Shifter Challenge 2014 Finished

Shifter Challenge 2014 hosted by Parajunkee.

THE RULES:

1. The Shifter Challenge runs from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014
2. The challenge is to read 10 books that have a SHIFTER as a main, or supporting character
3. Books can be in any format and should be at least 100 pages. Short stories do not count. You can also post about rereads.
4. Post about this challenge on your blog stating that you are participating or create a shelf via Goodreads, Booklikes etc. That post or shelf is the link that you will include in the link-up below. The link should be the post link not just your direct blog link. Please be courteous and include a link back to this post.
5. Post your reviews on the Review Post: Click here to log your reviews!

My goal was to read at least 10 books with shifters as either main or supporting character and I have reached my goal. I will continue to read a lot of paranormal books even after finishing this challenge.

All posts for this challenge is HERE.

List of books:

1. Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews  
2. Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews 
3. Brazen by Kelley Armstrong  
4. The Rising by Kelley Armstrong 
5. Curran POV Collection by Gordon Andrews  
6. Gunmetal Magic by Ilona Andrews 
7. Magic Rises by Ilona Andrews  
8. Night Broken by Patricia Briggs 
9. Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews
10. Baehrly Bitten by Elizabeth A. Reeves
11. Baehrly Alive by Elizabeth A. Reeves
12. How (Not) to Kiss a Were Bear by Elizabeth A. Reeves

How (Not) to Kiss a Were Bear by Elizabeth A. Reeves

A cross-over novel combining the worlds of magical baker, Cindy Eller, and her sister the unconquerable Goldie Locke.
Since the death of Queen Elizabeth, Faerie has been closed to our world. Now, many believe it is time to destroy the barrier separating the two worlds-- for Faerie and the mortal world to live together once again.
The mortal Council of Magic will never allow this, despite the ever-growing mortality rate of a plague caused by the increasing deficit of Magic on our side of the barrier.
Meanwhile, Cindy Eller is learning what it takes to be a Seraphine of Faerie, while her sister, Goldie Locke, struggles to keep what's left of her family alive and together. From Goodreads.

I wanted to read this as I have read the previous Cindy Eller books. But as her two series merge with this book, I needed to read the Goldie Locke series first. I have read them and they were all okay but it annoys me that the author did this.
This book brings together the two stories very well. Everybody has to fight for the survival of the magical community against The mortal Council of Magic who has been keeping a lot of magic to them self.
Goldie is continuing her complicated life and Cindy is trying to prove herself a worthy Seraphine of Faerie.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge
Shifter Challenge 2014
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Sequel Spring Reading Challenge
Paranormal Addicts & Newbies - Paranormal Creatures Seasonal Challenge
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Stuck in a Rut Challenge
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (E-kestrel)
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

Baehrly Alive by Elizabeth A. Reeves

Goldie Locke, of the Three Baehrs Magical Law firm, has spent the last several months putting together a special preserve for endangered Magical creatures. She finally has a space where she can protect the last remnants that have survived the separation from Faerie. She is also caring for her critically ill stepmother, Gwyn, and her young brother--the spitting image of her murdered father. With her own well-being also hanging in the balance, she just doesn't have time to plan the wedding of the century.
Everything changes on the fateful day that Death threatens to take the person she loves most in the world. In that instant, Goldie's whole world changes--her goals, her dreams, and her ambitions are all focused on finding the cure to the mysterious malady that is attacking the Magical Community.
What do you do when the good guys aren't on your side?
Would you choose the welfare of the one or the many?
And, is love ever enough? From Goodreads.


