Review: Tiger Magic by Jennifer Ashley

AMAZON | KINDLE

Tiger Magic (Shifters Unbound #5) by Jennifer Ashley
Paranormal
Berkley (June 4, 2013)

Rating: B
Heat: Hot

Heroine: Carly Randal – Human, Having a Very Bad Day 
Hero: Tiger – Shifter, Formerly Caged & Captive by Government

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

He was once a captive, but his urges were never caged. Now he’ll release them on a beautiful stranger whose own secret desires are longing to be sated…

He doesn’t have a name. He doesn’t have a clan. The humans who held him prisoner for forty years have taken them away. He knew nothing but captivity until nearly a year ago, when he was released into the light. Now Tiger lives in the Austin Shiftertown, where he struggles to belong and searches for an identity.

Carly Randal thinks her fabulous life is complete—until her car breaks down on the side of the road, and a wild-looking Shifter is the only one to help her. Tiger takes one look at Carly and knows instantly—she will be his mate. As Carly is drawn into his Shifter world, she risks everything she has for that forbidden something she still wants: passionate love.

Review:

Tiger, who we first met in Mate Claimed, is a simple kind of man. All he wants is a mate and a few cubs. Love? Well, a guy like Tiger doesn’t even know how to want or miss a thing like love. Raised in cages, put through hellish tests that were the cruelest kind of abuse, and violated in the name of science… Tiger’s never been on the receiving end of love. Even now that he’s free and living in a Shiftertown, almost everyone fears him or is wary of him because of his strength and his temperament. Tiger is used to people keeping him at a distance.

Until Carly Randal. Who, when Tiger first scents her, he knows she’s his mate. No question, no doubt. He doesn’t care what Liam or Sean or any of the other shifters say, he knows. Carly’s the first person, human or shifter, who doesn’t look at him with fear in her eyes. Even when she’s having a crap day – her car breaks down, she catches her loser of a fiancé doing some chick on their kitchen counter – there’s something about Tiger that makes everything okay. He immediately calms her down and makes her feel protected. Cherished. Safe.

Which shouldn't be the case with such a hulking, beastly-looking kind of man. A man who reacts with claws out and a growl in his throat the instant he senses danger. And Tiger is constantly surrounded by danger. Lots and lots of danger, from all sides. The government, the leaders of the other Shiftertowns. People want to study him, kill him, or both. So finding someone that he can trust implicitly means a great deal to him. And is more than little bit baffling for Carly.

Though there is insta-love (insta-mate?) on Tiger’s side, it’s not the same for Carly. She feels for him, deeply, and cares for him… but she wants to get to know him first. And I love the way that Tiger and Carly are forced to get to know each other. The complexity and the high octane environment they’re living in puts them both in incredibly vulnerable positions, where they only have each other to rely on. They have a very intense relationship from the very start.

And Carly, she is one tough chick! When most women would’ve been crying and cowering under the covers, she really steps up and embraces the crazy world she’s thrust into. Then there is my sweet, uncomplicated Tiger. Having been raised in captivity, surrounded only by scientists, he’s a bit odd. A little… off. And it’s incredibly endearing. He doesn’t do lip service or platitudes. He says what he thinks and means what he says, which turns into some of the sweetest words a man can say. Oh, Tiger! My heart roars for you!

The pace did drag a little. Which is somewhat expected, since the first half of the book covers only two days. But, overall, I was once again easily drawn into the Shifter world. I liked being back in Liam’s pack and seeing Dylan (Liam’s father) and Fionn (his brother Sean’s father-in-law—and a Fae) having to come back in and get the dirty deeds done. Those are two very dangerous men. I know Fionn is a very old man but I kind of still wish he’d get his own book. The things he’s seen and done, yeah, that’d make for a very dark hero indeed.

Tiger Magic is full of non-stop action and heart-stopping romance. I am very happy with how things turned out for my ferocious Tiger. Carly is the right kind of woman for him. I’m also excited with the developments going on with the Shifter Bureau and a new character we’re introduced to. Some very, very interesting things are coming our way in the Shifter universe!

One of which, that has me so excited I’m practically jumping up and down, is that Graham's book is next—Wild Wolf! That wily werewolf won't be easy to love, but someone’s got to. Can’t wait for 2014!

Favorite Quote:

Tiger touched Carly's lips, liking the amazing softness of them. "In that room, that wasn't kissing?
"Well, it was." Her face went pink, so pretty. "But not sweet kissing."
"You have different kinds of kissing?"
Ellison made a noise up front. "I am so enjoying this conversation."
Carly pursed her lips and touched them to Tiger's mouth. Tiger liked that, her lips soft and warm, the press light, yet it made his body heat with need.
Carly pulled away. "See, you're supposed to kiss back. When you don't move your lips, I think you're not enjoying it."
How the hell could she think that? Tiger wanted her, wanted to strip off the shorts and open his jeans and have her right here. Who cared about the cars around them, and Ellison in the driver's seat? Tiger should be inside Carly, where he belonged.