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Soldier Bears #2

Big Sexy Bear

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Book 2 of the Soldier Bears series!

In the mountains above Bearstone village, a legend will fight to protect his mate.

Katrina is a woman on the run. For years, the evil men that destroyed her sister’s life have been on her trail. And now she’s lost, broken down, and without friends or resources in the middle of nowhere, outside of a tiny town called Bearstone Village. But when it seems like all hope is lost, a mysterious stranger appears and offers help. It doesn’t hurt that the stranger is tall, sexy, and has a smile worth a million bucks. And shares the same name with the Greek god of war.

Ares has been looking for a mate for a long time. After years of active duty in the Army Special Forces, the lonely bear shifter returned to his hometown of Bearstone Village and has been key in protecting the community he was raised in. But everything changes when he makes a routine stop to help someone broken down on the side of the road outside of town. Someone who happens to be curvy, beautiful, and the mate he knows his bear has been searching for.

At first, Kat doesn’t know what to make of the mysterious, tall, handsome man who insists on stepping in as her protector. But even after sparks fly between her and her sexy rescuer, Kat and Ares still have to face the past that is quickly catching up with her. And there’s more than Kat’s life hanging in the balance if Ares can’t find a way to keep them safe.

131 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 24, 2015

272 people are currently reading
268 people want to read

About the author

Terry Bolryder

149 books1,251 followers
Terry is the author of over forty bestselling shifter romances. She spends her spare time dreaming of dragons, playing with her pets, and watching sunsets from her home in the mountains alongside her husband (who she suspects would make a great bear shifter). She loves the wild outdoors, her fans, all readers, and getting lost in a great book.

Sign up for Terry's newsletter here (copy and paste) to get notified of new releases and sales!
http://eepurl.com/3KYtH

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5 stars
587 (45%)
4 stars
409 (31%)
3 stars
227 (17%)
2 stars
48 (3%)
1 star
9 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
Profile Image for ValerieC.
1,342 reviews56 followers
December 10, 2015
3-barely stars because the action scenes were good.

But, this writer uses a lot of repetition which is a sign to me of story-padding. It isn't angsty, which is good, but still...

Then, there's the whole 'he'll keep us safe' thing, which in this book actually meant he'd rescue her.
Profile Image for Marsha Keeper Bookshelf.
4,290 reviews88 followers
May 6, 2017
Reviewed at Shifter Haven

Ares and Kat have a difficult road to their happy ending, one full of danger and unspoken realities. Kat is suspicious of the kindness of strangers, and she has every right to feel that way. She and her nephew are being pursued by a very dangerous man who will stop at nothing to get hold of them once more. When her car finally gives up the ghost on the side of the road in a dark forest, Kat has to make choices – choices that will change her life forever.

Stopping to help someone stranded on the side of the road is not unusual for Ares. Since returning from active duty in a special ops unit, Ares has been known to give a helping hand all around his home town. But this time it’s different. This time it’s his mate in trouble… and she wants no part of him at all. She’s scared, that’s obvious and the first thing he needs to do is gain her trust. That may prove easier said than done.

Big Sexy Bear is fast paced, full of danger, mysteries and two stubborn people who happen to be mates. Because of her fear, Ares is willing to let Kat think he’s just a construction worker – for now. She’s in danger but she’s not ready to learn about his weapons abilities… or his bear. Taking too long to give her his truth might be a risk, but scaring her way is an even bigger risk. I enjoyed this couple, the attraction is strong between them and so is the need to protect. Kat is definitely stubborn, but she’s also giving and willing to understand once she knows the whole story. Ares is deadly to an enemy but protective to Kat and Mac. He’d do anything to protect the people he loves – and destroy anyone who harms them.

I would recommend this story and this series to any Paranormal Romance or Shifter Romance reader. Sexy times, likable couple, engaging story, Big Sexy Bear has it all.

