Title: Fox Hunt
Series: Dreamspun Beyond 37 / Shifter U 04
Author: j. leigh bailey
Genre: Paranormal, Shape shifters
Length: Novel (248 pages)
ISBN: 978-1-64405-203-7
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (2 July 2019)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: đź’–đź’–đź’–đź’–đź’– 4.5 Hearts
Reviewer: Prime
Blurb: Outfoxing their enemies will be a bear of a task.
Aspiring journalist and fox shifter David ends up with a target on his back after hacking the Moreau Initiative, the shifter world’s greatest enemy. But he won’t let that stop him from the campus tour road trip that’ll help him become the next Anderson Cooper… even if his family insists he travel with a grumpy grizzly bear bodyguard.
Buddy Brady is older, sexy, and too damn distracting for David, and as the sexual tension builds, so does the suspicion around the repeated attacks—first in Chicago, then in New York. Someone is tracking them, and all clues point to a traitor in the shifter ranks. Worst of all, they could be after David’s family….
Purchase Link: Dreamspinner | Amazon US | Amazon UK
Review: Fox Hunt is the fourth book in j. leigh bailey’s Shifter U series. I fully recommend to read this series in order, it’s a thoroughly enjoyable series and each book is about a different couple, but also I found that since it has been a while since I read the previous books I had to do a quick flip through to reacquaint myself with the other characters and the over-arching storyline that continues through to the present book.
As I said, Shifter U is a really enjoyable series and I was pretty excited to get into the next instalment. The way that bailey has written the book made the whole thing feel more accessible in the fact that despite this is about shifters being hunted, I find it so easy to relate and sympathise with the characters. Fox Hunt, just like the previous books, are a really good book to read when you want to relax and take it easy, while having a bit of intrigue to keep you going.
The story starts out with David. He’s a fox shifter, journalist who recently graduated from the so-called Shifter U and his mother, brother and stepfather are on a supernatural group/committee who only want the best for shifters and peaceful relations with humans. Let’s face it, most paranormal/shifter/vampire books tend to have a paranormal governing body, so it’s not anything new.
David is seen as a bit of a flake, a spoilt brat by many, including his mother and brother. Yet under the surface is a man who is passionate about the truth as well as the safety of humans and shifter alike. He recently used his mother’s work computer to hack into the group known as the Moreau Initiative (as in The Island of Doctor Moreau), this group functions as the “boogie man” of this series, the evil people that are after shifters. David has effectively painted a target on his back, the last thing that he wants because David is about to do a road trip and interview to get into several internships and move to the next stage in his career.
Fearing for David’s life, David’s mother, brother and stepfather insist on David bringing a bodyguard with him on the journey. That bodyguard is Buddy Brady, an older, grumpy bear shifter who put his life’s ambitions on hold to raise his younger brothers, ultimately leading to his current career and his latest assignment. Buddy quickly finds out that there is something strange happening around David. He is definitely being targeted but it is a mystery as to how his attackers are tracking him.
Together, David and Buddy solve the mystery and uncover more disturbing facts surrounding the Moreau Initiative while going on David’s cross country road trip. These guys are well suited and while they are very different on the surface, I love how passionate they both are about just about every aspect in life. It’s now that they are together that they grow and learn to trust love and passion of a different nature. What I love the most is that with both David and Buddy there is a lot more going on under the surface than first expected and so I really enjoyed their development as individuals as well as a couple.
Fox Hunt is something of a buddy (pun intended) road trip, mixed with mystery, danger and love. This is really a typical shape shifter romance in terms of formula, but the characters have great personalities and are intriguing. Fans of Shifter U series will enjoy the latest instalment, but I also recommend to people that like shape shifter stories.
I look forward to more from this series. While David and Buddy have a really satisfying romance and we are left with a HEA for these guys, there is more to come with the whole storyline of the Moreau Initiative and I’m sure we’ll get to meet some more interesting characters from the world of Shifter U.