Anette pero que nunca ha dicho más de 5 palabras fuera del trabajo a pesar de que sus colegas insisten en difundir rumores sobre ellos solo porque ambos eran osos. Todo el largo de la novela es un caso de "¡Por favor, hablen claramente el uno al otro!" De todos modos, el caso ahora involucra a un adolescente, Caro, quien atacó salvajemente a otro hombre lobo. A partir de ahí se convierte en una especie de película de acción, ataques, malosos sospechosos y cosas ocultas que el lector probablemente descubre en el tercer párrafo, pero bueno ... vale la pena descubrir el pasado de Anette, David y Pat, Olaf. y ... bueno, nadie sabe nada sobre Nadia, sin embargo, aparte de su ser sarcástico.
¡Es una historia llena de frases de ingenio y tropos, y orgullosa de ello! Se burló todo el tiempo sobre el tema.
"Y detente con el tropo del compañero de habitación".
"¡Soy el original, maldita sea! Los tropos vienen de mí, no al revés."
Claro, Pat, todos los tropos de compañeros de cuarto de género fluido provienen de ti. ..
Aún así, Dev Devoss es un favorito.
Voy a leer el próximo libro.
3.7 don't-mess-with-my-cubs stars
It's been years since I read anything about MJ Davidson, and this book surprised me in a good way.
The setting is a world where shapeshifters coexist with humans, but it is a secret and underground world. And they live in fear that soon that would stop being secret.
...the skyway was for the naturae fixed, the Stables, those poor souls who were stuck in the same shape from birth to death: Homo sapiens in all their stable, savage glory.
Shifters, the naturae flex, had to keep to the Beneath—figuratively if not literally, the ground and what was below it. If it was raining they got wet, and if it was snowing, they got snowed on, and if it was fogging, they got fogged.
Annette Garsea is an IPA (Interspecies Placement Agency) employee, working with children and adolescents at risk and whose recurring case is a werefox who is an adorable rascal. And David Auberonis a researcher who has a crush on Anette but have never spoken more than 5 words outside of work even though his colleagues insist on spreading rumors about them just because they are both werebears. The entire length of the novel is a case of "Please speak clearly to each other!" Anyway, the case now involves a teenager, Caro, whom savagely attacked another werewolf. From there it becomes a kind of movie of action, attacks , suspicious baddies, and hidden things that the reader probably discovers at the third paragraph, but well ... the excuse is worth discovering the past of Anette, David, and Pat, Olaf and ... well, no one knows anything about Nadia, yet, other than their snark-self.
It's a story full of witticism and tropes, and proud about it! Made fun all the time about the issue.
“And stop with the matchmaking-roommate trope.”
“I’m the original, dammit! Tropes come from me, not the other way around. Take. That. Back.”
Sure, Pat, all the gender-fluid roomate tropes come from you. ..
Still, Dev Devoss is a favorite.
“Were you yelling at them to play dead?”
“Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do with werebears?”
“No. Pure propaganda. It just makes us hungry.” And she laughed
I will read the next book.
---------
Han pasado años desde que leí algo de MJ Davidson, y este libro me sorprendió en el buen sentido.
El escenario es un mundo donde los cambiaformas coexisten con los humanos, pero es un mundo secreto y subterráneo. Y viven con miedo de que pronto esto deje de ser secreto.
Annette Garsea es una empleada de IPA (Interspecies Placement Agency), que trabaja con niños y adolescentes en riesgo y cuyo caso recurrente es un werefox que es un adorable sinvergüenza. Y David Auberon es un investigador que está enamorado de Anette pero que nunca ha dicho más de 5 palabras fuera del trabajo a pesar de que sus colegas insisten en difundir rumores sobre ellos solo porque ambos eran osos. Todo el largo de la novela es un caso de "¡Por favor, hablen claramente el uno al otro!" De todos modos, el caso ahora involucra a un adolescente, Caro, quien atacó salvajemente a otro hombre lobo. A partir de ahí se convierte en una especie de película de acción, ataques, malosos sospechosos y cosas ocultas que el lector probablemente descubre en el tercer párrafo, pero bueno ... vale la pena descubrir el pasado de Anette, David y Pat, Olaf. y ... bueno, nadie sabe nada sobre Nadia, sin embargo, aparte de su ser sarcástico.
¡Es una historia llena de frases de ingenio y tropos, y orgullosa de ello! Se burló todo el tiempo sobre el tema.
"Y detente con el tropo del compañero de habitación".
"¡Soy el original, maldita sea! Los tropos vienen de mí, no al revés."
Claro, Pat, todos los tropos de compañeros de cuarto de género fluido provienen de ti. ..
Aún así, Dev Devoss es un favorito.
Voy a leer el próximo libro.
June 1, 2022
I liked the premise enough to bite, and at least some of that is knowing Davidson wouldn't bog down on the dark side of things. With a subject like child trafficking from the foster care system, that made a difference because that pool could go deep. Yes, I'm saying that Davidson is a little shallow with her stories and that I find them, um, built to banter? Like, bantering over certain subjects just wouldn't fly, so in order to maintain the kind of story Davidson seems prone to tell, I knew it couldn't get that dark. And I was totally right.
