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Shifter Planet #2
The Return
Rachel Fortier is a much sought-after expert when it comes to exotic planets — especially the deadly kind. So when she’s hired by Earth Fleet’s most respected scientist to join a mission to the tightly closed planet Harp, it’s a dream come true. Until she discovers their mission is to capture shifters and sell them to the Military.
Shifter Aidan Devlin is on patrol far from his clan when he sees a shuttlecraft landing where it definitely shouldn’t be. As the invaders emerge, he’s surprised to see a lone lovely woman, who doesn’t seem to belong. But when he’s captured and put in a cage, he has no one but her to help him escape.
Drawn together by a hunger they can’t resist, and desperate to discover who betrayed Harp, Aidan and Rachel first have to survive a deadly journey to the city. But once there, they find themselves confronted by a conspiracy that goes even deeper. Because Harp is harboring a traitor. And he’s willing to destroy their world — and everything in it — to get what he wants.
Each book in the Shifter Planet series is STANDALONE:
* Shifter Planet
* Shifter Planet: The Return
Shifter Aidan Devlin is on patrol far from his clan when he sees a shuttlecraft landing where it definitely shouldn’t be. As the invaders emerge, he’s surprised to see a lone lovely woman, who doesn’t seem to belong. But when he’s captured and put in a cage, he has no one but her to help him escape.
Drawn together by a hunger they can’t resist, and desperate to discover who betrayed Harp, Aidan and Rachel first have to survive a deadly journey to the city. But once there, they find themselves confronted by a conspiracy that goes even deeper. Because Harp is harboring a traitor. And he’s willing to destroy their world — and everything in it — to get what he wants.
Each book in the Shifter Planet series is STANDALONE:
* Shifter Planet
* Shifter Planet: The Return
372 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 14, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
October 12, 2019
Rachel thinks she’s traveling to Harp to study the wildlife when in reality the crew she’s traveling with want to capture the big cats . It doesn’t take long for their true purpose to come to light and unfortunately it’s Aidan who runs headlong into their trap. So when Rachel realises that she’s been duped she decides not only to save the cat that she thinks of as hers but also trek through the undoubtedly inhospitable forest. Rachel might not know about Shifters but it’s pretty apparent that Aidan can’t just ignore her but how can he protect her without betraying his ability to transform ?
So as a reader I couldn’t help but think oh boy this is about to get very interesting and I can happily say that this couple who both have secrets do pretty soon start to trust each other. Plus I absolutely loved that Aidan got to see that Rachel might be an Earther but she’s a very capable person and far more resilient than he ever realised and can even come to his rescue !
This author always gives her readers strong, uncompromising heroines and the character Rachel we meet here is no different. Yes sometimes her male leads are perhaps a tad misogynistic but it all adds to the fun and I thought Aidan had a wicked sense of humour that was readily apparent. Now add in what I can only describe as sentient fauna with singing trees and you start to realise that the world building here is something entirely different !
There’s lots of action and the romance had a credible, believable pace whilst still being pretty steamy at times. I actually preferred this to the first book and do think it works as a stand-alone although obviously if you can please do read in order as it enhances your enjoyment. Best of all is the way we learn more about the Green and the antecedents of the Shifters on Harp with quite clearly lots more to come and I’m really looking forward to reading more.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair
So as a reader I couldn’t help but think oh boy this is about to get very interesting and I can happily say that this couple who both have secrets do pretty soon start to trust each other. Plus I absolutely loved that Aidan got to see that Rachel might be an Earther but she’s a very capable person and far more resilient than he ever realised and can even come to his rescue !
This author always gives her readers strong, uncompromising heroines and the character Rachel we meet here is no different. Yes sometimes her male leads are perhaps a tad misogynistic but it all adds to the fun and I thought Aidan had a wicked sense of humour that was readily apparent. Now add in what I can only describe as sentient fauna with singing trees and you start to realise that the world building here is something entirely different !
There’s lots of action and the romance had a credible, believable pace whilst still being pretty steamy at times. I actually preferred this to the first book and do think it works as a stand-alone although obviously if you can please do read in order as it enhances your enjoyment. Best of all is the way we learn more about the Green and the antecedents of the Shifters on Harp with quite clearly lots more to come and I’m really looking forward to reading more.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair
November 1, 2019
Never read this author before and got to say despite one teeny thing I bloody loved this just so much.
So brief background here the year is 4670 and Rachel Fortier a xenobiologist has come to the closed planet Harp on a mission to supposedly study their large cats.
When the team she came with capture a large cat she realises that she has been kept in the dark about there true purpose on this planet.
Rescuing the cat and then setting off alone into the surrounding forest this is where things really start to take off.
Harp is a planet of humans and shifters a closely guarded secret and the exotic cat Rachel set loose is actually Aiden one of the cat-shifters.
