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Bear Bites #1-5
Shift
There are few things that are off limits to the were-bears of Pine Falls, but humans are one of them. Not that it's stopping these alphas from finding their mates! Included in this anthology are five steamy, ultra-hot novellas of big, burly shifters brought to their knees by the women they love.
Includes a never-before-seen bonus story, entitled 'You Gotta Be Shifting Me', in which a naughty librarian shows a gruff were-bear that he can't steal her honey and get away with it.
*CONTAINS MATURE THEMES*
RUNNING TIME ➥ 8hrs. and 38mins.
©2016 Ruby Dixon (P)2020 Tantor
Includes a never-before-seen bonus story, entitled 'You Gotta Be Shifting Me', in which a naughty librarian shows a gruff were-bear that he can't steal her honey and get away with it.
*CONTAINS MATURE THEMES*
RUNNING TIME ➥ 8hrs. and 38mins.
©2016 Ruby Dixon (P)2020 Tantor
Audible Audio
First published May 31, 2016
550 people are currently reading
706 people want to read
About the author
Ruby Dixon
161 books19.7k followersRuby Dixon is an author of Science Fiction Romance. She likes fated mates, baby-filled epilogues, and cinnamon roll heroes. She also likes to write biographies of herself in the third person, because it feels more important that way.
Ruby also loves coffee and dirty books and will probably be a cat lady at some point. :)
Ruby also loves coffee and dirty books and will probably be a cat lady at some point. :)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 290 reviews
September 18, 2022
3.5 Stars
This was a cute little collection of bear shifter stories and I mostly enjoyed them all, especially Ryann and Mal's story.
Older man/younger lady shenanigans?
Me love you long time.
Now, not to the degree down below, mind you.
But a 40/20 split never hurt anyone.
Mmmmmm...scrumptious.
Moving on.
The only story I didn't really shuck and jive with was Leo and Caroline's story.
But maybe that had something to do with reading about his prolific sexual exploits in the novellas proceeding his.
Including a little tidbit about about how he fucked two girls at once last month or something like that.
Yeah...mucho yucko.
Other than that, like I said, I enjoyed this collection - although not as much as her Barbarian Alien series - and I will definitely continue to read this author.
This was a cute little collection of bear shifter stories and I mostly enjoyed them all, especially Ryann and Mal's story.
Older man/younger lady shenanigans?
Me love you long time.
Now, not to the degree down below, mind you.
But a 40/20 split never hurt anyone.
Mmmmmm...scrumptious.
Moving on.
The only story I didn't really shuck and jive with was Leo and Caroline's story.
But maybe that had something to do with reading about his prolific sexual exploits in the novellas proceeding his.
Including a little tidbit about about how he fucked two girls at once last month or something like that.
Yeah...mucho yucko.
Other than that, like I said, I enjoyed this collection - although not as much as her Barbarian Alien series - and I will definitely continue to read this author.
August 9, 2023
2.5 stars - A collection of five spicy novellas about bear shifters falling in love with humans (or non-bear shifters). Ruby Dixon uses these novellas to flex her kinky muscles a little, and while I think she writes kink decently well (with aftercare, safe words, etc), she does have a tendency to pick kinks that are really not my jam.
All of these include the fated mates trope, a small town setting, and insta-love—plus a light breeding kink vibe (scent marking and the like).
1: Shift Out of Luck 🌝🌝🌝🌚🌚
Virgin heroine goes after the grumpy owner of a camping supply store. He’s wanted her from afar but stayed away because he’s worried that his massive package will literally rip her apart 😂😂😂 soooo I’ll put this one in the size kink bin.
2: Get Your Shift Together 🌝🌚🌚🌚🌚
The heroine was immature and insecure, and she jumped to insane conclusions. I have no idea how the hero put up with her or why he’d even want to.
3: Shift Just Got Real 🌝🌝🌚🌚🌚
DD/Lg kink with an age gap, a virgin heroine and an older hero. That is just really not my cuppa, so I skimmed this novella. Aside from the kink tho the hero just seemed like an ass. There’s also stalking and voyeurism, which weirdly enough, I mind a lot less than the daddy stuff.