And I knew there was a good chance I'd like the protagonist because Davidson likes lots of personality in her heroines. That paid off in the first pages. Annette is kind of awesome as the bear shifter with a mission to protect the vulnerable children in her foster system. Getting to know her was delightful and seeing her interact with her friends and coworkers and charges was entertaining. And even more so once David showed up on the scene.
And yeah, it doesn't hurt that David is my favorite type of male romantic lead. I love the protective, capable guy who works hard, gets stuff done, is fundamentally kind, and protects and supports those around him. David is beyond awesome, with only a tiny flaw in the negative motivation* hanging him up from relationships. I thought it was something serious, too, because he's all "people were killed because ...". Only it turns out he's just projecting unfounded fears and prejudging everyone to be as shallow as his mother.
The romance was great, too. They belong together so strongly and I loved how well they "got" one another. The only drawback on that is the constant misread/guarded comment cycle they went around a few too many times. "she said obviously not when asked if we're dating" "he said of course not when asked..." blah blah blah. It went on too long, though I'm a fan of how it was resolved, finally, and that the resolution included better communication between them for the future.
So this is a generous four stars. There are weaknesses, but the strengths more than made up for them, at least for me. Do bear in mind that it's a light treatment of some hefty subjects and if you want all the drama and angst, this isn't the author for you. Personally, I found that a benefit for this story.
A note about Steamy: There are a couple of explicit sex scenes putting this in the middle of my steam tolerance. The second is way, waaaaay longer than the first and carries a lot of relationship weight as well. Which is a good thing! And well done.
* Negative Motivations: I kind of hate that the term "negative motivation" isn't widespread, yet. Since it isn't, I'm going to save off this little jag to append to my reviews that feature the term. Jennifer Crusie blogged about it a bit back (or, if that link doesn't work, here's a cache of the original) and it changed how I understand story. The problem with the term is that if you've never heard it before, you'd assume it meant motivations that are harmful or immoral. Not so. What it refers to is motivations not to do something. The thing is that many of us are motivated to not do things for a lot of different, perfectly valid and reasonable, reasons. The problem is that in a story motivations to not do things are a huge drag on the plot—particularly considering the fact that most negative motivations are overcome by the character simply deciding they don't care any more (or, rather, that they do care and are now motivated to do the thing). So not only do you have a counter to action but you also have a situation where to overcome it, all a character has to do is change their mind. Which means eventually, the reader is rooting for the character to get over him/herself already and do the thing we want them to do. Conflict drives story. Conflict between a reader and a main character drives readers away from story.
And I knew there was a good chance I'd like the protagonist because Davidson likes lots of personality in her heroines. That paid off in the first pages. Annette is kind of awesome as the bear shifter with a mission to protect the vulnerable children in her foster system. Getting to know her was delightful and seeing her interact with her friends and coworkers and charges was entertaining. And even more so once David showed up on the scene.
And yeah, it doesn't hurt that David is my favorite type of male romantic lead. I love the protective, capable guy who works hard, gets stuff done, is fundamentally kind, and protects and supports those around him. David is beyond awesome, with only a tiny flaw in the negative motivation* hanging him up from relationships. I thought it was something serious, too, because he's all "people were killed because ...". Only it turns out he's just projecting unfounded fears and prejudging everyone to be as shallow as his mother.
The romance was great, too. They belong together so strongly and I loved how well they "got" one another. The only drawback on that is the constant misread/guarded comment cycle they went around a few too many times. "she said obviously not when asked if we're dating" "he said of course not when asked..." blah blah blah. It went on too long, though I'm a fan of how it was resolved, finally, and that the resolution included better communication between them for the future.
So this is a generous four stars. There are weaknesses, but the strengths more than made up for them, at least for me. Do bear in mind that it's a light treatment of some hefty subjects and if you want all the drama and angst, this isn't the author for you. Personally, I found that a benefit for this story.
A note about Steamy: There are a couple of explicit sex scenes putting this in the middle of my steam tolerance. The second is way, waaaaay longer than the first and carries a lot of relationship weight as well. Which is a good thing! And well done.
* Negative Motivations: I kind of hate that the term "negative motivation" isn't widespread, yet. Since it isn't, I'm going to save off this little jag to append to my reviews that feature the term. Jennifer Crusie blogged about it a bit back (or, if that link doesn't work, here's a cache of the original) and it changed how I understand story. The problem with the term is that if you've never heard it before, you'd assume it meant motivations that are harmful or immoral. Not so. What it refers to is motivations not to do something. The thing is that many of us are motivated to not do things for a lot of different, perfectly valid and reasonable, reasons. The problem is that in a story motivations to not do things are a huge drag on the plot—particularly considering the fact that most negative motivations are overcome by the character simply deciding they don't care any more (or, rather, that they do care and are now motivated to do the thing). So not only do you have a counter to action but you also have a situation where to overcome it, all a character has to do is change their mind. Which means eventually, the reader is rooting for the character to get over him/herself already and do the thing we want them to do. Conflict drives story. Conflict between a reader and a main character drives readers away from story.
