A Pride Christmas in Brooklyn

This is a Christmas story – an unusual Christmas story, but a Christmas story nonetheless. Mason “Mace” Llewellyn has just gotten out of the Navy after a 14 year career as a SEAL. He is also a lion shape shifter. Mace has one thing – one woman – on his mind. Desiree “Dez” MacDermot, his childhood crush and good buddy, has been on his mind since they were both 14. He has plans for Dez when he finds her, most of them involving being naked. Unfortunately, a murder and a little war between the lions and the hyenas is in danger of getting in the way of his plans!

I adored this book! As much as I like Laurenston’s other shape shifter novels, this one has that extra flair that moves it head and shoulders above the rest. I think that one of the features of an exceptional novel is that the reader enjoys the “journey” as well as the ending. While the plot was everything a plot should be – fresh, well paced, coherent – the writing in A Pride Christmas in Brooklyn is so rich and luscious that it was a pleasure simply to be reading it. It could have been plot-less as far as I am concerned – I would still have enjoyed reading it for the descriptions of shape shifter society.

Dez is typical of the author’s other heroines – a strong, take-charge woman who has a good life and who can take care of herself. She is not pretty in a conventional way. She likes men, but doesn’t need a man. This is the sort of heroine a reader can appreciate. Mace, the hero, is so incredibly sexy and nice, as well as being extremely persistent in his pursuit of the heroine. Maybe I like the cat shape shifters so much because I’m primarily a cat person. Whatever it is about him, I simply lusted after Mace! The love scenes between Dez and Mace were among the most sexy and loving I’ve ever read in a romance.

If you can only read one book by Shelly Laurenston, read this book. Heck, if you read anything this year, read this book! You will not regret it.

Reviewed by: Jean