"Ms. Arthur is a master at creating fabulous paranormal worlds that are amazingly realistic and wholly believable. Readers will be delighted with this imaginative escape, and hoping there's more of the same seduction in the future."-Darque Reviews She's every man's desire and one man's target. Some think of Lifemate Connections as a government approved dating service, meant to keep order in a world where men outnumber women ten to one and only the rich are allowed to bear children. But the fabulously expensive hotel and bar is little more than a sex club where approved singles are required to test potential mates-and anything goes. Shifter Eryn James is beautiful but not wealthy; when the police ask her to act as bait for a serial killer at the hotel, she jumps at the chance to indulge in the decadent world of the privileged class. Her keen sense of smell should protect her. The club is full of security, and the cops have her under constant surveillance. None of that will keep her safe from Grey Stockard . . . a dangerous, mysterious fellow shifter who instantly destroys her willpower and claims her as his own. But even mind-blowing sex and their powerful psychic bond can't erase Eryn's fear that he may be the killer. A man she wants with every ounce of her being. A man she just might end up dying for . . . Keri Arthur, author of the New York Times bestselling Riley Jenson Guardian series, has now written more than thirty novels. She's received several nominations in the Best Contemporary Paranormal category of the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Awards and has won RT's Career Achievement Award for urban fantasy. She lives with her daughter in Melbourne, Australia.
Keri Arthur, author of the New York Times bestselling Riley Jenson, Guardian series, has now written more than 25 books. She's received several nominations in the Best Contemporary Paranormal category of the Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Awards, and recently won RT's Career Achievement Award for urban fantasy. She lives in Melbourne with her daughter and two crazy dogs
If you've read any of Keri Arthur's books, you won't be surprised by the attitude towards relationships, sex and love in this story.
I don't know if Lifemate Connections: Eryn takes place in the same universe as Riley Jenson Guardian and Dark Angels. It could. A serial killer is on the loose and the trail leads to Lifemate Connections, a club that helps people find their soulmates. This story uses a particular type of a shifter, the one who can change its appearance.
I usually like Ms Arthur's books. I'm not off put by the sex or the sexual mores she describes. But then her other books are UF or PNR, while this is erotica.
So, yawn inducing, boring, sex fest are the only adjectives that come in mind. Yes, there's a plot, but the name of the game is sex. So that is the only driving force, and the only thing that matters. It doesn't work for me, ergo the rating. I need to be invested in a story and in its characters. Or I argue everything; ) It might have been an interesting story, it had all the props: a good mystery, a black op group, cops in the middle, a hero that lies and betrays but all to keep her safe (so, grovelling times!), alas, all is lost.
Notice that at 4.50$ for a hundred pages it's really expensive.
An alternate universe is ripe for one-night stands until love strikes in Keri Arthur's novella.
NOTE: There a multiple typing errors in this 145-page book. Admittedly, it's a small press who may not be able to afford a copy-editor, but there are so many - and even a slightly different name is used once - that it really becomes annoying.
Put simply, it's a paranormal erotic romance with a mystery. Women outnumber men ten to one, though this isn't explained. However, there is a one-child policy, but I'm not sure if that's the reason. Long-term relationships are frowned upon, yet bars are set up for fertile women looking for a life mate. Both women and men are screened for fertility and diseases first. LifeMate Connections is kind of like a brothel, but without prostitutes. In the bar, you can meet people, and if things are going well you can root upstairs (though some don't wait that long). Since there's a lot of unprotected nookie, I'd imagine abortion rates would be high, yet the A-word is never mentioned. Do you only become pregnant when you want to be? Why isn't this explained?
Eryn James is a medical secretary by day who the police have asked to become bait. Five women who've been to LifeMate have been murdered; Eryn looks similar and she's a shifter - though I'm not sure if it was explained how she met the police and how they know she's a shifter. But Eryn's not just a shifter - she's a beagle shifter. Okay, that's something new, and it causes for perhaps unintentional hilarity:
"Tough. I'm not a screamer." Though she had been known to yodel on occasion. It was an unfortunate side effect of being a beagle shifter.
The only beagle I know is Brian Griffin, and I don't remember him ever yodelling, so this was news to me. Seemingly it can happen during climax - who knew? The man who might be able to make Eryn yodel is Grey Stockard, who could well be the murderer. Not that this stops Eryn from shagging him - after all, she figures he'll answer her questions while he's vulnerable. But do you really think that someone with great physical control during teh secks won't spill his secrets? Hmm...
The problems I have with this novella are obvious, but the mystery itself is actually quite interesting. The author brings in some originality that saved a story that otherwise wouldn't have worked for me. To say more would be spoiling. Is it worth the high cover price? Not for a novella, dude - try to find a discount somewhere, and then you're talking...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
3.5/5 This is from the notes I wrote when I finished the book. This is a novelette. The main character is Eryn, a beagle shifter who works for the police as a medical secretary. She agrees to be the bait to catch a serial killer who is targeting people at a connections club. Those are clubs set up to help men and women test a relationship before they commit. She has three suspects to look into.
Enjoyable quick read from one of my favorite authors. Only thing more I could have asked for would be more of it! I wished it had gone on longer and hope for a follow up story giving me more to savor.
basically erotica, but in the modern era of romance novels, I guess it's just, well, a romance novel. Without the hardcore sex and, worst of all, the corny ass falling in love, then I guess it would be a 5 page book haha. 2.5 for me since it had something to it.
I liked this book a lot , but I would've liked it more had the characters and story been more in depth and detailed. It is a short novella so I realize there was only so much room to build the story. I saw a lot of potential for the characters to become more interesting and to say I had a lot of questions would be an understatement. On the plus side it definately made me laugh a few times and I liked the plot. Complaining that a book just wasn't long enough....hmmm maybe that's a compliment. I will of course continue to read Keri Arthur's books because they are awesome.
Finished 05/11/2013. Another shifter novel, but this one takes place in a large city within the US. Eryn is drafted to work undercover for the PD from her regular job of accounting. She is a beagle shifter and uses her sense of smell to detect a serial killer. Of course she falls in love with one of the suspects who in fact works for the federals. She has to rescue him and everything turns out peachy cosy.
I love Keri Arthur, and this review is coming after a reread for me. This book while keeping with her usual style and outlook(Ala Riley Jensen) this seemed just overall rushed the romance just felt very insta love without ever really showing why or delivering on if it was fated mates it just kinda left me feeling like this could have developed into a series and spread out like her Riley Jensen and then she said nah.
This was quite a good premise, however, it was really a novella, not a novel. The characters needed to be fleshed out more. We needed to feel more empathy with Eryn and Grey. They were just a little too distant.
Any book by Keri Arthur is a good book! I really enjoyed reading this shifter story! The concept was different. It took me a bit to get over the dog shifter that yodels. However, the plot didn't take long to grab me. Five glittery stars!