December 8, 2024
I liked this book a lot. (added 9/28---I loved it even the second time around, so this is going on my comfort read shelf!) I didn't quite find it gut-busting funny, but I did get quite a few giggles. MaryJanice follows her tropes and long-time readers are pretty comfortable with this fact. As far as first-time readers of MJD...I think they are going to like this book a lot.
I do wish there had been more backstory-so we could have understood better, what was going on. It took quite a while for me to understand totally what was going on.
I also wish there had been some better editing as I found some inconsistencies. but that may be fixed before release.
*ARC provided by the publisher.
I do wish there had been more backstory-so we could have understood better, what was going on. It took quite a while for me to understand totally what was going on.
I also wish there had been some better editing as I found some inconsistencies. but that may be fixed before release.
*ARC provided by the publisher.
January 12, 2021
Read: January 2021
Rating: 4/5 stars
This book deserves a much better cover!
What I liked:
- Maryjanice Davidson's style of writing; snarky, funny and engaging
- The main cast of characters are likeable and interesting
- The romance between Annette and David is adorable
- The mystery is pretty brutal but handled with a light touch
What I didn't like:
- The world building is sparse. We are told that there are shifter government agencies as well as medical and legal systems that are somehow both operating out in the open (with regular human - aka 'stable' - contractors) but that the shifter world is still seen as a huge secret. I'd have liked more details on how this world operates, however there is a second book due in the series, hopefully there will be more clarity on that.
Overall I'm happy to be back reading a Maryjanice Davidson series since the end of her Queen Betsy series a couple of years ago. I'm looking forward to the next book!
Rating: 4/5 stars
This book deserves a much better cover!
What I liked:
- Maryjanice Davidson's style of writing; snarky, funny and engaging
- The main cast of characters are likeable and interesting
- The romance between Annette and David is adorable
- The mystery is pretty brutal but handled with a light touch
What I didn't like:
- The world building is sparse. We are told that there are shifter government agencies as well as medical and legal systems that are somehow both operating out in the open (with regular human - aka 'stable' - contractors) but that the shifter world is still seen as a huge secret. I'd have liked more details on how this world operates, however there is a second book due in the series, hopefully there will be more clarity on that.
Overall I'm happy to be back reading a Maryjanice Davidson series since the end of her Queen Betsy series a couple of years ago. I'm looking forward to the next book!
April 3, 2020
This is the first book I've read by this author.
I have to admit I struggled with the story.
What I think was meant to be a "fast-paced" story ended up being really busy for me.
Like, TOO busy.
A few times I found myself confused with the random dialogue and a hard time following the storyline.
It just didn't flow smoothly for me.
The characters themselves were okay to read.
This was definitely a SLOW BURN romance.
There was chemistry between the protagonists, but they danced around each other A LONG time (like 80% of the book) before they actually started to talk and listen to one another.
This story was an okay read, but not one of my favourites.
"I voluntarily read an ARC of this book which was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review."
Shelved as '0-wishlist'
December 6, 2019OK, srsly... look at title... look at author... skim blurb.
How can this *not* be trifecta of YUM??
How can this *not* be trifecta of YUM??
January 27, 2020
Ok, this is by no means a horrible review or even a really bad one. I love MaryJanice Davidson and adored the Undead series. This series just started off rough. You were thrown into a world and had multiple characters thrown at you with little to no backstory and it left me feeling a bit lost and disoriented. Towards the end of the book I felt a bit more connected so there is hope that as the series continues you are drawn more into it and become more emotionally invested.
I was given an eARC by the publisher through NetGalley.
I was given an eARC by the publisher through NetGalley.
December 26, 2019
Davidson writes delightfully quirky characters, and this book is no exception. However the secondary characters are more interesting and developed than the primary characters, so I hope they will get their own books in the series. The plot is timely, with few surprises, and longtime fans of Davidson will enjoy entering a new world with her. Fans of Shelly Laurenston may also enjoy because of the bears.
January 4, 2020
David, you know tends to be a tad bit dramatic, “I’m driving! You can see me driving! Why wouldn’t I be sitting down?” The man tends to not beat around the bush, “no b*****it, pal: how are you? Hospital bad or going home and sulking and having booze for breakfast bad?” The man is sensitive about things, “real men don’t giggle,” he said with a straight face..." I liked this book, I liked David.
Shelved as 'dnf'
February 29, 2020DNF @ 25%
This book wasn't for me, although I love a bear shifters book, I found the writing style of this very difficult.
This book wasn't for me, although I love a bear shifters book, I found the writing style of this very difficult.
February 5, 2024
Objectivement vraiment cringe, mais j’ai eu beaucoup de fun à écouter le livre audio!
February 27, 2020
ARC Review: Bears Behaving Badly (BeWere My Heart #1) by MaryJanice Davidson
I received this book for free via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, all opinions are my own. If you enjoy this review, please consider visiting my blog for more
I wanted to like this book more than I did. It’s a solid book, and to be honest the only complaints I have are small ones—more personal preference than an actual plot hole/failing of the book. I may as well lead with the complaints, rather than blundering through an explanation of what I mean with no examples.
