What do you think?
Rate this book
A Shifter's Claim #1
Kin Selection
From USA Today Bestselling and Award-Winning Author L.B. Gilbert
Animal activist Denise Hammond had no idea the wolf cub she just rescued was a shifter--not until the werewolf sent to recover him kidnapped her.
Saving a wolf cub from an animal-testing facility changes everything for Denise Hammond, a feisty and dedicated animal activist. Determined to protect the innocent pup, she's shocked when the cub shifts into a toddler right before her eyes.
Yogi, a wolf shifter, is bound by honor to keep his species' existence a secret. He kidnaps Denise and takes her to the cub's family to make her prove her trustworthiness. Knowing a hellion with curves likes hers is the ultimate temptation for the other males in his pack, Yogi stays close to Denise, fighting to keep his desire for her under control. But she just might ignite the animal within him.
*Please note this title is cross-listed between my two pen names as later books in the series will be published under both. Those with Lucy Leroux as the primary author will contain explicit content and those with L.B. Gilbert first will not.
Kin Selection is a spin-off of the award-winning Elemental's series, published as LB Gilbert.
Animal activist Denise Hammond had no idea the wolf cub she just rescued was a shifter--not until the werewolf sent to recover him kidnapped her.
Saving a wolf cub from an animal-testing facility changes everything for Denise Hammond, a feisty and dedicated animal activist. Determined to protect the innocent pup, she's shocked when the cub shifts into a toddler right before her eyes.
Yogi, a wolf shifter, is bound by honor to keep his species' existence a secret. He kidnaps Denise and takes her to the cub's family to make her prove her trustworthiness. Knowing a hellion with curves likes hers is the ultimate temptation for the other males in his pack, Yogi stays close to Denise, fighting to keep his desire for her under control. But she just might ignite the animal within him.
*Please note this title is cross-listed between my two pen names as later books in the series will be published under both. Those with Lucy Leroux as the primary author will contain explicit content and those with L.B. Gilbert first will not.
Kin Selection is a spin-off of the award-winning Elemental's series, published as LB Gilbert.
125 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 14, 2018
1471 people are currently reading
447 people want to read
About the author
L.B. Gilbert
16 books373 followersA 7-time Readers' Favorite Medal Winner. USA Today Bestselling Author. Former scientist. Recovering geek. Mom. WOC.
L.B. Gilbert is another name for USA Today Bestselling Author Lucy Leroux. She is an award-winning novelist who spent years getting degrees from the most prestigious universities in America, including a PhD that she is not using at all. She moved to France for work and found love. Her family moved back to California a few years ago after a decade abroad.
Lucy has always enjoyed reading books as far from her reality as possible but eventually the voices in her head told her to write her own. And so far the voices are enjoying them.
You can check out the geeky things she likes on twitter @elementalauthor, facebook www.facebook.com/elementalsauthor, or visit www.elementalauthor.com/newsletter for special offers and free reads.
**If you like a little more steam with your Fire, check out the author's award-winning Lucy Leroux titles, FREE to read on Kindle Unlimited**
L.B. Gilbert is another name for USA Today Bestselling Author Lucy Leroux. She is an award-winning novelist who spent years getting degrees from the most prestigious universities in America, including a PhD that she is not using at all. She moved to France for work and found love. Her family moved back to California a few years ago after a decade abroad.
Lucy has always enjoyed reading books as far from her reality as possible but eventually the voices in her head told her to write her own. And so far the voices are enjoying them.
You can check out the geeky things she likes on twitter @elementalauthor, facebook www.facebook.com/elementalsauthor, or visit www.elementalauthor.com/newsletter for special offers and free reads.
**If you like a little more steam with your Fire, check out the author's award-winning Lucy Leroux titles, FREE to read on Kindle Unlimited**
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 222 reviews
June 1, 2022
⭐⭐⭐
Not enough romance… and too much focus on the action.
And there is no real steam to the story….
And the slow burn kind of fizzled out.
The action was interesting and well written but it took over the story.
Not enough romance… and too much focus on the action.
And there is no real steam to the story….
And the slow burn kind of fizzled out.
The action was interesting and well written but it took over the story.
November 22, 2019
**Warning there is no hot sexy scenes in this read**
**3.5 STARS*
Now that's out of the way.... My first read of L.B. Gilbert was very enjoyable. Granted I did miss the intimacy I usually read due to the chemistry being off the charts with Yogi and Denise. Between the missing sexiness, the horrible MC's name, and some pretty significant typos (referring to the FMC as Donna not Denise) I had to drop the rating.
