Celia Kyle - No ifs, Ands or Bears about it

The first book in the Grayslake series, published December 23, 2013.
Genre: sexy paranormal romance
Cover: nice



The first day of Mia's new life in Grayslake, Georgia is not going as planned. The house her grandfather left her looks ready to crumble, boxes cover every inch of the floor and - oh - there's a bear cub in her pantry. It gets worse when the cub's uncle comes by and busts out his fur and claws while on her front porch. Then it gets loads better because suddenly there's a hot hunk of badge-wearing werebear on her lawn ready to rescue her. Yum. Of course, he has to ruin things by trying to take the cub out of her hands. Ha! The cub is hers... No ifs, ands, or bears about it.
Werebear Ty can't seem to get the curvaceous, delectable Mia to understand that, even if she is one-quarter werebear, she isn't keeping the cub. Ty is the Grayslake Itan, the clan's leader, and the little werebear is going home with him... Unless it isn't. It's her smile. If she'd stop smiling and being gorgeous, his inner-bear would support him and Ty would get his way. But the beast wants to make their woman happy, so it's perfectly content to let her do as she pleases. Then things change. Threats arise, danger comes close, and Ty demands she return to his den. No ifs, ands, or mates about that.


My second Celia Kyle novella, and I really enjoyed it. Her writing style is fluent and fast and I love her humor. Yes, there are some hot love scenes in it, but not as much as in the first one I read, more of a story this time.
Mia is thirty-three, single, graphic designer and wannabe web programmer and part Bear shifter, but she is not able to shift. Her Grandfather and father could, and she was fascinated by it. Now her beloved grandfather has died, and she has inherited his old house in Grayslake, Georgia. She knows she is in werebear country, but she does not expect trouble. Of course, her grandfather is not with her now …

The trouble starts when she finds a terrified bear cub in her pantry, and an aggressive drunken male werebear demands she gives him over. Mia refuses flat out, the little bear is terrified of this man and she has no intention to give him up. He is hers already, and the man is destroying her beloved house! Her favourite window has already cracked, and she is thoroughly pissed of.
Someone has called the police, and they take the man away. One of the officers is the werebear’s Itan, their alpha, and he is really interested in this strange human woman in his town. Of course, he can’t let her have the cub, he will have to go to social services if they can’t find a relative. But when Ty sees the cubs many bruises, he is outraged! Cubs are to be cherished and protected, and he will just take Mia and the little Parker to the den and take care of them. His bear approves of Mia and wants to take her for himself.

Mia doesn’t really want to leave her new house, but she also doesn’t want to give up Parker to a bunch of strangers, and so she agrees to come home with Ty. But that does not mean she will share his bedroom with him! Ty thinks it is a done deal, and if she does not want to sleep in his bed, he will just join her in hers. To sleep together, he needs to keep her protected. And Mia quickly gets used to his presence in her bed. But even though he calls her his Itana, he will have to court her first.

When her father arrives to check up on her and Ty, she learns a lot about herself, her mother and her family, she never knew. She is sad by what happened, but Parker is her cousin, and she is his closest relative, apart from their evil grandfather. Who is the Itan of another clan and city. The bad people have a reason for wanting Parker dead, and Mia will do whatever it takes to keep him safe, and so do Ty and his brothers.

But there are traitors amongst them, and they have a nasty fight on their hands…


I enjoyed this story a lot. I have a weakness for bear shifters, and I adored little Parker. He is missing his parents, his uncle tries to kill him, and now he has found a new home in Mia’s loving arms. Mia is very caring and thanks to her previous boyfriend, not very sure about her own looks. But Ty and his bear like her just fine the way she is, and try to convince her of that. Mia misses her grandfather and father, but she loves Parker instantly, and is very attracted to the handsome Itan. Still, she manages to hold of on having sex with him immediately, and for that I do admire her.
Ty is convinced Mia is his mate, his Itana, and starts calling her that, demanding respect from his brothers and other clan members. Still, he does not really treat Mia as his equal, not telling her the things he learns concerning Parkers safety, and I did not like that about him. Of course he does get what he deserves when she walks out on him, and he has to grovel a fair bit to get back in her good graces. I enjoyed that.

The sparks really fly of the page between them, but the intrigue was very well written, especially when the evil grandfather himself arrives to take Parker away from them. The fight with the hyena’s, the possible treaty with the wolves, all nice set ups for the rest of the series.

Recommended little novella, it really felt like a complete story while most often I complain that I want more.

8 stars.

© 2014 Reviews by Aurian