The most annoying thing (in my opinion alone, etc etc) was the fourth wall breaks of the characters commenting on the tropes they were fulfilling—matchmaking roommate/friend, flirting under fire, constant miscommunications and more. While the tropes themselves are fine and to be expected in a book of this type (urban fantasy/paranormal romance), the incessant commentary on it by the characters spoiled the fun and made it seem cheesy. Again, I realise that this sort of thing is entirely up to personal preference, but it became a bit tiresome. In a similar vein, the characters being amused to the point of commentary every time another character said something witty, or acted irrationally, irritated me a little. It almost read like a laugh track for the novel, and I enjoyed the book less for it.
Other than that, I did enjoy Bears Behaving Badly. Annette has great chemistry with every character and I appreciated that her and David were both fully fledged people and that neither of them were diminished by their budding romance. The world of Stables and Shifters was well-developed, and the idea of a social worker for shifter children is a great concept to introduce readers to a new world.
Bears Behaving Badly has a well-developed cast of characters, and the various social groups surrounding Annette and David did a great job of naturally revealing facets of their personality. Nadia and even Bob added little touches of realism to the book. Likewise, Dev’s reactions to Annette (and his nickname for her) showed her character without the need for boring exposition. Dev was one of my favourite side-characters in the book, and I loved the interplay he had with adults in the book. I look forward to reading future books with him in it, and presumably seeing him grow up alongside Carla, with Mama Mac, Annette and David weighing in.
Oz’s backstory was fascinating, but I wish it had been included a little earlier in the book. The plot was interesting, if a little oddly paced, and while the mystery was intriguing, I think it was solved very quickly at the end of the book, leaving Annette and David just wandering from place to place for the majority of the book. I have no issue with that, and likely enjoyed it less than normal only because of the complaints that I have already mentioned, that resulted in the banter that drives this novel not being to my taste.
Pat was interesting, and I was glad of the representation he brought to the book. There were several instances of the book being respectful of various, less represented identities (Annette even mentions grey-A people, and asexual people of any type are rarely mentioned in fiction). I also appreciated the representation of various kinds of family—adopted, found and otherwise—within the book.
Overall, Bears Behaving Badly was a solid book, with an interesting world and a great cast of characters. The tone wasn’t to my taste, but it did remind me of books that I thoroughly enjoy (the earlier Hollows books by Kim Harrison and Shelly Laurenston’s Pride series most notably), so I’m confident that this is something that could well change in future, and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for future BeWere My Heart books to see if this is the case. I think this book would be a good match for fans of Molly Harpers Naked Werewolf series or Shelly Laurenston’s Pride and Pack books, and anyone interested can read Bears Behaving Badly when it releases on March 31st, 2020.
I received this book for free via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, all opinions are my own. If you enjoy this review, please consider visiting my blog for more
I wanted to like this book more than I did. It’s a solid book, and to be honest the only complaints I have are small ones—more personal preference than an actual plot hole/failing of the book. I may as well lead with the complaints, rather than blundering through an explanation of what I mean with no examples.
The most annoying thing (in my opinion alone, etc etc) was the fourth wall breaks of the characters commenting on the tropes they were fulfilling—matchmaking roommate/friend, flirting under fire, constant miscommunications and more. While the tropes themselves are fine and to be expected in a book of this type (urban fantasy/paranormal romance), the incessant commentary on it by the characters spoiled the fun and made it seem cheesy. Again, I realise that this sort of thing is entirely up to personal preference, but it became a bit tiresome. In a similar vein, the characters being amused to the point of commentary every time another character said something witty, or acted irrationally, irritated me a little. It almost read like a laugh track for the novel, and I enjoyed the book less for it.
Other than that, I did enjoy Bears Behaving Badly. Annette has great chemistry with every character and I appreciated that her and David were both fully fledged people and that neither of them were diminished by their budding romance. The world of Stables and Shifters was well-developed, and the idea of a social worker for shifter children is a great concept to introduce readers to a new world.
Bears Behaving Badly has a well-developed cast of characters, and the various social groups surrounding Annette and David did a great job of naturally revealing facets of their personality. Nadia and even Bob added little touches of realism to the book. Likewise, Dev’s reactions to Annette (and his nickname for her) showed her character without the need for boring exposition. Dev was one of my favourite side-characters in the book, and I loved the interplay he had with adults in the book. I look forward to reading future books with him in it, and presumably seeing him grow up alongside Carla, with Mama Mac, Annette and David weighing in.
Oz’s backstory was fascinating, but I wish it had been included a little earlier in the book. The plot was interesting, if a little oddly paced, and while the mystery was intriguing, I think it was solved very quickly at the end of the book, leaving Annette and David just wandering from place to place for the majority of the book. I have no issue with that, and likely enjoyed it less than normal only because of the complaints that I have already mentioned, that resulted in the banter that drives this novel not being to my taste.
Pat was interesting, and I was glad of the representation he brought to the book. There were several instances of the book being respectful of various, less represented identities (Annette even mentions grey-A people, and asexual people of any type are rarely mentioned in fiction). I also appreciated the representation of various kinds of family—adopted, found and otherwise—within the book.
