A buffalo walks into a cafe. Sounds like the start of a bad joke, but for coyote shifter Donnie Granger, it’s the beginning of an obsession. Donnie is a little hyperactive and a lot distractible, except when it comes to William. He finally works up the nerve to approach William but is interrupted by a couple of violent humans.
While William—don’t call me Bill—is currently a professor, he once worked undercover against an international weapons-trafficking ring. Before he can settle into obscurity, he must find out who leaked his location and eliminate the thugs. He tries keeping his distance to protect Donnie, but the wily coyote won’t stay away.
It’ll take both Donnie’s skills as a stalker—er, hunter—and William’s super-spy expertise to neutralize the threat so they can discover if an excitable coyote and a placid-until-pissed buffalo have a future together.
New to me author j. leigh bailey has done it! This is the book I was waiting for and thank goodness I didn’t have to wait long. I am a fan of the Dreamspun Desires line and was anxious to see how the formula would translate into the Dreamspun Beyond line and this book was perfect with blending the two together. We get shifters and we get fluff. Really, what more could you ask for?
Told from the POV of our resident coyote shifter Donnie Granger, we meet Donnie as he is stalking, or checking out the hot customer at Buddy’s Café, where he is a barista. Donnie has been crushing on the customer he knows as William and decides to take a leap and actually talk to the guy and try to seduce him with scones.
But after the seduction attempt, a couple of rough looking dudes come into the café looking for William and Donnie decides to shift and do a bit of sleuthing to find out why. The sleuthing leads him to the campus of Shifter U, where William is a professor, and it all ends up with him naked in human form with William in a janitor’s closet.
Trust me when I say this book is fun. It’s fun. It’s sweet. It’s sexy. It’s swoony. Oh my heart is it ever swoony.
But let me try to tell you more about the story without giving it all away.
Bad guys are after William and William won’t tell Donnie why and Donnie wants to protect the man he is falling hard and fast for. Donnie and William are totally into one another but after horizontal good stuff happens, William pushes Donnie away and it hurts him. Donnie keeps thinking that William is treating him like a child because of their age difference (only 10 years) and how William is so protective of him so Donnie goes to naked lengths to prove he isn’t a child. And the proof gives us ridiculously sexy times with so much emotion I was melting at my desk as I read this.
Now the mystery of why the baddies want William and who William really is give the story a level of intrigue along with all the shifters that live in Cody. I loves the idea of the shifters living in shifter friendly town with a shifter friendly university but living in harmony all together. Ford, is Donnie’s best friend and a bird of prey but we don’t know exactly what kind of bird until later in the book and it’s fascinating! Oh and when we get to the conversation about what William’s shift is I fell into a fit of giggles because it’s written so well, with so much teasing that can only be done when you have feelings for someone. But really, what were William’s parents thinking? *giggles*
I have so many highlights from this story but I just realized sharing them would be spoiling those moments for you so I won’t share them. But the moments are full of laughter and romance with each topping the other with their awesomeness.
I honestly loved the hell out of Donnie. His energy totally matches his shift as a coyote and I found his ramblings to be endearing. He’s a guy who can’t sit still for very long and tends to do things before he thinks but it’s what makes him such a loveable character. His crush on William is adorable and I love how he puts himself out there to protect this manly man of his, even when he wasn’t his but really, when wasn’t William ever NOT his, you know? I know and trust me, these two are amazing with sizzling chemistry that heats up the page and makes you want to keep them locked in a room together for a very, very long time.
William is such a strong and alpha character whose energy again totally matches his shift. As an American Bison he would seem to be docile and gentle but don’t touch what is his or you will feel the strength and power he has to keep those he loves from harm. His backstory is heartbreaking and yet it’s what makes him amazing for Donnie even if Donnie doesn’t get it at first because well, William doesn’t tell him. *sigh* Seriously though, the dude is all sort of Alpha either dressed in all black strapped down with weapons or in comfortable oatmeal sweater at the café drinking his back coffee. And yet the dude now belongs on my Swoony McSwoonster shelf because he may think he doesn’t do well with words but when he uses them… I turn into goo and goo is always good. Ack! I want to snuggle the fuck out of William but would not risk the wrath of his coyote or the coyote’s friends, boss or family. Nope. Shifters in numbers are powerful. Just so you know.
I am rambling, I know and I can’t stop. That’s how good this book was. I cherished the romance between William and Donnie and love the way the author gave their story to us. The series of Shifter U promises to be one hell of a fun ride with amazing characters that sneak their way into your heart.
Oh, one more thing. That end? William’s gift? Let’s just say Book –1, Sara’s hopeless romantic heart – 0. That end was so romantic and just so perfect between these two. It was everything I could have hoped for and even more.
Now, the only think I could hope for now is for Ford to get a book because his shift is stunning and I would love to see who could handle him.
A review copy was provided.
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Yep. Gonna hafta read this now.
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