You Bit Me And I Turned Into What???? "For Toron's Pride" by Tressie Lockwood

When her jerk of an ex-boyfriend turns her into a lion shifter, Sienna just can't accept that she is no longer human. She's determined to live a normal life despite PM'S as a shifter being off the charts. When she meets Toron, the leader of the Pride, she can't deny how sexy he is or her attraction to him, but Toron has a power that threatens to sweep away all the plans she's made for her life. No one man should have that much control over the the people around him. After a night of unbelievable sex, Sienna leaves Toron, and he let's her go. Five years later, she is forced to seek help of the man she's never been able to get out of her head. Will he forgive her for the decision she made so long ago?

Lots of stories embrace the factor of the human who is transformed into a shifter, and that is certainly the premise of this novella.  Yet this is different in that the heroine is an African American and she is sassy and mouthy and not about to embrace her new identity.  Yet she is aware that her life has been changed irrevocably and nothing she can say or do, no amount of resentment against her careless ex-boyfriend can undo what has been done.  Now she is invited--compelled--to attend an instructional weekend held by the Alpha of the closest pride, Toron the lion-shifter and a man who is instantly attracted to Sienna.  But she is wary of him because she knows he is a player, taking multiple women into his bed and one who has made it clear that he has no intention of allowing his heart to become engaged to any one woman.  Sienna is sooooooo not giving in to this hedonist!  That's what her head and heart say;  that's not the message her body is transmitting.

This is an interracial romance between a very dominant alpha, a shifter whose power is undisputed and one who has determined that he will not allow love for any one woman to have power over him.  Yet Sienna with her beautiful chocolate skin, her pouty, sexy lips, and her beautiful eyes whose depths draw him in like quicksand, challenge his life goal and weaken his determination to remain apart from her.  This story seems to have just a bit of a different slant than many paranormal shifter tales.  The two do  manage a night of hot loving, but part without any commitment to one another.  The reader is left to wonder how this is all going to come out.  It is especially upending to find out that Sienna has been raising Toron's son, Simeon, without his knowledge or support.  It seems that is Sienna's preference -- for now.

Tressie Lockwood writes wonderful interracial romance, bringing black and white partners into love relationships that advertise the wonder to be had when two people set aside racial prejudice and simply enjoy the love that grows between them.  That they are often reviled by former friends and family is an aspect that Ms Lockwood does not seek to avoid.  But she also writes of friends and family who seem to be just as blind to skin color as the partners themselves.  It is uplifting and encouraging to read of families who have learned to prize others on the basis of what they are on the inside, embracing their cultural diversity and allowing those differences to enrich rather than divide.  So it is in this novel that not only embraces the racial diversity but also brings in the prejudices that shifters often exhibit between the naturals -- those who were born shifters -- and the "regulars" -- those who have been created at some point in their human lives.

The fun in this story comes from Sienna's mouthy responses to the challenges and people in her life.  She is simply not very impressed with Toron and she doesn't hesitate to express her feelings powerfully.  Such fun!!  It is always a bit satisfying--in a feminist sort of way--to see a powerful man cut down to size by a powerful woman.  And Tressie Lockwood doesn't back away from creating powerful heroines.  Sienna is certainly the quintessential example of such a woman.  

I think readers will really enjoy this story, even though it is a novella.  I would have liked it to go on a bit, but Sienna and Toron's story continues as a part of the back story in the second novella in this series, In Hawke's Eyes, the story of Toron's best friend who is a hawk shifter.  I hope you will consider adding this very readable novella to your library.

He Didn't Plan On That: "Something Unexpected" by Tressie Lockwood

A one-night stand in a limo with her boss's son had consequences Zacari didn't count on. But when she had been trying to get over finding her cheating ex-boyfriend in bed with her best friend, keary seemed to be just what she needed to exorcise her demons and satisfy a sexual void she never knew she had.

Keary O'Connor didn't care what Zacari's motives were the night she wouldn't take no for an answer. What red-blooded man could turn down a seductress with smooth tawny-colored skin and a body he couldn't get out of his head? He had to have her and he wanted her again. His only problem now was in convincing her that he would not be like her ex, and what he wanted went beyond the physical and would last a lifetime.

A one-night stand, the boss's son, a silent phone in the days that came afterward, and a pregnancy test that read "positive." All of a sudden, Zacari's life took an unexpected turn and she had a whole new set of problems. But one thing that marked Zacari's personality and her approach to living was her determination to make her own way and not to allow the other people in her life to make her decisions for her. She still bore the scars of betrayal by a boyfriend to whom she was engaged, and who betrayed her with her best friend. So she was more determined than ever to do what was right--she would notify Keary of her pregnancy--but she would raise her child and be a responsible mother.

Keary was a man that all of us dream about meeting. He was open-minded--he didn't care that Zacari was African-American--and he was a man who took his relationships and his responsibilities seriously. He worked hard in his father's company and he had a maturity that made it possible for him to work well with lots of different kinds of people. His attraction to Zacari certainly flamed out that first night when he was giving her a ride home from the bar. But his one time with her backfired--he couldn't walk away as if it hadn't happened. Even before he found out about the pregnancy he was determined to get her into his life on a more permanent basis. Just that quickly she snagged his heart.

Zacari's independent streak, however, didn't make things easy. He had to leave the country for nearly a month almost immediately after that first night together, so he never found out about the baby nor was he able to contact Zacari while overseas. As is often the case, she interpreted his silence with disregard or disinterest. She didn't realize that he never received her message telling him about the baby. Thus, their long-term involvement as parents even didn't begin well. But here is where Keary's true nature begins to emerge: he didn't allow Zacari's pique over these circumstances to reduce his determination to be a part of her pregnancy and to ultimately win her heart. She was sassy and irreverent, with a temper that flashed easily sometimes, and a history of being hurt and disappointed in love. Nevertheless, he kept on and never faltered in his pursuit of her. What a guy!!

I liked this story a lot. I loved the way that Keary manned up and not only that, was open about his feelings for Zacari that didn't have anything to do with the baby. I liked that he knew how to set boundaries for himself and even for some of the other women who had been a part of his life in the past and hoped to be his significant other in the future. And I liked that no matter how difficult Zacari became because of pregnancy woes, he was patient and kind, loving and long-suffering. Would that all fathers-to-be would have that kind of patience.

This is a story with lots of emotional ups and downs, that is written from both Zacari and Keary's point of view. It is full of family and friends, hurt and disappointment, and the wonderful anticipation of a new life that is coming into the world. It was a very emotional read and one that I found to be very satisfying. I think we all read romance fiction because we want to believe in the "happily ever after" and hope that it happens a majority of the time. I also like stories like this one that tell of the triumph of genuine caring over the hurts of betrayal and disappointment. And I like stories where the characters are people of principle and integrity, who care about themselves and the ones they love. There's hot loving here as well as a cast of characters that keeps this story interesting from start to finish. I give this novel a rating of 4 out of 5.