13 Days of Halloween: Shifters

The 13 Days of Halloween continues with Shifters and because there are so many different shifters we are splitting it up into two days.


Today we are going to be talking about the cat shifters, bear shifters, dragon shifters and all the other kind of shifters that our favorite writers have come up with.

From Barb:

I have recently developed a fondness for bear shifters.  Hazel Gower has one of my favorite series currently. Not only are they bear shifters but it is also a menage!! I became a fan the moment I first read Theirs I was hooked. Who knew bear shifters could be so hot?
Susie goes to gym to lose weight and hires a hot personal trainer she doesn’t realize is a bear shifter.

Brian is a co-owner of Healthy Bodies and his mate has just walked through the door looking for a personal trainer. He knows he is the right bear for the job. The only problem is, he's not Susie’s only mate. His brother Blake is in the running too. Can they learn to share?

They must convince Susie she is theirs. Together Blake and Brian teach her how great food can really be, and exercise can be a lot of fun.

Will Susie be able to handle two bears taking over her life? Can she live in this strange new paranormal world? Is she strong enough to stand by her two men?
Dana Marie Bell also has a series of shifters Halle Shifters, Book 1

Once a Bear sets his mind on a mission, it’s best to stay out of his way. Alexander “Bunny” Bunsun is that Bear. Something’s not right with his cousin Chloe, and he’s come to Halle, PA, to sort it out, turn his Harley around and head home to Oregon. Until an enticing scent lures him into the local tattoo shop.

There she is. An inked, Southern-drawled she-Wolf with lime-green hair. His perfect mate.

Tabitha Garwood’s rotten day just got worse. Her Outcast status makes her a target for harassment with alarming regularity. And now, in the middle of a root touch-up, looking like a half-melted Skittle, she’s met her destined mate. The only upside? She finally has a protector in the form of a huge, tattooed, shaved-head Bear who vibrates with carefully restrained power.

When Chloe is left for dead and Tabby is threatened, only Alex can keep his growing family safe. Giving Tabby the loving home she needs, though, could come at a price—Alex must give up the control he’s worked a lifetime to attain.

Which means someone could die at the hands—and claws—of his beast.
What are some of your favorite bear shifters?

From Sheri:

There are so many different types of shifters out there.  I decided to bring some light to a small but growing group of shifters.  The Dragon….

                Dragon’s have always had a place in books, first in fairy tales as the bad evil creatures guarding princesses and treasures and such.  More recently they have become the stuff of dreams.  Gorgeous specimens sent to make use drool and fall in love. Here are a few of my favorite Dragon shifter books:

Bound to Me by Jeannette Medina-

A girl with nothing else to lose.

A life that's brought nothing but pain. 

A tattoo that's more than what it seems.

Eighteen-year old Veronica has had enough. Her alcoholic mother has only delivered a slew of abusive step-fathers and life is only getting harder. What was to be a simple tattoo for her birthday brings more than she ever imagined. Liam is a shape-shifting dragon. He lives on her shoulder, watching her, helping her. Having the dragon come to life and teaching her courage becomes a new lifeline for Veronica. But Liam will eventually become a permanent tattoo on her skin - never to take the shape of the protector she became attached to. Will she embrace her life or will a broken heart shatter her soul forever?

How to Date a Dragon (Flirting with Fangs Trilogy #2)  by Ashlyn Chase

Let the Sparks Fly

Bliss Russo thought nothing exciting ever happened in her life. Until her building caught on fire, and she had to be carried out of the flames in the arms of a gorgeous fireman. Sure, her apartment is now in shambles, and she'll have to start her huge work project completely from scratch. But at least her love life is finally looking up…if only she can find her red-hot rescuer again.