4: Does a Bear Shift in the Woods 🌝🌝🌗🌚🌚
Grumpy male dom and bratty female sub. Again, not really my cuppa. This is the only one in which the heroine is also a shifter.
5: You Gotta Be Shifting Me 🌝🌝🌝🌝🌚
My favorite of the bunch. The heroine was super funny and the hero was absolutely obsessed in an adorable way. She thinks she’s using him for sex, he’s perfectly happy to be used just as long as he gets an excuse to spend time with her.
All of these include the fated mates trope, a small town setting, and insta-love—plus a light breeding kink vibe (scent marking and the like).
1: Shift Out of Luck 🌝🌝🌝🌚🌚
Virgin heroine goes after the grumpy owner of a camping supply store. He’s wanted her from afar but stayed away because he’s worried that his massive package will literally rip her apart 😂😂😂 soooo I’ll put this one in the size kink bin.
2: Get Your Shift Together 🌝🌚🌚🌚🌚
The heroine was immature and insecure, and she jumped to insane conclusions. I have no idea how the hero put up with her or why he’d even want to.
3: Shift Just Got Real 🌝🌝🌚🌚🌚
DD/Lg kink with an age gap, a virgin heroine and an older hero. That is just really not my cuppa, so I skimmed this novella. Aside from the kink tho the hero just seemed like an ass. There’s also stalking and voyeurism, which weirdly enough, I mind a lot less than the daddy stuff.
4: Does a Bear Shift in the Woods 🌝🌝🌗🌚🌚
Grumpy male dom and bratty female sub. Again, not really my cuppa. This is the only one in which the heroine is also a shifter.
5: You Gotta Be Shifting Me 🌝🌝🌝🌝🌚
My favorite of the bunch. The heroine was super funny and the hero was absolutely obsessed in an adorable way. She thinks she’s using him for sex, he’s perfectly happy to be used just as long as he gets an excuse to spend time with her.
October 29, 2023
3.5 Red-Blooded Bear Stars ⭐
Five sweet and steamy bear shifter novellas in one. Shift was what I needed when everything I've tried reading the last few days hasn't suited my mood. These were insta love and cutesy enough, that somehow felt complete in very little pages!
"You ever going to do anything about that or just stand here and howl at the moon like a dumbass?"
🐻Shift Out Of Luck
🐻Shift Just Got Real
🐻Get Your Shift Together
🐻Does A Bear Shift In The Woods
🐻You Gotta Be Shifting Me
So before there were Alien Barbarians, apparently Ruby Dixon created Shifter Bears completely gone for their human mates. Dirty little morsels with no actual brain power required to enjoy them!
Five sweet and steamy bear shifter novellas in one. Shift was what I needed when everything I've tried reading the last few days hasn't suited my mood. These were insta love and cutesy enough, that somehow felt complete in very little pages!
"You ever going to do anything about that or just stand here and howl at the moon like a dumbass?"
🐻Shift Out Of Luck
🐻Shift Just Got Real
🐻Get Your Shift Together
🐻Does A Bear Shift In The Woods
🐻You Gotta Be Shifting Me
So before there were Alien Barbarians, apparently Ruby Dixon created Shifter Bears completely gone for their human mates. Dirty little morsels with no actual brain power required to enjoy them!
June 10, 2016
I've already read & rated the first four books of this anthology when they first came out and enjoyed them. I'm not going to re-review each of the four again. I got this anthology because a) I freaking love compilations/anthologies and having all the books in a series together. I wish more series did this. b) there's a new story, a fifth one to read. The 4 star rating is for the anthology as a whole. About the fifth story:
Alexa is the town librarian and a human. Griffin is a were-bear who can't say anything without putting his foot in his mouth. They have the hots for each other, but they're both idiots. Alexa is still holding a grudge over dumb things he said & that she thinks all weres only use humans for flings. Griff desperately wants her as a mate & goes about it by convincing her to use him for her own agenda. It's short and sweet, but definitely not my favorite couple. I found Alexa annoying and all her misconceptions were based off what one person told her. Dumb. And Griff, eh, he was fine. 3 stars and that's kind of rounding up.