Overall, Bears Behaving Badly was a solid book, with an interesting world and a great cast of characters. The tone wasn’t to my taste, but it did remind me of books that I thoroughly enjoy (the earlier Hollows books by Kim Harrison and Shelly Laurenston’s Pride series most notably), so I’m confident that this is something that could well change in future, and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for future BeWere My Heart books to see if this is the case. I think this book would be a good match for fans of Molly Harpers Naked Werewolf series or Shelly Laurenston’s Pride and Pack books, and anyone interested can read Bears Behaving Badly when it releases on March 31st, 2020.
May 15, 2021
DNF at about 10%
I have liked many books by this author but I couldn’t stick with this one, even though I liked the premise of social working werebears! I’m not sure if it was narrator or the dialog but everything sounded silly, juvenile, and aimless. Not for me.
I have liked many books by this author but I couldn’t stick with this one, even though I liked the premise of social working werebears! I’m not sure if it was narrator or the dialog but everything sounded silly, juvenile, and aimless. Not for me.
April 1, 2020
Annette works at a shifter placement agency and helps shifter kids when they get in trouble or need a home. She's been lusting after David who works in her office but they've never dated.
David works in the same building as Annette and has feelings for Annette so when they work on the same case and it seems that someone is after them for some reason, they get closer and get to know one another.
When teenager, Caro mauls a guy and ends up in custody but won't speak, it's up to Annette and David to find out what's going on. Once Annette and David start their investigation and find out that Caro was tortured and abused and that's why she went after the guy, they find themselves in danger more than once.
They find themselves in the middle of a bunch of bad guys, child abuse, and maybe officials who are in on all of it.
The romance between David and Annette was a slow burn throughout the book but they are so cute together because neither of them knows the other likes them. It was fun watching them get to know one another and see who makes the first move.
The secondary characters and the kids in this story really had big parts and made the story what it was. While a lot seems to happen in this book and there's a lot of dialogue, it's quite drawn out and a little boring at times but it was a good story.
Disclosure: I was given an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for a review but all opinions and thoughts are my own.
David works in the same building as Annette and has feelings for Annette so when they work on the same case and it seems that someone is after them for some reason, they get closer and get to know one another.
When teenager, Caro mauls a guy and ends up in custody but won't speak, it's up to Annette and David to find out what's going on. Once Annette and David start their investigation and find out that Caro was tortured and abused and that's why she went after the guy, they find themselves in danger more than once.
They find themselves in the middle of a bunch of bad guys, child abuse, and maybe officials who are in on all of it.
The romance between David and Annette was a slow burn throughout the book but they are so cute together because neither of them knows the other likes them. It was fun watching them get to know one another and see who makes the first move.
The secondary characters and the kids in this story really had big parts and made the story what it was. While a lot seems to happen in this book and there's a lot of dialogue, it's quite drawn out and a little boring at times but it was a good story.
Disclosure: I was given an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for a review but all opinions and thoughts are my own.
April 16, 2020
3.8 cute and fun
January 14, 2025
I somehow didn’t hate this.
April 21, 2021
I finished this book under the wire right before the library was going to take it back from me. I had less and an hour before it returned when I finished.
I'm not gonna lie, I liked this a lot more than I was expecting to. I figured this would just be a shifter romance to change up genres for a moment, but it was a good time and addressed some serious issues in a banter-y way.
The heroine is a bear shifter who is always thinking about eating, violent toward alarm clocks, and has a secret crush on the hero that her coworkers tease her about--hardcore relatable. The hero is also a bear shifter with a MASSIVE sweet tooth who puts syrup in coffee and only eats red candy and keeps stashes in his car who also has a crush on the heroine. He also spends a lot of the plot just along for the ride and willing to help the heroine however she needs instead of taking over, which I appreciated.
I thought Davidson handled bear behaviors in human form adorably well. And I will say this, though the attraction to each other was a source of miscommunication for most of the book it was not the annoying kind. It was coworkers teasing heroine about crush in front of hero--she denies HARD and blushes--as one does when such things happen. Hero takes that as truth but also puts denies his crush when confronted with it--as one does. But they are also kind of putting out feelers for each other at the same time. So, all in all, I felt the "miscommunication" was legitimate and handled well.
The banter was so, so fast paced almost to the detriment of the keeping track of the dialogue at times. For the most part it was really clever and funny and broke up the much darker premise of what they are investigating--but every once and awhile it was like...I get it...we're all funny and quirky, but maybe can we talk normally for a moment?
Overall, I will probably keep reading the series because this was a nice balance of cute and serious.
Rachel, the sexy times in this book were extremely minimal and only happened at the VERY end, in case you were wondering. If you ever wanted to read werebears, this one is probably your best fit.
I'm not gonna lie, I liked this a lot more than I was expecting to. I figured this would just be a shifter romance to change up genres for a moment, but it was a good time and addressed some serious issues in a banter-y way.
The heroine is a bear shifter who is always thinking about eating, violent toward alarm clocks, and has a secret crush on the hero that her coworkers tease her about--hardcore relatable. The hero is also a bear shifter with a MASSIVE sweet tooth who puts syrup in coffee and only eats red candy and keeps stashes in his car who also has a crush on the heroine. He also spends a lot of the plot just along for the ride and willing to help the heroine however she needs instead of taking over, which I appreciated.
