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Halle Pumas #5
Only in My Dreams
Delayed gratification has its place. This wouldn’t be it.
Halle Pumas, Book 5
Gabriel Anderson has accepted a unique position in the shifter world. He’s about to become a Hunter, one of the few trained and sanctioned to hunt down the rare rogue shifter dangerous to humans and shifters alike. There’s one until his training is complete, he must hold off on marking his mate. No problem…after all, she probably couldn’t handle the sexual demands he dreams of making on her.
Her mate’s apparent desertion devastates Sarah. And his friendship with another woman threatens the bond they should be sharing and building. Maybe flirting with another man will make him sit up and take notice—and finally win Gabe’s heart. It works. Almost too well.
One touch of another man’s hand on Sarah’s tempting body brings every ounce of Gabe’s possessiveness roaring to the surface. He wastes no time making his erotic dreams of dominating her a reality—whether she’s ready for it or not.
If she’s not, the only place he’ll ever have her is in his dreams…
Halle Pumas, Book 5
Gabriel Anderson has accepted a unique position in the shifter world. He’s about to become a Hunter, one of the few trained and sanctioned to hunt down the rare rogue shifter dangerous to humans and shifters alike. There’s one until his training is complete, he must hold off on marking his mate. No problem…after all, she probably couldn’t handle the sexual demands he dreams of making on her.
Her mate’s apparent desertion devastates Sarah. And his friendship with another woman threatens the bond they should be sharing and building. Maybe flirting with another man will make him sit up and take notice—and finally win Gabe’s heart. It works. Almost too well.
One touch of another man’s hand on Sarah’s tempting body brings every ounce of Gabe’s possessiveness roaring to the surface. He wastes no time making his erotic dreams of dominating her a reality—whether she’s ready for it or not.
If she’s not, the only place he’ll ever have her is in his dreams…
72 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2009
75 people are currently reading
820 people want to read
About the author
Dana Marie Bell
56 books1,938 followersDana Marie Bell wrote her first short story when she was thirteen years old. She attended the High School for Creative and Performing Arts for creative writing, where freedom of expression was the order of the day. When her parents moved out of the city and placed her in a Catholic high school for her senior year she tried desperately to get away, but the nuns held fast, and she graduated with honors despite herself.
Dana has lived primarily in the Northeast (Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, to be precise), with a brief stint on the US Virgin Island of St. Croix. She lives with her soul-mate and husband Dusty, their two maniacal children, an evil ice-cream stealing cat and a bull terrier that thinks it’s a Pekinese.
You can learn more about Dana at:
http://www.danamariebell.com
http://danamariebell.blogspot.com
Dana has lived primarily in the Northeast (Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, to be precise), with a brief stint on the US Virgin Island of St. Croix. She lives with her soul-mate and husband Dusty, their two maniacal children, an evil ice-cream stealing cat and a bull terrier that thinks it’s a Pekinese.
You can learn more about Dana at:
http://www.danamariebell.com
http://danamariebell.blogspot.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 126 reviews
May 25, 2017
I don't know what happened. I loved all the other books in this series then I get this book and Hell to the no! Gabe was a shitty mate. I couldn't stand him. He did everything wrong and if he was my mate I would demand a refund! I felt bad for Sarah. Since I hated Gabe so much I didn't get invested in relationship so yea total disappointment!
January 4, 2013
I hated the asshole main character in this book, and I felt bad for his mate Sarah.
Reason One: In the beginning of the book he meets a man who tells him that he is Hunter, and has to leave for six months for super special training. This man he has known for all of five minutes tells him that he should not claim his mate, that he should leave her to the dreams until he can claim her when he gets back.
Reason Two: With the AWESOME advice from reason one, note the heavy use of sarcasm here, he leaves without consulting his mate, or talking to her, making the decision himself cause that is just the type of guy he is. No, he calls her from the airport to tell her, even lying about his whereabouts, cause nothing builds trust better in stressful situation than lying to a person you are supposed in love with.
Reason Three: So now you are apart, and it hurts soooooo bad, and you just can’t suffer talking to your love. So you get the brilliant idea to talk to another woman about your daily activities, and have her tell you love. Yeah, cause they will be fast friends, almost sisters, with all the trust building you have instilled from reason one and two!
Reason Four: You keep a mental tally of spanks to the ass you are going to give your love, for all the offenses she has done during the day. Such as dancing with another man, singing karaoke, refusing your mate mark, just defying you in general. I mean how dare she be pissed that you are hanging out with another woman, giving her Christmas gifts when you didn’t get her anything, stopped calling her, then come back all indignant and try telling her what to do.
Reason Five: When your love who is the Omega, and is in touch with the whole prides emotions shows you just how she felt with what you have done to her you feel bad. I mean not bad enough to stop pressuring her to let you mark her, and not bad enough to walk over to the other woman that has caused a lot of the pain, and start talking to her. I mean you are talking to her on how to make it better, your love will understand, right?
So yeah, I fucking hate the main character in this, he was a arrogant twat that I wanted to see be hit by a bus then lit aflame, negative stars would be appropriate goodreads, I really want them.
Reason One: In the beginning of the book he meets a man who tells him that he is Hunter, and has to leave for six months for super special training. This man he has known for all of five minutes tells him that he should not claim his mate, that he should leave her to the dreams until he can claim her when he gets back.
Reason Two: With the AWESOME advice from reason one, note the heavy use of sarcasm here, he leaves without consulting his mate, or talking to her, making the decision himself cause that is just the type of guy he is. No, he calls her from the airport to tell her, even lying about his whereabouts, cause nothing builds trust better in stressful situation than lying to a person you are supposed in love with.
Reason Three: So now you are apart, and it hurts soooooo bad, and you just can’t suffer talking to your love. So you get the brilliant idea to talk to another woman about your daily activities, and have her tell you love. Yeah, cause they will be fast friends, almost sisters, with all the trust building you have instilled from reason one and two!
