Book Review 13: The Mane Attraction by Shelly Laurenston aka G.A.Aiken

The Mane Attraction (Pride #3) by Shelly Laurenston

German Version

Things to know:

• I read the translated German version (original in English)
• It was published October 2008 (German version in November 2011)
• It has 320 pages (German 416)
• It is set in New York City and Smithtown (Tennessee (I'd guess early 2000s), shortly after book 2
• I started: 23rd February 2015 and ended it: 8th March
• Book 3 of "Pride" Series

After Smitty's and Jessie Ann's wedding, Sissy Mae wakes up in Mitch's bed (nope nothing happend). They joke around and Mitch is shot and badly injured. Sissy takes him with her to Smithtown, to keep him save, but her eldest brother doesn't like that a lot. She takes care of Mitch, but soon finds out, he eats more food than what should actually fit in. To make everything even more complicated, they start having sex, without any feelings of course. 
Well, what do you think will happen? I mean, not too difficult to guess if you've read the previous books in this series right?

I didn't really like it this book. It reminded me WAY too much of Shaw and Ronnie... The plot is too similar... 
I am hoping this will still change in the series. I love G.A. Aiken's Dragon Kin Series so much...
Not much more to say, I don't want to repeat what I said in my previous book reviews...

Lisa~

Book review 12: The Beast in Him, Shelly Laurenston (aka G.A. Aiken)

The Beast in Him (Pride #2) by Shelly Laurenston (aka G.A. Aiken)

German Version

Things to know:

• I read the translated German version (original in English)
• It was published April 2008 (German version in November 2011)
• It has 325 pages (German 400)
• It is set in New York (I'd guess early 2000s), about one year after book 1
• I started: 19th February 2015 and ended it: 23rd Feb
• Book 2 of "Pride" Series
• Is set in the same world as the "Magnus Pack" Series, just shortly after, you don't need to read that though :) This time though, Sara and Zach have a short guest role.

Smitty and Mace work on a nerd party as security on very short notice. The host of the party is Jessica Ann Ward, who had a crush on Smitty before he left for the Navy. Jessie Ann isn't the shy nerd girl anymore who was hiding from the girls of the Smith-Pack, now she is the rich, sexy alpha of a wild dog pack, who doesn't even remember Smitty's name anymore. So what is the logical next step? Exactly, try to convince her to have a dinner with him. 

It takes a time, but somehow they get closer again. And when another wolf pack is trying to bribe Jessie Ann's pack, Smitty helps her even though it may course trouble for his own pack...

Okay, honestly, I don't think that I am taking much away when I tell you that yes, the two of them will become a couple! 

It took me some time to read into the book. I don't really know why, but even though I like both characters individually, I don't like them as a couple. The women of this series are all a bitchy and even aggressive, which isn't bad for one or two stories, but this was the 3rd women like that (though at least she has a moral) and when I think about the other women and men left from the packs and prides, it is crystal clear that the will be other couples similar to the 3 which already got together in this series.
I know I mentioned it already in my previous review, but Shelly Laurenston's/G.A. Aiken's characters all seem to have similar characteristics... I hope it will change at least a bit though, I am not giving up hope!

Lisa~

Book review 11: The Mane Event, G.A.Aiken (a.k.a. Shelly Laurenston)

The Mane Event (Pride #1) by Shelly Laurenston (aka G.A.Aiken)

German Version

Things to know:

• I read the translated German version (original in English)
• It was published January 2007 (German version in November 2011)
• It has 391 pages (German 464)
• It is set in New York (I'd guess early 2000s)
• I started: 15th February 2015 and ended it: 18th Feb
• Book 1 of "Pride" Series
• Is set in the same world as the "Magnus Pack" Series, just shortly after, you don't need to read that though :)

This book includes 2 stories.

The first one is about Desiree "Dez" MacDermot and Mason "Mace" Llewellyn. Mace is an alpha Lion who was in the Navy for 14 years and wants nothing else than to find his high school love Dez, a NYPD cop and ex-Marine. They quickly meet each other after a member of Mace's pride is killed, and Mace tries his best to convince Dez to have a date with him. Everything turns out quite well, but when Dez meets an informant she is slightly poisoned, before she collapses on the streets Mace finds her and takes her to her place to care for her. Whilst Dez sleeps and gets better Mace finds out that she has two dogs - Sig and Sauer, well trained and usually rip everyone apart. But when Dez wakes up she notices that her dogs are scared of Mace, thus Mace has to explain to her, that he is a shapeshifter...

The second story is about Rhonda "Ronnie" Lee Rees and Brendon Shaw. Whilst Brendon is a lion shapeshifter who already has 2 children with two different women of his pride, Ronnie is a Werewolf who wants to settle down - but just a little bit!

When Brendon is attacked by hyenas and another lion pride Dez, Ronnie and the wolf pack rescue him. When in hospital, fighting a fever which may cause death Rhonda is the only one who stays at his side. But then he gets attacked in hospital and Ronnie gets him out of there to her aunts' house in Long Island. When shapeshifters have a fever, they act strangely, slightly as if they where high. So Ronnie has to catch him when he escapes and walks along the street in his lion form. 

The real problem is though, that even though Brendon is completely in love with Ronnie, the latter is scared of her (and his) feelings...

I've read quite a lot of books by Aiken, this is why I wanted to read this one as well. It is shortly mentioned in the first story, that it is set in the same world as her "Magnus Pack" series, but no information of that series is needed at all :)

Though I liked to read it, as something I don't have to think about it, I have to say that at some point Aiken's characters do resemble each other and somehow most of them fear love in someway or another... They are great stories if you only read one series, but if you read more (This is my 3rd) the characters do seem boring... I will carry on with the series though - it's some kind of sickness I have; when I start a series I just have to finish it. And honestly, this book wasn't that bad :)

Lisa~