To Ruby Dixon: Keep Writing! Never Stop! I liked your shifter stories a lot, even if they were super short, please write longer stories next time. But your alien stories are my favorite. Very excited for the forthcoming books. How about dragons next?
Alexa is the town librarian and a human. Griffin is a were-bear who can't say anything without putting his foot in his mouth. They have the hots for each other, but they're both idiots. Alexa is still holding a grudge over dumb things he said & that she thinks all weres only use humans for flings. Griff desperately wants her as a mate & goes about it by convincing her to use him for her own agenda. It's short and sweet, but definitely not my favorite couple. I found Alexa annoying and all her misconceptions were based off what one person told her. Dumb. And Griff, eh, he was fine. 3 stars and that's kind of rounding up.
To Ruby Dixon: Keep Writing! Never Stop! I liked your shifter stories a lot, even if they were super short, please write longer stories next time. But your alien stories are my favorite. Very excited for the forthcoming books. How about dragons next?
July 4, 2023
Bear shifter shorts!
This was a collection of five bear shifter novellas. Each story was pretty full despite the fact that they were short. The world building was pretty great. Plus they take place in my home state of Minnesota which was pretty great. The bear shifters live in northern Minnesota near the boundary waters. Ruby always does a great job of mixing plenty of steamy scenes with a good storyline and this book is no different. It was very fun!
Blog|Goodreads|Facebook|Instagram|Twitter|BookBub
This was a collection of five bear shifter novellas. Each story was pretty full despite the fact that they were short. The world building was pretty great. Plus they take place in my home state of Minnesota which was pretty great. The bear shifters live in northern Minnesota near the boundary waters. Ruby always does a great job of mixing plenty of steamy scenes with a good storyline and this book is no different. It was very fun!
Blog|Goodreads|Facebook|Instagram|Twitter|BookBub
June 8, 2016
Ehm ... nope. Maybe it's that for a reader one author is good and the other is awful - apparently one can't like both. I know a few people in the meantime who don't like AR but love RD's work. For me, it's the contrary.
This is a collection of 5 novellas. Since I like the whole shifter thing, I thought I should give it a try. It wasn's bad per se ... at first I even thought it was just me not liking bears as much as wolves ... but there is some stuff in here that I just don't like.
AR already has overprotective alpha-males in her stories but especially the one in Ruby Dixon's second Bear Shifter story was a downright stalker (including snapping pictures). It doesn't matter that the woman doesn't mind in the slightest.
Also, what the hell is it with these guys and the I-can't-be-with-her-because-she's-too-good-for-me trope???
So I thought I should/could get over it with great sex scenes at least ... yeah, didn't work either because the ones in here aren't really hot if you ask me. Again, they aren't BAD per se, but not really great either.
Meh. Not for me, sadly.
This is a collection of 5 novellas. Since I like the whole shifter thing, I thought I should give it a try. It wasn's bad per se ... at first I even thought it was just me not liking bears as much as wolves ... but there is some stuff in here that I just don't like.
AR already has overprotective alpha-males in her stories but especially the one in Ruby Dixon's second Bear Shifter story was a downright stalker (including snapping pictures). It doesn't matter that the woman doesn't mind in the slightest.
Also, what the hell is it with these guys and the I-can't-be-with-her-because-she's-too-good-for-me trope???
So I thought I should/could get over it with great sex scenes at least ... yeah, didn't work either because the ones in here aren't really hot if you ask me. Again, they aren't BAD per se, but not really great either.
Meh. Not for me, sadly.
October 23, 2020
Ruby Dixon's take on were-bears? Yes please... not her best stuff, but a nice version of a tried and true subgenre
June 14, 2016
I've already read the first four books of this series and wrote a review individually. My rating and review was for the fifth book:
You Gotta Be Shifting Me
The story was about Griffin, a bear shifter and Alexa, a human.
Alexa's a librarian. She came to town three years ago. Griffin ate the honey jam she made for a contest. He apologized but she didn't want anything to do with him.