Reason Four: You keep a mental tally of spanks to the ass you are going to give your love, for all the offenses she has done during the day. Such as dancing with another man, singing karaoke, refusing your mate mark, just defying you in general. I mean how dare she be pissed that you are hanging out with another woman, giving her Christmas gifts when you didn’t get her anything, stopped calling her, then come back all indignant and try telling her what to do.
Reason Five: When your love who is the Omega, and is in touch with the whole prides emotions shows you just how she felt with what you have done to her you feel bad. I mean not bad enough to stop pressuring her to let you mark her, and not bad enough to walk over to the other woman that has caused a lot of the pain, and start talking to her. I mean you are talking to her on how to make it better, your love will understand, right?
So yeah, I fucking hate the main character in this, he was a arrogant twat that I wanted to see be hit by a bus then lit aflame, negative stars would be appropriate goodreads, I really want them.
November 20, 2010
This, the most current offering in the Halle Pumas series (before we shift over to Halle Shifters with Bear Necessities that is) is an important installment in the story, but I'll say at the onset that I didn't enjoy this one as much as I did the others. Don't worry, this book is still enjoyable, and it adds important things to the series, but there were enough loose ends and elements that didn't quite add up that I can safely say that there are other installments that I enjoyed much more.
Gabe and Sarah are a lot alike in that each has a special position within their world that carries a lot of responsibility and garners them each a lot of respect. Gabe is a Hunter, or rather, he finds out at the beginning of this book that he's a Hunter and has to be trained on how to do the job, a process which will require him to be away from Halle for six months. He takes the advice of his supervisor and mentor and doesn't claim Sarah before he leaves as he thinks the separation would be too hard for her if he did; this mistake just goes to show that you should do what you think is right.
Sarah is okay with waiting until Gabe is done with training to begin their life together; what she is not okay with is having to find out everything that's going on with Gabe through Chloe, a close friend of his. Gabe remains in close contact with Chloe and seems to share a lot more information with her than he does with Sarah, and this doesn't sit well with Sarah or anyone else in Halle, since for all intents and purposes it looks like Gabe has a girlfriend on the side. Chloe doesn't do anything to discourage the rumors that are flying about her and Gabe either, which is one of my issues with the book and something that I'll get to in a minute.
Sarah isn't a wimp, and she decides that if Gabe can lollygag around with his female friends, then there's no reason why she can't do the same with her male ones. She strikes up a friendship with Jim, the town veterinarian who's also Chloe's mate- there's a weird love cube going on here at this point, with hurt feelings and mixed signals thrown together that makes for a lot of problems that everyone has to deal with if they're going to move past all of this.
The whole premise of the tangled relationships and the trying to make your beloved jealous to draw their attention back to you isn't one that's brand new, but the execution of it here was a little disjointed when compared to the rules of the world. Probably the biggest issue that I had was that Sarah is the freaking Pride Omega- she has the ability to know what any Pride member is feeling and as a result, they can't lie to her or disguise their emotions. Therefore, it would have been easy for her to find out that a) Gabe loves her beyond all reason, b) that he isn't cheating on her and can't image ever doing so or even wanting to, and c) that he and Chloe are just friends, albeit close ones. She doesn't seem to really accept any of these truths even at the end of the story, and while I get it that she's new to being the Omega, this frankly does not make sense to me.
Second, I didn't really understand why Gabe and Chloe didn't realize what people in Halle were saying, and that nobody bothered to follow up with any of the involved parties to try to find out the truth. I know, I know, people will gossip the tongues out of their heads while simultaneously saying they don't want to pry into other people's business, but apparently Gabe didn't talk to anyone in Halle while he was away except for Chloe and, when he could reach her, Sarah. I wasn't able to buy into the idea that this colossal misunderstanding was allowed to go down without anyone really taking an active interest.
I don't want people to leave with the idea that I didn't like this book. I did, and it contributes a lot to the overall series- the dynamic between Gabe and Chloe and Chloe's issues with getting Jim to accept the idea that she's his mate play a big role in Bear Necessities, an awesome, awesome book that widens the playing field to include all kinds of shifters. I was just left feeling like the hero and heroine had to go through an awful lot of pain in this story that ultimately wasn't fully resolved or addressed. Still, I highly recommend this series and reading all of the installments, this one included.
Overall Grade: B-
Gabe and Sarah are a lot alike in that each has a special position within their world that carries a lot of responsibility and garners them each a lot of respect. Gabe is a Hunter, or rather, he finds out at the beginning of this book that he's a Hunter and has to be trained on how to do the job, a process which will require him to be away from Halle for six months. He takes the advice of his supervisor and mentor and doesn't claim Sarah before he leaves as he thinks the separation would be too hard for her if he did; this mistake just goes to show that you should do what you think is right.
Sarah is okay with waiting until Gabe is done with training to begin their life together; what she is not okay with is having to find out everything that's going on with Gabe through Chloe, a close friend of his. Gabe remains in close contact with Chloe and seems to share a lot more information with her than he does with Sarah, and this doesn't sit well with Sarah or anyone else in Halle, since for all intents and purposes it looks like Gabe has a girlfriend on the side. Chloe doesn't do anything to discourage the rumors that are flying about her and Gabe either, which is one of my issues with the book and something that I'll get to in a minute.
Sarah isn't a wimp, and she decides that if Gabe can lollygag around with his female friends, then there's no reason why she can't do the same with her male ones. She strikes up a friendship with Jim, the town veterinarian who's also Chloe's mate- there's a weird love cube going on here at this point, with hurt feelings and mixed signals thrown together that makes for a lot of problems that everyone has to deal with if they're going to move past all of this.
The whole premise of the tangled relationships and the trying to make your beloved jealous to draw their attention back to you isn't one that's brand new, but the execution of it here was a little disjointed when compared to the rules of the world. Probably the biggest issue that I had was that Sarah is the freaking Pride Omega- she has the ability to know what any Pride member is feeling and as a result, they can't lie to her or disguise their emotions. Therefore, it would have been easy for her to find out that a) Gabe loves her beyond all reason, b) that he isn't cheating on her and can't image ever doing so or even wanting to, and c) that he and Chloe are just friends, albeit close ones. She doesn't seem to really accept any of these truths even at the end of the story, and while I get it that she's new to being the Omega, this frankly does not make sense to me.
