T. S. Joyce

Doesn’t it kinda looks like his belly tattoo says “Unscared”?

Joyce is good at angst. She measures out just the right amount so that I am pulled into the characters and their dilemmas. Too much more and I would be rolling my eyes and scoffing. A big bad shifter dude who won’t love the heroine in order to protect her from himself? Oh man, who cares? Turns out, I do!

Ava’s brother calls in the big favors and gets her to come back to their hometown to try and save his friend Trigger’s show more ranch. Trigger is aptly named-- he’s got a hair trigger. Except when he lets go of his temper, people die. And while he has always wanted Ava for his own, he knows better than to expose her to his dark secrets.

Trigger is a shifter who can’t control himself. He is dangerous and deadly, especially to the people he loves. Ava has been on the outside looking in her whole life. She tells herself it doesn’t matter, but she is desperate to love and be loved. Joyce explores feelings of loss, belonging, self confidence, loyalty, etc. I really enjoyed this one and found it both engrossing and emotional. show less

Bounty hunter and sexy werebear Nox Fuller has to track down the Red Dragon and take him off to shifter jail. Instead, he meets Nevada Foxburg, a beautiful fox with horrendous social anxiety. Somehow, Nox’s anti-social, practically feral demeanor draws Nevada out of her shell and the sparks fly. But how will the other foxes react when they find out she’s shacking up with a bear? And what about that dang dragon?

I rarely laugh out loud when reading but Joyce’s novel had me howling with show more laughter. There is one scene– no spoilers– that is so unexpected and so ridiculous, I busted a gut reading it and scared the cat away. Sorry, Wallace.

But I also found the book really tender and sweet. Nevada’s mental illness and Nox’s noxious personality (I had to) are both treated with respect and care. It’s a short, quick read, but I really liked it. show less

Mira, the local crazy woman/ suspected witch, lives alone, barely surviving, traumatized by her past, in a dilapidated house in the woods. She saves Caleb, town darling, from a bear attack. Now Caleb, feeling both indebted and inexplicably drawn to her, decides to help Mira get back on her feet. Except he’s fundamentally changed by the attack and has to figure himself out first.

The first half of this book had me in tears. Something about Mira’s total isolation, her fear, her loneliness, show more just tugged on my heartstrings. And watching Caleb wrestle with his own complicity in alienating Mira and struggling not to judge her himself was heartachingly realistic. It was so dramatic and so emotional, I was totally swept up.

The second half, however, didn’t have as much impact. Caleb just sort of changes his mind about Mira, almost on a whim, and then they are just together. After all that struggle? Then the external plot kicks in, with a villain returning from the past who threatens everything. I still enjoyed myself, but felt the book lost some of the emotional punch it packed in the first half. show less

Getting to the end of another "sub" series of this larger Damon's Mountains series and figured it was time to review. So much as happened. We met several crews of the bear shifters that live on this mountain. I am thoroughly enjoying this neat world the author has created.

The series started off with the Saw Bears. They are a crew of lumberjacks who work for Damon Daye to help preserve his mountains. They were our introduction into this world and the magical Trailer 1010. We saw how the show more shifter bears meet and instantly know their mate and watched them all start new lives with the women they grew to love more than anything.

Then came the Fire Bears. The Fire Bears had an important connection to the Saw Bears although they live in a different place. Their series is important because it sets up a pivotal event in the overall series and what life for these shifters will become. Like with the Saw Bears, they also find their mates and end up with better lives. However, this series raises the stakes. It is important to read these stories in the proper order because the Fire Bears series start and end in the middle of the Saw Bears series.

Next are the Gray Back Bears. Some time has past since we first entered this world of shifters. Even though the Saw Bears are all completely happily mated, the Gray Back Bears don't believe that life is for them. They are different than most other shifters. Their crew is filled with misfits with complex issues. Nevertheless, despite their protestations, they all begin to find mates.

One more series, the Boarlander Bears, to get through before we start in on the series about the kids all these bears have had.

I honestly didn't know what to think when I first started the series. I didn't love the first book, but the further I got into the series, the more I got used to the writing style and style of storytelling. Like I said, this is a fascinating world that's been created. The books are filled with predictable, but sweet insta love and no cheating, since shifters are incapable of cheating on their mates. I like that at the end of the day, no matter what they go through, the couple ends up happy. I like the overarching story that each book plays a part in. I like the connections between the characters and the series. Each book may be short, but they contribute to a much larger saga that is ever continuing. show less