Storyline was very well written. There was plenty of action. Easy to follow flow. Exciting secondary characters. So much there it was hard not to enjoy!
I will definitely be grabbing the next in the series.
As a side note, if I understand correctly this series has an explicit version authored by Lucy Leroux. I didn't find book 1 under this author but I believe book 2 is easily found by Leroux.
Happy reading! DD
**3.5 STARS*
Now that's out of the way.... My first read of L.B. Gilbert was very enjoyable. Granted I did miss the intimacy I usually read due to the chemistry being off the charts with Yogi and Denise. Between the missing sexiness, the horrible MC's name, and some pretty significant typos (referring to the FMC as Donna not Denise) I had to drop the rating.
Storyline was very well written. There was plenty of action. Easy to follow flow. Exciting secondary characters. So much there it was hard not to enjoy!
I will definitely be grabbing the next in the series.
As a side note, if I understand correctly this series has an explicit version authored by Lucy Leroux. I didn't find book 1 under this author but I believe book 2 is easily found by Leroux.
Happy reading! DD
November 30, 2020
3.5 COSY STARS
An enjoyable paranormal romance novella that made me smile.
Dual POV.
99p on amazon.
An enjoyable paranormal romance novella that made me smile.
Dual POV.
99p on amazon.
November 11, 2019
Denise is an animal activist, breaking into labs and freeing the animals used for lab testing. She unknowingly rescued a wolf pup only to find out he shifts into a toddler once she brings him home.
Yogi has been asked by the Alpha of his pack to track down Oliver, the wolf cub and his mother. What he discovers is the mom died in a car accident and Oliver is with a human woman.
To prevent any leak to his packs existence, Yogi is forced to kidnap Denise when he retrieves Oliver. Denise is full of spunk and determined to keep Oliver safe. When she finds out she is being kidnapped, she tries everything she can to escape.
Yogi is a bit of a grump, so to see him having to constantly chase Denise was very entertaining. Then when he thinks he can drop her off with Oliver's extended family and move on, he realizes he can't leave her.
This was a very cute story and I like that it ties into the Elemental series. I'm a big fan of the grumpy heroes so Yogi was exactly what I like. Great story!
Yogi has been asked by the Alpha of his pack to track down Oliver, the wolf cub and his mother. What he discovers is the mom died in a car accident and Oliver is with a human woman.
To prevent any leak to his packs existence, Yogi is forced to kidnap Denise when he retrieves Oliver. Denise is full of spunk and determined to keep Oliver safe. When she finds out she is being kidnapped, she tries everything she can to escape.
Yogi is a bit of a grump, so to see him having to constantly chase Denise was very entertaining. Then when he thinks he can drop her off with Oliver's extended family and move on, he realizes he can't leave her.
This was a very cute story and I like that it ties into the Elemental series. I'm a big fan of the grumpy heroes so Yogi was exactly what I like. Great story!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 15, 2021
It was Ok. I liked the characters but the story felt so short. It was only about 150 pages. I guess I just wish it had had more to say.
Denise is a wealthy orphan who uses her money to free animals from testing facilities. When she goes with her merry band of cohorts to free some chimps they find a wolf pup and free it too. Her cohorts take the chimps and leave her with the pup who she finds out, is not actually a wolf... at least not all of the time it isn't.
Then she finds she's being chased by a rather large guy whom she reasons, must be one of the jerks she just rescued the pup from. She's scared but she's a scrapper and leads him on a smart chase.
I liked that she never gave up.
But I wish the story had taken more time to world build.
SO it was cute but my interest waned in the last 3rd.
Yogi's character never gained much depth. But I liked his gruffness.
Safety is fine
Denise is a wealthy orphan who uses her money to free animals from testing facilities. When she goes with her merry band of cohorts to free some chimps they find a wolf pup and free it too. Her cohorts take the chimps and leave her with the pup who she finds out, is not actually a wolf... at least not all of the time it isn't.
Then she finds she's being chased by a rather large guy whom she reasons, must be one of the jerks she just rescued the pup from. She's scared but she's a scrapper and leads him on a smart chase.
I liked that she never gave up.
But I wish the story had taken more time to world build.
SO it was cute but my interest waned in the last 3rd.
Yogi's character never gained much depth. But I liked his gruffness.
