Bears!
Werebears! Why do we
have so few shapeshifter books about werebears? We need more werebears!
Big clumsy snuffling,
curious werebears that just want to know how things work and then end up
breaking them because they’re just big, hulking, strong goofy people who are
just adorable!
And all the bears
want is plenty of honey and salmon and sleeping a nice long time all in peace
without the other shapeshifting species getting in the way.
While those other
shapeshifting species view them as massive engines of destruction to be poked
at your own risk. And I think that’s a nice element; I mean we have big scary
wolves and lions but when it comes down to it, a grizzly bear is a grizzly bear
and every other predator is better off leaving it alone.
So we have Lock, our
big, sexy, lumbering bear with his ice cream and honey and nice long sleep in
and his quietly perfectionist carpentry, being generally exasperated by the
manic antics of all the other shapeshifters around him. Oh and he knows that
lions, tigers or bears, a Philly girl is apparently scarier than anything else,
which amuses me muchly.
And those antics
include the Wild Dogs which may still be my favourite shifters in this series
because they’re goofy and silly and they have fun and they play and they chase
their tails but are still probably more united and more serious and even more
dangerous than the other packs. I love their whackiness, their geekiness, their
squabbles and how they leave the poor bears thoroughly thoroughly confused by
all that energy, random weirdness and big tearful eyes if they need to get
there.
And I like Gwen and
her story - I like her struggles for independence in the face of her mother’s
plan for her - and her brother’s interference. I like that, even though she has
the skills and knowledge to follow in her mother’s footsteps, she’s pursuing
something else she wants to do. She faces a lot of discrimination because she’s
a hybrid - a child of two different shapeshifters: She’s a Tigron, half tiger
half lion. I think more could have been made of her Tigron nature and what it
means - same as her best friend Blayne who is part wolf part wild dog. But I
think it’s interesting that they didn’t emphasise any supernatural difference:
because it’s not necessary or even accurate - and instead focused on how they
were treated differently. A lot of supernatural prejudice involves a group
facing discrimination but it turns out that, yeah, there’s a good reason for
that. This managed to emphasise both the direct hatred they faced AND the
subtle, not-feeling-welcome feeling that Gwen’s family gave her felt more real.
Gwen and Blayne have
a great mutually supportive relationship covering their mutual plumbing
business (which is excellent) through to calling each other out on their
ridiculousness, through to roller derby. They work really well together and
have an excellent us-two-against-the-world vibe.
So I like Gwen and
her storylines building her own life . I like Lock, the concept of him and this
poor, hulking lethal giant just wanting a quiet life with his family and the
wild dogs pushing him to be more
But I’m not sure I
see their connection. It’s not that they’re bad together - because her random
weirdness and his quiet curiosity make for a lot of very fun scenes. But I
don’t see them really being connected in any of the larger metaplot, nor is
Loch part of the family/friend group established in the last three books -
which is different from the actions of the previous books - and rather than
kind of introduce Lachlann to the greater friend group he’s kind of dropped in
as if he’s always been there with a sudden military link and friendships that
seem to have come from nowhere. It hasn’t said “hey, here’s Lachlan, let us
introduce him and build connections”, instead it just pretended he’d always
been there.
I’m also not sure
there’s anything like an actual coherent plot. There’s a grudge that isn’t
especially resolved and seems rather grossly excessive for what provoked it,
some carpentry thrown in, a kidnapping for reasons and a plot line with a
member of the dogpack and her terrible, estranged father and some insight into
a greater shapeshifter organisation involving the Von Holtz family but isn’t
especially developed. It’s like there are lots of mini fun events but not much
of a coherent central plot. I imagine the central plot is supposed to be Gwen
and Lachlan’s relationship but I don’t really think it was strong enough to
carry the plot and often the least interesting thing about both these
characters and their lives.
The book was
extremely fun though - all of these little interactions and developments were
excellent to read and often hilarious. And Gwen is an Asian woman, with no
stereotypes and her best friend Blayne is Black and both of them make a truly
excellent team (in fact more Blayne and Gwen would be far better than the
relationship plot). POC centred, fun, entertaining and whacky is always good
and I really love the bears- but it lacked backbone.
