Not a bad read. A few slow parts but well worth the read.

The overall story line did not hold up for this novel and felt as if the story was all over the place. The characters are not developed and lacking. Overall not a fan

This is an anthology by Eve Langlais, Milly Taiden, and Kate Baxter. Each story is about some sort of shifters but aren't related to each other other than that.

Book 1 is Bearing His Sin by Eve Langlais. This one is about a bear assassin named Cole. He is on Anja's land doing reconnaissance on her neighbor's. Little did he know that he was going to meet his mate or that there were other's trying to force her to become their bride!

I absolutely loved this one! This is a continuation of Eve's books that were in her previous anthologies. Cole was hired to kill Fabian but then the contract was pulled before he completed it. So he decided to go see about doing it anyway for fun. Then he meets Anja. Anja owns the land next Fabian's and lives with her grandmother. She is snarky and mouthy and just cracked me up from the get go! Loved their interactions together! This one was by far my favorite out of the whole anthology!

Book 2 is Bought By The Bear by Milly Taiden. Josilyn Martinez needs money to not only pay the bills but to continue to fight to keep her nephew. Xander is a bear shifter whose grandmother has told him he neets to mate in order to take control of their company. His grandmother is human and doesn't understand that mating doesn't work like that. So he decides to hire a fake mate to appease his grandmother. Not knowing that who he hires IS his true mate until they meet.

I had never read any books by Milly Taiden but had heard of her before. I really enjoyed this one! Xander is sweet and tries to do what he can to make Josie's life easier. Without telling her he is her mate until he knows she may feel the same. Josie is struggling to not only live and take care of her nephew after her sister's death but to move on after what her ex did to her. She doesn't understand the instant attraction to Xander but she still tries to get know him and be with him. Add in other outside forces and this book was great!

Book 3 is The Alpha and I by Kate Baxter. It's about werewolf Liam Murphy and Devon Kincaid. Devon finds Liam naked in a field covered in blood during a snowstorm. And saves him. Not knowing what he is or whether something happened to him or he did something to someone else. Liam was out running with his pack when he was attacked and dragged to the field. But he doesn't remember by who or exactly what happened. But then he wakes up and quickly realizes that he was rescued by his mate, who he had given up on ever finding. Now it's not only a matter of remembering exactly what happened but ensuring she stays safe too.

I have all of Kate Baxter's Last True Vampire series. Her books are always great and this one didn't disappoint. Devon has a lot to take in and overcome as she is human and never knew a whole other world even existed. Liam had completely moved his whole pack in the hopes of avoiding the conflict that was being brought to him. Not realizing that it would follow him no matter where they went. And then to try to convince his mate to not only accept him but to allow him to turn her into a werewolf so she would be harder to kill? It made for a great story! I am definitely hoping that she continues this as a series! Would love to read something about Liam's cousin!

All in all, this whole anthology was great! I loved the different points of views about shifters and their lives in general. All the author's wrote great stories that kept me interested from start to finish!

Bearing His Sin - 2.5 to 3*

I found this hard going initially in fact after a few pages I couldn’t read anymore. I didn’t like Cole or the way this was written and I’d just about decided to skip this and move onto the next one.
Next day I gave it another try and found that once Anja and more importantly her Babushka appeared I was hooked.

There’s no real romance and it jumps around all over the place, nothing makes sense, it’s a complete mess but it’s funny.

I suspect you’ve got to be in the right mood for this book but if you are it’s a fast crazy read.

Bought by the Bear - 3*

This is what I think of as the perfect 3* read. It’s a nice easy romance, not a book I’ll re-read or particularly remember but an enjoyable one all the same.

Josilyn Martinez needs money and she needs it fast. Not so long ago she had everything, a happy marriage, a good successful job, a nice home and money for extras plus a sister her husband and a nephew.
All that remains now is the nephew. Her marriage, job and money are gone along with her sister leaving her to care for her beautiful nephew Nick.
She’s working a cleaning job but really struggling to get by and so when her friend approaches her with a way to make a lot of money fast she takes it.
Xander Ursi needs a mate quickly to get his grandmother off his back. The problem is he’s a bear shifter and while his one true mate is out there somewhere he hasn’t met her yet. So he arranges for a fake mate and surprise, surprise she turns out to be his one true mate.
I know what are the odds?

