Aspiring journalist and fox shifter David ends up with a target on his back after hacking the Moreau Initiative, the shifter world’s greatest enemy. But he won’t let that stop him from the campus tour road trip that’ll help him become the next Anderson Cooper… even if his family insists he travel with a grumpy grizzly bear bodyguard.
Buddy Brady is older, sexy, and too damn distracting for David, and as the sexual tension builds, so does the suspicion around the repeated attacks—first in Chicago, then in New York. Someone is tracking them, and all clues point to a traitor in the shifter ranks. Worst of all, they could be after David’s family....
The fourth book of the Shifter U series delivers the action, mystery, snark and romance I’ve come to expect after reading books 1 - 3. I’ve been wanting Buddy’s story/HEA since he was introduced and the story did justice to my anticipation. I love a literal bear of a man with the personality to match and it’s always been obvious that there was more to Buddy than his size, loyalty and curmudgeonly ways. He just never got the page time to prove it. Until now.
Buddy gets hired to be a bodyguard to fox shifter David after David gets popped hacking into the dark web which in turn open the door to the Moreau Initiative to get access to the shifter servers. David doesn’t have a malicious bone in his body, he’s just a little young, a little naive and a little inexperienced to see far enough ahead and the negative repercussions of his actions. It sucks, and it was an honest mistake. David was trying to help a friend and he figured his journalistic sleuthing skills would serve him well. Instead they got him into trouble, again.
David feels he plays second fiddle to his perfect brother and being the son of the pack alpha doesn’t lighten the pressure on him in the slightest. So, he tries harder than he needs to, but it’s understandable.
Buddy owns his busy and bustling coffee shop, but for the most part he keeps his head down and to himself.There’s definite attraction between Buddy and David, but Buddy keeps David at arms length. He’s there to do a job (he comes from a long line of Enforcers) and David is just too young and beautiful.
The two of them get closer as they spend more time together. They open up to one another and the conversations between them were by far my favorite parts.David is pretty much an open book, but Buddy is more guarded and his background emerged organically as he began to trust David more and more. And the bestest part? The little “moments” they had. I love and am a complete sucker for “moments”. When Buddy spoke to David about his given name and his dreams and David’s reaction made me swoon pretty freakin’ hard. It’s good stuff and speaks to the marshmallowy part of my heart.
The mystery and bad guy kept the tension at just the right level and David’s family dynamics added to it all in a good way. The resolutions were good and not rushed which is always appreciated. The door is open for additional installments of the series, but this book could be read as a stand alone. The series is great fun with memorable characters so I’d definitely recommend the whole shebang though.
David and Buddy are an absolute treat and the coming together of characters like them is a favorite trope of mine. I had high hopes for this story and I’m so happy with everything the author gave these characters and then some.
**a copy of this story was provided for an honest review**
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