I read this title through my Kindle Unlimited subscription.
97 reviews1 follower
September 23, 2018
Enjoyable enough read, but the story definitely would have benefitted from an editor, who could have cleaned up quite a few inconsistencies (blue eyes/green eyes; on the run for one year/several years; you don't know who's chasing me/you somehow now have all the facts, etc.).
Profile Image for Tania Rodriguez.
728 reviews2 followers
October 11, 2019
My hero!!! 😍

I love the heroic men in your books!!!! I Love the passion, the strength and the intensity they love and protect their love one. I would love to find someone the the books in reality to love me the same way. A girl can dream right? Lol 💋💋💋💋💋💋💘💘💘💘💘💘💗💗💗💗💗💗💞💞💞
Profile Image for Pansy.
2,198 reviews24 followers
January 22, 2020
Sexy bear

Ares may be the god of war, but this bear,aka Justin, is so much more. I want one. He is sweet and fierce. Possessive and protective. Everything one could want from her teddy bear. Good bedtime read.
Profile Image for Annette Cousins.
124 reviews2 followers
February 6, 2020
Wonderful read

Captivating from start to finish. Sexy hot guys and smart beautiful women. Gripping from the start that I couldn't put it down. And to top it all happy ever after. A must read
Profile Image for Silke  K.
389 reviews8 followers
September 6, 2020
Ares is in for a fight

Meeting a stranger who's car is on the side of the road, seemed a good idea. It's pouring down rain and it's late. He sensed something, so he went on instinct.
Profile Image for Pamela.
1,250 reviews11 followers
February 10, 2021
Enjoyable read

Fear, a little bit and a God of war.......... What more could a women ask for. I enjoyed reading their journey. The protective bear, the life they wanted. Came together to give you a very enjoyable read
Profile Image for The Doctor's Companion.
676 reviews1 follower
dnf
May 26, 2021
This got boring. Both main characters were boring. I was bored! I got halfway through, and after realizing the previous two chapters had felt like a real drudge, I gave up.

Life's too short to read boring books.
711 reviews
July 9, 2022
Love this series🐻

I have fallen in love💘 with this book📙 series, it is filled with friendship, loyalty, drama, action, romance💖 and love. You must read it in order to fully understand what is going on.
Profile Image for Elisa.
3,229 reviews40 followers
October 20, 2017
Ares and Kat great couple great story to find each other
Author 6 books17 followers
February 4, 2019
Lots of action, sexy Ares =a good read. I enjoyed this installment of the series. I did notice a few repetitive descriptive phrases and words that could have been left out.
Profile Image for Reader_for_LifeTLG.
2,736 reviews17 followers
December 2, 2019
Ares may be the god of war but Bolryder's hero's specialty is love. Another great read.
2,343 reviews
July 14, 2018
A good read

A fun romance despite the MH ha ing jerk tendencies. The writing was not as smooth as in other books.
Profile Image for Vicki.
1,704 reviews
April 20, 2017
This was a truly amazing and fun read. Ares stopped to help a strand motorist and his world changed forever. Katrina couldn't believe her car had finally died on this mountain. When he stopped to help she tried to get him to leave but he took charge and she found herself in his truck then staying at his friend Maude's Bed and Breakfast. He kept telling her he would keep her safe and not to worry but she had been running for so long from Mac's father she didn't know how to trust or stop running. This a really enjoyable and fun read and very exciting. If you like shifter romance you will enjoy this series.
Profile Image for Cherri-Anne.
922 reviews
August 28, 2015
She would be his forever. 5 BEAR PAWS UP

She just didn’t know it yet. Her Ares. Her soldier. What an explosively hot & wonderful story!! Ares sure is one GRRRREAT hunk of meatloaf!! He is so very BEARGASMIC, like the gift that keeps on giving, and ..giving... coming... and coming... in all the most PAWSITIVELY right ways! I can't even begin to imagine what poor Kat & Mac have been through! Watching, okay reading, these big, bearly men go all protective, soft, caring, tender, etc. only adds more to the quality of the story. As Hades himself says "So, like Zeus, you’re getting all mushy over a mate?" It's even cooler to see how the gals change as well. In this case, to see 2 people so scared, then the Big Sexy Bear helping to make them both feel safe & protected around them...it is FURRIFIC to see Kat & Mac able to BE Kat & Mac again. That is the true beauty of the story and yet one more reason to love both this book & Terry! I actually loved how Terry focused the story on the here, now & future, leaving the pasts where they belong. Normally I would have been disappointed having parts left out, but it works so perfectly with the story theme and really does not take away from the story nor does it leave holes in it either. I love how each book of Terry's is so enriching, so loving, so PAWESOMELY ADORABEAR!! No matter how many you read, whether they have Bears, Wolves or Dragons, every single book is its own! Complete with new twists, surprises, a variety of how & when the “mating” happens, acceptance of the shifter side, one liners that are funny, hot, sexy, double meaning or all of the above, they help to enrich each story. They also add even more to the other PAWMAZING factors in every story - friendships, hot & sexy romance, finding The PAWFECT Mate that Destiny or Fate created just for you and helping to bring them together in the greatest way possible for each couple-to-be. Of course, this all points to the FANGTABULOUS talent of Terry!! Terry's way of telling each couples story, or I should say, the way each couples story plays out is unique to that couple. My point is, no matter how many of Terry's books I read, I fall in love with each and every one! I love that I only found Terry a few months ago because it means that I have lots to catch up on between each new release! Be prepared to be swept away into a world with hot & sexy males, the equally amazing women that they are destined to be with, at least according to their animal counterpart, and a world you won't ever want to leave! All in all, you can never go wrong with any book written by the phenomenally talented Terry Bolryder!
Profile Image for Swinging.
88 reviews
August 25, 2015
I really wanted to give this 4 stars, but typos killed the fourth star.

