Heat Factor: Gary was more forward than I expected
Character Chemistry: Suddenly don’t hate each other, suddenly sex…It all happens pretty suddenly
Plot: Gary feels unwell one night and wakes up able to shift into a squirrel. When he goes to the library for answers, he gets some help from his neighbor, Marie, who is super grumpy.
Overall: The amount of musical theater tune references in this book is really something
Heat Factor: They’re in bed before 30%, but it’s not detailed
Character Chemistry: She jumps in feet first, and he does, too, but he’s not at first convinced it’s real
Plot: Katy is…hired… to teach the children rescued by the palace, but the Compact actually wants Katy to be Raval’s mate. And then the children disappear.
Heat Factor: There’s an epic sexathon without a ton of details
Character Chemistry: “My dragon says that you’re the one!” But also they’re really cute together.
Plot: Single dad dealing with some stuff + neighbor who is really good with kids + the American West is on fire
Overall: A cute read
Ingrid’s Take
Heat Factor: So many puns about fire and heat factor and so little time. They have many encounters and entanglements.
Character Chemistry: It’s a lot of cute, eager yearning and then it’s off to the races.
Plot: Olivia is not a shifter, but she’s hoping to shift gears and start over in a new town. Ian is a single dad with a massively challenging home life going on, and he’s immediately drawn to his new neighbor.
Overall: Very tender and entertaining.
Erin’s Take
Heat Factor: I don’t think I’ve ever read an Elva Birch book with this much descriptive sex. (They go through a whole box of condoms in one weekend!)
Character Chemistry: Is it fated mates or are they just really into each other?
Plot: She’s running from her past, he’s running himself ragged with a shifter toddler, and there are some worrisome things happening around town
Heat Factor: They have a very good time. A very good time.
Character Chemistry: Tom is like, “Oh, I like him,” and Cicero is all hissing and spitting until he actually interacts with Tom a bit and is like, “Oh, he’s a sweet ogre! But also I can’t actually bond with him!”
Plot: A death on his beat looks eerily similar to the hex that destroyed Tom’s family, so against his self-preservation instincts, he gets himself transferred to the witch police HQ, where he meets his familiar, Cicero, who is looking into a similar mysterious death.
Overall: It took me a minute to get my head sorted with new worldbuilding, but once I did I couldn’t put it down