Second, I didn't really understand why Gabe and Chloe didn't realize what people in Halle were saying, and that nobody bothered to follow up with any of the involved parties to try to find out the truth. I know, I know, people will gossip the tongues out of their heads while simultaneously saying they don't want to pry into other people's business, but apparently Gabe didn't talk to anyone in Halle while he was away except for Chloe and, when he could reach her, Sarah. I wasn't able to buy into the idea that this colossal misunderstanding was allowed to go down without anyone really taking an active interest.
I don't want people to leave with the idea that I didn't like this book. I did, and it contributes a lot to the overall series- the dynamic between Gabe and Chloe and Chloe's issues with getting Jim to accept the idea that she's his mate play a big role in Bear Necessities, an awesome, awesome book that widens the playing field to include all kinds of shifters. I was just left feeling like the hero and heroine had to go through an awful lot of pain in this story that ultimately wasn't fully resolved or addressed. Still, I highly recommend this series and reading all of the installments, this one included.
Overall Grade: B-
July 11, 2024
Didn't feel the love between H & h. The H treats the manipulative ow better.
Tags: cop-police-hero, emotional-cheating, hero-hurts-heroine, om_drama, ow-drama, pnr-other-shifters, read, unlikable-hero
Tags: cop-police-hero, emotional-cheating, hero-hurts-heroine, om_drama, ow-drama, pnr-other-shifters, read, unlikable-hero
April 17, 2011
The "misunderstanding" ruined this story for me. I found the hero's attitude troubling.
April 22, 2011
The 5th book in the Halle Puma series takes place 2 days after book 3 ends, events occuring at the same time as book 4 and afterwards.
This book focuses on Gabe and his newly discovered mate, Sarah. Unfortunately circumstances take Gabe away from Halle for 6 months before he can mark Sarah and we follow the aftermath of that decision. Lots of bad decisions, manipulation, doubts and second guesses plague the couple throughout. Throw a werefx and a human into the mix and we have a very bizarre quadrangle that at times you wonder just what else can go wrong.
I certainly joined Sarah on her rollercoaster of emotions in this one, I wanted to strangle some people :)
If you enjoy this one I'd recommend reading Bear Necessities (Halle Shifters, Book 1). We find out more about Chloe and the other types of shifters who visit Halle.
This book focuses on Gabe and his newly discovered mate, Sarah. Unfortunately circumstances take Gabe away from Halle for 6 months before he can mark Sarah and we follow the aftermath of that decision. Lots of bad decisions, manipulation, doubts and second guesses plague the couple throughout. Throw a werefx and a human into the mix and we have a very bizarre quadrangle that at times you wonder just what else can go wrong.
I certainly joined Sarah on her rollercoaster of emotions in this one, I wanted to strangle some people :)
If you enjoy this one I'd recommend reading Bear Necessities (Halle Shifters, Book 1). We find out more about Chloe and the other types of shifters who visit Halle.
July 24, 2017
My Thoughts - 5 out of 5 Unicorns - I loved it!!!
***I choose what I read and review based on what intrigues me!! I bought this book, but no one tells me what to think, feel, or write about any book! I own the whole set!
The cover is not my style, and it definitely doesn’t let you know it is a shifter read.
This is the 5th book in the series, and it is for adults only due to the steamy content. While it isn’t mandatory to read in order, I highly recommend it because it makes it so much better!
This is Gabe and Sarah’s story! I loved the book, but there isn’t much action in this book. It is more about drama and misreading situations on both of their parts. It all starts with Gabe leaving for Hunter training! There is also an awesome part at the end that if you have been reading the series, you want to read about, but I’m not spoiling it by telling you what happens.
I love Dana’s writing style! She gets the right amount of humor, snark, chaos, and romance to make it perfect!
I highly recommend to any shifter fan who loves humor, romance, and HEAs! Can’t wait to read more of Dana’s work!
***I choose what I read and review based on what intrigues me!! I bought this book, but no one tells me what to think, feel, or write about any book! I own the whole set!
The cover is not my style, and it definitely doesn’t let you know it is a shifter read.
This is the 5th book in the series, and it is for adults only due to the steamy content. While it isn’t mandatory to read in order, I highly recommend it because it makes it so much better!
This is Gabe and Sarah’s story! I loved the book, but there isn’t much action in this book. It is more about drama and misreading situations on both of their parts. It all starts with Gabe leaving for Hunter training! There is also an awesome part at the end that if you have been reading the series, you want to read about, but I’m not spoiling it by telling you what happens.
I love Dana’s writing style! She gets the right amount of humor, snark, chaos, and romance to make it perfect!
I highly recommend to any shifter fan who loves humor, romance, and HEAs! Can’t wait to read more of Dana’s work!
November 17, 2020
My rating: 4 stars
What I liked: I liked how Sarah stood up for herself and made him feel what she was feeling. I also loved how he told Chloe that she was on her own.
What I didn’t like: I hated how he claimed her (they were just arguing and he just grabs her and claims her) I wanted more in that moment. I also hated how in the end he is dancing with ow (he knows how the h feels about her and here he is dancing with the chick that he was putting before the h) HELL NO
How hot was it: 3 out 5
Triggers: Gabe is called away to train for 6 months. During the 6 months he befriends ow and starts talking to her (I definitely would say the H is emotional cheating) the ow is constantly rubbing it into the h face.
Final thoughts: I enjoyed this book but I just wish it was longer. It also bothered me at the end with him dancing with the ow (It ruined his apology for me) I definitely think he should have suffer more.
What I liked: I liked how Sarah stood up for herself and made him feel what she was feeling. I also loved how he told Chloe that she was on her own.