Goldie finally has her special preserve for her magical creatures but at the same time she is fighting to save her stepmother and half-brother from a terminal illness. Goldie has a complicated life.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge
Shifter Challenge 2014
Sequel Spring Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Paranormal Addicts & Newbies - Paranormal Creatures Seasonal Challenge
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (E-jellyfish)
Crazy Challenge Connection Monopoly
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

Baehrly Bitten by Elizabeth A. Reeves

Goldie Locke and her Magical menagerie return in another thrilling addition to the Goldie Locke and the Were Bears series.
Goldie's life has been in upheaval ever since a bite from a were bear has rendered her caught somewhere between were and witch. As she struggles with this transformation she is hired to find heiress Paige Turner, whose kidnapping involves vampires, ancient legends, and a series of brutal murders.
Does Goldie have the strength and courage to face the danger that lies ahead in rescuing Paige, when she herself is trying to adapt to her new way of life?
With the whole world hanging in the balance, she has no choice but to try. From Goodreads.

Everything gets even more complicated for Goldie in this second book. Still cute with the magical animals both the ones alive and the zombie hen but there is a lot of gruesome killing in this book.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge
Shifter Challenge 2014
Sequel Spring Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Paranormal Addicts & Newbies - Paranormal Creatures Seasonal Challenge
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (E-gecko)

Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews

On the outside, Dina Demille is the epitome of normal. She runs a quaint Victorian Bed and Breakfast in a small Texas town, owns a Shih Tzu named Beast, and is a perfect neighbor, whose biggest problem should be what to serve her guests for breakfast. But Dina is...different: Her broom is a deadly weapon; her Inn is magic and thinks for itself. Meant to be a lodging for otherworldly visitors, the only permanent guest is a retired Galactic aristocrat who can’t leave the grounds because she’s responsible for the deaths of millions and someone might shoot her on sight. Under the circumstances, "normal" is a bit of a stretch for Dina.
And now, something with wicked claws and deepwater teeth has begun to hunt at night....Feeling responsible for her neighbors, Dina decides to get involved. Before long, she has to juggle dealing with the annoyingly attractive, ex-military, new neighbor, Sean Evans—an alpha-strain werewolf—and the equally arresting cosmic vampire soldier, Arland, while trying to keep her inn and its guests safe. But the enemy she’s facing is unlike anything she’s ever encountered before. It’s smart, vicious, and lethal, and putting herself between this creature and her neighbors might just cost her everything. From goodreads.

I have to admit I really like the books by Ilona Andrews. It is the first in a new series about an innkeeper for paranormal and alien species. It is a brilliant idea and especially the close link between the inn and the innkeeper. I am looking forward to read more about Dina. And of course see how her relationships with Sean, the werewolf and Arland, the vampire pan out.  There is also quite a bit of humour which I like.
This book was written as short episodes on the authors website before being published. They are doing the same with the second book in the series but I don't have the patience to read it bit by bit, I will rather wait and read the whole novel when it is published.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Quick fix Challenge (235 pages)
2014 Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge
Shifter Challenge 2014
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
The Challenge Factory Spell It Out - Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (I)
Romance Readers Reading Challenges: Pass The Parcel Team Challenge
Romance Readers Reading Challenges: Yahtzee Challenge
Nothing but Reading Challenges - April Showers (Dina)
Paranormal Addicts & Newbies - Paranormal Creatures Seasonal Challenge
Crazy Challenge Connection - Let's Build a House
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (A-impala)
Nothing but Reading Challenges - 50 States Challenge
Crazy Challenge Connection Monopoly
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

Night Broken by Patricia Briggs

An unexpected phone call heralds a new challenge for Mercy. Her mate Adam’s ex-wife is in trouble, on the run from her new boyfriend. Adam isn’t the kind of man to turn away a person in need—and Mercy knows it. But with Christy holed up in Adam’s house, Mercy can’t shake the feeling that something about the situation isn’t right.
Soon, her suspicions are confirmed when she learns that Christy has the farthest thing from good intentions. She wants Adam back and she’s willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen, including turning Adam’s pack against Mercy.
Mercy isn’t about to step down without a fight, but there’s a more dangerous threat circling. Christy’s ex is more than a bad man—in fact, he may not be human at all. As the bodies start piling up, Mercy must put her personal troubles aside to face a creature with the power to tear her whole world apart. From Goodreads.