Not only that but the forests themselves or greens as they are known are sentient and have a symbiotic relationship with the planets cats.
So this was dual POV and was really well-written managing to capture my attention right from the start.
This was actually book two in the series but I read this as a standalone and it does work, I had no issues whatsoever following along.
The developing relationship between Rachel and Aiden felt so authentic and believable and I really liked the lack of games and found it ever so refreshing.
Character-wise I really liked Rachel she was so self-sufficient, capable and also very brave with a real sense of character.
Add in the fact that she didn't do unneeded drama and actually had a brain she was quite the girl.
Aiden grew on me despite him being a tad chauvinistic initially in both his actions and thoughts.
I did easily forgave him as he was such a cheeky charmer and his good humour and overall sense of fun did appeal to me, he was just so likeable.
I also liked how he started to put stock in Rachels own capabilities in taking care of herself.
This is a survival trek across the swamp where Aiden and Rachel will Pitt their witts together against the greens deadliest creatures.
My one issue here is the ending and epilogue.
I thought that when they finally reveal their feelings at the end here it was a tad anticlimactic.
I also was disappointed that Rachel and Aiden were not in the epilogue.
Despite that the rest I adored, this was so much better than what I was expecting and I will definitely be checking out the first book in this series.
I'm giving this the whole five stars as despite the unsatisfying epilogue and finale this was still such a compelling and enjoyable read with such impressive detail and worldbuilding and I really did enjoy it massively.
Highly recommend this one it really was a great read.
I voluntary reviewed a copy of Shifter Planet: The Return (Shifter Planet #2).
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
www.beckiebookworm.com
September 30, 2019
I loved the first book and were looking forward to this one for years! LOL
I like the planet Harp and its environment so much! I love their culture, even if it is a little bit elitist. In this case it's normal: the shifers are the top of the evolutionary chain. They are the top predator of the planet and also the part of the population thanks too whom all the others survived, being them part of the plant ecosystem.
It was interesting to read about that. The semi-sentient planet which rejects the intruders. So the survivirs of the colonist had to do something or die killed by the planet. And they tampered with their genome and produced the shifters.
All that is the huge secret the people of Harp keep form everybody and also the big secret Aidan must keep from Rachel who's obviously bewildered. She has proved herself and her moral code time and time again, but she just knows that Aidan is hiding something and keeps thinking all the wrong things.
Aidan is very conflicted: he trusts Rachel, but the secret is not only his. On it depends the existence of his whole world!
I loved both Aidan and Rachel. They were both very strait-forward persons with high moral code. And thier feeling for each other were also true.
The action is non-stop as in the previous book. Rachel must overcome her "shortcomings" because she's human, but she's tough enough to do it and to do it very well! Aidan ahs it easier since he's a shifter, but he's honest enough to admire Rachel for her force of will and her physical resilience.
Because Harp's Green is deadly! And we see ample demonstrations of its deadliness!
We know since the beginning who's the villain, but we never discover who's the villain's boss, so I think there's ample space for a sequel that I'm going to love to read!
I like the planet Harp and its environment so much! I love their culture, even if it is a little bit elitist. In this case it's normal: the shifers are the top of the evolutionary chain. They are the top predator of the planet and also the part of the population thanks too whom all the others survived, being them part of the plant ecosystem.
It was interesting to read about that. The semi-sentient planet which rejects the intruders. So the survivirs of the colonist had to do something or die killed by the planet. And they tampered with their genome and produced the shifters.
All that is the huge secret the people of Harp keep form everybody and also the big secret Aidan must keep from Rachel who's obviously bewildered. She has proved herself and her moral code time and time again, but she just knows that Aidan is hiding something and keeps thinking all the wrong things.
Aidan is very conflicted: he trusts Rachel, but the secret is not only his. On it depends the existence of his whole world!
I loved both Aidan and Rachel. They were both very strait-forward persons with high moral code. And thier feeling for each other were also true.
The action is non-stop as in the previous book. Rachel must overcome her "shortcomings" because she's human, but she's tough enough to do it and to do it very well! Aidan ahs it easier since he's a shifter, but he's honest enough to admire Rachel for her force of will and her physical resilience.
Because Harp's Green is deadly! And we see ample demonstrations of its deadliness!
We know since the beginning who's the villain, but we never discover who's the villain's boss, so I think there's ample space for a sequel that I'm going to love to read!
September 22, 2019
‘Shifter Planet: The Return’ plunges us back to a future where a long-isolated earth-colony comes under scrutiny by Earthers once again, and with it, its closely-guarded secrets that threaten to come to light. I’ve a soft spot for this series ever since D.B. Reynolds brought Harp and its shifter-inhabitants to my e-reader, so it’s more than welcome to see that she isn’t done with this world yet.
But while Reynolds’s world-building is fascinating, detailed and complex, much of it feels—quite literally—as the title suggests, a return to the first book, plot-wise as well, only with 2 different protagonists who are much like the first book’s pairing. Aiden and Rachel Fortier face Harp’s wildlife as their main threat as well as a traitor in the midst, with Earth’s growing interest in what Harp can offer.
Reynold’s biggest attraction perhaps, was an incredibly capable heroine battling prejudices (sometimes even with a hint of misogyny Rachel faces), showing time and again how she shouldn’t have been underestimated in the wild as she took more than adequate care of herself. I couldn’t exactly understand her dogged determination to walk straight to the enemy other than the insistence he needed to be confronted and that her reputation was on the line, but it was the driving momentum behind Rachel’s actions, along with a carefully-orchestrated series of events that led to the big reveal.
Deception played a big part here nonetheless; lying by omission and distrust carried on for a while and I was relieved actually, to be past that at around the halfway mark.
What proved to be the book’s annoying downer was probably Aiden’s manwhoring ways that were repeatedly thrown in my face, then justified immediately after by the fact that casual sex was encouraged among shifters and how much the ladies loved him and how many women he’d screwed. There was the mild implication Rachel was a woman Aiden could lose his heart to and make him want more because she could handle herself around him and in the wild when the rest of the soft city-women couldn’t, and that felt vaguely insulting somehow—as though he’d needed someone to meet those standards to ‘change’ his ways, so to speak when the rest wouldn’t get a sniff since they weren’t good enough.
As much as I liked the epic adventure through the planet, the romance fell short at the end: a hurried few lines about whether Rachel should leave for earth, an even quicker declaration of love and...that’s it. In fact, much of it felt incomplete, with an epilogue that had nothing to do with the main pairing and a vague suggestion that this isn’t the last we’ll see of Harp and its inhabitants.
In short, I wasn’t too sure what to make of this. It’s a compelling read—this made me stay past my bedtime—but it’s the realisation afterward that the similarities this bore to the first book and a rather unlikeable ‘hero’ for much of it that gave me pause about what could have been a higher rating.
*ARC by the publisher via Netgalley
But while Reynolds’s world-building is fascinating, detailed and complex, much of it feels—quite literally—as the title suggests, a return to the first book, plot-wise as well, only with 2 different protagonists who are much like the first book’s pairing. Aiden and Rachel Fortier face Harp’s wildlife as their main threat as well as a traitor in the midst, with Earth’s growing interest in what Harp can offer.
Reynold’s biggest attraction perhaps, was an incredibly capable heroine battling prejudices (sometimes even with a hint of misogyny Rachel faces), showing time and again how she shouldn’t have been underestimated in the wild as she took more than adequate care of herself. I couldn’t exactly understand her dogged determination to walk straight to the enemy other than the insistence he needed to be confronted and that her reputation was on the line, but it was the driving momentum behind Rachel’s actions, along with a carefully-orchestrated series of events that led to the big reveal.
Deception played a big part here nonetheless; lying by omission and distrust carried on for a while and I was relieved actually, to be past that at around the halfway mark.
What proved to be the book’s annoying downer was probably Aiden’s manwhoring ways that were repeatedly thrown in my face, then justified immediately after by the fact that casual sex was encouraged among shifters and how much the ladies loved him and how many women he’d screwed. There was the mild implication Rachel was a woman Aiden could lose his heart to and make him want more because she could handle herself around him and in the wild when the rest of the soft city-women couldn’t, and that felt vaguely insulting somehow—as though he’d needed someone to meet those standards to ‘change’ his ways, so to speak when the rest wouldn’t get a sniff since they weren’t good enough.
As much as I liked the epic adventure through the planet, the romance fell short at the end: a hurried few lines about whether Rachel should leave for earth, an even quicker declaration of love and...that’s it. In fact, much of it felt incomplete, with an epilogue that had nothing to do with the main pairing and a vague suggestion that this isn’t the last we’ll see of Harp and its inhabitants.
In short, I wasn’t too sure what to make of this. It’s a compelling read—this made me stay past my bedtime—but it’s the realisation afterward that the similarities this bore to the first book and a rather unlikeable ‘hero’ for much of it that gave me pause about what could have been a higher rating.
*ARC by the publisher via Netgalley
October 7, 2019
2 Stars for the first half of the book, 4+ Stars for the last half. I’m going to be generous because I like this author, and the story did eventually get much better.
I wanted to love this book, I really did. But I had so many issues with the first half of the story. On the surface, it was a great adventure. A return to Harp meets Romancing the Stone. Unfortunately, when the reader looks underneath the surface, it was a mess. I won’t go into spoilery detail; but I will say that in order to make the h, a highly experienced and respected biologist/scientist, fit the way she wanted the story to go, the author made her tstl in so very many ways. It became almost a chore to read a character drawn as such a dummy, just to fit the plot point and keep the H’s big ‘secret’. Not to mention the highly inappropriate and cringe worthy sexual banter with a complete stranger she met in the middle of the night and just started traveling with, no one questions asked. Rape, anyone? If the story itself hadn’t been so much fun (even though parts of it were incredibly similar to the first book), I think I would have dnf’ed it. Yes, some things in the plot and the character of Rachel annoyed me that much.
Fortunately, by the halfway mark, the story greatly improved, and saved the read for me. The big secret was out and the book raced to a happy conclusion without further demeaning Rachel’s intelligence. The bad guys were defeated, and Harp was saved. There was also some satisfactory catch-up with Rhodry and Amanda.
Sooo…If you don’t peek under the surface at the myriad inconsistencies, the book is a good adventure tale. Don’t look too deeply or expect too much, and you’ll have fun.
I wanted to love this book, I really did. But I had so many issues with the first half of the story. On the surface, it was a great adventure. A return to Harp meets Romancing the Stone. Unfortunately, when the reader looks underneath the surface, it was a mess. I won’t go into spoilery detail; but I will say that in order to make the h, a highly experienced and respected biologist/scientist, fit the way she wanted the story to go, the author made her tstl in so very many ways. It became almost a chore to read a character drawn as such a dummy, just to fit the plot point and keep the H’s big ‘secret’. Not to mention the highly inappropriate and cringe worthy sexual banter with a complete stranger she met in the middle of the night and just started traveling with, no one questions asked. Rape, anyone? If the story itself hadn’t been so much fun (even though parts of it were incredibly similar to the first book), I think I would have dnf’ed it. Yes, some things in the plot and the character of Rachel annoyed me that much.
Fortunately, by the halfway mark, the story greatly improved, and saved the read for me. The big secret was out and the book raced to a happy conclusion without further demeaning Rachel’s intelligence. The bad guys were defeated, and Harp was saved. There was also some satisfactory catch-up with Rhodry and Amanda.
Sooo…If you don’t peek under the surface at the myriad inconsistencies, the book is a good adventure tale. Don’t look too deeply or expect too much, and you’ll have fun.
September 24, 2019
I LOVE this series! I mean, I love cats and I love romance so of course I'm going to be all over a cat shifter in space romance! D.B Reynolds is a master at all things steamy. She captures the adventure and the blooding-pounding chemistry between tough-as-nails Rachel Fortier and her alpha male, cat-shifting companion Aiden Devlin so purrrrrfectly (see what I did there???) that I can't wait for the next book in this series. When I read any of D.B.'s books I always feel like I'm coming home. Her voice is captivating and her worlds so well detailed that it's as if I'm right there with the characters. With her cat shifters, I always marvel at how well she describes the cat behaviors (she must be a cat lover...or destined to be one anyway.) This is a great book, one that I devoured in a few sittings and like I said, I can't wait to meet the next kitty and his soon to be mate. Keep up the good work, lady! You're one of the best!
November 7, 2019
The Return is book 2 in the Shifter Planet series and it was an ok read for me. First it's been years since I read book 1 and after going back to read my review I realized I didn't love that one either. While I love the world the author was trying to create I felt there was a lot of unnecessary repetition and so much of the story was spent within the swamp and Green that honestly I was bored and kept putting down the book. Aidan and Rachel were enjoyable together and typical of a couple I would expect from this author. Although I enjoyed the time they were together I did feel the romance part of their relationship was lacking. While I didn't love this one, as with any book by this author I have no doubt I will continue this series.
***ARC provided by NetGalley***
***ARC provided by NetGalley***
October 16, 2019
Very good! I found the first few chapters a bit slow but then the story line picked up the pace! I hope we don't have to wait long for the next book in the series!
October 17, 2019
Great story
I loved this book. Action packed, wonderful characters and steamy sex. Lots of critters and sentient trees. I highly recommend this book
I loved this book. Action packed, wonderful characters and steamy sex. Lots of critters and sentient trees. I highly recommend this book
October 14, 2019
Earther Rachel Fortier is a well-regarded biologist who agrees to undertake a mission to the closed planet of Harp where new an exciting species tantalize her. Once on the ground, she realizes the true mission is to capture an apex big cat predator on the planet for military use and experimentation. After she understood that she has been duped, Rachel determines to foil the crew’s plans.
Aidan Devlin, one of the top shifters in his clan, sees the ship land knowing the team members are up to serious no good. He also notices Rachel who seems apart from the crew. When Aidan is captured in his animal form, Rachel helps him escape not knowing his true nature. Rachel leaves the ship determined to make the dangerous trek to the only city on Harp to confront someone who is a traitor to the denizens of the planet.
After Aidan’s escape, he tracks down Rachel and agrees to escort her on the extremely perilous journey. It is some time before Aidan’s true nature is revealed and by then, he and Rachel have formed a very mutual attraction. She is less than pleased to have been keep in the dark; however, Rachel is keeping some secrets of her own.
Aidan and Rachel are a bit frustrating in that their secrets make everything a lot harder than it had to be, but then this paradigm creates the story as well as the reason for their long trek into a very scary and treacherous place. It also gives a chance for their relationship to develop although there are still obstacles in that aspect to overcome once the hidden truths are revealed. This is the second in the Shifter Planet series. It can be read as a standalone, but the story will be enhanced by reading the first book. The world building is quite interesting and unique combining shifters with sci-fi adventure and romance which is all very enjoyable
Aidan Devlin, one of the top shifters in his clan, sees the ship land knowing the team members are up to serious no good. He also notices Rachel who seems apart from the crew. When Aidan is captured in his animal form, Rachel helps him escape not knowing his true nature. Rachel leaves the ship determined to make the dangerous trek to the only city on Harp to confront someone who is a traitor to the denizens of the planet.
After Aidan’s escape, he tracks down Rachel and agrees to escort her on the extremely perilous journey. It is some time before Aidan’s true nature is revealed and by then, he and Rachel have formed a very mutual attraction. She is less than pleased to have been keep in the dark; however, Rachel is keeping some secrets of her own.
Aidan and Rachel are a bit frustrating in that their secrets make everything a lot harder than it had to be, but then this paradigm creates the story as well as the reason for their long trek into a very scary and treacherous place. It also gives a chance for their relationship to develop although there are still obstacles in that aspect to overcome once the hidden truths are revealed. This is the second in the Shifter Planet series. It can be read as a standalone, but the story will be enhanced by reading the first book. The world building is quite interesting and unique combining shifters with sci-fi adventure and romance which is all very enjoyable
October 13, 2019
Rachel Fortier is a much sought-after expert and being hired by Earth Fleet’s most respected scientist to join a mission to the tightly closed planet Harp, it’s a dream come true…until she discovers what the real mission is. Shifter Aidan Devin is on patrol far from his clan when he sees a shuttlecraft landing where it definitely shouldn’t be and then he is captured and put in a cage with no one but help him escape. Drawn together by a hunger they can’t resist, and desperate to discover a traitor who’s willing to destroy their world and everything in it.
The Return to Shifter Planet is a trip that was definitely worth waiting for. Rachel and Aidan have some sizzling chemistry that readers can feel leaping from the pages but their relationship is hampered by secrets and the fact that they are unsure whether they can trust the other or not. Their spirited relationship not only has lots of emotions flowing from the pages but danger as well and a great dialogue that really fits the story and characters adding to the believability of the story.
This great story is fast paced with lots of suspense due to secrets, betrayals and surviving along with exhilarating adventure, danger and excitement including facing a multitude of dangerous creatures. The surprising twists and the thrills that never stop ensures that readers never experience a dull moment and they can’t possible put the book down.
The Return to Shifter Planet is a trip that was definitely worth waiting for. Rachel and Aidan have some sizzling chemistry that readers can feel leaping from the pages but their relationship is hampered by secrets and the fact that they are unsure whether they can trust the other or not. Their spirited relationship not only has lots of emotions flowing from the pages but danger as well and a great dialogue that really fits the story and characters adding to the believability of the story.
This great story is fast paced with lots of suspense due to secrets, betrayals and surviving along with exhilarating adventure, danger and excitement including facing a multitude of dangerous creatures. The surprising twists and the thrills that never stop ensures that readers never experience a dull moment and they can’t possible put the book down.
December 30, 2021
Excellent, looking forward to more from the planet Harp.👏👏👏👏
October 11, 2019
Rachel Fortier is a planetary specialist, she came to Harp believing she was there to study the planet's animal life forms. Unbeknownst to her the real reason was to help hunt and capture one of the cat shifters.
Aiden is a cat shifter, while out patrolling the Green he comes upon a ship that has landed on Harp illegally. Deciding to investigate the ship in his cat form, he is captured and caged. Lucky for him Rachel has decided to save him and try to foil the plan to capture the cat shifters.
I really enjoyed this book. It was well written with great characters and interesting/engaging storyline. Rachel and Aiden were both likable characters with great chemistry. The story was well developed, well paced and had lots of action, drama, great secondary characters, romance and steam. Highly recommend !
Aiden is a cat shifter, while out patrolling the Green he comes upon a ship that has landed on Harp illegally. Deciding to investigate the ship in his cat form, he is captured and caged. Lucky for him Rachel has decided to save him and try to foil the plan to capture the cat shifters.
I really enjoyed this book. It was well written with great characters and interesting/engaging storyline. Rachel and Aiden were both likable characters with great chemistry. The story was well developed, well paced and had lots of action, drama, great secondary characters, romance and steam. Highly recommend !
October 7, 2019
The first book in the Shifter Planet series came out four years ago and it left me wanting more. I'm so happy D.B. Reynolds revisited the planet of Harp. Her ability to build a world unlike any other is fantastic without overshadowing the characters or plot. Rachel and Aidan had loads of chemistry and the give and take kept me hooked. The pacing of the story was perfect without unnecessary additional information. A must-read for lovers of paranormal romantic suspense. I only hope it doesn't take four more years for the next installment.
February 21, 2022
3.4 stars. This is enjoyable and has a lot of redeeming qualities but I can’t get over the feeling this could have used an editor or two to help tighten the story. I like that Rachel is allowed to be stubborn and “disobedient” to her alpha lover without the author punishing her for it. So many heroines aren’t allowed to be competent and right about not needing protection. She’s strong and smart.
I didn’t like how much emphasis was placed on Aidan’s manwhore past, but all turned out right in the end.
I didn’t like how much emphasis was placed on Aidan’s manwhore past, but all turned out right in the end.
September 29, 2019
This is Rachel and Adiens story. First time reading this author and I loved her! Rachel visits the planet harp on a scientific expedition. Or that’s what she was told. When the team she is with attacks the forest in order to lure out one of the big cat species to capture, she’s horrified. She helps the cat escape. But the cat is a shifter named Adien. Read the story to see how Rachel goes through all kinds of perils, to save her cat.
I read this book as an arc from NetGalley
I read this book as an arc from NetGalley
October 22, 2019
It wasn’t awful. The character development is a bit one dimensional. The romance just was. I didn’t feel that the love story was fleshed our enough. Aidan had many women and then was suddenly in-love. Why was it different. How did the heroine just accept without really knowing the hero? Needed more.
October 20, 2019
More more
This is a very complicated story. We have the first couple Amanda and Rhodry who are in this and then the new couple who are trying to survive. I loved the story and chemistry. The characters are amazingly developed. I can’t wait for more
This is a very complicated story. We have the first couple Amanda and Rhodry who are in this and then the new couple who are trying to survive. I loved the story and chemistry. The characters are amazingly developed. I can’t wait for more
November 1, 2019
3.75 shifter-stars! Good read but I admit to some skimming and like a total noob I read the 2nd book in the series before the first 🤓 but the alphas were alphas and the heroine was pretty bad-ass well and the action was a bit compelling so overall an enjoyable read. 👍
January 9, 2020
Not as good as the first one but still worth the read.
April 30, 2026
Well this one was pretty much the same dynamic as the last book- big bad shifter insisting that the human woman cannot possibly know/do anything to protect themselves & then commenting about how surprised they are when said human woman doesn't immediately do something stupid and get themselves killed.
Okay it wasn't that bad- but maybe because I wasn't feeling Aidan as the ML in this book meant I was less charitable about the leads dynamics.
So plot- Rachel a scientist and xeno-veterinarian has landed on Harp with a crew of (what she thinks are) fellow fleet officers in order to study the resident big cats species. However, she quickly discovered that these are soilders looking to capture and abduct the "wild animals" and take them off planet.
It isn't until rescuing one of the big cats they managed to capture and fleeing from her fellow crewmates that Rachel runs into a Harp native named Aidan- who bares a striking resemblance to the apex predator she freed earlier.
While trying to reach the city with Aidan, traversing the dangers of the Green, and trying to stop a dastardly plot from endangering everyone on planet- the two grow closer that either of them were expecting.
---------------------------------------
So all in all I liked the story- Rachel was a tad over confidant when relying on her prior experience considering she didn't have any info about the green, but I liked her anyways--but as I said Aidan was not my favorite kind of character. Cocky, kind of a man-ho, and snarky.
Okay it wasn't that bad- but maybe because I wasn't feeling Aidan as the ML in this book meant I was less charitable about the leads dynamics.
So plot- Rachel a scientist and xeno-veterinarian has landed on Harp with a crew of (what she thinks are) fellow fleet officers in order to study the resident big cats species. However, she quickly discovered that these are soilders looking to capture and abduct the "wild animals" and take them off planet.
It isn't until rescuing one of the big cats they managed to capture and fleeing from her fellow crewmates that Rachel runs into a Harp native named Aidan- who bares a striking resemblance to the apex predator she freed earlier.
While trying to reach the city with Aidan, traversing the dangers of the Green, and trying to stop a dastardly plot from endangering everyone on planet- the two grow closer that either of them were expecting.
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So all in all I liked the story- Rachel was a tad over confidant when relying on her prior experience considering she didn't have any info about the green, but I liked her anyways--but as I said Aidan was not my favorite kind of character. Cocky, kind of a man-ho, and snarky.
“You don’t have to be a dick about it,” she grumbled, hurrying after him.
His soft laugh drifted back to her. “Sometimes it takes a dick to get the job done.”
March 2, 2020
All I can say is I love this series/world and I need more, way more! So if there is any other book from this series on the way, I’m down!
About this book in particular, it was just as good as the first one in terms of both romance and world building! The blurb scarred me a bit because I really didn’t want an enemy to lover type story or whatever and it isn’t! I guess I feared Aidan would doubt Rachel because she was from the party who tried to kidnap him and stuff but, thankfully, everything is clear all the way through, Rachel is indeed one of the good guys!
Appart from that the book is just a really good book, with a lot of adventure, a well constructed relationship between well constructed characters. I need everybody to read this, I swear.
I loved discovering more of the Green, parts we hadn’t even talked about in the first book, and all the creatures is houses. I also really appreciated the glimpse into Amanda and Rhodry’s relationship. The bonus was, we didn’t get those scenes to please the reader, they had a real purpose. I’m in love.
Anyway, read this book, do yourself a favor. Just a message for the author, if you see this, please think on renaming the books, maybe keep the series as The Shifter Planet series if you want but maybe give each book a new, more serious sounding title because I’m sure a lot more people would be tempted if the titles sounded more mysterious and promising? I love those books, I swear.
About this book in particular, it was just as good as the first one in terms of both romance and world building! The blurb scarred me a bit because I really didn’t want an enemy to lover type story or whatever and it isn’t! I guess I feared Aidan would doubt Rachel because she was from the party who tried to kidnap him and stuff but, thankfully, everything is clear all the way through, Rachel is indeed one of the good guys!
Appart from that the book is just a really good book, with a lot of adventure, a well constructed relationship between well constructed characters. I need everybody to read this, I swear.
I loved discovering more of the Green, parts we hadn’t even talked about in the first book, and all the creatures is houses. I also really appreciated the glimpse into Amanda and Rhodry’s relationship. The bonus was, we didn’t get those scenes to please the reader, they had a real purpose. I’m in love.
Anyway, read this book, do yourself a favor. Just a message for the author, if you see this, please think on renaming the books, maybe keep the series as The Shifter Planet series if you want but maybe give each book a new, more serious sounding title because I’m sure a lot more people would be tempted if the titles sounded more mysterious and promising? I love those books, I swear.
March 8, 2020
A great new Paranormal/Sci/fi series!
I was already hooked on D.B. Reynolds writing with her Vampires In America series but she has succeed again with her Shifter Planet series. Nothing beats great writing by a talented author.
Rachel is a highly respected exobiologist. When she is hired to join an expedition to study the restricted planet Harp, she is beyond excited. As a newly rediscovered planet, she will be one of the first scientists allowed to study the planet and catalogue it's creatures and fauna. Or, at least that is what she was told when she signed up. After the landing, she realizes that she has been lied to. Instead of cataloguing, she was hired to keep alive the magnificent cat like animals that the expedition had been hired to capture and bring back alive. This went beyond everything she believed in and, when they do succeed in capturing a magnificent specimen, wounding him in the process, she is determined to rescue and free him. It's after she succeeds in getting him off the ship that she discovers something amazing! He is so much more than just a wild animal and her life is about to change forever.
I was already hooked on D.B. Reynolds writing with her Vampires In America series but she has succeed again with her Shifter Planet series. Nothing beats great writing by a talented author.
Rachel is a highly respected exobiologist. When she is hired to join an expedition to study the restricted planet Harp, she is beyond excited. As a newly rediscovered planet, she will be one of the first scientists allowed to study the planet and catalogue it's creatures and fauna. Or, at least that is what she was told when she signed up. After the landing, she realizes that she has been lied to. Instead of cataloguing, she was hired to keep alive the magnificent cat like animals that the expedition had been hired to capture and bring back alive. This went beyond everything she believed in and, when they do succeed in capturing a magnificent specimen, wounding him in the process, she is determined to rescue and free him. It's after she succeeds in getting him off the ship that she discovers something amazing! He is so much more than just a wild animal and her life is about to change forever.
July 24, 2020
3+
This truly was a better than 3 read but I just don't feel strongly enough about it to give it a solid 4.
I enjoyed returning to this planet a great deal, and I very much like the world building and culture in this series. So much that when I realized Reynolds had released a second I snatched it up and started reading it within a day. In truth I had given up hope that she would return to this world but I'm very glad that she did and hope she will continue to do so.
In fairness I have to say that it took me a long time to warm up to the hero in this one. I didn't find the arrogance attractive, but eventually I got to see more than just charisma and arrogance and did warm up.
Reynolds is another author who does a good job of balancing the relationship with the rest of the story. She often comes down a little more on the romance side than I personally prefer; but she does it well enough, and her erotica is so smokin' hot, that it's not a trial for me. :D
This one ended sounding like there could be more. I sure hope so. I'm in!
This truly was a better than 3 read but I just don't feel strongly enough about it to give it a solid 4.
I enjoyed returning to this planet a great deal, and I very much like the world building and culture in this series. So much that when I realized Reynolds had released a second I snatched it up and started reading it within a day. In truth I had given up hope that she would return to this world but I'm very glad that she did and hope she will continue to do so.
