Title: The Night Owl and the Insomniac
Series: Shifter U 03 / Dreamspun Beyond 23
Author: j. leigh bailey
Genre: Paranormal, Shape shifters
Length: Novel (240 pages)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (3rd July 2018)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: 💖💖💖💖💖 5 Hearts
Blurb: Long nights lead to intrigue… and infatuation.
Chronically ill with a mysterious condition, Yusuf “Joey” Franke escapes his smothering family and doctors by moving halfway across the country to enroll in Cody College. Not long after arriving on campus, some of his symptoms disappear, only to be replaced by debilitating insomnia. Joey spends his nights wandering the halls of his dormitory and hanging out with gregarious and affable Owen, who works the night shift.
When he suddenly shifts from a sick college kid to a massive Asiatic lion, Joey discovers another side to Cody College—it’s a haven for shifters like himself… and like Owen, a part-time great horned owl. And being a shifter is hereditary, which means his parents have some explaining to do.
When Joey and Owen investigate, they discover more than they bargained for—a family deception, a dangerous enemy with international connections, and a love that might be too new to survive the backlash.
ISBN: 978-1-64080-462-3
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 this because the world of the first book and have subsequently enjoyed the second book in the series. 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 Night Owl and the Insomniac has a lot of wonderful elements put together to make a story that is about self-discovery, romance, danger and intrigue. I will admit that I had worked out exactly what was happening (for the most part anyway if not all the finer details) early in the book.
However, that did not take away from how much I enjoyed this story.
Yusuf “Joey” Franke has been suffering from what he was told was a chronic autoimmune disease all his life, though his specialist had never been able to diagnose him. He has been coddled and protected from the world by his well-meaning parents, who you find out are quite worldly in the end, though they still seem to come across as naïve when it comes to their son’s lifelong “illness”.
Leaving Chicago and moving far away to Cody College his symptoms disappear but only to be replaced by insomnia. During these sleepless nights in the dorm he meets Owen, who works night shift at the desk.
Owen is the son of the local shifter doctor and attends college at the suitably nicknamed Shifter U. He is an owl shifter, so understands not everything is as it appears. But he gets quite a shock one day when he comes across his new acquaintance at the dorms, Yusuf, shifting for the first time in his life. Yusuf’s beast is quite different to any big cat Owen has seen and so Owen, Owen’s father and the local grizzly bear Buddy pull together to help Yusuf discover himself. Owen does a lot of the help and support as they dig into Yusuf’s past and he faces the possibility that his parents aren’t his biological parents because he has no idea about shape shifters until he shifts himself.
The best thing that I like about this book is that it combines themes/plot devices I’ve seen in books before but not put together in a wonderfully written story, at least not that I’ve read anyway. The mystery is intriguing, while not too much of a heavy read. It’s a lot of fun and I love the chemistry between the guys. Additionally, like the previous books, 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.