Jayden (MC Bear Mates #9), by Becca Fanning

Jayden (Jay) and his twin brother Kon are sent after Leila, who embezelled a lot of money from the MC club’s accounts.  She only done this because her grandmother was ill and needed money for an experimental treatment, they can’t just let it slide.

When Jay and Kon catch up to Leila, two things happen:  They discover she is their mate, and Jay is badly injured when a jack fails and an engine falls on him. They convince Leila to stay with them while they recuperate, Leila was raised in a very fundamentalist religious sect, so adjusting to being mated to two shifters is going to take some time.  In the meanwhile, whe needs to find a way to pay back to club in some way.  Fortunately, they can use someone with her skills to help track shifter children who end up in the foster care system.

This is perhaps the least “MC” of the books in this series.  It focusses on the relationship between Leila and the twins and a few club members who are in contact with them.  As with many books in this particular series, there is a focus on the treatment of women and girls in both shifter and human societies..

I very much enjoyed this book.  It was not quite what I was expecting, and that was the best part!

As always, this is a voluntary review. I received an advanced copy of the book.

Chris, by Becca Fanning (MC Bear Mates VI)

I usually don’t read books in the MC genre, but I read a sample of Chris and I was hooked from the beginning.  I had also read the first book in this series.

Most shifters spend decades, even centuries looking for their fated mates, but Chris and his mate knew each other from the moment 15 year old Ava reached maturity.  Unfortunately Chris is in his 80’s and he faces waiting years for Ava to grow up.  Even worse, Ava is the daughter of the club president and daddy is very protective of his little girl.

Over the years Ava has become impatient and bitter waiting for her life to begin.  Her parents are strict and she’s stuck in the clubhouse working on the family businesses and waiting on Chris.  At 25, she’s still considered a baby in shifter terms and won’t reach maturity until 40.

This story premise is unusual and it really caught my interest.  I read the book in one evening and I thoroughly enjoyed watching Ava go from hopeless and helpless to strong once some hope appears.  The author allows Ava to mature on her own and not just because she has her mate.  This makes her a much stronger character in the story.