Sci-fi thriller THE FUTURE IS YOURS
January 23, 2021

Book Review

MaryJanice Davidson

reviewed by Pam Guynn

A Wolf After My Own Heart by MaryJanice Davidson is a fun, over-the-top, and snarky paranormal romantic suspense with a runaway shifter bear cub, fires, a crashed plane and much more adding some suspense, action, and deeper themes to the story. It also starts with a great first sentence.

Lila Kai drives a decommissioned ambulance and has just moved into a rental house in a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota. She’s a teddy bear surgeon, has a warped sense of humor, a strong protective nature, and a high tolerance for unusual events. Some insight into her personality comes from what she does and what she locates when she first moves to her new home. Oz Adway is a wolf shifter, a former accountant for the Interspecies Placement Agency (IPA) who is working his first field job as a case worker for them to find a runaway bear cub. What could possibly go wrong? (Note:  Think of the IPA as an interspecies foster care system aimed at protecting at-risk were-children.)

Lila and Oz are great protagonists. Both have tragic backstories which affect their current-day actions and which add to the depth of their characters. However, there isn’t a lot of growth in their characters during the course of the story. And while there is attraction between them, this is not a steam-filled novel. The secondary characters were absolutely fantastic, especially the kids. Additionally, the bickering and love between foster siblings felt realistic.

The point of view mainly switches between Lila, Oz, and Oz’s wolf self. While I was always aware of whose point of view I was reading, the internal thoughts went on a little too long at times and slowed the flow and pace of the book. It also resulted in too much ‘telling’ and not enough ‘showing’.

Despite this, it was entertaining and very thought-provoking. It was also funny and heartwarming at times. Discovering some surprises along the way, with lots of laughter, I raced through this book. One of the unusual things about this book were the funny footnotes. Besides enjoying the story, I recommend that readers look for the deeper meanings that are within it. This is the second book in the series and I suggest starting with book one: Bears Behaving Badly.

This is the fifteenth book that I have read by this author. She continues to bring great characters and entertaining story lines together. I am looking forward to her next book.

SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca and MaryJanice Davidson provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. This is my honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way. Publication date is currently set for February 23, 2021.

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