Review: The Mane Event by Shelley Laurenston

NYPD cop Desiree "Dez" MacDermot knows she's changed a lot since she was pals with her childhood buddy, Mace. But it's fair to say that Mace has changed even more. It isn't just those too-sexy gold eyes, or the six-four, built-like-a-Navy Seal body. It is something in the way he sniffls her neck and purrs, making her entire body tingle.

Meanwhile, for Tennessean Ronnie Lee Reed, New York City is the place where any girl--even one who runs with a Pack--can redefine herself. First order of business: find a mate, settle down, and stop using men for sex. Even big, gorgeous, lion shifter men like Brendon Shaw. But she needn't worry, because now that Brendon's set his sights on her, the predator in him is ready to pounce and never let go.

I have to start off by saying that I really love Shelley Laurenston's books! I have read a number of them now, and I find them engaging, entertaining, educational, and so very funny. She has a wonderful way of bringing her characters to life so that, at least in my case, I would love to know some of them in real life.

This book is certainly not her latest but it is still a great read and one that many have missed. It is really two stories -- one featuring Mason Llewelyn, a lion-shifter, and the second story features Brendan Shaw, another lion-shifter who has two cubs by Mace's half sister and who is introduced in the first story. While he is not a part of the Llewelyn Pride, he has a connection through his children. The characters in both these stories are absolutely a hoot! I found myself laughing--from a low-grade chuckle to an extended laughing spree. The brother/sister Alphas of Ronnie Lee's pack are just too funny, and the repartee among all the characters in both stories is rib-tickling.

And yet, in the midst of all this fun and joie de vivre, there are the issues of fear of commitment, trust issues, the true nature of intimacy, and the purpose and place of family in all our lives. As sub-plots these are, I think, the true "hooks" for me. In Mace's case there are sisters -- his oldest sister is the dominant female of the Pride -- who would send most of us to the looney bin. Yet when push comes to shove, he knows that his family is really where his true heart lies, except for his true mate Dez. Watching Dez push Mace's sister is really wonderful fun, especially as Missy Llewelyn can't stand Dez. Yet even Missy is forced to reveal a deeper bond and affection for her brother that eventually has to expand to include Dez IF she wants to keep him bonded to the Pride. In Brendan's case it is just heartwarming to watch him with his two children--respecting their mother even though they are not in a relationship, and keeping their welfare uppermost in his concerns. His true mate Ronnie Lee, a werewolf, still has that open heart to accept even two lion-shifter cubs, and her affection and open hearted acceptance is returned.

So I recommend this book as a delightful journey into the world of paranormal individuals who are dealing with the same issues as humans, and who can often help all of us look at ourselves with greater insight and certainly a great deal of humor. I give this novel a 4.75 out of 5.

Shelley Laurenston is one of those authors that is new to me and courtesy of my daughter is now populating my book shelf. She is an author that obviously has a head full of humor and creativity and her books reflect that wonderful mix. This is the first of the Magnus Pack series and it is a challenging read, to put it mildly.

Theew is a war going on -- a war between the werewolves and Cat Nation. And in this little Texas town, Zach Sheridan, the Alpha of the Magnus Pack is seeking a woman who is the daughter whose mother was supposedly killed by a Were-lion, and whose grandmother has kept her ignorant of her ancestry, her own latent were-abilities, and her own worth as an individual. She is now living in a Texas town that has more werewolves living there than none-were humans. Her protector, Marraec as he is called, is the Alpha and he is owner of a motorcycle business where Sara works. But that is not where Zach meets Sara. With his pack riding into town as a biker group, Zack, Conall, and his other pack members wander into the local bar where Sara's best friend Miki is bartender, and where her other best friend Angelina Santiago is "holding court" as the owner of a high-style fashion boutique and as style queen of Texas (to here her tell it). There are two problems here: Zach is instantly attracted to Sara in a personal, fall- in-lust-way, and Sara is bombed on tequila, a beverage which is the worst drink on the planet for her. Sara drunk is way different than Sara sober, and it is a shock to find her demure, shy, "hidden" and taciturn in Marraec's bike shop the next few days when on that night in the bar she was all over Zach proclaiming he was her "pretty man" and declaring: "I think I love him."

Demure Sara is sporting a bad scar on her face which has always convinced her that she is unlovely and will live out her life alone. She is also crippled due to injuries received at the same time she received her scar--when the lion attack on her and her mother resulted in her mother's death. Feeling like a total loser, Sara does find encouragement and a measure of emotional stability in the sisterhood that she has with Miki and Angelina. Loud, brash, argumentative, irreverent,cynical, and anti-authoritarian, these three keep the reader in stitches. They can argue over just about anything, and some arguments have been known to continue for days. They are all way too bright for their own good.

This is a complicated plot--there is the love story (a very bumpy journey for Zach and Sara), the on-going war between the werewolves and the were-lions, both of whom want Sara for their own reasons (the werewolves want to claim her and her abilities while the were-lions want to finish the attack on her mother years earlier and which Sara survived), the protectiveness of the town toward Sara, as well as the sworn loyalty of her friends to help her find some happiness and to protect her as much from herself as from others.

Laurenston knows how to surprise the reader with brash language and warm fuzzies. Under all the volume and swearing is a friendship that is stronger than a mother's love between these three friends, and while they are all so very different, they are all bound together by a mutual need to find a sense of family and acceptance. There were times I was deeply touched, and at the same time I couldn't stop laughing. Miki is way too smart and knows what buttons to push when her friends need some extra encouragement to be genuine bad-asses when they are in danger. Angelina, with her warm olive skin, her long legs that never end, and her five-inch killer high heels is often very effective in distracting the "enemy" so that Sara and Miki get in their shots. Most generals don't wage war as effectively as these three manage to protect those they love.

I think this was a worthy first in a series book. It is always more difficult to set up a series and introduce the major players that will inhabit future novels. I think this book as done an OK job, although it was a bit of a challenge at first to keep all the players straight. I found, though, that making the effort paid off big-time later on in the book.

Lovers of Laurenston's writing will like this book. Lovers of paranormal romance will like this book. And all of us who treasure good writing and great humor and warm family and friendship will like this book a lot. I give this book a 4.25 out of 5 rating.