What I didn’t like: I hated how he claimed her (they were just arguing and he just grabs her and claims her) I wanted more in that moment. I also hated how in the end he is dancing with ow (he knows how the h feels about her and here he is dancing with the chick that he was putting before the h) HELL NO
How hot was it: 3 out 5
Triggers: Gabe is called away to train for 6 months. During the 6 months he befriends ow and starts talking to her (I definitely would say the H is emotional cheating) the ow is constantly rubbing it into the h face.
Final thoughts: I enjoyed this book but I just wish it was longer. It also bothered me at the end with him dancing with the ow (It ruined his apology for me) I definitely think he should have suffer more.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 14, 2012
While I liked this one, it seemed like it was missing something. I understood Gabe's problem, here is is slated for a great job in the shifter world, but he has to put off his mate. At the start I even agreed with his waiting to mate her, but where he lost me was how he treated her when she was gone. I sided with Sarah on this one. By his actions he made it seem like Chloe was more important than she was. I liked how Sarah dealt with his suddenly showing back up, giving him a taste of his own medicine. I was glad that Sarah really made him work to get back in her good graces and that she was able to really show him how she felt.
November 10, 2022
Just okay for me...A bit annoying and repetitive.
December 13, 2021
This was pretty decent-- like 2.5 stars. Maybe it was just the weird formatting of the PDF I was reading this on, but there were a lot of times where it wasn't clear who was talking and I had to look back and forth and analyze the conversation to figure out who said what. That made the flow of the book not as smooth as it should have been; the potential was there and the author is good with dialogue. Otherwise, the plot, dialogue, and writing style held my attention. While I appreciate the short length of the books in this series, I think the audience would have benefited from more fleshed-out scenes at the start, specifically with more details of the growing friendships of Jim/Sarah and Chloe/Gabe, and the growing frustrations between Gabe and Sarah.
I did not like the aspect of mating dreams because the concept of it-- while cool and something I've never come across before in a shifter series-- feels like it's cheating the plot. I haven't read the other books in this series yet so I don't know how mating dreams affect those couples, but for this particular book, it felt like one of those betrayed-by-my-body tropes that I hate. Gabe and Sarah's mating dreams felt like a way to gloss over the hurt of what Gabe had done, simply because they both found themselves in a sexy dream. I don't know how else to describe my distaste for the concept, but I didn't like it here.
The angst was real, which I sadistically enjoyed; it's what I came for and I was rewarded! I wanted to smack Chloe several times, especially at the airport scene. Come on! Even if she was good friends with Gabe, she should've waited for him to greet his mate first, who he just met for the first time 6 months ago and hasn't seen in those 6 months, and has left unclaimed. Chloe knew they were on rocky ground and she was a total fart to jump on him like that before he got a chance to even speak to his mate. By the way, I really don't like it when girls (even the "just friends") who are not the significant other of the man in question jump up on him and wrap their legs around his waist. I ain't no prude, but that's gross and pretty fucking disrespectful of the guy's significant other.
I also really hated that Gabe called Chloe "vixen", even if it was just in his head. That's really not something he should be calling a woman he's not involved with, especially since he repeatedly thinks of her as a little sister. "Vixen" is usually a teasing nickname given to a woman when you're flirting with her; it's a sensual term of endearment that should not be given to someone Gabe thinks of as just a friend. (This is not a complaint to the author, just a complaint to Gabe's pea brain if he were a real person. Same thing with my previous paragraph about Chloe the C*nt.)
Now, I was ready to read Chloe's book next ("Figure of Speech"), but after this, I don't know if I can feel any sympathy towards her character. She was essentially the Other Woman here, and I know this is super petty, but I kinda don't want her to find happiness. Maybe I'll wait like a year to read her book.
I did not like the aspect of mating dreams because the concept of it-- while cool and something I've never come across before in a shifter series-- feels like it's cheating the plot. I haven't read the other books in this series yet so I don't know how mating dreams affect those couples, but for this particular book, it felt like one of those betrayed-by-my-body tropes that I hate. Gabe and Sarah's mating dreams felt like a way to gloss over the hurt of what Gabe had done, simply because they both found themselves in a sexy dream. I don't know how else to describe my distaste for the concept, but I didn't like it here.
The angst was real, which I sadistically enjoyed; it's what I came for and I was rewarded! I wanted to smack Chloe several times, especially at the airport scene. Come on! Even if she was good friends with Gabe, she should've waited for him to greet his mate first, who he just met for the first time 6 months ago and hasn't seen in those 6 months, and has left unclaimed. Chloe knew they were on rocky ground and she was a total fart to jump on him like that before he got a chance to even speak to his mate. By the way, I really don't like it when girls (even the "just friends") who are not the significant other of the man in question jump up on him and wrap their legs around his waist. I ain't no prude, but that's gross and pretty fucking disrespectful of the guy's significant other.
I also really hated that Gabe called Chloe "vixen", even if it was just in his head. That's really not something he should be calling a woman he's not involved with, especially since he repeatedly thinks of her as a little sister. "Vixen" is usually a teasing nickname given to a woman when you're flirting with her; it's a sensual term of endearment that should not be given to someone Gabe thinks of as just a friend. (This is not a complaint to the author, just a complaint to Gabe's pea brain if he were a real person. Same thing with my previous paragraph about Chloe the C*nt.)
Now, I was ready to read Chloe's book next ("Figure of Speech"), but after this, I don't know if I can feel any sympathy towards her character. She was essentially the Other Woman here, and I know this is super petty, but I kinda don't want her to find happiness. Maybe I'll wait like a year to read her book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 13, 2009
I have to say I have some mixed feelings about "Only in My Dreams" by Dana Marie Bell. This latest installment of the Halle Pumas series had its good and its bad aspects. A lot of emotion, relationship struggles, and hint of romance mixed with erotica made the base of this story between Halle Pumas Gabe and Sarah.
Gabe has just been contracted to become a Hunter for all the shifters in his region. It's the opportunity of a lifetime, only he knows that Sarah is his mate and has yet to claim her. Sarah has been waiting for Gabe to finally claim her as his mate, and when he goes off to train for his new position, she doesn't know what to do or how to show him what he's missing. They'll have to connect in their dreams if they want to make their relationship a reality.