This is an enjoyable shifter romance.

The Alpha and I - 2* (knocked a star off for stupid)

Devon Kincaid lives in Lowman, Idaho which is in the middle of nowhere. Problems with an ex resulting in a restraining order made her decide she’d be happier and safer alone.
She’s no interest or expectations of meeting a man out here but driving home in terrible conditions she finds a badly injured naked man.
And it’s not even Christmas.
He’s gorgeous but Devon isn’t stupid (well she is later but early on she seems of reasonable intelligence) so she’s wary. After-all he could be anyone, just because he’s hot doesn’t mean he’s safe.
But despite everything she finds herself drawn to him.
Liam Murphy wakes up injured, fifty miles from home with no idea how he got there. On the plus side the beautiful woman that rescued him is his mate.
Obviously he’s thrilled to finally find his mate but the timing isn’t brilliant since something is trying to kill him.
This was another easy enjoyable read until the TSTL moment. I was incredibly annoyed because I’d quite liked Devon up to this point.
This had been a 3* read but I’m knocking a star off for stupid, I’m sick of it if women were like this in real life hardly any would survive or even be able to get dressed on a morning.

Thanks Fur Last Night is a insta~love paranormal shifter anthology which includes the following three novellas:

Bearing His Sin by Eve Langlais - 2 stars. Holy guacamole! I abso~loved the humor and babushka in this read, however there was just way too much going on for such a short story, and as I read it, I felt like I was being pulled in too many directions. Disappointed.

Bought by the Bear by Milly Taiden - 4.5 stars. A great second-chance and fake relationship romance! Nailed.It!

The Alpha and I by Kate Baxter - 4.5 stars. Just like Ms. Taiden, you can’t go wrong with Ms. Baxter’s writing...loved it!

An ARC was generously provided in exchange for an honest review of which this is both honest and completely voluntary.

Full disclosure, I picked up this book because I am a fan of Ms. Langlais. I have not read either of the other two authors previously. This anthology did give a decent representation of the authors writing.

Bearing His Sin by Eve Langlais was ... unexpected. The twists in this story made me feel as if there were a few contrived and forced plot devices which rubs me the wrong way. Still, I enjoyed this story because frankly, I love Ms. Langlais's writing voice. Her characters are snarky and hilarious. The dark humour in this story if fantastic for me. Cole's nonchalant manner of how he must kill Anja, his mate, is disturbing yet funny. It takes a reader who enjoys mayhem, violence and sex mixed together with fiery passion to enjoy this story. Fortunately for me, I enjoy all the above and more so this story worked out well for me. I liked the characters, even the crazy grandmother. Is there more to this world? Because I want to read about Anja's shifter neighbors. This anthology starts out promising.

Bought by the Bear by Milly Taiden is fair. The story is a bit more on the romance than I prefer. She is a new to me author who writes a sweet romance. The characters were a bit forgettable for me.

The Alpha and I by Kate Baxter is a sweet romance. New to me author, Ms. Baxter attracts me with her world building. This is what I like about anthologies; it introduces me to new authors. Now I will need to look up to see if there are more stories in this world.

This is also a romance story with the main character, Devon helping out a naked bleeding man unconscious on the side of the road. In this world, shifters are kept secret which makes it more difficult for said naked man to explain what happened to Devon. The story moves fast since it is a novella. The framework of the world and the conflict is easy to follow. The ending comes quickly with a satisfying resolution.

This anthology showcases three different writing styles and each one with a bit of quirky humour. Recommended for paranormal romance readers who have a thing for shifters.

Thanks Fur Last Night is a compilation of three novellas by three well-known and best-selling authors. Unfortunately that does not make for three great stories.

This is definitely a mix of good, bad and just barely OK; and not in that order. I’m not going to draw this review out, other than to say that Kate Baxter’s contribution ‘The Alpha and I’ is the saving grace of the collection with a story I wished had of gone on longer, which is the only reason this book rates a there star review.

For whatever reason the story just never drew me in. A good book. But unfortunately something I would not purchase.