3,423 reviews20 followers
August 23, 2015
Intense. Is the word I'd use if I had to choose one word to describe this latest exciting read from Ms Bolryder. Thank goodness I can use as many words as I want. At the end of BIG BAD BEAR, Ares tells Zeus he needs to get himself a “cute little mate to cuddle.” Little did he know how prophetic that would be.

Pouring rain, her car dead in the middle of the night on deserted road, near nowhere. You'd think Kat would be anxious for someone to come down the road and stop. Not so, she tries to hide beside the car when someone stops and approaches. Lucky for her, although she doesn't realize just how lucky, Ares isn't fooled and can't leave anyone stranded. This is the beginning of a story that will keep you reading long past your plans.

This is so much more than a love story. Ares has more layers than a wedding cake. The one he shows to Kat is a smiling good guy who won't leave her stranded. It doesn't take long to realize she has reasons for her hesitation. Ares doesn't push but he knows she's running from something. He won't let her run alone.

Kat doesn't want to endanger anyone, but has found something she hasn't had in a long time. Read on to find out about her story, and how Ares has to start revealing those other parts of himself.

The action scenes will make you feel as if your are there. The love scenes will make you wish you were there and the family scenes will make you hope your family can be that close.

And we finally meet Hades. He is quite something and I can't wait to see the woman who takes him down—I mean makes him fall for her.

I was provided an ARC for an honest review.
4,226 reviews
June 17, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ares, the weapons expert and smooth operator of the shifter squad, faces a challenge unlike any before when he rescues Katrina. His usual charm meets real stakes, making this romance both sizzling and suspenseful. Katrina’s vulnerability paired with Ares’s calm confidence creates a dynamic that’s both steamy and heartfelt, set against a backdrop of danger and devotion.
523 reviews2 followers
August 28, 2015
Who want Ares the God of war to protect them

Kat's luck just got better and she doesn't even realize it. By her breaking down on the side of the road turns out to be the best thing ever because she will found her prince charming or should I say her prince charming bear. Ares was feeling strange while driving and couldn't put a finger on the feeling. He realized once he came upon his mate stranded on the side of the road in the rain and with a child. He immediately fell for them. He had to persuade her he was there for them and would protect them from the bad people as Mac called them she was running away from. When it seem like everything was going well, after all of Ares mommas tried hooking him up with Kat out of the blue a van pulled up and captures Mac and Kat. Badass Ares went into action and saved them. But that was not the end of the story. Ben (Mac' s dad) sent her ultimatum to surrender and no one will get hurt. She left Mac, Maude and Ares to spare their lives. She did leave a note...wrong move. No one messes with a bear's mate and live. You really need to pick up this series. Also g with the first one involving Zues and his mate and the third with Hades and his mate. Love the series.
Profile Image for Nikki.
248 reviews5 followers
August 24, 2015
Hot, sexy and action packed!!! Ares is an ex-special forces weapons expert and a bear shifter, he comes across a woman and a little boy broke down on the side of the road in the rain one night and offers to assist them. Kat is on the run and has been burned by people who said they were there to help in the past and is very reluctant to trust the very handsome hulking giant. She has no other choice but to take Ares up on his offer to drive them into town and find them a place to crash for the night. Ares knows right away Kat is his mate, he also guesses she's on the run from something and is determined to not only protect her and Mac but to convince them to stay with him forever. Meeting Ares in the previous book (Big Bad Bear), he was the lighthearted, irreverent, jokester of the group, but in this book he took on a whole other dimension and we saw that persona he shows everyone hides something a bit darker. I really enjoyed the depth that was given to Ares and how he deals with his past and doesn't let it affect his future. I loved Ares story and I absolutely cannot wait to read Hade's story!!! Keep them coming!!
Profile Image for Monica.
2,079 reviews
August 27, 2015
Really enjoyed Ares' story. I kinda liked his the best. Oooh the love scenes were sooo yummy! Kat's on the run with a little boy who is her nephew. His mom died awhile ago and the father is a very unsavory character. She's been running from him and his thugs for awhile but suddenly breaks down and Ares rescues her. She was so very wary of him and didnt trust him at all. Didnt stay that way for long thanks to Maude...I think she helped with his character a lot. He's a very good guy and sexy and sweet. He's very good with Mac and Mac loves him! He protects her and foils an attempted kidnapping and she finds out he is an ex-soldier. Doesnt scare her necessarily but shocks her. He's afraid she wont accept him which isn't true. The true test is later when she sees him change from a bear to human. Can't she accept both the soldier and the bear? Or will she run away again? Gotta read it to find out! :)
Profile Image for Maria .
2,486 reviews23 followers
August 29, 2015
Love this Soldier