I thought Davidson handled bear behaviors in human form adorably well. And I will say this, though the attraction to each other was a source of miscommunication for most of the book it was not the annoying kind. It was coworkers teasing heroine about crush in front of hero--she denies HARD and blushes--as one does when such things happen. Hero takes that as truth but also puts denies his crush when confronted with it--as one does. But they are also kind of putting out feelers for each other at the same time. So, all in all, I felt the "miscommunication" was legitimate and handled well.
The banter was so, so fast paced almost to the detriment of the keeping track of the dialogue at times. For the most part it was really clever and funny and broke up the much darker premise of what they are investigating--but every once and awhile it was like...I get it...we're all funny and quirky, but maybe can we talk normally for a moment?
Overall, I will probably keep reading the series because this was a nice balance of cute and serious.
Rachel, the sexy times in this book were extremely minimal and only happened at the VERY end, in case you were wondering. If you ever wanted to read werebears, this one is probably your best fit.
July 12, 2020
DNF - 8%
MaryJanice Davidson's Bears Behaving Badly is a VERY confusing book. First off, the blurb written on Goodreads versus what is written on Amazon is different. The GR blurb, which happens to be the blurb on the publisher's site REALLY made me want to read the book. It sounds really intriguing. The blurb on Amazon, not so much. Plus the blurb on Amazon is written in first person, making you think the story is in first person. It is not.
The publisher and GR's description had me WANTING to read this story. I was really excited. My excitement started to fall immediately once I started reading. The book opens with a dream and then somehow transitions into the present, with no clear indication of what is happening. Then you have several characters thrown at you, with no explanation of who or what they are. It was like I started reading the book halfway through. I was literally starting to get a headache, trying to figure out what was happening. I'm beyond disappointed. At 8% or halfway through Chapter Four I had to give up.
**Received a copy from the publisher and voluntarily reviewed.**
MaryJanice Davidson's Bears Behaving Badly is a VERY confusing book. First off, the blurb written on Goodreads versus what is written on Amazon is different. The GR blurb, which happens to be the blurb on the publisher's site REALLY made me want to read the book. It sounds really intriguing. The blurb on Amazon, not so much. Plus the blurb on Amazon is written in first person, making you think the story is in first person. It is not.
The publisher and GR's description had me WANTING to read this story. I was really excited. My excitement started to fall immediately once I started reading. The book opens with a dream and then somehow transitions into the present, with no clear indication of what is happening. Then you have several characters thrown at you, with no explanation of who or what they are. It was like I started reading the book halfway through. I was literally starting to get a headache, trying to figure out what was happening. I'm beyond disappointed. At 8% or halfway through Chapter Four I had to give up.
**Received a copy from the publisher and voluntarily reviewed.**
May 2, 2020
I really wanted to like this book, but it just didn't happen. I got to chapter 8 and even started the audio over, hoping that I missed something, but the second time through didn't make it any better. I kept thinking I would give it up, but I didn't really have any others to listen to so I kept going, yet in hindsight after I'm done with it I should have gone with my first instinct and ended things. I can't really put a finger on why this one didn't work for me because there were things I liked, the setting in the Twin Cities, a woman fighting for kids, to keep them safe, that the characters were shifters, especially bears, they amuse me for some reason. Yet through out the whole book I was bored, the romanace was luck warm, I figured out what was really going on very early on when Kara talked about monsters. So many things I liked, yet this one just wasn't for me.
March 29, 2020
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting my request for an arc of this book. This review is entirely my own opinion.
This was a fun and very entertaining read. I enjoyed the dialogue and the pace. At no point was I bored. But I do have to say that I actually ended up liking the secondary characters, one in particular (hello Dev Devoss!), more than the MC’s.
David, our H, wasn’t alpha enough for me. I like my H’s bordering on OTT, all alphalicious, growly and grumpy, and protective-possessive. He’s a tad too beta. Annette, our h, on the other hand, while witty and kickass, just talked too much for my tastes. *shrugs*
Still, I would definitely go out and read the succeeding books. I think fans of Shelly Laurenston’s style of PNR rom-com would also enjoy this book.
This was a fun and very entertaining read. I enjoyed the dialogue and the pace. At no point was I bored. But I do have to say that I actually ended up liking the secondary characters, one in particular (hello Dev Devoss!), more than the MC’s.
David, our H, wasn’t alpha enough for me. I like my H’s bordering on OTT, all alphalicious, growly and grumpy, and protective-possessive. He’s a tad too beta. Annette, our h, on the other hand, while witty and kickass, just talked too much for my tastes. *shrugs*
Still, I would definitely go out and read the succeeding books. I think fans of Shelly Laurenston’s style of PNR rom-com would also enjoy this book.
March 30, 2020
Bears Behaving Badly by MaryJanice Davidson is the 1st book in her Bewere My Heart series. We meet our heroine, Annette Garsea, a werebear shifter, who works for the Interspecies Placement Agency as a social worker; usually working with juvenile delinquent children. Dev, one of her young charges, is a werefox, and is always running away and getting into trouble; but he also likes and trusts Annette.