Dragon shapeshifter Drake Cameron is the last of his clan, and the loneliness is starting to claw at him. He's met only one woman who might be able to stand the shock of his true nature. After all, she barely batted an eyelash when her home burned down. And feeling her curves against him was just as hot as the inferno. Just when he thinks he'll never track her down, she walks into his firehouse—with no idea what she's about to get herself into…

Dead Sexy Dragon (Dragon Heat #1) by Lolita Lopez

The last thing dragon shifter Stig Wyvern needs is his dead friend’s kid sister showing up on his doorstep. He’s just minutes away from entering a mating phase. Sharing his isolated house with the young woman he’s desperately lusted after for quite some time is a recipe for disaster.

But Cora Cardenas has nowhere else to go. She’s in deep trouble with some really nasty people and Stig is the only one who can protect her. That he’s deliciously sexy and makes her tingle with the simplest of smiles is just a bonus.

Cora quickly realizes Stig is hiding something from her. To make matters worse, she’s plagued with breathtakingly naughty dreams starring a shadowed lover who bears a startling resemblance to her host. And just what the hell is going on down in the basement at night?

Stig needs to get Cora out of his house but his inner beast has other ideas. He’s found his mate and she’s not going anywhere...

Iris: 

Wow, so many shifters to choose from. I’ve been thinking about this and finally realized that no shifter list

could be complete without Big Cats. Cat shifters tend to only come in second to wolves on the list of most written about. Honestly though, can we blame the authors? They’re quick, they’re sleek, and those amber eyes. And let’s face it, who wouldn’t love to run their hands down the back of one of those beautiful creatures? Provided they don’t bite your hand off as an appetizer for the rest of you.

When thinking of cat shifters there are a couple authors that automatically pop up in my head. The books were so detailed, the stories to gripping that they lingered long after I had finished the books. The first series I think of when someone mentions cat shifters would have to be the New Species series by Laurann Dohner. I first picked Fury (book 1) on the recommendation of a friend and I couldn’t seem to put it down. For those of you who have not had the pleasure of reading it here’s Fury.

Fury (New Species #1) by Laurann Dohner
Ellie is horrified to discover the pharmaceutical company she works for is doing illegal experiments. Company scientists have spliced human and animal DNA, creating exotic new species. One such “experiment” captures her heart and she’ll do anything to save him—even if he hates her for it.

Fury has never known compassion or love. He’s spent his life in a cell, chained and abused by humans. The one woman he allowed himself to trust betrayed him. Now he’s free and set on vengeance. He vows to end her life but when she’s finally in his grasp, harming her is the last thing he wants to do to the sexy little human.

Fury can’t resist Ellie—the touch of her hands, her mouth on his skin, her body wrapped around his. He’s obsessed with the scent of his woman. And Ellie wants Fury—always has. She craves his big, powerful body and wants to heal his desolate heart.

But loving Fury is one thing…taming him is another.

Can we say wow? Genetically engineered cross species of human and feline. I eagerly await every single one of the books in this series and after reading Fury, you will too. 

I know Barb mentioned Dana Marie Belle already for her bear shifters, but it has to be noted that the woman writes one sexy puma shifter as well. Her Halle Pumas series is right on up there on my list of favorites. Although not as dramatic as Dohner's New Species, the Halle Pumas will have you cheering for the little guy. And I have to tell you, as one of the outcasts, definitely not not of the cheerleaders type, in high school, I loved the idea of the shy quite kid growing up to rule over the popular kids. 

The Wallflower (Halle Pumas #1) by Dana Marie Belle

Is Emma ready for a bite?

Emma Carter has been in love with Max Cannon since high school, but he barely knew she existed. Now she runs her own unique curio shop, and she's finally come out her shell and into her own. 

When Max returns to his small home town to take up his duties as the Halle Pride's Alpha, he finds that shy little Emma has grown up. That small spark of something he'd always felt around the teenager has blossomed into something more--his mate!

Taking her--out for a bite--ensures that the luscious Emma will be permanently his.

But Max's ex has plans of her own. Plans that don't include Emma being around to interfere. To keep her Alpha, Emma must prove to the Pride that she has what it takes to be Max's mate.