He made an offer for the library building fund and she had no choice but to face him and have dinner with him but then he opened his mouth and she walked out on him. He's not a good talker and Alexa thought all he wanted from her was sex and that he would just dump her after that. Her assistant also told her some things about shifters so even when Griffin told her he wanted her more than that, she didn't believe him.
To be honest, this book was my least favorite. I don't know if it's just my mood but she was annoying. I mean, it's been three years already and he apologized to her a couple of times but she was still so hard on him.
She even tried to convince herself that she was just using him. Sex and her time in exchange for the expansion of the library. Griffin didn't care because he would still do it for her even without the sex. He's just waiting for her to realize she's his mate. But it took her a long time to realize that.
It's HFN. Would have like it more if there's an epilogue.
SAFETY:
You Gotta Be Shifting Me
The story was about Griffin, a bear shifter and Alexa, a human.
Alexa's a librarian. She came to town three years ago. Griffin ate the honey jam she made for a contest. He apologized but she didn't want anything to do with him.
He made an offer for the library building fund and she had no choice but to face him and have dinner with him but then he opened his mouth and she walked out on him. He's not a good talker and Alexa thought all he wanted from her was sex and that he would just dump her after that. Her assistant also told her some things about shifters so even when Griffin told her he wanted her more than that, she didn't believe him.
To be honest, this book was my least favorite. I don't know if it's just my mood but she was annoying. I mean, it's been three years already and he apologized to her a couple of times but she was still so hard on him.
She even tried to convince herself that she was just using him. Sex and her time in exchange for the expansion of the library. Griffin didn't care because he would still do it for her even without the sex. He's just waiting for her to realize she's his mate. But it took her a long time to realize that.
It's HFN. Would have like it more if there's an epilogue.
SAFETY:
April 27, 2017
Love this series! Box set includes a new novella, You Gotta Be Shifting Me. Just wish there were epilogues.
September 17, 2020
Ruby Dixon always writes the smuttiest smut to ever have smutted, and I'm not complaining in the slightest.
Been stewing in the deep dark pits of a reading slump recently, so I needed something silly to pull me out of that mental space.
Luckily, this collection was just the right type of ridiculous, tongue-in-cheek, smutty goodness that I was looking for.
These novellas are over-the-top in every feasible way, and I was overjoyed at that. The stories are dripping with alpha/fated mate tropes, have extremely exaggerated insta-love, and are filled with some deliciously dirty/steamy scenes. It was the exact brand of intentional campy humor that my withered, reading slump addled brain was craving.
It's worth mentioning, since these are novellas, they are mainly focused on the couples hooking up and don't spend too much time on worldbuilding or any real character development. I could see how some readers might want more from their short erotica, but that wasn't a problem for me in this case.
If you're like me and need something easy & dumb to turn your brain off to, this collection serves its purpose and serves it well.
Been stewing in the deep dark pits of a reading slump recently, so I needed something silly to pull me out of that mental space.
Luckily, this collection was just the right type of ridiculous, tongue-in-cheek, smutty goodness that I was looking for.
These novellas are over-the-top in every feasible way, and I was overjoyed at that. The stories are dripping with alpha/fated mate tropes, have extremely exaggerated insta-love, and are filled with some deliciously dirty/steamy scenes. It was the exact brand of intentional campy humor that my withered, reading slump addled brain was craving.
It's worth mentioning, since these are novellas, they are mainly focused on the couples hooking up and don't spend too much time on worldbuilding or any real character development. I could see how some readers might want more from their short erotica, but that wasn't a problem for me in this case.
If you're like me and need something easy & dumb to turn your brain off to, this collection serves its purpose and serves it well.
November 4, 2020
This rating is for the last book in the series. By now after binging the entire thing, I've gotten tired and this one didn't stand out for me.
June 29, 2016
2 hours, one desperate lady, one novella. End result- I read the crap out of it and I'm rubbing my brain's fictional tummy in satisfaction.
The rating is for the fifth novella in the anthology since I have already reviewed and rated the first four in the series.
The rating is for the fifth novella in the anthology since I have already reviewed and rated the first four in the series.