Safety is fine
July 27, 2018
An enjoyable book with strong kick ass heroine and alpha hero.
Recommended.
Recommended.
February 14, 2018
Oh man, I absolutely LOVED this novella!
Denise is an animal activist who has rescued a wolf cub. Yogi is a wolf shifter who has been directed to find her and the cub. When the tiny animal suddenly shifts, everything Denise thought she knew about animals and life is turned upside down, especially when Yogi chases her down and shifts as well.
This book was so much fun! My cheeks hurt from smiling so hard when Yogi is trying to catch and then bring Denise back to the cub’s pack. She puts up one heck of a fight and blasts him with everything she’s got, including her colorful vocabulary. I never wanted it to end.
Run, don’t walk to check out this novella included in the Myths and Magic Box Set.
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read.
Dual POV
Safe
No triggers
Denise is an animal activist who has rescued a wolf cub. Yogi is a wolf shifter who has been directed to find her and the cub. When the tiny animal suddenly shifts, everything Denise thought she knew about animals and life is turned upside down, especially when Yogi chases her down and shifts as well.
This book was so much fun! My cheeks hurt from smiling so hard when Yogi is trying to catch and then bring Denise back to the cub’s pack. She puts up one heck of a fight and blasts him with everything she’s got, including her colorful vocabulary. I never wanted it to end.
Run, don’t walk to check out this novella included in the Myths and Magic Box Set.
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read.
Dual POV
Safe
No triggers
February 12, 2019
Kin Selection L.B. Gilbert is book One in 'A Shifter’s Claim' series. This is the story of Yogi and Denise. Denise happens to find a wolf pub that she goes forward to help. But she then learns it is a baby who is a wolf shiftier. Yogi set out to find the pup then takes Denise to see if she is trust worthy. But he is drawn to her so much to turn back. I enjoyed this shiftier story...I cant wait for more books in this series.
August 8, 2021
Meh. I appreciated the lack of intimate scenes but there just wasn't enough character, world, or plot development for me to be invested.
February 29, 2020
I really love this author, she also goes by Lucy Leroux. I was given this book for an honest review.
It starts with animal activist, Deena Hammond saving a wolf cub from a lab that experiments on animals. To her surprise, she rescued a wolf cub shifter. Yogi, I really didn't like his name. He is sent out to find and rescue the cub.
In the process of rescuing the cub, he also kidnaps Deena. His pack has to be kept a secret from humans. Deena and Yogi eventually become attracted to each other.
Good storyline, lots of action and interesting characters. I will definitely read the next book in this series.
It starts with animal activist, Deena Hammond saving a wolf cub from a lab that experiments on animals. To her surprise, she rescued a wolf cub shifter. Yogi, I really didn't like his name. He is sent out to find and rescue the cub.
In the process of rescuing the cub, he also kidnaps Deena. His pack has to be kept a secret from humans. Deena and Yogi eventually become attracted to each other.
Good storyline, lots of action and interesting characters. I will definitely read the next book in this series.
September 10, 2021
I loved this story!!!
This is my first book by this author and I am ready for more. This story was, what I would call, the perfect book for anyone new to shifters. Although this story has no sex, it’s full of chemistry, humor and strong characters.
It’s written with an easy feel to it, not too heavy or confusing with a lot of backstory. IMO, although it’s a short story it could have easily been more detailed to make a full length novel.
It’s a standalone with an HEA, however, it’s full of characters and opportunities to make into a series.
PS I love Oliver !
I highly recommend this book!
Sisters Spotlight 💜
This is my first book by this author and I am ready for more. This story was, what I would call, the perfect book for anyone new to shifters. Although this story has no sex, it’s full of chemistry, humor and strong characters.
It’s written with an easy feel to it, not too heavy or confusing with a lot of backstory. IMO, although it’s a short story it could have easily been more detailed to make a full length novel.
It’s a standalone with an HEA, however, it’s full of characters and opportunities to make into a series.
PS I love Oliver !
I highly recommend this book!
Sisters Spotlight 💜
March 29, 2018
Wow, L.B. Gilbert is a new to me author, but when I finished reading the book I was very pleasantly surprised by how much I loved the story. I loved this book so much, especially Denise who saves animals and yogi who before Denise had no purpose but for which he would do anything for. I truly can't wait to read the next book and any other books she has written. Thank you so much Mrs. Gilbert for letting me read your book, it was an honor and I can't wait to read the next book in this series!