It was good to be back with Mercy and the werewolves. Christy, Adam's ex-wife is back and a huge problem for Mercy as she is good at manipulating people. They also have to fight an unknown supernatural and Mercy's "dad" turns up which always makes things more complicated. This is book 8 in the series and I hope Patricia Briggs will keep going.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Full House Reading Challenge (published 2014)
Eclectic Reader Challenge 2014 (published 2014)
Shifter Challenge 2014
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Romance Readers Reading Challenges: Pass The Parcel Team Challenge
Romance Readers Reading Challenges: Yahtzee Challenge
Crazy Challenge Connection Chinese New Year Challenge (#8)
Sequel Spring Reading Challenge
Nothing but Reading Challenges - April Showers (Adam)
Paranormal Addicts & Newbies - Paranormal Creatures Seasonal Challenge
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (P-impala)
CCC-Read your age (2014)
Nothing but Reading Challenges - 50 States Challenge (Washington)
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

Magic Rises by Ilona Andrews

Mercenary Kate Daniels and her mate, Curran, the Beast Lord, are struggling to solve a heartbreaking crisis. Unable to control their beasts, many of the Pack’s shapeshifting children fail to survive to adulthood. While there is a medicine that can help, the secret to its making is closely guarded by the European packs, and there’s little available in Atlanta.
Kate can’t bear to watch innocents suffer, but the solution she and Curran have found threatens to be even more painful. The European shapeshifters who once outmaneuvered the Beast Lord have asked him to arbitrate a dispute—and they’ll pay him in medicine. With the young people’s survival and the Pack’s future at stake, Kate and Curran know they must accept the offer—but they have little doubt that they’re heading straight into a trap… From Goodreads.





Another brilliant book in the Kate Daniels series, the only fault of this book is that I now have to wait for the next book to be published. Kate and Curran and a group of shapeshifters go to Europe to help to arbitrate a dispute between different packs. But nothing is what it seems. I have borrowed most of this series from the library but I will most likely buy the next book so I can get my hands on it the minute it is published.

This book qualifies for:
I Love Library Books Reading Challenge 2014
2014 What An Animal Reading Challenge VII
Shifter Challenge 2014
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
The Challenge Factory Spell It Out - Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (I)
Crazy Challenge Connection Chinese New Year Challenge (#6)
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (A-eagle)

Gunmetal Magic by Ilona Andrews

After being kicked out of the Order of the Knights of Merciful Aid, Andrea's whole existence is in shambles. She tries to put herself back together by working for Cutting Edge, a small investigative firm owned by her best friend. When several shapeshifters working for Raphael Medrano—the male alpha of the Clan Bouda, and Andrea's former lover—die unexpectedly at a dig site, Andrea is assigned to investigate. Now she must work with Raphael as her search for the killer leads into the secret underbelly of supernatural Atlanta. And dealing with her feelings for him might have to take a back seat to saving the world . .  From Goodreads.

I am so enjoying this series and though this is not a Kate book it is very good. We have met Andrea quite a bit in the other books in the series and it was nice to get a book that featured her. She is no ordinary shapeshifter, she is beastkin which is not usually a good thing but she gets away with it.

This book qualifies for:
I Love Library Books Reading Challenge 2014
Eclectic Reader Challenge 2014 (award winning)
2014 What An Animal Reading Challenge VII
Shifter Challenge 2014
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
The Challenge Factory Spell It Out - Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious(I)
Crazy Challenge Connection Chinese New Year Challenge (Sonia's bookshelf- she is a rabbit)
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
CCC Winter Seasonal Spell Challenge 2013-2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (G-dragonfly)
Nothing but Reading Challenges - 50 States Challenge
Crazy Challenge Connection Monopoly

Curran POV Collection by Gordon Andrews

Several fans volunteered to edit this Collection so that we could put it up for you with a minimum of mistakes.  We are deeply grateful to them. Thank you to Tori, Rachel, Ronnie, Malissa, Loyal, Jparrack, Lynda, Neal, Ami, Lynn, and others.
This is the entirety of the Curran POVs in chronological order.  I hope that you enjoy.  If you’re traveling, be safe and take care.  Here’s to the end of the year, and if it sucked, let’s hope next year is better. From author's webpage.