June 2, 2016
4.25 stars thats for bk5 only
June 8, 2016
This is just for book 5. I read the others when originally released. Though I did do a reread of all of them before reading bk 5.
2.5 stars but I'll round up since it's Ruby Dixon.
I was a little disappointed. Alexa drove me nuts! I hated it took them 3 years to get together and Alexa ignored all Griffin's attempts to apologize and have dinner with him . I really did not like their arrangement and how long it lasted either. Even though he knew what she was doing, I felt he deserved better.
Why would she take one person's word for whether shifters actually take human mates or not? Obviously her friend was disgruntled. It was so frustrating. A little communication could have solved a lot. Because of all this, I just didn't feel their connection like I did in the other stories.
2.5 stars but I'll round up since it's Ruby Dixon.
I was a little disappointed. Alexa drove me nuts! I hated it took them 3 years to get together and Alexa ignored all Griffin's attempts to apologize and have dinner with him . I really did not like their arrangement and how long it lasted either. Even though he knew what she was doing, I felt he deserved better.
Why would she take one person's word for whether shifters actually take human mates or not? Obviously her friend was disgruntled. It was so frustrating. A little communication could have solved a lot. Because of all this, I just didn't feel their connection like I did in the other stories.
June 6, 2016
This is for the added 5th story as I had already read the others. This was just ok for me. I liked Griff a lot. He wasn't all that great at communicating but trying to communicate with the h would've been impossible anyways. The h annoyed the hell out of me in this story. I guess she had been hurt in the past and a co worker told her shifters don't mate for life so she just automatically didn't want to give Griff a chance. He had been trying to take her out to dinner for MONTHS. If a guy only wants to get laid I'm pretty sure he'd give up on you after a few WEEKS!! Maybe it's my mood but she annoyed me more than most heroines I've read. And it's a short novella. Thank god it wasn't a full length book. I do like Ruby Dixon's stories though. This one just didn't work for me.
February 14, 2023
This one was fun, filled with short stories about how shifters found their mates. Some of them fought it hard, others, not so much. In the end all of them seemed happy with their mate and their new lives, which is all any of us could hope for,
July 20, 2016
My rating is for the last story only.
December 23, 2024
This is a collection of 5 shifter romance novellas by Ruby Dixon.
I've liked quite a few Ruby Dixon books (although she's hit-or-miss with me) and I've also liked many shifter romances, so I was hoping that I would end up enjoying this series. But sadly, this series isn't for me.
This series has very little character or relationship development, and some of the characters' actions were inappropriate or bizarre. Any parts with potential were ruined for me by the characters ridiculous thoughts and actions.
I've liked quite a few Ruby Dixon books (although she's hit-or-miss with me) and I've also liked many shifter romances, so I was hoping that I would end up enjoying this series. But sadly, this series isn't for me.
This series has very little character or relationship development, and some of the characters' actions were inappropriate or bizarre. Any parts with potential were ruined for me by the characters ridiculous thoughts and actions.
February 14, 2017
3 Stars for the entire omnibus/series.
2.5 stars for You Gotta Be Shifting Me (Bear Bites #5) (only in omnibus)
http://bookslifewine.com/r-you-gotta-...
All in all...it's a quick time pass if you pay for Kindle Unlimited.
2.5 stars for You Gotta Be Shifting Me (Bear Bites #5) (only in omnibus)
http://bookslifewine.com/r-you-gotta-...
All in all...it's a quick time pass if you pay for Kindle Unlimited.
June 11, 2021
All safe; stories were good not great overall.
June 4, 2018
First novella 2 stars.
Second novella 3 stars.
Third novella 1 star.
Fourth novella 4 stars.
Fifth novella 2,5 -3 stars.
Second novella 3 stars.
Third novella 1 star.
Fourth novella 4 stars.
Fifth novella 2,5 -3 stars.
July 11, 2016
This review is only for the fifth story "You've Gotta be Shifting Me," since it doesn't have its own entry on GR.
"You’re my woman, and I’m your bear.”