David Auberon, our bear shifter hero, is an investigator who arrests the young children in her custody; when he arrests a young girl (wolf shifter), who doesn’t speak, it is Annette who tries to come to her rescue. She recognizes that something terrible happened to Caro, and is determined to discover what it is; especially since Dev tells Annette about Caro being like a sister to him. At first David, doesn’t have much sympathy, but because of his immediate attraction to Annette, he begins to work with her find out what is going on with the missing kids. When attempts are made on their lives, and dodging multiple murder attempts, they uncover a trafficking cartel kidnapping these kids. Both David and Annette are in a race to save the children.
I thought both David and Annette were a great couple, as their relationship escalated the more time they spend together, and their chemistry was off the wall. I have to admit though they were funny at times, they also bordered on being very quirky; and Davidson had such great group secondary characters like their friends Nadia, Oz and Pat, who were even wild and crazier. Those parts were very funny, but at times confusing too. I really did like Dev and Caro, which made it more important for them to be helped.
What follows was an intriguing mystery and adventure, that had a lot of tense, suspenseful and exciting moments. As the story raced to its climax, the danger rises, with lives on the line, as well as a few surprises along the way. Though I did like David and Annette together, some of their humor was a bit wacky. Bears Behaving Badly was a good start to this new series, which I look forward to seeing where Davidson is taking us in the next book.
Barb
The Reading Cafe
David Auberon, our bear shifter hero, is an investigator who arrests the young children in her custody; when he arrests a young girl (wolf shifter), who doesn’t speak, it is Annette who tries to come to her rescue. She recognizes that something terrible happened to Caro, and is determined to discover what it is; especially since Dev tells Annette about Caro being like a sister to him. At first David, doesn’t have much sympathy, but because of his immediate attraction to Annette, he begins to work with her find out what is going on with the missing kids. When attempts are made on their lives, and dodging multiple murder attempts, they uncover a trafficking cartel kidnapping these kids. Both David and Annette are in a race to save the children.
I thought both David and Annette were a great couple, as their relationship escalated the more time they spend together, and their chemistry was off the wall. I have to admit though they were funny at times, they also bordered on being very quirky; and Davidson had such great group secondary characters like their friends Nadia, Oz and Pat, who were even wild and crazier. Those parts were very funny, but at times confusing too. I really did like Dev and Caro, which made it more important for them to be helped.
What follows was an intriguing mystery and adventure, that had a lot of tense, suspenseful and exciting moments. As the story raced to its climax, the danger rises, with lives on the line, as well as a few surprises along the way. Though I did like David and Annette together, some of their humor was a bit wacky. Bears Behaving Badly was a good start to this new series, which I look forward to seeing where Davidson is taking us in the next book.
Barb
The Reading Cafe
March 31, 2020
Reviewed by Romancing the Readers Blog: http://www.romancingthereaders.com/20...
It's been a while since I've read a book by MaryJanice Davidson. When I saw this I knew I had to give it a try. Those of you who follow me regularly know how much I love me a bear shifters. So in my mind, I had to try this one.
It turns out that there was much of this book that I really enjoyed. I liked the humor even though at times I felt it was a little forced. Enjoyable just a bit too far.
The sad thing is that this book starts off very rough. I felt like I was thrown into something and I was the only person that wasn't getting it. It did level off and I started feeling the flow of the book and was enjoying it. I just wished that lasted.
I did really enjoy the characters and the whole idea of the story. I think what got to me was the writing. I felt it was like she used to write, just not well. I think part of the issue is with the hero and heroine. The author makes it where they fight their attraction but I think it went too long. It makes for funny moments and some tense once but you don't see their growth as a couple enough. Sometimes I felt like I wasn't reading a romance.
Then something would happen that I really liked and it pulled me back in.
As a whole, this is an okay book. I didn't love it but it wasn't all bad either. I might try to read it again in a few weeks when it's out of my mind.
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ARC received for an honest review
It's been a while since I've read a book by MaryJanice Davidson. When I saw this I knew I had to give it a try. Those of you who follow me regularly know how much I love me a bear shifters. So in my mind, I had to try this one.
It turns out that there was much of this book that I really enjoyed. I liked the humor even though at times I felt it was a little forced. Enjoyable just a bit too far.
The sad thing is that this book starts off very rough. I felt like I was thrown into something and I was the only person that wasn't getting it. It did level off and I started feeling the flow of the book and was enjoying it. I just wished that lasted.
I did really enjoy the characters and the whole idea of the story. I think what got to me was the writing. I felt it was like she used to write, just not well. I think part of the issue is with the hero and heroine. The author makes it where they fight their attraction but I think it went too long. It makes for funny moments and some tense once but you don't see their growth as a couple enough. Sometimes I felt like I wasn't reading a romance.
Then something would happen that I really liked and it pulled me back in.
As a whole, this is an okay book. I didn't love it but it wasn't all bad either. I might try to read it again in a few weeks when it's out of my mind.
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ARC received for an honest review
February 25, 2020
Well this was a quirky, fun read about shifters living amongst us. I loved that the lead was a rather unusual type of heroine as bear shifter Annette is what I can only describe as a social worker determined to protect young shifters. She's constantly worried about a certain Fox shifter and now he's apparently related to a rather dangerous and mute Wolf. Add in the fact that everyone is constantly pushing her towards David an investor that works with the department and poor Annette really has a difficult job on her hands.