January 27, 2019
arc review I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.This is a story of Denise a animal activist determined to protect a wolf cub from Reliance research only to find out that he is a shifter .while jogi a shifter gets a call to find out what happened to the Avery cub and mother.Awesome story.
February 27, 2020
Sweet
Charming novella, filled with wit and potential, though the romance was a bit lacking. There was the minor build up of emotions, but it was sparse, leaving much of it unexplained - or rather, unfelt. Regardless, this was still enjoyable and frankly, cute.
Pros:
- FMC is the right kind of smart.
- Oliver. Love that kid.
- Some parts were really funny.
Cons:
- Fade to black sex scene.
- Love just seemed to pop out of nowhere.
- Even For a novella, it feels like there should have been more here.
Charming novella, filled with wit and potential, though the romance was a bit lacking. There was the minor build up of emotions, but it was sparse, leaving much of it unexplained - or rather, unfelt. Regardless, this was still enjoyable and frankly, cute.
Pros:
- FMC is the right kind of smart.
- Oliver. Love that kid.
- Some parts were really funny.
Cons:
- Fade to black sex scene.
- Love just seemed to pop out of nowhere.
- Even For a novella, it feels like there should have been more here.
April 25, 2018
Love it! Great characters, great cause, sweet hot romance and animals! It’s smart and funny! Recommended for everyone!
September 9, 2021
I loved Denise! She does not give up, she fights for what she believes in and is compassionate. She is likely one of my favorite PR heroines because most are not so cool. Yogi was pretty cool too. I liked that he was protective and cool. I look forward to continuing the series.
July 14, 2025
I liked the book, but it skimmed over Yogi's story not giving us details as to why he isn't with his family, other then that I enjoyed this book.
June 1, 2018
Review to come...
May 25, 2022
I enjoyed this book. It was a mix of romance and action, but while it was a fun slow burn, the climax of the romance aspect was VERY underwhelming. Like it was thrown in.
February 19, 2021
Not a romance
Yogi? Really? We’re all just going to pretend that’s a normal, non ridiculous name? Ugh.
The FMC is an animal rescuer, yet she considers leaving a wolf cub in a cage in a cold garage? What? And she has zero self respect, allowing her “boyfriend” to verbally abuse her and generally treat her like garbage. I really didn’t like her or understand her decisions at all.
There was no romance. The two MCs flirted and were in each other’s presence a short time, but there was no getting to know each other or falling in love. They were in lust, attracted to each other’s bodies. And that’s it. The “I’m in love with him” thing came way out of left field. Hell he didn’t even know how she found the cub! There wasn’t a whole lot of communication happening.
The story just seemed haphazardly thrown together without a whole lot of thought. Which is a shame because the story sounded really cool and could’ve been awesome if it had been fleshed out more and given more thought and consideration and time. There were a lot of grammatical issues that were distracting, you can tell the story was rushed. Shame.
Yogi? Really? We’re all just going to pretend that’s a normal, non ridiculous name? Ugh.
The FMC is an animal rescuer, yet she considers leaving a wolf cub in a cage in a cold garage? What? And she has zero self respect, allowing her “boyfriend” to verbally abuse her and generally treat her like garbage. I really didn’t like her or understand her decisions at all.
There was no romance. The two MCs flirted and were in each other’s presence a short time, but there was no getting to know each other or falling in love. They were in lust, attracted to each other’s bodies. And that’s it. The “I’m in love with him” thing came way out of left field. Hell he didn’t even know how she found the cub! There wasn’t a whole lot of communication happening.
The story just seemed haphazardly thrown together without a whole lot of thought. Which is a shame because the story sounded really cool and could’ve been awesome if it had been fleshed out more and given more thought and consideration and time. There were a lot of grammatical issues that were distracting, you can tell the story was rushed. Shame.
January 29, 2023
Just ok. Nothing great. Interesting concept, read it in just a few hours, no romance building, no character building. Felt like I was dropped in the middle of a series with no explanation.
I won't read the rest of the series.
I won't read the rest of the series.
April 1, 2024
This is book one of A Shifter’s Claim series and the main characters are animal activist Denise Hammond and wolf shifter Yogi Kane. Denise is in the middle of freeing monkeys from Reliance Research, a research lab that shouldn’t be experimenting on anything larger than a lab rat, when she finds a wolf cub locked into a different type of cage. Denise has Karen and Max taking the monkeys to a sanctuary she owns, whilst she is off to her small rental cabin with the wolf cub. When she wakes she hears a baby crying and soon finds the wolf cub has changed into a toddler! She searches the cabin, but with no doors unlocked, can’t figure out how the toddler arrived there and where the cub went, until she sees it change back into a cub. She has to move again, as she does every time she completes a job, to ensure no one can track her. Yogi is sent by his alpha to track a missing human female who was known to have had a baby with a wolf shifter partner, belonging to another pack, the Averys, One of their pack’s mate is an air elemental and had a weird way of knowing and finding things out. She has told his chief Douglas, that the woman and cub could be in either of two locations. One leads him to the dead woman’s car and the other to Denise’s cabin, whilst she was out getting supplies for the toddler.
Seeing Yogi climbing out of her cabin window, she automatically turns away and flees before waiting to see what he wants! Unfortunately she can’t run away from him, with his advantages and he soon catches up with her and tells her he is taking her with him to the pack, until they can be sure she won’t reveal anything about them to others. She isn’t happy that Yogi is taking her somewhere against her will, but the cub is fighting against him and seems to prefer her. She feels she can’t leave it with him until she is happy it is taken to those who will look after it properly and are part of its family. Yogi is pretty unclear how long she will have to stay with the Avery pack, but he doesn’t feel right leaving her with all the males of the pack obviously interested in her! He has feelings for her himself, having gotten close to her as she fought to get away from him and he saw her looking after the cub once he caught her. He admires what she does as an activist ad will need her experience to go back and make sure there was no video of the cub shifting, to ensure their secret is safe still. Denise is going to get a bit of a shock when she learns what the other alpha expects from her and her ability to keep their secret. A nice twist to secret keeping and Yogi finds he can’t keep away from her, especially if he wants to make sure no other male gets her to themselves.
I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
Seeing Yogi climbing out of her cabin window, she automatically turns away and flees before waiting to see what he wants! Unfortunately she can’t run away from him, with his advantages and he soon catches up with her and tells her he is taking her with him to the pack, until they can be sure she won’t reveal anything about them to others. She isn’t happy that Yogi is taking her somewhere against her will, but the cub is fighting against him and seems to prefer her. She feels she can’t leave it with him until she is happy it is taken to those who will look after it properly and are part of its family. Yogi is pretty unclear how long she will have to stay with the Avery pack, but he doesn’t feel right leaving her with all the males of the pack obviously interested in her! He has feelings for her himself, having gotten close to her as she fought to get away from him and he saw her looking after the cub once he caught her. He admires what she does as an activist ad will need her experience to go back and make sure there was no video of the cub shifting, to ensure their secret is safe still. Denise is going to get a bit of a shock when she learns what the other alpha expects from her and her ability to keep their secret. A nice twist to secret keeping and Yogi finds he can’t keep away from her, especially if he wants to make sure no other male gets her to themselves.
I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
Read
August 2, 2021Just an outline, not a story. A cute idea that could have been a sweet HEA, if the authors had bothered to actually put effort in to turn the idea into a story. Felt like I completely wasted my time reading it.
It's all boring, unimportant filler, in the form of character thoughts about nothing. Like the 8 pages the heroine wondered if she should or shouldn't leave the cabin, and both the heroine and hero's thinking about liking the other, but not actually doing anything but think things.
There's no romance, no chemistry, not a single heated scene, let alone a bedroom scene. There's literally one kiss, which had no descrption. So again this felt like a short story by a teenage girl.
The writing has issues, with problems even in the blurb, 'Knowing curves likes hers" should obviously be 'like'. There are other editing issues but I've definately read worse. The biggest problem was the lack of detail.. Scenes weren't set at all.
She was able to outrun a supernatural, Shifter male standing right in front of her, while she carried a toddler, get to a jeep, open the door, put the toddler on the seat, change her mind to put him on the floor, stash her backpack beside him, search the jeep for keys, break open the console, pull out wires, cut the wires and hot wire the thing, all before he got to her... Really?
And that was only one of at least three times she out ran this supernatural wolf guy, despite being an unfit human female, and despite him having been standing right there in front of her. Then to make it worse, the authors actually had the nerve to later write that 'he had freaky supernatural sped and strength'. Argh!
In short, this was just a basic outline, an idea for a story, and instead was mostly unnecessary, unimportant and boring filler than actual story. It's a pity, the idea was cute but a story needed to actually be written and detail given. 2 stars is generous.
