Mountain Lion by Terry Bolryder

 

Title: Mountain Lion

Author: Terry Bolryder

Series: #4 in the Bear Haven series

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Terry Bolryder (October 12, 2015)

Source: Kindle Unlimited

Rating: ☕☕☕☕

Synopsis: This sexy shifter is never giving up...

Mountain lion shifter Wyatt Reynolds has finally found something to fight for. Life has been a bit lonely for the tall, sexy cowboy on his upscale Montana ranch, but he never found the right woman to settle down with. Until a small, mysterious person walks into his office one day, hidden under bulky men's clothing and needing his help.

Valerie knows not to trust men. After being raised in the remote Montana mountains with a terrible father that sold her to the highest bidder because of her rare blood, she has written men off forever. When she comes to Wyatt looking for a job, all she wants is a place that's safe, quiet, and will allow her the freedom to finally live a life of her own. But what she doesn't realize is that a tall, ripped cougar shifter might be enough man to give a woman ideas.

Though they start as friends, Valerie is starting to get sexy thoughts about Wyatt that she never intended, and Wyatt seems to feel exactly the same way. But even as friends become lovers, Valerie's dark past remains a constant threat. The men who want her aren't giving up, but neither is Wyatt. Anyone who threatens this mountain lion's mate is going to see his claws.

Book 4 of the Bear Haven series or can be read alone as a satisfying standalone!

My Thoughts: What a great conclusion to a good series!

The Good, The Bad, and Everything Else: While I thought this series had some ups and downs it truly ended on a good note. Wyatt was an incredible hero. He was patient and kind when Valerie needed someone to show her not all people or shifters are bad. Val came to Wyatt's ranch bruised and abused. Over the following weeks she healed and became more confident. Their relationship was a sweet progress of friends becoming more. When they became lovers those scenes were spicy and well written. 

The length of the book (and all of the books I've read by Terry Bolryder really) is just too short to get deep into character history/development or to get a full on amazing romance that a 300+ page book would allow. They often rely on insta-love and use a fated mate trope to accommodate the quick I Love You's. I always mention insta-love in my reviews because I don't really like it and prefer slow burns where I can actually see them falling in love rather then having them "BOOM" in love. In most cases insta-love would be a negative but with Terry's work I just take it as it is and enjoy the books for what they are. So, with that said, this book was a little different. The book was a bit longer than the rest of the books in the series with 50 pages more than the first two and 30 more than book 3. It made a difference. We ended up with a longer courtship and a bit more background information. Another 150 pages would have given us even more but for the length of 165 pages this was a really good book. Wyatt and Val had some great moments together and the suspense was pretty good as well. I wish the tension would have played out a little longer though, as it was wrapped up pretty quickly. 

At the end of this series we're left with a feeling of completion with all 3 McAllister brothers and their neighbor, Wyatt, finding their mates but the author opened up a new hero for us with Jace, a rare weretiger, and an interesting shifter policing "organization" led by dragons I'm looking forward to reading more of. 

In a Nutshell: I'm honestly so thrilled with this book and I'm really happy I discovered Terry's work and I'm totally binging in her books. I can't get enough!