I'm sitting on the fence with this one. Our heroine, Alexis Tarasova, is a Bengal shifter with an issue. Her people are facing extinction. Seems Mother Nature has gifted their species with limited females to procreate with. For years Alexis had managed to avoid the Mate Run. Her skill set as the best Tracker had made her exempt. She handles the most difficult cases. A child, or finding another to Mate with will destroy all of her hard earned accomplishments. As long as she keeps the Elders satisfied Alexis is allowed to stay away during her estrous. Until now. Forced into a corner, she finds help from Victor Romanov. A shifter who has been declared as flawed; who hadn't spoken a word since he was young. The only other tiger more infamous than her. The only other person who could possibly understand her plight. The only other tiger she wanted. The only tiger their laws have forbidden from the Mate Run. With time and a damnable estrous cycle to deal with, Victor and Alexis must figure a way out of this situation. Either before the Elders force her to mate with someone of their choosing. Or before two others - Nick Jameson & Dev Gupta - steal in and complete the ritual. It was an interesting read that explored a barely touched paradigm. Imagine being a Shifter and not being able to growl. At first it was difficult to appreciate. I think I expected too much from the Heroine. Just because she was a damn good Tracker, did she really think it would make her exempt from their laws she fervently upholds? Once I leapt over that minor hurdle, I was faced with an inability to feel their connection. In words it made sense, but I never felt that romantic longing or that liberation of exploring the forbidden.However it has got me curious. I will give the next book a go to see where the whole challenging of the laws will go. As a rare female tracker, tiger shifter Alexis never expected the elders to fire her and expect her to run and forced to mate. Females are rare and mating with one is a tradition to save their dwindling race. The only man she has ever even looked at to mate though is Victor, who is not allowed to run. Victor is looked down upon as not worthy, but now that Alexis has no choice she finally acts on finding a way to be with Victor, damn the rules.This was a delightful quickie. I thought this story was unique with the mating rituals and the laws of the elders. I really liked Victor, he was so sweet and didn't let his handicap stop him from doing everything he can to be with Alexis. Wonderful read.
What do You think about Once Upon A Tiger (2013)?
first in a series...great characters...good plot. wish it were longer.
—elizabethkarn