This is several episodes from the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews seen from Curran's point of view. I think it is important to have read the books first in order to know what is going on in each episode. It is great to read Curran's take on, among others, when he and Kate met. I thoroughly enjoyed this collection.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Quick fix Challenge
2014 What An Animal Reading Challenge VII
Shifter Challenge 2014
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014

The Rising by Kelley Armstrong

Things are getting desperate for Maya and her friends. Hunted by the powerful St. Clouds and now a rival Cabal as well, they're quickly running out of places to hide. And with the whole world thinking they died in a helicopter crash, it's not like they can just go to the authorities for help.
All they have is the name and number of someone who might be able to give them a few answers. Answers to why they're so valuable, and why their supernatural powers are getting more and more out of control.
But Maya is unprepared for the truths that await her. And now, like it or not, she'll have to face down some demons from her past if she ever hopes to move on with her life. Because Maya can't keep running forever.
Old secrets are revealed and unexpected characters make a surprising return in this stunning conclusion to Kelley Armstrong's New York Times bestselling Darkness Rising trilogy. From Goodreads.


This is one of those books where I know I am going to like it as I have like the first two books in the series and the author is one of my favourite authors. I bought it in April 2013 and have had it down on lists for reading events several times but I just haven't gotten around to reading it!
Finally I have read it and just before starting I was nervous that since it is about 1½ years since I read the second, would I be able to remember the plot and characters? No problem at all.
I think Kelley Armstrong has written a brilliant end to this trilogy and knowing the Otherworld, where this is set, this was probably the best ending to expect.
Paranormal is my favourite genre and Kelley Armstrong is to me one of the best authors in this genre.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
Meet the Protagonist Reading Challenge 2014 (Main character shift into a cougar)
2014 Full House Reading Challenge (book fra a series)
2014 What An Animal Reading Challenge VII (Main character shift into a cougar)
2014 TBR Pile Reading Challenge (bought on Amazon.co.uk 20th of April 2013)
Shifter Challenge 2014
2014 Women Challenge
CCC A-Z Book Titles 2014
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
The Challenge Factory Spell It Out - Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (R)
Romance Readers Reading Challenges: Yahtzee Challenge
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (A-badger)

Brazen by Kelley Armstrong

Nick Sorrentino knows everyone in the supernatural world considers him the Pack’s playboy, the pretty but not very useful werewolf whose only reputation involves his amorous exploits.
Usually, Nick couldn’t care less what anyone outside the Pack thinks of him. But when it affects his hunt for Malcolm Danvers, a psychotic bogeyman from the Pack’s past, it matters.
Necessity forces Nick to team up with mercenary half-demon Vanessa Callas to run Malcolm to ground in Detroit. Together, they discover Malcolm is more deadly than ever. And he wants to play.
It’s time for Nick to prove he’s not just a lover. From Goodreads.

This was an okay short story set in Kelly Armstrong's Otherworld. It is just not as good as the rest of the books but still a must read for fans of Kelly Armstrong's werewolves.