Ares and Kat's story I really loved. This God of War was exceptional!

Ares was a soldier who had returned to his home town with his Squadron litter to have peaceful lives for themselves. Already Zeus and his mate were doing great. He wondered if that was ever to be for him.

Upon returning towards home he saw a woman and her car along the side of the road in the rain. He got out to help, but the stubborn woman did not want his help. He realized she had a child in the car. All he knew was that he wanted to help them. She was running from something.

Kat was frustrated with gorgeous hunk of man before her. She needed to keep moving. She knew they were at least two days behind her. But now that her car was broken down and would take a week to fix, she had to trust this handsome green eyed stranger.

A great story and second book in the Soldier Bears series.
Profile Image for Linda Levine.
4,640 reviews25 followers
August 25, 2015
What is there not to love about a big, strong, compassionate man with a desire to protect those her loves? Katrina is on the run from a dangerous man. She is pretty much out of options when her car breaks down outside a small town. A stranger coming to her rescue is not as reassuring as it should be. Ares is always there with a smile willing to help others. His military career brought him down a deadly path and he is willing to use those skills to protect the town he loves and his friends. Katrina doesn't want to risk anyone else but Ares is very hard to resist. His bear is telling him she is his mate and to protect her regardless of the danger. It is a fast moving romance with a lot of chemistry. I had not read book one yet but am enjoying the series. I received a copy in return for a honest review.
Profile Image for Katya.
825 reviews
September 6, 2015
4.0 Stars!

I really enjoyed this story. Kat is on the run with Mac, her nephew. She is in trouble as her car dies in the woods of this back water town. A big burly handsome guy stops and offers help....he brings her to Maude's place to stay until her car gets fixed and promises to keep her hidden and safe. What she doesn't know is that he recognizes her as his mate and is instantly attracted to her. Great characters, great back story, love meeting up with old friends and Hades this time. Eras is funny and positive and this having a small kid, tugged on the old heart strings. I loved the part where he goes after the kidnappers and is on autopilot soldier. Great read....moving on to book (novella) #3.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Denise H..
3,243 reviews268 followers
August 25, 2015
Yeah !! Our awesome ex-soldiers, Ares, Hades and Zeus are getting in some action here !!! Katrina is in a broken down car, near dead phone, and her nephew in the back seat, and the only way it could be worse is if her sister's ex finds her and takes the boy, and enslaves her. That's a lot to face alone. Along comes Ares to help her, and she is afraid but accepts his aid. Ares knows right away she's his mate, but she has no clue about the "bear" side. They go to Maude's. Great action, sweet sexy loving, and deep lovable characters make this story worthwhile.
Highly recommend ! ENJOY !!!
Profile Image for Heather Street.
107 reviews5 followers
October 4, 2015
Outstanding Book on this Series!!

Bolryder has written another fantastic book in this Bear Soldier Series. I truly thoroughly enjoyed it from behind to end. It's extremely well written, with well developed, vivid characters, and an interesting storyline about bear shifters protecting not just a mate, but a town from a group of bad characters who are bent on kidnapping and mayhem. Very, very entertaining , and with scorched hit love scenes, and sexy bear shifters that are described in wonderful detail, I can't wait to read the next book in this series. This set is a winner!!!!!!!!!!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews

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