I found Sarah to be way too whiny for my liking. She was also a bit hypocritical with Gabe as well. She made the same mistakes he made only he didn't punish her for them like she did. I also thought their relationship was just okay as far as the previous characters' stories went in the Halle Pumas series. I did like the side character developments, both previous and newly introduced. I liked the way the story ended, and I will be reading on because these stories are just addicting to me! I like the way the author writes and I enjoy the premise of her books, but this one just wasn't one of my favorites, which happens in most series I'm realizing. I would give this read a 2 1/2 - lower 3 star rating for sure.
Gabe has just been contracted to become a Hunter for all the shifters in his region. It's the opportunity of a lifetime, only he knows that Sarah is his mate and has yet to claim her. Sarah has been waiting for Gabe to finally claim her as his mate, and when he goes off to train for his new position, she doesn't know what to do or how to show him what he's missing. They'll have to connect in their dreams if they want to make their relationship a reality.
I found Sarah to be way too whiny for my liking. She was also a bit hypocritical with Gabe as well. She made the same mistakes he made only he didn't punish her for them like she did. I also thought their relationship was just okay as far as the previous characters' stories went in the Halle Pumas series. I did like the side character developments, both previous and newly introduced. I liked the way the story ended, and I will be reading on because these stories are just addicting to me! I like the way the author writes and I enjoy the premise of her books, but this one just wasn't one of my favorites, which happens in most series I'm realizing. I would give this read a 2 1/2 - lower 3 star rating for sure.
April 5, 2010
Ok, I'll start by saying that I really love this series. They are somewhat short reads and very enjoyable. I love all the characters and the author's ability to keep us updated on everyone in each story. I can see how it may branch off to other stories about neighboring packs and new characters. Gabe and Sarah's story was ultimately very sweet and romantic. However, it was unusually different from the other stories about the Halle Pumas, in that they did not really get together until the end of the book. That part was really difficult for me because all the rest of the stories have them joining together early on. This was one big fat misunderstanding and a jumble of wrong decisions on Gabe's part. It was painful to watch how they continually hurt each other. I'm not sure, considering how sensitive the "mating need" is among these characters, that the hurts that took place would have been so easy to overcome as quickly as they were. I truly hurt for Sarah and her friend and hated Chloe for the games she was playing. I was glad Sarah was able to "share" her hurt feelings with Gabe so he could truly feel what he put her through. (that part will become clear to you when you read it)...
But all in all, I really love this author. Love this series. I will continue to read them. I'm a loyal fan. Its worth reading, especially if you have read the entire series. don't miss it!
But all in all, I really love this author. Love this series. I will continue to read them. I'm a loyal fan. Its worth reading, especially if you have read the entire series. don't miss it!
January 13, 2011
The Halle Pumas series is one of my feel-good-float-away-de-stress series. I had put off reading this book based on the description of a delayed romance, with the main characters being separated for a time, as well as the mention of a friendship with another woman, all in the book blurb. I tend to dislike such stories, so much so that I skipped this book and read the first in the Halle Shifters series, which was alot of fun. So I will just admit it here, I hated Chloe and if I had known what she did in this book before I read the first in the Halle Shifter spin-off, then I would have looked at that story a little differently. If Chloe has her own book, I really do not want to read it.
So that aside, I loved both of the characters in this book. I completely understood Sarah's reactions and even though Gabe was rather slow on the uptake, he was still a great lead. I tend to make excuses more for men than women, which I know is an awful double standard but I expect more from women and I do not care if that makes me a hypocrite or whatever.
This book (novella?) was a little heartbreaking, which made the end that much sweeter. Also, light dominance/submission themes for those who gravitate to such stories.
So that aside, I loved both of the characters in this book. I completely understood Sarah's reactions and even though Gabe was rather slow on the uptake, he was still a great lead. I tend to make excuses more for men than women, which I know is an awful double standard but I expect more from women and I do not care if that makes me a hypocrite or whatever.
This book (novella?) was a little heartbreaking, which made the end that much sweeter. Also, light dominance/submission themes for those who gravitate to such stories.
June 12, 2020
Fifth and final book, I’ve read all of these back to back, so I don’t think I could have missed anything, but feel like I missed something. Only in My Dreams is Gabe and Sarah’s book; we were introduced to them both in book 3. Here’s the confusing part, at the beginning of the book, Gabe is contacted by “James” about becoming a “Hunter”, at this point, we’ve never met James or heard of Hunters. The couple also knows they’re mates, and the last time we saw these two he was ignoring her, and she just had a crush. I wonder if there’s a spin-off book (my best guess is Halle Shifter series that overlaps, and set this up. ??!!
The main conflict in this book is that Gabe leaves for months to “Hunter” train w/out claiming Sarah; he also becomes BFF’s with a fox shifter Chloe (never heard of) and seems to be keeping in better touch with her (Chloe) than Sarah while away. Hurt, Sarah becomes good friends with Jim, a human vet. I felt confused for much of the first half, because I didn’t know that Chloe & Jim are mates. (must have been in whatever book preceded this) So in hindsight, it makes more sense that Chloe made Sarah jealous, because she was hurt about Sarah hanging with her mate. Jim is clueless about everything, because he’s human. He just thinks Gabe's being a shitty b-friend.
Gabe returns to find his mate hanging with OM, and ignoring him. The author was a bit all over with Chloe, sometimes she’s portrayed as young and silly, and completely innocent of intentionally causing issues. Other times it’s portrayed that she did it on purpose, because she was jealous. Regardless, it was shitty, and I found myself annoyed with both, because she continues to reach out to him after she’s aware of the issues she's caused, and he still hangs with her… what was up with him dancing with her at the end? Maybe wait a minute, dude. The last part of the book we get cameo/updates from all the previous couples as they all head to Disneyland (of course) where Emma is marrying Max.
Bottom Line- It was ok, but I do think we missed something, and it was confusing. I hate it when authors crossover with their series, because that’s a lot to ask us as readers. I was doing good finishing this one. I did like that we didn’t have all the silly/jokey crap of the other books. This one had a more mature feel to it. We don’t get a big series ending epilogue; my guess is these characters will continue to pop up in her other series.
