Elizabeth A. Reeves

In my review of Baehrly Breathing, the first in the Goldie Locke series, I said, “Golden Sunshine Locke, or Goldie Locke as she is better known, is my new favorite “Just For Fun” literary character!” And I can still say that Goldie is a favorite that I am happy to have found and embraced. And the fun is still there in the second book, Baehrly Bitten: Goldie Locke and the Were Bears #2. But life is changing for Goldie, and she is growing into her character, and into her life. A life show more that is getting tougher, and more intense in this second volume.

In the first book, we met Goldie, a sassy, funny, five-foot nothing who, despite absolutely hating it, is “cute.” Blonde, blue-eyed, and just plain adorable, looking like she is nineteen, at most. Instead, she is a smart, savvy woman with two PhD’s and a law degree, specializing in being the “most dreaded Magical environmental lawyers of all time.” What she really is doing is rescuing those rare and endangered creatures that need her help. Which means she has a houseful of creatures, including a baby dragon, a tiny, pink mastodon, and various other magical creatures. Her house is definitely getting to small for everyone – including the two guys who she is working with. And who both want her. Sound suspiciously like a triangle, but it doesn’t feel like that at all, so if you are like me, don’t let it bother you. It all works itself out fairly quickly. But Goldie needs all the help she can get, and vampires are on the loose, murdering and kidnapping. And these aren’t the “sparkly” vampires that are so common in literature today. These are more like what I would consider vampires to really be like – nasty, mindless, bags of bones, parasites of the lowest order, skulking in the dark.

In Breathing, Goldie’s ex, Kodi, one of the three were bear Baehr brothers, was forced to bite Goldie in order to save her life. Now, Goldie is fighting her internal bear as it fights for dominance and fights to mate with Kodi – something that Goldie most definitely does not want. In order to be able sleep as the bear fights her, throwing her magic around and destroying everything around her, Goldie has her mother bind the bear within her mind. And that is only the first of Goldie’s troubles.

This is, as I said, a deeper novel than the last. Goldie is still funny and snarky, but this volume went deeper, a bit darker than the last, allowing Goldie to grow and develop as a character. I started out loving this from the start because it was so light and funny. Now, I like it even more for the character development and the darker nature, while still hanging onto Goldie’s true personality. She is growing, and changing, but she is still immensely likable. Bruised and damaged as she is in this volume, I don’t get the feeling that she is turning dark or losing who she is in her soul.

Overall? I just downloaded the next book, Baehrly Alive. Yes, I am totally hooked. The bad part, of course, is that when I am done it will be “wait for the next one” time . . . (saaaaddddd!) show less

Goldie Locke has come a long, long way in the last three books. From lighthearted, cutie figure in Breathing, she moved to a darker, more damaged soul in Bitten as she tried to manage the changes that being bitten by her ex-boyfriend Kodi caused within her. A strong Earth witch, having the bear inside her, a bear which she could not, and would not, work with put incredible strain on her. While she may have been able to manage the bear under ordinary circumstances, the bite came while her show more soul and her magic were half torn from her body, leaving the link between human and bear shattered.

At the end of Bitten, it wasn’t just the bear bite that Goldie suffers, but something even more horrific – and as we moved into Baehrly Alive her life, her world, and her soul are in dire peril. Everything around Goldie is falling apart, and those whom she has trusted and relied upon become the enemy, while that which she thought to be enemy could possibly become a friend(?)

This was by no means an ‘easy’ read. There is suffering and heartache galore for Goldie – more pain that someone with her kind and gentle heart and soul should have to bear. And things change drastically as she fights to save those whom she loves while finding betrayal on every side. But the thing is – Goldie is a lot more than she has ever seemed to be. She is strong, both in mind and in soul, no matter what is happening to change who, and what, she is. She is strong enough to stand up and say “No More” to make the hard choices and follow through. I deeply admire the character.

While there is heartbreak and loss in the book (this is definitely not the light and fluffy read that the first book was) the growth of the character is extremely well written, and she learns and grows from everything that happens to her, though she may be going through more heartbreak than any one person should have to suffer. There are odd things going on with Goldie – and in the very last sentence of the epilogue? A tiny spark of hope, a possibility that, though things may not be the HEA that one might have expected, I saw something there that I hope the author is truly planning to explore in a later book. A hope that all may not be lost. For Goldie is different – more different than even she realizes at this point – a difference that a creature more powerful than any other has noticed.

I was excited to see that How (Not) to Kiss A Were Bear is scheduled (hopefully) for March. It will pull the worlds of Goldie and Cindy Eller together, and will hopefully give Goldie some respite from the pain of her current condition, and keep us on track for more Goldie books to come. show less

Whee!!! (Jumping up and down clapping hands like a five-year-old.) Golden Sunshine Locke, or Goldie Locke as she is better known, is my new favorite “Just For Fun” literary character! Well, anyone who owns two three-headed puppies, several cats, a fluffy zombie Silkie chicken named Fred, and Petunia the miniature pink elephant (well, actually pink mastodon, but that is just being picky) is my kind of girl! And did you know that several types of magical creatures all together are called a show more “Mayhem”? Again, Whee!

Goldie is an Earth witch, with two PhD’s, one in Zoology and one in Magical Ecosystems, and a law degree. Her job with the Baehr brothers is as one of the “most dreaded Magical environmental lawyers of all time.” Which is rather difficult when you are a five-foot blonde with a terminal case of “cute.” What is a girl to do except learn to be a Master Swordswoman and kick butt on a regular basis?

This is my first introduction to Elizabeth A. Reeves and her Baehrly series, but it certainly won’t be my last. In this edition, Goldie is stuck with an ‘Ordinary’ (non magical) police detective trying to solve the thefts and slaughter of numerous extremely endangered magical creatures. The story is extremely funny in parts, but also made me ache for the loss of such wonderful creatures in such a terrible manner. But, with her Ordinary partner, Donovan, her ex boyfriend Kodi Baehr, the youngest of the Baehr brothers and a total goof-off, and her awesome smart mouth, Goldie handles missing magical creatures, mystery, and mayhem galore.

All in all, I truly enjoyed this first new (to me) book in the series and greatly look forward to the next in the series, Baehrly Bitten. And right now, Baehrly Breathing is FREE ON AMAZON! What's not to like?? show less

I really liked this story, it was light, fun, fast and a mouth-watering read. This is the story of Cindy Eller a baker who also happens to be a witch with powers she doesn't quite now how to control. She's kissed more guys into toads but usually they turn back but suddenly she's stuck with one very big toad. Now the bakery she's loved is being given to the owners nephew and she may be losing her powers because of her lack of control. What's a girl to do - bake of course. Great twist on the show more classic fairy tale and the descriptions of the baked goods are divine and make me want to bake, or rather find someone who can bake as well as Ms. Reeves can describe a finished product. Can't wait to read the rest of the series. show less