Rating: 4.5 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | All Romance | Amazon UK
Length: Novel
Tired of living under their alpha father’s thumb, lynx shifter Keith Skyler and his sister hatch a plan that they hope will succeed: to buy a house closer to their work, and more importantly, have a haven all of their own. Neighbor Jason watched the move-in with rapt facination, his attention captivated by the gorgeous specimen of a man who bought the house next door. Keith realizes that Jason is his mate, an inconceivable discovery that he was told would never come to pass, his mate, a male mate. Unable to resist the lure of his new neighbor, Jason does what any red-blooded American man would do, bring the hot new man next door a casserole dish of mac & cheese. The animal attraction is too strong and the man and were-cat’s explosive sex leaves them both wanting.
Jason’s discovery that his would-be boyfriend is a were-cat, and his best friend, Sasha, is a vampire Prince, is too much to take in and so Jason does the only thing he can: he tells them to leave. That shifters exist is no surprise, as Jason has been keeping that secret for years. That his best friend is a vampire is inconceivable, but Jason must reconcile these facts or risk losing it all. Jason’s uncertainty about the mating bond, due to his bad experiences with his exes, frustrates Keith, who only wants to complete the mating ritual, making Jason his forever.
Keith’s father, has made it clear he wants to harm Jason and that knowledge may just be the final straw in convincing the guys to move forward with their mating, but there may be more for them to learn.
Whiskers of a Chance was a cute story that incorporated a few different tropes that I enjoy, melded together seamlessly. I will be the first to admit that cat shifters is a big-time favorite of mine and when I saw lynx shifters in the publisher’s blurb, I jumped at the chance to review this story.
The first thing I noticed was the tension between Keith and his father, Adam. What was different was that Adam wa not a very well-liked alpha and Keith was a really nice guy who many tribe members were anxious to see take the reins. Sadly, Keith is still too young. I really liked Jason, and felt some empathy for him. He was self-conscious of his stutter and adapted his work life around that fact, feeling more comfortable and confident dealing with people over the phone or by email. Keith was shown from the outset to be a caring and nurturing guy, um, lynx, even though his actions were blatantly rude to his father. Now we are enlightened as to why this is, but regardless, my initial impression of Keith was a positive one.
I did find that the secondary characters were just “there” and would really have liked to learn more about some of them, Sasha, in particular. I quite enjoyed the interesting dynamic in the story, having such a mix of groups could have been too much, but for me, it worked well. Perhaps one day we will see more of Sasha, and Caleb as they were two characters that intrigued me. Although the plot was simple, O’Riley incorporated some neat elements to the story, such as the location of the lynx council (in Canada btw) and the concept of an alpha starting his own tribe. These lent a nice bit of depth to the story I also really liked the cover as it did the story and the characters justice.
I apologize for stating the obvious here, but if you like shifters, grab this one. I’m sure glad I did.
A review copy of this book was provided by Dreamspinner Press.
