The Shifter Mystique by Vivi Andrews--originally published May 22, 2014
Award-winning (Golden Heart, RT Top Picks) author Vivi Andrews writes my favorite combination of sassy, steamy and smart. Please welcome Vivi in her first appearance at Magical Musings!
Recently a non-romance-reading friend of mine asked me what my upcoming book was about. When I explained that Jaguar’s Kiss is a forbidden-love romance between the princess of a pride of lion shapeshifters and a sexy loner who shifts into a jaguar, the look he gave me could best be described as utter confusion. He hadn’t been expecting big cats. After some discussion, it became apparent my poor misguided friend couldn’t understand the appeal of shapeshifter romance, and I found myself in the position of trying to explain exactly why I find these stories so irresistible.
Was it the alpha male heroes? They are so deliciously sexy—all power and authority and lovely bulgy muscles. Dominant and determined and sexy and… *fans self* Yeah. What’s not to love?
Or is it the sensuality that naturally imbues a story about creatures that are so physical and possessing such heightened senses? Shifters are dominated by instinct, in touch with their primal, animalistic sexual selves in a way that can be hot as hell. Many shifter romances are written in a style that highlights that intense sensory body-awareness in a way that’s lush and vivid. Hard to resist…
Or perhaps it’s the certainty involved in the popular fated mates trope in shifter romances? The idea that there is a soul mate and when you find them you will sort of lock into place and there will be no doubt (and no questioning whether this is really the guy for you as you wade through the quagmire that human dating can be). There’s a comfort in the feeling that the happily-ever-afters will make it all the way to the ever-after and when there’s a metaphysical mate-bond, it’s easy to believe they’re going to go the distance.
What do you think? Why are shifters so dang sexy? Alphas, animalism, mates? All of the above? Some other factor I haven’t considered? The tight knit communities of packs and prides that exist in many of the books? The sociopolitical elements of the shapeshifter worlds? Or is just that we all dreamed of being able to transform into jaguars or wolves and run through the forest as kids (I know I did) and we never quite grew up?
Are you a shifter lover? What makes them impossible for you to resist?
- Jaguar's Kiss
To get what he wants, he’ll have to rattle her cage...
Lila Fallon, the Lone Pine Pride Alpha’s only daughter, has been betrothed since childhood to marry her father’s chosen successor. The match is designed to maintain peace by shoring up any cracks in pride solidarity.
She’s always known she would do her duty—she just never expected to meet a man who would tempt her to throw it all away.
As a black panther, Santiago Flores couldn’t be a less suitable mate for the Alpha’s purebred lioness daughter. But that doesn’t change the fact that for every one of the five years he’s been with the Lone Pine Pride, he’s been head-over-heels in love with her. And when the Alpha announces that Lila’s indefinite engagement is about to end in a very definite marriage, Santiago is through holding his peace.
From their very first kiss, Santiago rattles Lila’s neatly ordered world. But can a lioness who’s always lived to please everyone else risk everything to please herself?
Warning: This book contains tempting lone-wolf jaguars, lionesses who long for fairy tale endings, arranged marriages, tangled emotions and a pride full of trouble.
Available for pre-order: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Samhain Publishing
30% off at Samhain through June 16!
30% off at Samhain through June 16!
- Vivi Andrews
Vivi Andrews is an award-winning paranormal romance novelist with a travel addiction. Born and raised in Alaska, she still lives in the frozen north when she isn’t bouncing around the globe. Whether at home or on the road, she’s always at work on her next happily-ever-after. For more about her books or the exploits of a nomadic author, please visit her website at www.ViviAndrews.com, or find her on Facebook and Twitter.
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