I chose Lori Villarrael‘s shape-shifter PNR, Twelfth Moon, from the Amazon KDP list.
Description from Amazon:
Cadence LaPorte is about to be hanged.
For weeks, U.S. Marshal, Jonah Kincaid, has been hot on her trail for the murder of his brother. His pursuit ends in a dusty Texas town at the scene of a lynching – namely, Cadence’s. Since revenge is at the top of his list, he saves her from death-by-hanging – for now.
Except Jonah thinks he’s been tracking a young boy.
And Cadence has this itsy-bitsy little problem: The women in her family are shape-shifting panthers, and once a year they’re compelled to mate with any male who happens to be in the vicinity – and become bound to him for life.
Jonah Kincaid is the last man on earth Cadence would wish to bind herself to. If she doesn’t find a way to escape him soon, she’ll be mauling the infuriating (handsome) U.S. Marshal – but as a woman, not as the panther.
Despite the obstacles thrown in their path, can two imperfect people find perfect true love?
Review:
Twelfth Moon was alright. I passed a couple pleasant hours reading it. It had its fun moments. I really liked Jonah. He was a good, kind soul, and I liked that. Candice…well, not as much. I didn’t dislike her, but when she fainted 13% into the book, I knew that she wasn’t going to make my favorite character list. The Apaches were marvelous.
It was a nice twist that the female was the shifter. I can’t remember reading a book in which this is the case. The rest of the story was fairly par for the course, though. There wasn’t much that stood out as new and exciting. Plus, I never could quite buy the whole I’ll be bound for life to any man I have sex with during this full moon, and I have no control over who that might be. I could roll with that punch as far as Candice having to mate with any male available during the particular full moon. Heck, it even makes sense evolutionarily by guaranteeing variety in the gene pool (though it obviously wasn’t associated with fertility in any way), but being bound to them for life just took it one step too far for me. I had hoped it would make sense after reading the book, but no, I still don’t get it.
I was also left a little baffled when, about 45% of the way through the book, the plot seemed to take a drastic and unexpected turn. I suddenly felt like I was reading a different book. It wasn’t that I disliked where the storyline went; it was just a little disconcerting to have it shift so unexpectedly. New people were introduced. Characters who had previously only been filler in the background were suddenly pulled in as active participants in the plot, etc. Then it did it again at the end when the book went all domestic on the reader, giving us the familial details. The fact that Jonah’s wealth was irrelevant to the plot but needed to be mentioned made me keenly aware that the men in PNR always seem to be obscenely rich. Anyone know why that is?
I don’t mean to infer that I didn’t like the book. It was a fun little read, if a little repetitive at times. I liked that in the beginning a bad thing didn’t almost happen, it actually happened. Villarreal didn’t allow Candice’s rescue until after the fecal matter had hit the rotating blades. It created realism. I think there is plenty more to come in this series too. Enough threads were left open for at least a few more books. I’d be interested in knowing if my guess for Candice’s sisters is right and where the story goes.
I grabbed