Three completely different stories by these authors. I totally fell in love with Cole and Anja in their story. As usual the writing was hilarious and the standard one would expect from this author. Funny, fast paced, no nonsense and close to the bone. Anya and her grandmother made me smile, self sufficient and smart these ladies didn't need anyone to pull them out of any messes. In The Alpha and I, Liam and Devon stepped up to the plate, or as it stands in Iowa. When he is injured in a bloody fight against bear shifters, our h saves him unknowing of his preternatural state of being. When she finds out her reaction will be something this Alpha has to manage especially as his wolf is calling this woman his mate. Finally Jocelyn and Xander make for interesting reading. He thinks this speed dating will keep his grandmother off his back, she just needs some money to help her young one. A blind date, an unexpected rush and before you know it some one inner animal has sat up , and taken notice that this woman is definitely the one, and there is no letting go. A worthwhile anthology by three different authors who all make their character live in your head long after the story ends.

REVIEW
I approached reading these novella's with trepidation as I know through checking on Goodreads that both Eve Langlais and Milly Taiden have series that are classed as erotica and it is a genre I usually steer away from, but this anthology is listed as paranormal romance and it was suggested I may enjoy it as I love shifter books so I decided to give it a go. For Kate Baxter I have found her books listed as paranormal romance so feel I should certainly get along with her novella okay. I haven't really read anything before by these authors but decided this Anthology would be a great way for me to try out three new authors.

The cover background has either an ocean or lake with a bear splashing his way through it, this part of the cover could certainly fit a scene from within the first novella by Eve Langlais. In the foreground of the cover is a rather passionately kissing couple. I love the title with the play on the word Fur/For. I immediately understood it and it made me smile and want to know more about the anthology.

The various genres I have seen listed for this anthology are Paranormal, Fantasy and Romance, Anthologies and I agree with those genres. I would also add it to "Novella's" as the Anthology is made up of three novella's.

I think the blurbs for each novella give away enough about them so my reviews are merely my personal thoughts and views on the individual title.


Bearing His Sin by Eve Langlais
So I'm being totally honest, as always, this did have rather explicit or what I term as erotica type descriptions which at time were a little off putting, but I guess that's down to my own personal reading preferences and my personal comfort zone. I found this novella a bit slow to start off, and felt it jumped about a bit too much and was in my opinion fragmented somewhat. I stuck with the novella and in the end I found a fairly good read. Would I want to read more titles by Eve Langlais . . hmm maybe.



Bought by the Bear by Milly Taiden
This novella was a faster paced read and even though it had some steamy hot scenes they were so well in context that it felt "right". I loved the character of Josilyn, how she is working a quite literally back breaking job to feed herself, but more importantly her nephew Nick, whom she has cared for since his parents died in a car accident. I adored the way the once womaniser Xander was totally out of his depth with Josilyn. I did really enjoy this novella, so much so I've put some other titles by Milly Taiden on my Want To Read List already! I really didn't want this novella to end!


The Alpha and I by Kate Baxter
This novella was also a really good read, enough to make me check out the authors other available books too! I love that Liam the Alpha werewolf who is used to everyone doing as he tells them without question has to try and go against his alpha nature and not just tell Devon how things are going to be. I liked the element of the whole will she choose to become a werewolf and the process and was a little disappointed when we didn't get the whole bite scene etc. The third novella in this anthology and the second one that I didn't want to end. I could imagine reading a whole series about the fantastic shifters in this novella!

So the anthology as a whole was a really good one. I've discovered two new authors I'd like to read more of. I usually avoid anything that has been labelled erotica like the plague but the publicist that recommended these authors to me thought I would love this anthology, so I decided to give it a go, not knowing what to expect and ended up with a great surprise read and a couple of authors I maybe wouldn't have given a chance before.

My immediate thoughts upon finishing this anthology were, Will definitely be checking for other titles by these authors. This anthology definitely allowed me to indulge my love of the werewolf & shifter genre.

Shifter romances is a new genre for me that has definitely grown on me. I didn't care much for them at first but after I read one of Eve's other books, Bunny and the Bear, I found myself more interested in the genre. So when the publisher offered me this anthology from Netgalley, I downloaded it and here we are. Overall rating 4.5 stars!