This book qualifies for: 
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Quick fix Challenge (216 pages)
2014 What An Animal Reading Challenge VII (main character is a werewolf)
Shifter Challenge 2014
2014 Women Challenge
CCC A-Z Book Titles 2014 
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
The Challenge Factory Spell It Out - Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (A)
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Bout of Books 9.0 

Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews

Plagued by a war between magic and technology, Atlanta has never been so deadly. Good thing Kate Daniels is on the job.
Kate Daniels may have quit the Order of Merciful Aid, but she’s still knee-deep in paranormal problems. Or she would be if she could get someone to hire her. Starting her own business has been more challenging than she thought it would be—now that the Order is disparaging her good name, and many potential clients are afraid of getting on the bad side of the Beast Lord, who just happens to be Kate’s mate.
So when Atlanta’s premier Master of the Dead calls to ask for help with a vampire on the loose, Kate leaps at the chance of some paying work. Turns out this is not an isolated incident, and Kate needs to get to the bottom of it—fast, or the city and everyone dear to her might pay the ultimate price .  From Goodreads.




I guess it is no secret, I really like this series. I finished Magic Bleeds earlier today and just wanted to read the first chapter of this one. 6 hours later I had finished it in one sitting. It is a good thing I am waiting for #6 from the library so I can't start reading it right away. I might even get som household chores done.

This book qualifies for: 
I Love Library Books Reading Challenge 2014
2014 Women Challenge
Shifter Challenge 2014
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
The Challenge Factory Spell It Out - Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious  (A)
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
CCC Winter Seasonal Spell Challenge 2013-2014
Crazy Challenge Connection RaT #19

Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews

Atlanta would be a nice place to live, if it weren't for the magic. When the magic is up, rogue mages cast their spells and monsters appear, while guns refuse to fire and cars fail to start. But then technology returns, and the magic recedes as unpredictably as it arose.
Kate Daniels works for the Order of Knights of Merciful Aid, officially as a liaison with the mercenary guild. Unofficially, she cleans up the paranormal problems no one else wants to handle - especially if they involve Atlanta's shapeshifting community. When she's called in to investigate a fight at the Steel Horse, a bar on the border between the territories of the shapeshifters and the necromancers, Kate quickly discovers that there's a new player in town. One who's been around for thousands of years - and who rode to war at the side of Kate's father. This foe may be too much even for Kate and Curren, the Beast Lord, to handle. Because this time Kate will be taking on family. From Goodreads.



This series just gets more and more interesting. We have known about Kate's father but this new character that turns up in the story is not making things any easier. I am just not able to put these books down when I get started!

This book qualifies for: 
I Love Library Books Reading Challenge 2014
2014 Literary Exploration Reading Challenge (paranormal)
2014 Women Challenge
Shifter Challenge 2014
CCC A-Z Authors 2014
CCC A-Z Book Titles 2014
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
The Challenge Factory Spell It Out - Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious  (I)
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
CCC Winter Seasonal Spell Challenge 2013-2014
Crazy Challenge Connection RaT #19

Shifter Challenge 2014 Sign Up

Shifter Challenge 2014 hosted by Parajunkee.

THE RULES:

1. The Shifter Challenge runs from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014
2. The challenge is to read 10 books that have a SHIFTER as a main, or supporting character
3. Books can be in any format and should be at least 100 pages. Short stories do not count. You can also post about rereads.
4. Post about this challenge on your blog stating that you are participating or create a shelf via Goodreads, Booklikes etc. That post or shelf is the link that you will include in the link-up below. The link should be the post link not just your direct blog link. Please be courteous and include a link back to this post.
5. Post your reviews on the Review Post: Click here to log your reviews!

Another challenge that goes well with my favourite genre of Paranormal. My goal is to read at least 10 books with shifters in them.

List of books:

1. Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews  
2. Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews 
3. Brazen by Kelley Armstrong  
4. The Rising by Kelley Armstrong 
5. Curran POV Collection by Gordon Andrews  
6. Gunmetal Magic by Ilona Andrews 
7. Magic Rises by Ilona Andrews  
8. Night Broken by Patricia Briggs 
9. Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews
10. Baehrly Bitten by Elizabeth A. Reeves
11. Baehrly Alive by Elizabeth A. Reeves
12. How (Not) to Kiss a Were Bear by Elizabeth A. Reeves