It's all boring, unimportant filler, in the form of character thoughts about nothing. Like the 8 pages the heroine wondered if she should or shouldn't leave the cabin, and both the heroine and hero's thinking about liking the other, but not actually doing anything but think things.
There's no romance, no chemistry, not a single heated scene, let alone a bedroom scene. There's literally one kiss, which had no descrption. So again this felt like a short story by a teenage girl.
The writing has issues, with problems even in the blurb, 'Knowing curves likes hers" should obviously be 'like'. There are other editing issues but I've definately read worse. The biggest problem was the lack of detail.. Scenes weren't set at all.
She was able to outrun a supernatural, Shifter male standing right in front of her, while she carried a toddler, get to a jeep, open the door, put the toddler on the seat, change her mind to put him on the floor, stash her backpack beside him, search the jeep for keys, break open the console, pull out wires, cut the wires and hot wire the thing, all before he got to her... Really?
And that was only one of at least three times she out ran this supernatural wolf guy, despite being an unfit human female, and despite him having been standing right there in front of her. Then to make it worse, the authors actually had the nerve to later write that 'he had freaky supernatural sped and strength'. Argh!
In short, this was just a basic outline, an idea for a story, and instead was mostly unnecessary, unimportant and boring filler than actual story. It's a pity, the idea was cute but a story needed to actually be written and detail given. 2 stars is generous.
May 29, 2023
Denise Hammond is a wealthy heiress who is a dedicated animal activist. She's assembled a team to raid the Radiance Research facility to recover chimpanzees being illegally held there. As they are making their escape, she notices a cage containing a wolf cub. There's no way she's going to leave that baby behind! Even if she had realized just what the cub was she still would have questioned her sanity.
The Kane family and the Avery family have been feuding for years. Think Hatfields and McCoys. Yogi Kane's father had worked to kept the feud alive. Now Douglas Maitland, the chief of the Colorado Basin Pack, has asked for Yogi's help. Jessup Avery, patriarch of family, needs help finding his missing DIL, Sheri, and 18 month old grandson, Oliver.
Yogi finds Sheri's body in a ravine where her car landed. He's not sure if it was an accident or if she was forced off the road. Oliver is still missing.
Meanwhile, Denise has gotten the cub's cage open and the cub is bound and determined to stay by her side and on her bed. The next morning the cub is gone and a baby is there. Then the baby is gone and the cub is back. The cub must have eaten the baby!
When Yogi does catch up with her, she gives him a run for his money. She's managed to escape her zip ties, kick him in the face with her booted foot and hot wire his jeep after he disabled her truck. Oliver has bonded with her so he's forced to kidnap her and bring her along. Not part of his plan. But neither was falling in love.
I received a free copy of this book from the author via Booksprout. I am voluntarily leaving this review.
The Kane family and the Avery family have been feuding for years. Think Hatfields and McCoys. Yogi Kane's father had worked to kept the feud alive. Now Douglas Maitland, the chief of the Colorado Basin Pack, has asked for Yogi's help. Jessup Avery, patriarch of family, needs help finding his missing DIL, Sheri, and 18 month old grandson, Oliver.
Yogi finds Sheri's body in a ravine where her car landed. He's not sure if it was an accident or if she was forced off the road. Oliver is still missing.
Meanwhile, Denise has gotten the cub's cage open and the cub is bound and determined to stay by her side and on her bed. The next morning the cub is gone and a baby is there. Then the baby is gone and the cub is back. The cub must have eaten the baby!
When Yogi does catch up with her, she gives him a run for his money. She's managed to escape her zip ties, kick him in the face with her booted foot and hot wire his jeep after he disabled her truck. Oliver has bonded with her so he's forced to kidnap her and bring her along. Not part of his plan. But neither was falling in love.
I received a free copy of this book from the author via Booksprout. I am voluntarily leaving this review.
August 23, 2025
The storytelling here is cute, fun, and very easy to read. I especially liked the cub and the sparks of attraction between the main characters.
That said, I had a few issues that pulled me out of the story. For one, chimps are apes (like humans), not monkeys (which have tails). Calling them monkeys felt odd—especially in a book where animal rights activism plays a role. Another moment that broke suspension of disbelief was when the werewolf community, which supposedly works hard to stay hidden, decides to open steel bars with bare hands rather than using the bolt cutters they had. That not only screams “superhuman strength” but would also leave fingerprints.