In fairness I have to say that it took me a long time to warm up to the hero in this one. I didn't find the arrogance attractive, but eventually I got to see more than just charisma and arrogance and did warm up.
Reynolds is another author who does a good job of balancing the relationship with the rest of the story. She often comes down a little more on the romance side than I personally prefer; but she does it well enough, and her erotica is so smokin' hot, that it's not a trial for me. :D
This one ended sounding like there could be more. I sure hope so. I'm in!
June 5, 2020
Rachel Fortier is qualified to deal with all kinds of hostile environments, had considerable experience in the same, and had assumed those two factors had influenced Guy Wolfrum’s decision to hire her. She's excited to land on Harp but on the way there and now that their ship has landed things are not adding up.
When a big cat is caught and caged, and she learns more are to be caught Rachel knows she has to do something because this is not what she signed up for.
Shifter Aidan Devin was on patrol in clan territory when he sees a shuttlecraft landing where it definitely shouldn’t be and then he is captured and put in a cage when Rachel, not knowing he is more than a big cat, helps him escape. Drawn together by an atterction they can’t resist, and desperate to discover a traitor who’s willing to destroy their world and everything in it.
** :) ARC kindly provided by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. :) **
January 11, 2023
Loved It
The second book in this series was just as awesome as the first one. Rachel finds herself on a ship that has secretly landed on Harp. She was told she was there to study the big cats but the rest of the crew keeps her out of the loop of what they're real mission is. Aidan has been watching them trying to figure out what they're up to. And then they make their move. He's in cat form when the crew shoots him full of tranquilizers and captures him. He manages to take out a few before he passes out. Rachel is appalled and tries to help him and eventually she helps him escape. The shifters end up destroying the ship but what they don't know is Rachel has learned there's a second ship. She's determined to find it and to make it to the city to confront the traitor responsible for bringing her to the planet under false conditions. Aidan goes with her and their journey is full of danger. Of course they also fall in love which makes for a steamy happy ever after.
The second book in this series was just as awesome as the first one. Rachel finds herself on a ship that has secretly landed on Harp. She was told she was there to study the big cats but the rest of the crew keeps her out of the loop of what they're real mission is. Aidan has been watching them trying to figure out what they're up to. And then they make their move. He's in cat form when the crew shoots him full of tranquilizers and captures him. He manages to take out a few before he passes out. Rachel is appalled and tries to help him and eventually she helps him escape. The shifters end up destroying the ship but what they don't know is Rachel has learned there's a second ship. She's determined to find it and to make it to the city to confront the traitor responsible for bringing her to the planet under false conditions. Aidan goes with her and their journey is full of danger. Of course they also fall in love which makes for a steamy happy ever after.
August 7, 2023
Dr. Rachel Fortier arrives on the planet Harp with a research expedition to study their big cats. But the way they have separated her from any other knowledge about the trip is making her suspicious. Then she finds that they have cages to capture and remove the animals from the planet for study and see them torturing one of the cats they capture. She determines to free the cat and cross the planet to confront Gus Wulfrum who deceived her into coming. But in freeing the cat and the subsequent destruction of the ship and crew she is stranded as well. In traveling with the cat she learns a secret and is more determined to confront Wulfrum. Lots of adventure, drama and romance. Well done, though I liked the first volume a little better.
gave-up
June 4, 2020Can't get over the first few pages, where our "Alpha" hero is wandering the forest brooding about how the last book's main couple is soo cute and deliriously happy. If only he could find something that magical, right?
Cue heroine's ship literally crashing into his life.
I can't stomach this kind of corniness in a story that takes itself so seriously.
Cue heroine's ship literally crashing into his life.
I can't stomach this kind of corniness in a story that takes itself so seriously.
June 13, 2024
Shifter Planet: the Return
This was an excellent blend of sci-fi and fantasy, and just the right amount of romance without going overboard. It held my interest quickly and kept.it.until the end. I'm hoping a third book might be planned as I loved the way the author incorporated the original protagonists in the second book! .
This was an excellent blend of sci-fi and fantasy, and just the right amount of romance without going overboard. It held my interest quickly and kept.it.until the end. I'm hoping a third book might be planned as I loved the way the author incorporated the original protagonists in the second book! .
October 17, 2024
another great story by D.B. Reynolds
Rachel and Aiden met in a serious situation but were bound to each other trying to protect the Harp and the Green. Loved seeing Amanda and Rhodry next stage in their careers and romance. I love the educated beautiful earth woman who come to do a job and are principled enough to do the right thing despite the opposition they get!
Rachel and Aiden met in a serious situation but were bound to each other trying to protect the Harp and the Green. Loved seeing Amanda and Rhodry next stage in their careers and romance. I love the educated beautiful earth woman who come to do a job and are principled enough to do the right thing despite the opposition they get!
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