Bear Attraction by Jennifer Ashley

Narrated by Cris Dukehart

All bear shifter Rebecca wants is a quiet evening away from the noise of the house she shares with other shifters. A quick jaunt into the woods outside her Shiftertown turns sour when she is surrounded by a group of drunken men looking for some fun. Not wanting to fight, or get into trouble because she accidentally hurt a human, she makes a run for it.

Only to run into even more danger – this time in the form of Walker Daniel, leader of the local Shifter Bureau. The last time Rebecca saw Walker, he had been tied up in her basement; this time doesn’t seem as if it’s going to be any better, not since he’s holding a tranq gun on her and has her surrounded by black clad men holding even bigger weapons. Of course, she once again tries to make a break for it and gets knocked out for her trouble. When she awakens, she gets an offer that she can’t refuse.

For all that Bear Attraction was a novella, there was quite a bit that happened in the story. It served to settle, once and for all, the details of the relationship between Rebecca and Walker, first established in previous books. This title (for those who haven’t read the others in the series) doesn’t show the progression of the relationship between the two of them. It assumes the reader has read previous books and goes from there. It did conclude a side mystery first brought up in the last couple of books, which was more than enough for me but then, I’d read all the other books so I knew what was going on.

Cris Dukehart is a narrator I’ve heard of but had yet to enjoy. But I remembered the glowing review Shannon did of her performance of Significance by Shelly Crane and was agreeable to trying her out. And, I have to agree, she is a very good narrator. Her portrayal of Rebecca came across as tough and no-nonsense – a really decent reflection of her character. Dukehart’s choice for Walker was commendable as well. She gave him a slightly deep register and Southern drawl (this book is set in Texas) that made his character across as tough but not cocky.

I did have one small issue though, either a production issue or a narrative choice. Her pacing was a bit odd – she would affect these odd pauses during climatic movements that reminded me of someone delivering the punchline in a joke. Sometimes I wasn’t sure if it was a new scene or the next chapter. Again, I’m not sure if it was a deliberate or accidental pause. It wasn’t enough to keep me from enjoying her narration; she hit all the sarcastic bits of Rebecca’s personality and Walker’s unflinching military attitude. Dukehart did a good job of infusing life to the story and its characters. I may just listen to the series from now on!

I do want to caution those who are thinking of listening to Bear Attraction without having read any of the other books in the Shifters Unbound series. Since it assumes the reader already knows the background, it only focuses on the protagonists. I would recommend at least reading the first book, Pride Mates, so you can get a feel for basics of the world. However, if you choose to listen to Pride Mates, it is narrated by Traci Odom rather than Dukehart who narrates the rest of the series.

Diana

Narration:  B

Book Content:  B-

Steam Factor:  Glad I had my ear buds in

Violence:  Fighting

Genre:  Paranormal Romance

Publisher:  Tantor Audio

Bear Attraction was provided to AudioGals by Tantor Audio for review.