Bearing His Sin by Eve Langlais
Cole is content is his luxurious assassin-for-hire lifestyle, so when he meets (and is threatened by) Anja and her Russian grandmother, he contemplates killing them both in order to maintain his free way-of-life. However, the situation gets even more complicated when Cole recognizes Anja to be his one and only mate, whose life also seems to be threatened from all sides. Good thing she is as formidable and badass as he is. I actually really enjoyed this novella. It was filled with danger, sexy innuendos, hilarious banter and just enough drama, while not oversexed. I didn't care too much for the ending as it seemed a bit rushed and unfinished, but overall I did enjoy reading this one.
4.25 stars

Bought by the Bear by Milly Taiden
Once again, I found myself enjoying another shifter romance. What really made this novella stand out for me though was Xander! He was absolutely adorable in his tendencies to get embarrassed and insecure and show himself as VULNERABLE and not just a sexy hot bear shifter. The timing seemed a little disjointed at times as the scenes jumped around without any lead-ins, and I had to reread sections a couple times. The mystery, danger, and love made for an interesting story though. 4.5 stars

The Alpha and I by Kate Baxter
Okay, this shifter romance genre is really starting to grow on me. If you don't mind the whole "alpha" mindset in your heroes (and "claiming your mate"), it's actually a pretty enjoyable genre. This story took a different spin on the other shifter novellas I've read so far in that our heroine is completely oblivious to the supernatural world, even as she literally stumbles upon an Alpha wolf. Liam's highhandedness pitted against Devon's own tenacity made for some funny and cute scenes. I really loved their dynamic and the realness of Devon's reaction to Liam's world and the danger that comes with it. And even though the majority of the novella takes place over only a few days, I didn't feel suffocated by the instalove or soulmate nonsense. 4.5 stars

*ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley*

I really truly thought that I could enjoy this. Authors that I liked were involved and yet I couldn't get past the first few chapters. I guess I've grown out of their writing style?

I loved Eve Langlais for quite a while so maybe it was the characters she wrote? I don't know, they annoyed me from page one.

I liked Milly's unique way of story telling but I just couldn't get into it this time. Maybe I'm just in a book slump but I couldn't bring myself to finish.

In the third story, the main characters abandon their dog in an unheated house, and never come back to him. Seriously. It's a little more than halfway through the story, and the dog is NEVER MENTIONED AGAIN. I would have prefered they took the dog with them on their cross-country blizzard hike and he died of exposure/bear attack than just end the story with no mention of him at all, leaving me to believe he starves or freezes alone. (I mean, he isn't explicitly not-rescued, maybe they came home and picked him up before the epilogue started, but I am unhappy about this.) (A dog is for life, not for 10 chapters.)

Bearing His Sins
By Eve Langlais
3☆
Interesting story. Dialogue was interesting too. A bit straightforward to the point of crass but it was kind of funny. No lovey dovey words between the heroine and hero. I can't describe how I felt reading it except that it was interesting. Although the ending was a bit confusing to me. I had no idea who that last letter was addressed to. If anyone knows please let me know.

Bought By The Bear
By Millie Taiden
3☆
An overall cute story. Liked the premise of a shifter looking for a fake mate but then she turned out to be his real mate. Only part I found a bit farfetched was the revenge plot against Josie. It was a bit extreme but it worked for the story.

The Alpha and I
By Kate Baxter
3☆
Pretty action packed wearwolf shifter story. Moved pretty quickly. Sexy and entertaining.

*I voluntarily read an advance copy of this book*

Bearing His Sin - Eve Langlais
As expected, this story was a lot of fun and super sexy. From the first moment they met, you knew Anja and Cole weren't any typical couple. Their attraction was immediate, their dark humour matched perfectly, and their bloodthirst on point. While his bear knows she is his mate, the man just follows along until he knows as well. And while Anja plays along, it becomes her reality as well. Family drama and crazy relatives add to the mix, and makes our HEA even more of an d'awwww moment

Bought by the bear - Milly Taiden
This was okay. The premise was good, but there were so many things in the storyline that were off, it was distracting. Why did the grandmother want Nick so badly? Really, only for money, that seems weak. The whole side story with the wolves, was I supposed to know or care? Why was something so seemingly sad and big stuck in the middle of this book? If Josie's ex really hated her that much, how did they court, get married, and stay together and she never noticed. It seems he has always hated her, so either has was a perfect actor, which seems unlikely, or she was completely naive, again, seems unlikely

