License to Shift by Kathy Lyons
Publication Date: October 4, 2016
Publisher: Forever Yours
Amazon Link: HERE
Received From: Purchased


Summary (from Amazon):
Julie Simon returns to Saginaw, Michigan, to find her ailing father's missing research on local shapeshifter lore. Unlucky for her, the only person who can help her is the darkly sexy Mark Robertson, the guy who spent and entire summer giving her the cold shoulder—and one white-hot night of pleasure...

Mark is a hair's breadth away from going feral. Soon, his grizzly side will destroy everything that makes him a man. And after years of fighting, Mark is ready to give in to the beast. Then Julie—the gorgeous, curvy book nerd who awakened his most primal desires as a young man—shows up at his door. Now, he's fighting an insatiable longing to claim her as his mate. But Julie isn't the only one after her father's research. Someone—or something—evil is tracking Julie's every move...

Review:
When Julie was younger she spent a summer with her father and all she wanted was to make friends with the other teenagers in town, but Mark constantly pushed her away. Mark was always attracted to Julie but he needed to make sure she didn't find out that he and his friends were bear shifters. One night, though, Mark gave into his desires, but those desires got the best of him and he ran away before Julie could see him shift. Julie doesn't end up seeing Mark again until years later when she shows up on Mark's doorstep to get her father's research. But as soon as they see each other again, their desires come rushing back. Mark has a condition, though, that will eventually make him go feral and he will completely lose his manhood. He has accepted an early death, but Julie refuses to believe there's nothing they can do to help. Then Julie and Mark discover that someone stole her father's research and that they might be in more danger than they expected. Will they be able to save the shifters and Mark before they run out of time?

I've never read a bear shifter novel before because although I love paranormal romance, I tend to gravitate towards wolf shifters. Therefore, I didn't exactly know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised that I liked the bear shifter aspect, because similar to wolf shifters, the bear shifters were larger and more masculine. I also enjoyed reading about the specific aspects that make bear shifters unique—such as loving honey and hibernation. One of the best parts of the novel was Julie and Mark's relationship. It was a second chance romance which is one of my favorite tropes and something I thought the author wrote well. But the plot was where it fell flat for me. I just couldn't get into the story and I thought the plot was weak and forced at some points in the novel—such as when Julie went to Mark's house to get her father's research. It felt like the author just used that part of the story to push the two characters together and I didn't feel like it worked.

Overall, I enjoyed License to Shift but I won't be rereading it anytime soon.

Rating: