Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Emerald Haven #3

Fighting the Bear

Rate this book
Curvy girl, Erica Moore, has been living in a town of bear and wolf shifters for six months. Apparently, that can happen when you buy a building in a town you’ve never lived in before. Fortunately, the shifters don’t scare her, especially the Alpha. In fact, she likes the perfect man a little too much.

Zane Matthews, bear shifter and Alpha of his clan, has known his mate’s identity for six long months, and he’s done being civilized. He’s tried to be her friend, and curb his lust, but he’s tired of staying away from the sexy human.

Sparks fly when Zane and Erica finally come together, but claiming a feisty, independent mate isn’t easy, especially when a crazy clanmate and past hurts make themselves hard to ignore. Luckily, Zane is Alpha for a reason, and the powerful bear isn’t afraid to tackle a few annoying obstacles to get exactly what he wants.

77 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 30, 2019

119 people are currently reading
45 people want to read

About the author

Ruby Shae

65 books248 followers
USA TODAY Bestselling Author

I write sizzling, sexy, shifter romance featuring women in all their beautiful forms and the alpha men who love them.

Word Slayer | Coffee Drinker | Book Lover

Sign up for my Newsletter and stay up to date on all of my book news!

https://subscribepage.io/t6d7oI

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
159 (53%)
4 stars
90 (30%)
3 stars
42 (14%)
2 stars
6 (2%)
1 star
1 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
Profile Image for Nova.
2,710 reviews102 followers
October 16, 2019
Ruby Shae is definitely my go to author when I want a shifter book and this series is awesome for satisfying a guilty pleasure. This is the third book in the series and each one can be read as a standalone although in my opinion you should read them all anyway. J



Zane Matthews is the Alpha Bear shifter within his clan and knew he had found his mate when Erica arrived in town six months ago and has been biding his time waiting for the right time to show new girl in town Erica that she belongs to him but before he can show her that they are meant to be there are a few of his clan that need to learn their place. But will Erica accept him as he is or is he destined to have his mate reject him?



Erica Moore wanted to escape her past and start a new in Emerald Haven, in the six months that she has been in town she has built her donut shop in to something special now if only she could stop thinking of Zane Matthews, the successful hotelier in the town and the secret alpha of the shifter town. Knowing their secret she vowed to never betray them but her feelings for Zane scare her especially as he already has his mate or does he? Could she really be such a powerful mans mate and will she survive the danger she suddenly finds herself in ?



Love these books and I highly recommend them.

Profile Image for Fran Zoch, LSoR.
2,143 reviews13 followers
February 5, 2020
Awesome

Erica is human and has the best donut Shop around and Zane is the Alpha and her mate but she does not know that , one of his clan members thinks she is his mate and tries to get rid of Erica thank god for alphas
Profile Image for Melissa.
1,676 reviews111 followers
October 4, 2019
Good

This was a good solid story from Ruby Shae. I’ve really missed her writing. I liked Zane and Erica a lot. Both felt the strong mating pull and even though Erica didn’t really know much about mates she still felt connected to him. Erica was very independent and stubborn and had trouble letting Zane in, she almost had a hard time believing him at all. Zane had some work cut out for him and he was definitely up for the task.
The only thing I disliked was that they had relationships with others in the past. I don’t like it when fated mates are with other before meeting. Why have a girlfriend if you know you have a mate and the relationship isn’t going to go anywhere?

Safety’s and Spoilers
Safe. No om drama. Om drama, a female member of the pack wants H for herself and made h think they were dating the six months she was in town. This causes h to not trust the H at first. She also causes major drama at the end. H had past relationships and hadn’t been with anyone since h moved to town. h had only one partner who was just using her. No physical abuse but h did suffer from neglect and some emotional abuse from her mother growing up.
Profile Image for D.E..
Author 140 books984 followers
Read
October 9, 2019
I needed something super quick and light after speed reading a heavy literary tome. This hit the spot. I'm not sure I'd have read it otherwise, though.
352 reviews
April 20, 2025
GOOD Read!!

This is the second book I’ve read by Ruby Shae, but the first in this series. I thoroughly enjoy her writing style and character development. The story flowed well and it was an interesting take that Erica (six months new to the town) knew quite a bit about shifters but kept quiet on the topic. The dialogue and interactions between Erica and Zane was believable and well balanced with descriptions. The supporting cast of characters was small but integral to filling out the tale, and the villain (a former classmate of Zane’s) was not fully in the picture until she struck with deadly intent. I will most certainly be looking to read more of Ms Shane’s books, and I encourage others who like paranormal reading to check this author out.
Profile Image for Jamoz23.
5,366 reviews46 followers
May 28, 2020
Not one I will reread.
Due to being so short, once again I feel like I have an incomplete story.
Erica is negative for reasons I found unrealistic. After being obstinate, she is suddenly, I love you with Zane.
Zane was responsible for the enforcers death, as he let Tiffany get away with too much BUT he has known her as a family friend for years. Their parents are close friends so how was all this explained away?
Did Tiffany get the liquid silver from Rockwood? If so why are measures not being taken?
I really hope the enforcer was not mated.
Read through Kindle Unlimited.
Profile Image for Michelle David.
2,566 reviews13 followers
January 8, 2022
enjoyed it