The main conflict in this book is that Gabe leaves for months to “Hunter” train w/out claiming Sarah; he also becomes BFF’s with a fox shifter Chloe (never heard of) and seems to be keeping in better touch with her (Chloe) than Sarah while away. Hurt, Sarah becomes good friends with Jim, a human vet. I felt confused for much of the first half, because I didn’t know that Chloe & Jim are mates. (must have been in whatever book preceded this) So in hindsight, it makes more sense that Chloe made Sarah jealous, because she was hurt about Sarah hanging with her mate. Jim is clueless about everything, because he’s human. He just thinks Gabe's being a shitty b-friend.
Gabe returns to find his mate hanging with OM, and ignoring him. The author was a bit all over with Chloe, sometimes she’s portrayed as young and silly, and completely innocent of intentionally causing issues. Other times it’s portrayed that she did it on purpose, because she was jealous. Regardless, it was shitty, and I found myself annoyed with both, because she continues to reach out to him after she’s aware of the issues she's caused, and he still hangs with her… what was up with him dancing with her at the end? Maybe wait a minute, dude. The last part of the book we get cameo/updates from all the previous couples as they all head to Disneyland (of course) where Emma is marrying Max.
Bottom Line- It was ok, but I do think we missed something, and it was confusing. I hate it when authors crossover with their series, because that’s a lot to ask us as readers. I was doing good finishing this one. I did like that we didn’t have all the silly/jokey crap of the other books. This one had a more mature feel to it. We don’t get a big series ending epilogue; my guess is these characters will continue to pop up in her other series.
May 29, 2022
Otra de las historias que sucede en Disney... La autora realmente está obsesionada con el lugar, no?
Me gustó bastante aunque la trama es muy simple. Gabe debe irse por un tiempo y no puede marcar a su compañera hasta su regreso. Confusiones y desencuentros hacen que Sarah no quiera saber nada de él... Pero todo se irá acomodando para tener su final de cuentos de hadas.
Me gustó bastante aunque la trama es muy simple. Gabe debe irse por un tiempo y no puede marcar a su compañera hasta su regreso. Confusiones y desencuentros hacen que Sarah no quiera saber nada de él... Pero todo se irá acomodando para tener su final de cuentos de hadas.
March 15, 2022
It's not cool that he never put Chloe in her place and continued that friendship.
June 26, 2017
Hay Gabriel que manera de complicar las cosas, pobre Sarah, tuvo que soportar a la disque amiga de Gabriel que dejaba entrever otra cosa, hay esta chica me desquiciaba con sus muestras de amistad, que complicado...
October 18, 2013
http://rainyreviewz.blogspot.com/2013...
Author: Dana Marie Belle
A few months ago one of my Goodreads groups read Bear Necessities. At the time I didn't realize that the Halle Shifters series was a spinoff from the Halle Pumas. In Bear Necessities there is a big confusion with Chloe's cousins over who her mate is. They assume that it is Gabe the sheriff. I now understand that sooo much better now that I've read this book.
Let me just start off saying that Gabe is an idiot in this book. It also doesn't make Chloe look very good either. What happens is that shortly after Gabe and Sarah realize that they are mates Gabe has to leave for like 8 months. Instead of mating Sarah before leaving he thinks it would be better to wait until he gets home. Then he quits calling her because he doesn't want to disappoint her by not being able to share with her where he is and when he will be back. Instead he asks Chloe to befriend Sarah and keep her spirits up. Chloe lets Gabe think that this is what she's doing when instead she uses her friendship with Gabe to make it appear as if they are dating. She does this because she is jealous of Sarah's relationship with Jim, Chloe's mate.
A lot of the reviews that I read for this book were negative because of Chloe and Gabe. I gave this book 5 stars because of the intense feelings that it elicited in me. Seriously, I was shaking at one point I felt Sarah's pain so thoroughly. Any book that can you make that level of emotion deserves 5 stars in my opinion. Another favorite part of this book were all of the Orlando hotspots mentioned. I live close to Orlando and it was really cool reading about places like The Rainforest Cafe that I have visited.
Author: Dana Marie Belle
A few months ago one of my Goodreads groups read Bear Necessities. At the time I didn't realize that the Halle Shifters series was a spinoff from the Halle Pumas. In Bear Necessities there is a big confusion with Chloe's cousins over who her mate is. They assume that it is Gabe the sheriff. I now understand that sooo much better now that I've read this book.
Let me just start off saying that Gabe is an idiot in this book. It also doesn't make Chloe look very good either. What happens is that shortly after Gabe and Sarah realize that they are mates Gabe has to leave for like 8 months. Instead of mating Sarah before leaving he thinks it would be better to wait until he gets home. Then he quits calling her because he doesn't want to disappoint her by not being able to share with her where he is and when he will be back. Instead he asks Chloe to befriend Sarah and keep her spirits up. Chloe lets Gabe think that this is what she's doing when instead she uses her friendship with Gabe to make it appear as if they are dating. She does this because she is jealous of Sarah's relationship with Jim, Chloe's mate.
A lot of the reviews that I read for this book were negative because of Chloe and Gabe. I gave this book 5 stars because of the intense feelings that it elicited in me. Seriously, I was shaking at one point I felt Sarah's pain so thoroughly. Any book that can you make that level of emotion deserves 5 stars in my opinion. Another favorite part of this book were all of the Orlando hotspots mentioned. I live close to Orlando and it was really cool reading about places like The Rainforest Cafe that I have visited.
December 30, 2022
Only in My Dreams on Books On Track
RTC
The story of a couple of cat shifters who had to delay the claiming of their mate when Gabe got offered a position as a hunter for the Shifter Senate and had to go off on training for six months, leaving Sarah behind.
There is a lot of tension between the two and miscommunication, that leads to jealousy and mistrust. When Gabe eventually returns, it takes a while before the two can find their way back together.
According to the author're recommended reading order for her shifter series, the next book is Bear Necessities.
