Title: Chasing Thunderbird
Series: Shifter U 02 / Dreamspun Beyond 13
Author: j. leigh bailey
Genre: Paranormal, Shape shifters
Length: Novel (223 pages)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (6th February 2018)
Heat Level: Explicit
Heart Rating: ♥️♥️♥️♥️ 4 Hearts
Blurb: A legendary love.
Ornithology professor Simon Coleman’s reputation is at risk, and the only way to save his name is to prove thunderbirds are more than creatures of Native American myth. Grad student and part-time barista Ford Whitney has a lot on his plate, but it’s also his duty to make sure the resident bird nerd doesn’t discover shape-shifters—like himself—live on campus.
When a series of incidents related to Simon’s search put him in harm’s way, Ford’s instincts kick in, and they become closer than is strictly proper for student and teacher. Ford is forced to reveal his secrets to Simon, and their relationship is put to the test—Simon must choose between salvaging his reputation and protecting the man who protected him….
ISBN: 978-1-64080-112-7
Product Link: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon US | Amazon UK
Reviewer: Prime
Review: After listening to the audio book of the first installment of j, leigh bailey’s Shifter U series, I decided to get onto the next 2 books quick smart, ‘cos that just how I roll. Anyway, I was really looking forward to this because the world of the first book was fun and was interested in seeing one of my favourite secondary characters find his own HEA. Although this is a series, after reading all three books, I believe that these books can work either as a standalone or reading in order. I just prefer to read things in order.
The Thunderbird in question is Ford Whitney. He played the role of best friend to one of the MCs in the first book Stalking Buffalo Bill, and I was quite happy that we were able to meet up with the coyote and buffalo shifters a few times in this book. Ford is a barista at Buddy’s, a café located near the Cody College where Ford is doing his masters in bird migration (as a person with a PhD I appreciated the way that Ford was not made into a nerd with a one-track mind, which is something that really bugs me about academics, etc. in books).
Ford is then assigned to be the TA for the newest ornithology professor, and only human on staff in the biology school, Simon Coleman. The attraction between the guys is instant and the chemistry is off the charts. Yet Ford has been assigned the difficult task of ensuring that Simon does not question anything about the oddities that occur around the college due to shifter activity.
Both guys have a lot of baggage. Ford obviously is trying to protect the secrets of shifters, looking after some of the younger bird shifter students, and protecting the most important secret, that his family are Thunderbirds. Thunderbirds have been hunted almost to the point of extinction and on top of that they aren’t your ordinary run of the mill shape shifters either. Whereas Simon is completely human but comes from a family whose reputation has been discredited in the past because his grandfather and great-grandfather are certain that Thunderbirds exist. However, this belief and ongoing investigation, is not only putting him on the radar of the shape shifters, but also on the radar of the bad guys.
Chasing Thunderbird is a rather fun book and I found myself able to relate to the emotions and baggage of both MCs, although both are very different and quite often at cross purposes. I highly recommend reading this book and series to anyone who loves a good shifter tale.