The rescue of lab animals also raised questions for me. Having worked in an animal testing facility, I know firsthand that taking animals without knowing their trial history is a terrible idea. Lab animals often lack survival skills, may have no immune systems, and can transmit disease. Releasing them risks disrupting ecosystems, spreading unknown DNA, or introducing hazards tied to whatever they were being tested for.
Finally, the romance didn’t quite land for me. The characters don’t really build a relationship—one moment they’re attracted, the next it’s “yay, pregnant.” Maybe that works for some readers: the comfort of feeling like you’ve done something “good” without grappling with consequences, and not being “alone.” But for me, it felt shallow compared to the setup.
That said, I had a few issues that pulled me out of the story. For one, chimps are apes (like humans), not monkeys (which have tails). Calling them monkeys felt odd—especially in a book where animal rights activism plays a role. Another moment that broke suspension of disbelief was when the werewolf community, which supposedly works hard to stay hidden, decides to open steel bars with bare hands rather than using the bolt cutters they had. That not only screams “superhuman strength” but would also leave fingerprints.
The rescue of lab animals also raised questions for me. Having worked in an animal testing facility, I know firsthand that taking animals without knowing their trial history is a terrible idea. Lab animals often lack survival skills, may have no immune systems, and can transmit disease. Releasing them risks disrupting ecosystems, spreading unknown DNA, or introducing hazards tied to whatever they were being tested for.
Finally, the romance didn’t quite land for me. The characters don’t really build a relationship—one moment they’re attracted, the next it’s “yay, pregnant.” Maybe that works for some readers: the comfort of feeling like you’ve done something “good” without grappling with consequences, and not being “alone.” But for me, it felt shallow compared to the setup.
June 8, 2018
Denise. a very wealthy young woman, is an animal activist and has a team to rescue animals from testing facilities. While rescuing chimps, they find a wolf pup, which her loser boyfriend wants her to leave behind. She takes the wolf pup anyway and sends her boyfriend and a female from the team to travel to her game preserve in Africa. Denise takes the wolf pup home and falls asleep, waking to the crying of a baby. The wolf pup was missing and a toddler was in its place. She finally sees the baby turn into a wolf and is shocked that she has a werewolf baby. Yogi, a wolf, is sent to find missing mother and baby. He finds mothers car crashed in a ditch, but no baby in sight. He follows the scent and finds Denise and baby Vincent. He kidnaps them both because humans are not supposed to know about their kind. Vincent keeps biting him and protecting Denise. Denise's boyfriend dumps her via text, which Yogi answers telling him she found someone better and sends selfies of his hot bod.
Yogi joins in a race to be the wolf whose house Denise will stay in until she proves she is trustworthy. When everyone finds out Denise found Vincent in a testing facility, an all out operation goes into place to destroy any information they may have about Vincent shifting from pup to baby. Yogi is smitten with Denise, is the feeling mutual?
Yogi joins in a race to be the wolf whose house Denise will stay in until she proves she is trustworthy. When everyone finds out Denise found Vincent in a testing facility, an all out operation goes into place to destroy any information they may have about Vincent shifting from pup to baby. Yogi is smitten with Denise, is the feeling mutual?
March 11, 2019
Denise, heiress and liberator of laboratory trained animals. Oliver, a wolf cub that is really a human baby. Yogi, member of a Wolfpack is search of Oliver, who is being taken care of by Denise. She believes that she’s being followed and tracked to kidnap the wolf cub. Oliver needs to be returned home, ahh, to his pack. She found him in the lab and saves him. The adventure started from there. Denise with her resilience helps her against Yogi all the way until, she needs his help and he admits his attraction to her. It also helps if the shifter always has to keep removing his clothes in order to change from human to wolf. They finally come to grips in terms about what needs to happen. There are certain rules and regulations for humans when they discover that there is another world out there they are not privied to. According to the rules, the human must be hosted by the pack in order to gain trust in order to be released back into society or to maybe, possibly mate with a single member(s) of the pack. But what if she doesn’t want to be mated? A humorous HEA awaits and the story line leading to another book, hopefully.