Previous book reviews:
✦ Steel Beauty (Halle Pumas, #4; Poconos Pack, #0.4)
✦ Cat Of A Different Color (Halle Pumas, #3)
✦ Sweet Dreams (Halle Pumas #2)
✦ The Wallflower (Halle Pumas #1)
February 1, 2019
Gabriel Anderson has accepted a unique position in the shifter world. He's about to become a Hunter, one of the few trained and sanctioned to hunt down the rare rogue shifter dangerous to humans and shifters alike. There's one catch: until his training is complete, he must hold off on marking his mate. No problem after all, she probably couldn't handle the sexual demands he dreams of making on her.
Her mate's apparent desertion devastates Sarah. And his friendship with another woman threatens the bond they should be sharing and building. Maybe flirting with another man will make him sit up and take notice and finally win Gabe's heart. It works. Almost too well.
One touch of another man's hand on Sarah's tempting body brings every ounce of Gabe's possessiveness roaring to the surface. He wastes no time making his erotic dreams of dominating her a reality whether she's ready for it or not.
If she's not, the only place he'll ever have her is in his dreams
Heather's Note
I did not like this one quite as much as the others. I felt the angst was unnecessary and the resolution left a lot to be desired. Gabe did not suffer near enough and nothing was done to Chloe. There should have been more groveling or something. While Gabe was a clueless guy, he still should have done something to make up for the misunderstanding. Still I liked Sara and did read the book quickly :)
Her mate's apparent desertion devastates Sarah. And his friendship with another woman threatens the bond they should be sharing and building. Maybe flirting with another man will make him sit up and take notice and finally win Gabe's heart. It works. Almost too well.
One touch of another man's hand on Sarah's tempting body brings every ounce of Gabe's possessiveness roaring to the surface. He wastes no time making his erotic dreams of dominating her a reality whether she's ready for it or not.
If she's not, the only place he'll ever have her is in his dreams
Heather's Note
I did not like this one quite as much as the others. I felt the angst was unnecessary and the resolution left a lot to be desired. Gabe did not suffer near enough and nothing was done to Chloe. There should have been more groveling or something. While Gabe was a clueless guy, he still should have done something to make up for the misunderstanding. Still I liked Sara and did read the book quickly :)
November 21, 2022
H and h are fated mates. He finds out just when he is hand selected for a really important shifter job that's going to take him away for six months. The other guys on the squad advise him against claiming her until he's back because it's too hard to claim her and then go away. So he tells her he's leaving when he's at the airport. They try to keep in touch but their schedules make it hard. Proving he's TSTL, he starts calling a waitress at a diner he knows to keep tabs on h, because they keep missing calls and h is getting p!ssed -- because the waitress keeps telling her that she's hearing from H every day and she'd be oh-so-happy to pass along messages. The OW is actually in love with a vet who is friends with h. So h goes away at Christmas and H came home to surprise her, but she wasn't there. H, remember he's TSTL, gives OW a bracelet for Christmas and she happily shows h. So all the friend group are meeting at airport for wedding, H shows up and h sees him, but then OW races to him and jumps into his arms. h is done. Tries to ignore H and then starts taking sleeping ills at night so he can't visit her in her dreams anymore. (They have hot sex dreams.) More misunderstandings, H is frustrated, h caves, h realizes she has to get used to H and OW's friendship as she watches them dance together at wedding (even though H knows OW is a trigger for h 🤦♀️) and we get to the HEA.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 2, 2016
And now the series falls back to lower stars.
This book is probably one of the lowest rating I've given a book written by Dana Marie Bell. There were just so many things in this book that I hated and the main characters just added more hate to the hate fire =)
First, I want to point out there is NO bad guy in this story. Unlike the other 4 previous to this one, the only thing that could be considered the "bad" in the book is these characters emotions.
Second, Sarah, the main female character has absolutely no back bone. Her mate calls her from the airport to tell her "you know your mine, but I have to leave for six months" and all she says is OKAY!?! Then when he gets back even after all the petty jealousy, she knows she outranks him since she's the omega, but again she submits to him!
Third, Gabe, seriously? This is a wannabe alpha with a vagina. You left your mate behind, unmarked, and when you can't get in contact with her over the phone you turn to ANOTHER WOMAN?!? Just friends of not, EVERYONE knows women can be catty (no pun intended), you had to expect the jealousy from your mate and the confusion from everyone in your pride.
Please do yourself a favor and skip this book. I promise you won't miss anything.
This book is probably one of the lowest rating I've given a book written by Dana Marie Bell. There were just so many things in this book that I hated and the main characters just added more hate to the hate fire =)
First, I want to point out there is NO bad guy in this story. Unlike the other 4 previous to this one, the only thing that could be considered the "bad" in the book is these characters emotions.
Second, Sarah, the main female character has absolutely no back bone. Her mate calls her from the airport to tell her "you know your mine, but I have to leave for six months" and all she says is OKAY!?! Then when he gets back even after all the petty jealousy, she knows she outranks him since she's the omega, but again she submits to him!
Third, Gabe, seriously? This is a wannabe alpha with a vagina. You left your mate behind, unmarked, and when you can't get in contact with her over the phone you turn to ANOTHER WOMAN?!? Just friends of not, EVERYONE knows women can be catty (no pun intended), you had to expect the jealousy from your mate and the confusion from everyone in your pride.
Please do yourself a favor and skip this book. I promise you won't miss anything.
November 11, 2018
Spanking does not equal trust and without trust you dont have a relationship you have a fuck buddy. The book starts with them knowing they r mates but him having to go away to do training so its better not to claim each other. Months later she feels rejected because he stopped talking to her and even calling her because now hes calling and talking to another woman. If they were not " mates" this would mean that they broke up. Even the pack leaders said so.. so its possible for her to get this impression. Then he comes back and in one weekend maybe he bullied and forced her to take him back. Trust me or ill spank you means nothing. They had sex in their dreams and he made up one date in the dream and one in real life that kinda sucked and was ruined by ow again and then he lost patience and forced marked her. One more chapter of sex because now shes marked so all in good for him. Epilogue is her still doubting him and the ow and thinking that the only way for this to be resolved is for her to get used to the bond H and ow have and ow marking her mate, and someone else reassuring her that H does lust for her.