Finally, and this is my rant portion, why, oh, why, in books do authours believe that if they have a character who is made fun of for their weight, they can make fun of those making fun of them, by making fun of their weight. STOP IT! It is school yard antics and name calling. There is no need, and it shows a lack of integrity. It goes both ways, so when you see a character being judged because they are too heavy, and they brush it off because the too skinny person must be hungry, it is perpetuating the problem. In life, if that happens, both people are jerks, it is the same in books. Love your size, whatever it is, but don't judge others, no matter what their size, because then you are just as bad

Rant done, obviously, book not enjoyed

The Alpha and I - Kate Baxter

Now this book I loved! This was the pick of the group for me. Devon is escaping her past in a small town when she runs across Liam, literally, in the middle of a blizzard. While she feels the sparks for him immediately, he feels something even more. His past is a threat to them both, and while the figure out the attraction between them, the action never stops. He is being pursued, and she is in danger because of it. Only lingering question for me - what happened to her dog?

Shapeshifter stories are one of my favorites, so when St Martin's offered me an arc of not one, but three shapeshifter stories in Thanks Fur Last Night, I was happy to review off course.

The book started with Bearing His Sin, which is absolute hilarious. Anja is living with her grandmother at a remote farm, where they are perfectly capable of fending for themselves. Cole is the hired mercenary tress passing on Anja's ground, while following a Russian mobster. So Anja threatens to kill him.

Cole is a bear shifter, foul mouthed and not afraid of anyone or anything. But when he meets Anja, he finally meets his match: a woman feisty and foul mouthed enough to take him on. Hot as hell! Soon he realizes Anja isn't any woman: she is his mate. So he tries to convince Anja that he and she belong together. But Anja isn't falling for this and she has greater problems: there are even bigger ass-holes than Cole after her to drag her back to her family.

But Cole is not about to let some Russian mobster take away his mate... Lies, deceit, a lot of cursing and sparks flying everywhere. A great read!

After Bearing His Sin, we move to Bought by the bear, which was about the total opposite of the first story. The only parallel is that both Xander and Cole are bear shifters. Other than that, there is no comparison. Where Cole is foul mouthed an a brute, is Xander a refined gentleman, looking for a decoy to avoid an altercation with his grand mother. So he hires Josilyn to be his pretended mate.

What he doesn't know is that Josilyn is his actual mate. Again, in the story the grandma is the greatest hoot of the story. Pretending to be someone's mate, when you only met thirty minutes before meeting grandma is very difficult. Especially if the grandma is a witty old woman. So how can Xander convince Josilyn that she is the one for him, after having met her just now and without telling grandma that this was a decoy?

Find out for yourself in this light and happy read from Milly Taiden.

And last, but not least, the third story is The Alpha and I. This is about a werewolf shifter, Liam, who is found bleeding in the snow by Devon. What Devon doesn't realize is that Liam is no ordinary man, but a werewolf. Liam, as alpha of his pack can't remember how he ended up in the snow in the first place. It takes him some time to solve the puzzle. One of his enemies has followed the pack and wants to take out Liam.

But Liam is not going anywhere, since he realized that the guardian angel who took him in from the bitter cold is no other than his mate. But Devon doesn't know anything of the existing of a supernatural world or its inhabitants. Can Liam show her what his true nature is and convince her to join his world?

A wonderful read with some unexpected twists and turns. Overall three out of five stars from me with a special thank you to Netgalley for providing the arc.

Thanks Fur Last Night
by Eve Langlais , Milly Taiden, Kate Baxter
If it were not for the grandmother I would of graded this a one. I am unsure how a book can be all over the place be short and still make you wonder what is coming. The grandmother saved the book from being in my opinion worthless to actually something to read. I did not expect this one. So I cannot say that it was extremely entertaining, instead I will say it was okay. I was given this book in return for an honest review. Anna Swedenmom

A fun collection of three shifter stories, two of bears and one of wolf, from three great authors. A nice way to get into the holiday spirit. First one, "Bearing his Sins" has Cole and Anja, with lots of snarky comebacks and just plain fun. A little Russian, and a feisty Grandma and it makes for quite a fun ride. Out of the three this was my favorite, but mainly because it made me chuckle more. The Second one is "Bought by the Bear" and has Xander and Josilyn. Xander hires her to be his fake mate to please his grandma and finds out she really is his mate. I liked this one too, although the details were sketchy about the creepy ex-husband until the end. The third book is "The Alpha and I" with Liam and Devon. She finds Liam naked and bleeding in a snowstorm, and takes him home to save him. I liked this one too, although details were sketchy about why the bear was chasing him, until the end. Also, Devon's dog Mac seemed to have been abandoned. Poor thing. Most of the issues I had were weak detailing, but I suppose that is primarily due to the stories being novelas. Still, enjoyed all three, and highly recommend this book. Great authors and stories.

