Title: SHIFTING DREAMS
Author: Elizabeth Hunter
Source: eARC from author for review
AMAZON B&N
goodreads...
Somedays, Jena Crowe just can’t get a break. Work at her diner never ends,
her two boys are bundles of energy, and she’s pretty sure her oldest is about
to shift into something furry or feathery. Added to that, changes seem to be
coming to the tiny town of Cambio Springs, big changes that not everyone in the
isolated town of shapeshifters is thrilled about.
Caleb Gilbert was looking for change, and the quiet desert town seemed just
the ticket for a more peaceful life. He never counted on violence finding him,
nor could he have predicted just how crazy his new life would become.
When murder rocks their small community, Caleb and Jena will have to work
together. And when the new Chief of Police isn’t put off by any of her usual
defenses, Jena may be faced with the most frightening change of all: lowering
the defenses around her carefully guarded heart.
Shifting Dreams is the first novel in Cambio Springs, the new paranormal
romance series from Elizabeth Hunter, author of the best-selling Elemental
Mysteries.
My take...
When I first read the novella, LONG RIDE HOME, I was so impressed. I know
Hunter is an amazing writer after reading her other works: The Elemental
Mysteries series & THE GENIUS AND THE MUSE just to name a couple. But what
impressed me most was her ability to create a short story so heart wrenching
and so captivating. Not many short stories can do that to me. But Hunter nailed
it. Why am I talking about LONG RIDE HOME you might ask? Well it is the novella
that leads us into SHIFTING DREAMS. A little prelude of what was to come.
Now let’s talk about SHIFTING DREAMS, shall we?
Oh boy, Caleb had no idea what he was getting himself into when he heads
out to the desert to take a job as police chief to a small California town. His
first night there he meets a gorgeous bartender and thinks that it might not be
so bad after all. But soon he starts noticing strange looks among the town’s
people and certain things don’t add up. Even more so when there is a murder in
the nearly crime free town. Caleb is bound and determined to get to the bottom
of it no matter the cost.
Jena wants to forget the night she met the new police chief. Not that
anything other than kissing went down, but it would be best for her and her
family if this outsider would just leave well enough alone. He doesn’t need to
get mixed up in her life and her secrets. Secrets that could cost her her life
and that of those she loves. Secrets that the town has kept hidden for years
and years.
If you have ever read any of Hunter’s other work you know this lady can
write a mean Vampire series. She has even dabbled in Contemporary Fiction
(which I happened to love by the way). And now, Hunter can add ‘Shifters’ to
her resume. Her writing is impeccable and it just pulls you in. You come out of
your book stupor a little depressed that the real world isn't really filled
with vamps or shapeshifers. Where’s my Gio…my Carwyn…my Caleb? That’s right
ladies they just don’t exist…except in Hunter’s wonderful world of literature.
I am so glad that Hunter did take a new route with Shifters…it just proves
she has got what it takes to show readers she isn’t one of those authors who only want to write one certain genre. Her books are different and entertaining and
also get a little hot. Well ok, a lot of hot. And SHIFTING DREAMS is no
different. It has everything I want in a book and to me I thought it was
absolute perfection. I got a great mystery that wasn’t easy to solve, a romance
that took its time building up, and an array of characters that could easily
keep this series going for a while. Oh yes, lots of hidden stories just waiting
to be told.
This is one book you will not want to wait long to read. I read it, I
inhaled it, and I fell hopelessly in love with it. I know you will too.
Hmm, I was taken by the cover. But sounds like a great read too. :) And I didn't know about the novella as well. Thank you!
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