Bear Essentials: (Shifter Town Book 4)

Ok, let’s get right to the pros of this story. Note, if someone has suffered violence or trauma from assault there are potential triggers in this book that may be hard for you. The characters are likable, for the most part. Lily was a great character and well written. She was strong in a lot ways but knew she was a little broken in others. Some of her reactions though seemed inconsistent to me. Liked Connor too but some of his characteristics didn’t jive for me. Loved Seren and hope to learn more about her in the future. The writing is good and flows well, for the most part. It kept me pretty engaged and really liked how she built up the story and the overall pace of it. The basic premises of the story are good, mostly.Now the negative aspects of the story Some aspects of the characters didn’t work for me, like Connor being super focused on helping her heal and being patient and then during their initial moments of intimacy being way not and over the top crass, which given her history didn’t work for and given his prior understanding and patience didn’t work. The amount of inner dialogue seemed excessive to me and somewhat repetitive. There were some minor editing issues too. Some parts seemed overly drawn out, for example their first night together went on and on. I’m no prude but the crass language seemed also overdone to me. A small amount in the right spots is great, it seemed to be everywhere here.

I wanted to love this book, a shy heroine, a sexy bear shifter hero to break her out of her shell plus a work place romance... But she was sometimes too stupid to live, and once he started talking it turned out Conner spoke exactly like Ranger in the Stephanie Plum stories, or the Mystery Man by Kristen Ashley. And the sex ended up being exactly like it was in Wolf Down; she was impossibly tight and tiny, and he was huge, but nonetheless it end up being rough kissing and him slamming into her. Yeah, not so great...

5 StarsHoly moly… this book! It was the best of the series thus far and one of my favorite shifter books to date.I literally waited a long time for this book. After reading the other books in the series, I was excited for this one the most. Unfortunately, it took a while to cross my path and even then, it was by coincidence. Doesn’t matter though because I thought it was worth the wait. I love all the characters in this series but Conner and Lily are my favorites so far. I can’t give one specific reason as to why that is, only that I loved them so much.The writing is done well. The pace is good and the sexy scenes are hot! Yep, I wanted to be Lily in those moments. Lily was very shy. Truth is, I would say more wary than shy. And she had good reasons. There are definitely some dark elements in this book and some might feel triggered by them.Connor was so good for Lily, a great match of “opposites attract.” Although I will say that while Connor was quiet and maybe shy when it came to Lily, when it was necessary, his beast came forward to love and protect her.If you haven’t read the previous books in this series, I do recommend that. Yes, this book can be read as a standalone, however, I think you will enjoy the story more, especially having already met the several characters from past books that are present in this one.We were given a bit of a teaser as to what’s to come in the next book. I really hope that will come out sooner rather than later.This is my honest and unbiased review. Thank you for taking the time to read it. 🙂

Awesome! A must read if you're into shifter romance-action books. The characters are well developed and it's remarkable to see Lily slowly evolve from obvious victim to strong female lead character. Connor, hard not to love the gentle giant. It's also great that previous characters are so involved in the current story. The stories in this series are very different but all have an HEA ending. Can't wait to read Sabine & Seren's books- 5 &6?

Shy is not a strong enough word to describe Lily. You combine shy, and terrified together and you have Lilies emotional side. But most of all she is a beauty with a heart of gold but it’s hidden away to protect herself.Conner is a BIG man that is also one of the biggest bear Shifter around. But being big does not mean you are rough. Nope, gentle is what he is with Lily. Will it be enough to help take a chance on him? Find out in this very exciting book that will hold your attention and give you a full on HEAT attack! Enjoy

Powerful, giant, sensitive Connor falls for shy, fearful ,inexperienced Lily. The way they navigate those treacherous relationship waters in the face of threats to the welfare of shifters in Rosewood is the meat of the story. I thought it was well done and I enjoyed the story VERY much. The only slight detractors from this lovely story were the editing errors.Looking forward to the next book!

I could've finished this book days ago, but I didn't want to leave Shifter Town. Great series and each story is getting better and better. Ms. Swan makes this place seem so real. It's amazing how the ladies opened their hearts to Lily and she is experiencing true girlfriends for the first time. Please start the series with any story and you will read them all. Excited to read the next couple's love story.

Love and courtship at their finest while watching the growth of a young, suppressed woman as she blossoms to her full potential. Characters to love, characters to hate and a story in our favorite town that you won’ Want to put down.

I've been waiting a long time for the next installment of this series. And I'm very happy to say that it doesn't disappoint.When Lily arrives in Rosewood she is trying to heal her broken self. She is seeking redemption from a past that she had no control over and wants to prove that she is so much stronger than her former self.When the huge bear shifter, Connor Reid offers her a job she sees this as a chance redeem herself. She can live a normal life, she can have a job, have friends, she can be in the company of men without being terrified.Connor just knew when he saw her first that she was the one. He knows that she was hurt but he is the one whose going fix her and get his heart's desire.Apart from the need for some proof-reading, this is an excellent read. Miss Swan has a very creative and flowing imagination and this book meets the standard that she has set with the rest of her writing. My only complaint is that I had to wait so long for this installment. Write more books Novalee and write them faster. Enjoy peeps 😉

The story line is excellent, however the first two sex scenes go on and on and onnnnnn,, they are far far too long, the first is over 20 kindle pages long!! I lost interest by page 6. Needs to be shorter sex scenes. The the c word shouldnt be used as it spoils the effect. Makes everything cheap.

How can a man convince a woman that she is his, when she seems to be very shy and is still suffering from her traumatic past? - Loved this sneaky sweet bear romance.