I found this to be very enjoyable with an interesting storyline and very amusing characters. Annette and David clearly fancy the pants off each other but neither one of them realises that the attraction is mutual and the author really had fun with their budding relationship. Yes this was fun but it's not exactly light because there are dark undertones in this story but I think it's the zany characters that essentially made it so readable.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair
I found this to be very enjoyable with an interesting storyline and very amusing characters. Annette and David clearly fancy the pants off each other but neither one of them realises that the attraction is mutual and the author really had fun with their budding relationship. Yes this was fun but it's not exactly light because there are dark undertones in this story but I think it's the zany characters that essentially made it so readable.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair
Shelved as 'never-reading-andor-finishing'
May 10, 2020DNF 26% - I just cannot get in to this one, which is a bummer.
March 7, 2021
3.5
(La nota está inflada porque me ha dado lo que necesitaba, pero objetivamente es un 3).
Ha sido divertido y después cuqui y despúes oscuro. Lo cual no esperaba, pero después ha seguido siendo lo 1 y lo 2.
¡Hay un gran spoiler sobre Jon Nieve sobre el 61% de la novela!
Hay representación de género fluido.
El misterio se podría haber resuelto antes de la mitad del libro si uno de los personajes hubiese decidido colaborar, peroooo, qué se le va a hacer.
Echaba de menos leer algo were y Davidson tenía muchas papeletas para darme lo que quería porque ya había leído varios de sus otros libros.
¿Ahora? Solo me apetece seguir leyendo más de estos libros.
(La nota está inflada porque me ha dado lo que necesitaba, pero objetivamente es un 3).
Ha sido divertido y después cuqui y despúes oscuro. Lo cual no esperaba, pero después ha seguido siendo lo 1 y lo 2.
¡Hay un gran spoiler sobre Jon Nieve sobre el 61% de la novela!
Hay representación de género fluido.
El misterio se podría haber resuelto antes de la mitad del libro si uno de los personajes hubiese decidido colaborar, peroooo, qué se le va a hacer.
Echaba de menos leer algo were y Davidson tenía muchas papeletas para darme lo que quería porque ya había leído varios de sus otros libros.
¿Ahora? Solo me apetece seguir leyendo más de estos libros.
February 22, 2020
I fell in love with MaryJanice Davidson’s books when I found her Undead series which follows the adventures of the Queen Vampire, Betsy Taylor. That series was always such a fun read, filled with lots of absurd situations and quirky characters. And Davidson continues with the quirky characters, but makes some of the situations more realistic in Bears Behaving Badly… although there’s still lots of crazy situations too!
One of the reasons I enjoy Davidson’s writing so much is the frantic pace that her characters end up talking from time to time. Four people will be talking, maybe not all about the same thing, and she doesn’t give you lots of definition as to who is saying what. For some people this can get confusing or they don’t like that style of writing, but I do, since this is in reality often how groups of people talk; everyone talking over each other, not really listening, but still wanting to be heard.
Davidson shines when it comes to character development, even if some of the characters are air-heads or vapid. And her secondary characters are always as complex as the main ones, and often time one of them will become my favorite over the leads. I’m really enjoying Oz and Pat. Nadia is stealing my heart since she reminds me of myself a bit, seems to not really like people, but is a soft, squishy mess under that hard exterior.
And her romance scenes are always full of wonderful awkwardness that leads to some hot sex. I love how well Davidson incorporates the strangeness that can be felt at the beginning of relationships when you’re not completely sure how the other person feels. And even though she used the trope; I can’t be with the other person for whatever convoluted reason I cooked up in my mind, it didn’t feel like it was mentioned too often.
If you enjoy Davidson’s other books, you’ll probably enjoy Bears Behaving Badly, and if you’ve never read her before, you should definitely give this one a try.
One of the reasons I enjoy Davidson’s writing so much is the frantic pace that her characters end up talking from time to time. Four people will be talking, maybe not all about the same thing, and she doesn’t give you lots of definition as to who is saying what. For some people this can get confusing or they don’t like that style of writing, but I do, since this is in reality often how groups of people talk; everyone talking over each other, not really listening, but still wanting to be heard.
Davidson shines when it comes to character development, even if some of the characters are air-heads or vapid. And her secondary characters are always as complex as the main ones, and often time one of them will become my favorite over the leads. I’m really enjoying Oz and Pat. Nadia is stealing my heart since she reminds me of myself a bit, seems to not really like people, but is a soft, squishy mess under that hard exterior.
And her romance scenes are always full of wonderful awkwardness that leads to some hot sex. I love how well Davidson incorporates the strangeness that can be felt at the beginning of relationships when you’re not completely sure how the other person feels. And even though she used the trope; I can’t be with the other person for whatever convoluted reason I cooked up in my mind, it didn’t feel like it was mentioned too often.
If you enjoy Davidson’s other books, you’ll probably enjoy Bears Behaving Badly, and if you’ve never read her before, you should definitely give this one a try.
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