Warning: This title contains explicit sex, graphic language, loads of giggles and a hot, blond Alpha male.

And of course I do love a sense of humor in my books, no matter the topic. I mean there's enough seriousness in the world, right? So it should come as no surprise that when I read the anthology Naughty Trick and Simple Treats I almost busted a gut laughing at some of the lines. Royce chasing Kiara while saying, "Here kitty kitty"? Although not as funny as some of her other works I have to admit that I completely lost it in fits of laughter at more than one occasion while reading this. 

Bitten by Night - Milly Taiden 
Bitten by Night – Milly Taiden
When a wolf hunts for his mate, he'll lay claim and take her for life. But Royce Night never thought Kiara Cruz would be both his biggest chase and the sexiest woman he'd ever had. She’s in heat and he’s on the prowl. And he definitely didn't think he'd tangle with a tigress for a dance at an alpha love. 

Jennifer is not feeling well, but I feel we should throw in another alternative to your typical wolf shifters. So here are a couple that you wouldn't normally think of off the top of your head when you think of shifters.

The Selkie by Rosanna Leo
This was supposed to be her year. However, after losing her job and discovering her fiancé cheating, Maggie Collins has her doubts. When her grandmother dies, she hits rock bottom. Maggie travels to her grandmother’s home in Orkney, Scotland to sort through her gran’s things, only to discover the old woman has left her a seal pelt as her inheritance. She also learns that others are after the pelt.

To add to her frustration, Maggie’s dreams are filled with luscious images of a long-haired man, images that draw her to the magical beaches in Orkney. Although she’s lost her trust in men, this dream man inspires her with a lust she’s never known before.

Calan Kirk has also been dreaming. Dreaming of Maggie, the mortal woman who arouses him as no other woman ever has. Meeting her in the flesh when she arrives in Orkney is nothing short of spontaneous sexual combustion. But she is a human, and not to be trusted. He needs the seal pelt, not a red-haired temptress.

As a thief ransacks Maggie’s grandmother’s house, Maggie and Calan are thrust together. They must search for the animal skin, a mythical relic which once found, will either bring them together or rip them apart forever.

Hedging His Bets by Mina Carter
Honey loves running her bar and grill, catering to humans and shifters alike. But there are two things that dim her love of the place: cocky assholes who think they own the world, and cocky assholes who think they can flex their muscles and wreck her bar when throwing a temper tantrum. Unfortunately, the drop-dead gorgeous, hotter than hot, shifter man she secretly loves is both. 

Blake wants the curvaceous, gorgeous Honey in his bed. Now. He’s lusted (but not loved, let’s get that straight) after the luscious woman for months. True, he looks like a bad-boy biker mixed with a player and, yeah, he’s broken a few things in her bar… But only because the guys were hitting on his girl. With no hope of winning her over in sight, he does what any red-blooded werehedgehog would do in his position. He lies.

Another of my personal favorites is Pamela Palmer. In her Feral Warriors series you get a little bit of everything from big cats to hawk shifters. 

Desire Untamed by Pamela Palmer

They are called Feral Warriors—an elite band of immortals who can change shape at will. Sworn to rid the world of evil, consumed by sorcery and seduction, their wild natures are primed for release . . .

Kara MacAllister's quiet small-town life is transformed forever the night a powerful stranger rips her from her home, claiming she is the chosen one—the key to his survival.

Spiriting her away into the rain-soaked night, Lyon reveals a truth Kara can barely credit. She's immortal, and the only one who can save his race. And deep within her, he arouses a fierce, primal hunger beyond anything she's ever imagined.

But only when their lives are threatened by an ancient evil will Kara and Lyon realize they have found a love they would risk their immortal souls to claim . . . and a powerful desire that could never, ever be tamed.

And he begins to wonder if the woman who's stolen his heart is destined to be his salvation...or his doom.

Hope you enjoyed today's list of books and maybe found a couple new to you authors to try. Did we miss one of your favorites? Let us know!