This wasn't my favorite of the "Bear Bites" series, but I still enjoyed reading it. It's quickly becoming a pet peeve when there's a major issue that could be cleared up with a simple conversation. Alexa has doubts about his intentions...why not just ask?!? Grif wants her to be his mate for life...why not just say so?!? Problem solved.
Anyway, I liked learning that this was written for Alexa Riley and that "Riding Red" was written for Ruby Dixon. Makes me wish I could swap smutty stories with my besties!
I do wish these stories had epilogues to take it from "happy for now" to the land of "happily ever after."
It cracked me up that Grif was busted eating multiple jars of Alexa's honey jam...
"You’re my woman, and I’m your bear.”
This wasn't my favorite of the "Bear Bites" series, but I still enjoyed reading it. It's quickly becoming a pet peeve when there's a major issue that could be cleared up with a simple conversation. Alexa has doubts about his intentions...why not just ask?!? Grif wants her to be his mate for life...why not just say so?!? Problem solved.
Anyway, I liked learning that this was written for Alexa Riley and that "Riding Red" was written for Ruby Dixon. Makes me wish I could swap smutty stories with my besties!
I do wish these stories had epilogues to take it from "happy for now" to the land of "happily ever after."
It cracked me up that Grif was busted eating multiple jars of Alexa's honey jam...
August 4, 2019
Read for: Bear Bites #5 : Griff & Alexa
|| All right, Alexa, you oversexed book nerd, I tell myself. You can’t go on like this. What are your options? ||
Been there, said that, sister! LOL.
The final (for now?) smutty and shift-y Pine Falls adventure.
I loooved Griff, and while it took me a minute to warm up to Alexa, I’m happy as a bear with a jar of honey that they got their HEA.
|| All right, Alexa, you oversexed book nerd, I tell myself. You can’t go on like this. What are your options? ||
Been there, said that, sister! LOL.
The final (for now?) smutty and shift-y Pine Falls adventure.
I loooved Griff, and while it took me a minute to warm up to Alexa, I’m happy as a bear with a jar of honey that they got their HEA.
August 4, 2017
Never-before-seen bonus story entitled YOU GOTTA BE SHIFTING ME
January 10, 2020
I once said that I would read ANYTHING by Ruby Dixon. And this proves it!
I was not a fan of these short stories. You can definitely tell that this was Ruby's earlier works. It was fun, however, to see her writing evolve over time.
What bothered me to most about this was the underdeveloped were-bear history and how they live. They are destined to mate, one of Ruby's signatures moves, but it was never explained how that works. It seems like once they meet their mates, they become obsessed with them. But over half of these couples have known each other for years without becoming intimate. One reason being because the heroine is usually human. Apparently mating a human is forbidden. BUT IT IS NEVER FULLY EXPLAINED. I, personally, needed more insight on the were-bears to be satisfied and it just didn't happen.
Overall, I give this 3 stars. It wasn't the most terrible way to spend my time. Plus, I really enjoyed seeing just how far Ruby has come.
This review was originally posted on Sincerely, Whitney
I was not a fan of these short stories. You can definitely tell that this was Ruby's earlier works. It was fun, however, to see her writing evolve over time.
What bothered me to most about this was the underdeveloped were-bear history and how they live. They are destined to mate, one of Ruby's signatures moves, but it was never explained how that works. It seems like once they meet their mates, they become obsessed with them. But over half of these couples have known each other for years without becoming intimate. One reason being because the heroine is usually human. Apparently mating a human is forbidden. BUT IT IS NEVER FULLY EXPLAINED. I, personally, needed more insight on the were-bears to be satisfied and it just didn't happen.
Overall, I give this 3 stars. It wasn't the most terrible way to spend my time. Plus, I really enjoyed seeing just how far Ruby has come.
This review was originally posted on Sincerely, Whitney
December 16, 2018
Review for YOU GOTTA BE SHIFTING ME (#5) only.
Other books reviewed already separately.
Other books reviewed already separately.
August 14, 2019
These books were ok, I prefer her ice planet books.
January 11, 2021
I listened to this book in audiobook format.
January 12, 2024
Read for You Gotta Be Shifting Me
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