2.5-3 stars
The Good, The Bad, and Everything in Between

Three stories, with varying degrees of success, let's dive into this shindig.

Bearing His Sin - 1.5-2 stars

*blinks* I...yeah, I don’t know. There’s some (very subjective) humor to this and if that was all I was interested in, I might have liked it more. But romance is what brings me in the door, and this was definitely lacking. Cole makes some token comments about how Anja’s his, and Anja says she’s attracted to him. But their actions speak louder ….yeah they’re basically a-holes. Both of them. Which, if you think about it make them perfect for each other, even if it didn’t make their romance particularly palatable. I wanted to like this, but it just didn’t work for me.

Bought By The Bear - 2 stars
This story has the same problem I have with most of Ms. Taiden’s books, though I keep hoping it gets better because there’s always something that draws me in. I love her plot ideas. I love that her heroines almost always are confident and curvy. The heroes are fairly standard if serviceable alphas. But then the story itself….it just goes sideways. Her heroes/heroines talk about being attracted to personality, I always seem to say to myself “how do they know each other’s personality? They barely spoke to each other.” Internal monologues do not count as conversations and they spent way too much talking in their own heads or to other people, not to each other. Another story I wanted to love, but it ended up just being an ok read.

The Alpha and I - 4 stars

My favorite by far of this antho. I just enjoy Ms. Baxter’s writing, and I thought there was a good amount of information shared regarding this particular ‘verse and werewolf mythology without it feeling forced. I liked Liam and Devon’s chemistry and while I wasn’t as big a fan of the climax (it felt kind of rushed), or perhaps because I was just dying to really like a story, I think this was the best of the bunch.

The Bottom Line 2.5-3 stars
Overall, this wasn’t as strong as I hoped. This is a very conditional rec - If you’re a fan of these particular authors, you may enjoy this more than I did. If you're a general fan of shifter romances, I would absolutely recommend the Baxter story, but the other two were just meh for me.

Bearing His Sin

The first one started out interesting with characters that are strong right off the bat. The banter between the two main characters and the grandmother was great. But then the female lead started going back and forth within the same breath. One second she is mentioning not giving in and then she is saying put a ring on it right afterward. The back and forth as to whether she was going to make him work for it or even just be a bit harder to win over, left me unsatisfied with the build-up of their relationship. He was the same, one second he is saying he is going to kill her and then in the same breath he is claiming her as his and she will be his wife. Out of all three, this was my least favorite.

Bought by the Bear

The second story was better than the first. The relationship did feel rushed through. I️ would have liked to have seen more build up. The plot was good. I️ liked the characters. The conflict was strong. However, the ending was rushed. I️ would have loved to have seen the aftermath of the car accident slowed down. I️ mean she must have been in a lot of pain and Xander was like ‘I️ can’t wait any longer…I️ love you’ and she was like ‘oh Xander, I️ love you too’. I️ mean, didn’t she want to know what happened to her ex? And what about the woman who attacked her, was she alive or not? Certain details were really rushed while other details were great but left me wanting more. This story would have been a lot better as a full novel because I liked it, just needed more.

The Alpha and I

Story number three was better than story two. I like Kate Baxter’s style of writing and the story had a good build-up and though rushed (they commit to each other in about 24 hours or so), I still enjoyed it. She was real, her reactions to things were believable and not overdramatic, and his commitment to her was sweet and steady. The conflict was good and the plot entertaining. I do wish that at the end it did show her transition or at least had an epilogue to show the reader how things turned out after she turned werewolf. There was such build up and then an abrupt halt, I didn’t like that at all. Out of all three short stories in this collection, number three was the best. I liked the characters, plot, and development by the author in order to tell a good story.