Hey everyone. I have been quiet lately – I just got back last night from a 5 day road trip, so things are back to business as usual. Let’s start things off with Monika‘s review of Scent of a Mate by Dianna Love. It is part of her League of Gallize Shifters series.
What Monika said:
The unexpected sweetness of a hot tiger shifter
This is the fourth installment in Dianna Love’s exciting League of Gallize Shifter series. Theoretically the books could be read as standalones, as each one focuses on another pair of shifters, but they are all connected by an ongoing story arc, in which parts of the mythology surrounding this special breed of shifters is gradually revealed.
Gan and Scarlett’s story is a bit different though, because they featured as important supporting characters in the previous book, Stalking His Mate, and they also met there for the first time. Also, we get a lot of Gan’s background, as he is the adopted brother of Siofra, the heroine. They both lived in prison camps run by unscrupulous shifters, where they watched each other’s back. At that time Gan did not yet know that he is a shifter, as his animal had not yet emerged. And when it does, it’s a huge Siberian tiger that is constantly at odds with Gan. In order to learn control, he is placed in a sanctuary together with another shifter that has control issues. But Gan is deeply unhappy, as he sees this as just another prison and he wants nothing more than to finally be free and live life on his own terms.
Scarlett has demons of her own and she has made it her mission to rescue and help female shifters that have been abused. But her latest mission turns out to be more than she can handle on her own, so she cashes in the favor the Gallize shifters owe her. But things don’t go according to plan and she needs to rely on Gan for backup. Although Gan has his own plans, his tiger feels drawn to Scarlett’s cat and is much calmer in her presence. They both feel that because of their respective circumstances they cannot afford to have a committed relationship, but they can’t help developing feelings for each other. But before they can find their happy ever after, Scarlett’s past catches up with them…
I loved how different this story felt for a variety of reasons. First there is the hero, Gan: because of the way he grew up and his past experiences, or rather the lack thereof, he has kept a childlike innocence (although he is all man in other regards). But he says what he thinks and is unable to dissemble. Also, he is not driven by an unrelenting need to find his mate, as he doesn’t know about the Gallize curse. And I also liked that Scarlett is a shifter herself, whose cat can stand up to Gan’s tiger. Their relationship had an unexpected sweetness to it.
I am already looking forward to the next book in the series!
Thanks again to Monika for sending her review over. It is much appreciated.