The book gives humorous interactions with the characters. They are developed very nicely and the storyline does not waver from its goal, return Oliver home.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The book gives humorous interactions with the characters. They are developed very nicely and the storyline does not waver from its goal, return Oliver home.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
August 13, 2025
Animal activist + baby wolf cub = love
I am amazed at how much I liked this story. Denise is AWESOME. She shares her wealth to save lab animals. This lady is the real deal. On this rescue mission, Denise and her team enter a lab that’s supposed to have only rat specimens but actually has monkeys. After the extraction, Denise spies a little wolf cub. What the heck is that doing there? No matter, she's taking it with her. Later, at her cabin, when the cub changes to an 18-month-old child and then back to a wolf cub, she freaks out. Taking it in stride, she’s going to care for this little being…no matter what. Things change, though, when she finds a giant naked man chasing after her and the cub. Lone shifter Yogi is doing a favor for a local pack. They are missing a human mom and her shifter baby. The mom died in a car ‘accident’ where the baby wolf cub was taken.
Some bad people at the lab have secret shifter information that must be destroyed, and Denise is leading this mission. Her super knowledge and breaking-in skills are outstanding. I love the interaction between Yogi and Denise. They couldn’t be more perfect together, and Oliver, the baby shifter, is the star of the story. Denise is wonderful. I love her so much. Linda
I am amazed at how much I liked this story. Denise is AWESOME. She shares her wealth to save lab animals. This lady is the real deal. On this rescue mission, Denise and her team enter a lab that’s supposed to have only rat specimens but actually has monkeys. After the extraction, Denise spies a little wolf cub. What the heck is that doing there? No matter, she's taking it with her. Later, at her cabin, when the cub changes to an 18-month-old child and then back to a wolf cub, she freaks out. Taking it in stride, she’s going to care for this little being…no matter what. Things change, though, when she finds a giant naked man chasing after her and the cub. Lone shifter Yogi is doing a favor for a local pack. They are missing a human mom and her shifter baby. The mom died in a car ‘accident’ where the baby wolf cub was taken.
Some bad people at the lab have secret shifter information that must be destroyed, and Denise is leading this mission. Her super knowledge and breaking-in skills are outstanding. I love the interaction between Yogi and Denise. They couldn’t be more perfect together, and Oliver, the baby shifter, is the star of the story. Denise is wonderful. I love her so much. Linda
March 14, 2019
Great wolf shifter story. Denise and her team infiltrates Reliance a research facility to rescue test monkeys. She finds a wolf cub and takes it home where she has tools to free it from the cage. The wolf cub whines until she allows it in her home and sleeps on her bed. In the morning she finds a little boy crying for his Mama and wonders how he got in and starts looking for the wolf cub. When the boy changes to the wolf club and back she realizes he's a werewolf and she needs baby food too and goes shopping. Meanwhile Yogi is assigned to find Oliver and his Mom. He finds Oliver's mom is dead and tracks Oliver to Denise's home and when she sees him climbing out of her window she takes off in her van thinking he is from Reliance. What happens next is Yogi chasing them and capturing them to take Oliver and Denise back to Oliver's pack and finding he likes Denise. I loved that Denise is a strong women not afraid to give Yogi her mind through out this story. I also enjoyed the race that determined the "host" for Denise. I found this to be a delightful enjoyable werewolf story. I volunteer to read and review this ARC.
December 5, 2019
Animal activist, Denise rescues a wolf cub among chimps from an illegal testing facility. Denise is in shock when she finds out that the cub is a shifter but determined to protect it nevertheless. Wolf shifter, Yogi is tasked to find Oliver, the missing cub and when he finds Oliver in the care of human Denise, he has no choice but to take them both to the pack to maintain the secrecy of shifters.
This book was a bit lacklustre. It didn’t feel like an awful lot happened. The romance took a backseat so I was surprised at the progress of Denise&Yogi's relationship making it unbelievable, the three word proclamation felt like it came outta left field. I mean sure I enjoyed reading the banter and all the insults and barbs Denise had to throw at Yogi's way but I just wanted more. There was a lot of potential for the book but it felt like the length of the book prevented it. If the plot was delved in further to flesh out layers and so on, I could see it being a much better book. Wish me some more cute Oliver moments.
This book was a bit lacklustre. It didn’t feel like an awful lot happened. The romance took a backseat so I was surprised at the progress of Denise&Yogi's relationship making it unbelievable, the three word proclamation felt like it came outta left field. I mean sure I enjoyed reading the banter and all the insults and barbs Denise had to throw at Yogi's way but I just wanted more. There was a lot of potential for the book but it felt like the length of the book prevented it. If the plot was delved in further to flesh out layers and so on, I could see it being a much better book. Wish me some more cute Oliver moments.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 222 reviews