Erica is a feisty human who has innocently moved into a shifter town. Zane is the Alpha Bear who has finally found his mate. She is not sure-will love overcome her fears?
618 reviews5 followers
April 21, 2025
Zane and Erica are fated mates, it she thinks he has a girlfriend. He is the alpha and and get his mate to realize they belong together. When he finally gets through to Erica that's when the heat turns up.
Really love those alpha shifters, just want more of his bear.
2,301 reviews6 followers
December 4, 2020
Another great read

Enjoyed reading this book and reading about the characters and their story. Looking forward to reading more from this author.
Profile Image for angela gunstone.
1,857 reviews8 followers
November 23, 2023
Fighting the bear

Couldn't put it down loved the characters and the storyline so it's a well deserved five stars and I would recommend this book to everyone
Profile Image for Sarah A.
347 reviews1 follower
April 5, 2025
alright

It was alright, for some reason I just really dislike the pov of 3rd person. It’s just weird to me. But it was a descent story just wish it was in 1st person
Profile Image for v'sreadingjourney.
4,522 reviews
August 18, 2023
​​

Method: ebook
Rating: 4/5 stars
Hero rating: 4/5 - Zane
Heroine rating: 4/5 - Erica
Drama: 3/5
Trope(s): paranormal; shifter
Thoughts: Will continue!!
1,603 reviews12 followers
December 3, 2019
This is an OK shifter romance, but it is just too short to have as much character development as I'd like. It is actually just a short story, as it has just under 80 pages.

I mostly liked both Zane and Erica, but I got a little annoyed with Erica's fear of a relationship. She was so sure that any man would try to control her, and she would lose her independence -- and it almost made her lose out on her fated mate.

My rating system is below.
1 star -- Hated it, or did not finish. I usually only give this rating if some of the content is truly objectionable to me, like if one of the main characters does something really awful, and gets away with it.
2 stars -- Didn't like it. This rating usually means that I thought the writing wasn't very good, the editing was terrible, I didn't like the characters, or it had other major flaws.
3 stars -- I liked it, but had some minor issues with it. This rating means that there were minor editing issues, the story needed more character development, it was just too unrealistic, or had some other fairly minor issue. The majority of books I read get this rating – I do not consider it a bad rating.
4 stars -- I liked it a lot. This is a high rating for me, and I rarely give a higher one.
5 stars -- I loved it, and will probably read it again. Very few books are good enough to get this rating from me. The ones that do are usually classics.
Profile Image for Tara.
680 reviews
October 3, 2019
I really liked Zane. He's hot, sexy, gorgeous, kind, and protective. He's definitely Alpha. Erica I wasn't s big fan of. Yes, she had a sad and horrible past. I get that. But how could you run a bakery shop with no help. I know she's had issues in the past with trust and people not being there for her. But dang, this is your business. You're the boss. And she seemed to fight Zane at every turn for her independence which she had. He was only trying to help. The sex was hot of course, it always is. That's a big plus. Just not a fan of Erica's.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Maria .
2,492 reviews23 followers
October 18, 2019
Heat

Zane is the alpha of his clan and he has finally decided after six months it is time to make a move on his very independent mate. She does not know she is his mate yet.

Erica owns her own donut shop in town and she is aware of the alpha who has constantly been in her shop over the months. But she perceives him to be bossy because he is alpha.

Danger is lurking around!
Profile Image for Jacqueline Palazzo.
122 reviews
October 2, 2019
Fighting the bear ( Emerald haven book 3 )

This story is great. I love characters and how you can relate to them. I would recommend this book to anyone who just wants a happy ever after.
Profile Image for Jenny.
1,124 reviews14 followers
October 3, 2019
Fighting the Bear

Fighting the Bear is the third book in this series. Each book is 100% stand alone with character crosover. I love fated mate shifter books and Ruby Shae is definitely in my top 3 favorite shifter authors.
453 reviews1 follower
December 9, 2019
Fighting the Bear by Ruby Shae

Great storyline! Zane is one hot alpha bear! Erica is Zane mate . Jealous ex girlfriend. Danger to Erica that Zane must take care of. But for a quick book to read.
Profile Image for Kay Hughes.
18 reviews
October 8, 2019
Sassy bbw takes on bossy bear

I am bad at writing reviews.. book really really good!!! Me like!! Want more!!
Thanks for the great series!! Hurry and write more! Please.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.