No. Just no. She settled and you feel it.
No. Just no. She settled and you feel it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 19, 2020
I enjoyed the read.
The book is about true mates Gabe and Sarah. Gabe gets approaches to become a hunter and he has to leave on a 6 month trip. However, he can't claim his mate, Sarah, before he leaves. He goes away and " befriends" a waitress, Chloe, and asks her to keep an eye on Sarah. Chloe handles the whole situation wrongly and she makes it look like she and Gabe have something going on. Gabe is also not withou fault as he is constantly calling Chloe and not Sarah, and he also gets a Christmas gift (he got her a bracelet) for Chloe but not Sarah - supposedly he had a gift for her but didn't give it to her. They all attend Alpha's wedding so he tries to smooth things down with Sarah. They end up together but Gabe as a character is very frustrating. You know that Beyonce music video If I were a Boy where the guy asks you are jealous? It's not like I'm f$$%ing her? Well that's Gabe to me. At the end of the book he dances with Chloe while Sarah looks on feeling jealous. Another man had to tell her that he can read his mind and she has nothing to worry about, ugh. Sarah deserves a better mate for sure.
The book is about true mates Gabe and Sarah. Gabe gets approaches to become a hunter and he has to leave on a 6 month trip. However, he can't claim his mate, Sarah, before he leaves. He goes away and " befriends" a waitress, Chloe, and asks her to keep an eye on Sarah. Chloe handles the whole situation wrongly and she makes it look like she and Gabe have something going on. Gabe is also not withou fault as he is constantly calling Chloe and not Sarah, and he also gets a Christmas gift (he got her a bracelet) for Chloe but not Sarah - supposedly he had a gift for her but didn't give it to her. They all attend Alpha's wedding so he tries to smooth things down with Sarah. They end up together but Gabe as a character is very frustrating. You know that Beyonce music video If I were a Boy where the guy asks you are jealous? It's not like I'm f$$%ing her? Well that's Gabe to me. At the end of the book he dances with Chloe while Sarah looks on feeling jealous. Another man had to tell her that he can read his mind and she has nothing to worry about, ugh. Sarah deserves a better mate for sure.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Want to read
November 6, 2011Gabriel Anderson has accepted a unique position in the shifter world. He’s about to become a Hunter, one of the few trained and sanctioned to hunt down the rare rogue shifter dangerous to humans and shifters alike. There’s one catch: until his training is complete, he must hold off on marking his mate. No problem…after all, she probably couldn’t handle the sexual demands he dreams of making on her.
Her mate’s apparent desertion devastates Sarah. And his friendship with another woman threatens the bond they should be sharing and building. Maybe flirting with another man will make him sit up and take notice—and finally win Gabe’s heart. It works. Almost too well.
One touch of another man’s hand on Sarah’s tempting body brings every ounce of Gabe’s possessiveness roaring to the surface. He wastes no time making his erotic dreams of dominating her a reality—whether she’s ready for it or not.
If she’s not, the only place he’ll ever have her is in his dreams…
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Her mate’s apparent desertion devastates Sarah. And his friendship with another woman threatens the bond they should be sharing and building. Maybe flirting with another man will make him sit up and take notice—and finally win Gabe’s heart. It works. Almost too well.
One touch of another man’s hand on Sarah’s tempting body brings every ounce of Gabe’s possessiveness roaring to the surface. He wastes no time making his erotic dreams of dominating her a reality—whether she’s ready for it or not.
If she’s not, the only place he’ll ever have her is in his dreams…
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 17, 2011
Hmmmm....well where should I begin. I liked this story but I kind of didn't like it either! I mean it was really cute but I didn't enjoy it as much as I did the others. Maybe it was because the main guy, Gabe, wasn't the lovey dovey type like the others. For Godsakes, he spanked his mate, Sarah. Sure some would find that hot and really "arousing" but it isn't for me! So, I guess that's why I am giving it three stars! The wedding of Max and Emma was really awesome. I loved it. When Emma walks down the aisle, Max says, "Holy F*ck" and the reverend smacks him on the head!! LMAO...hilarious!
I really hope Ms. Bell has more stories for me to read! So, until then I will go and read some other book!! ;) LOL!
I really hope Ms. Bell has more stories for me to read! So, until then I will go and read some other book!! ;) LOL!
January 30, 2012
I thought that this story was a bit dragged out, and when it all did happen it was too fast. True to form, the guy should have claimed the girl before leaving, but listened to someone else and didn't (stupid). Then comes to regret it because he didn't do it. Then he has to work his ass off to make it up to her. I did like the whole dreams were actually reality thing. Sometimes I wish I could claim the same. But he hadn't even talked to her and was already going to propose? And then he did everything for her, and Sarah was still far too jealous for my thinking. Overall, it cute but a bit annoying.
June 25, 2012
Whew! This is a hot series for sure! Gabe and Sarah are destined mates but have not mated yet. Gabe is called upon to become the region Hunter, basically he'll hunt down rogue shifters who pose threat to humans and other shifters, and will be away for like 6 months in training. Because of this, he decides (stupidly) to wait to mate with Sarah. She's saddened by this but what can ya do, right?! Anywho... lots of serious miscommunication and Sarah begins to believe Gabe is falling for the diner waitress while Gabe thinks the same about the local vet and Sarah. Hot sex dreams, lots of arguing, a dominant werepuma and we have us a smokin hot story! ;)
January 24, 2011
This is probably one of my favorite of the Halle Puma series and would have easily gotten a 4 star if it had been LONGER. There was so much potential for a full length book. I would have loved to get more info on Gabriel becoming a Hunter and how Sarah spent her time while he was gone. Besides, Sarah should have been able to torture him for more than a few days after he had deserted her for months. It was a fun quick read though, and although there's not a lot of sex a few of the dreams were pretty hot.....
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