The Mane Event by Shelly Laurenston

Published: 2007 Pages: 391 My Rating: 3.5 stars The Mane Event is a two-novella book, consisting of the linked stories Christmas Pride & Shaw's Tail. I had high expectations for this one after thoroughly enjoying Shelly Laurenston's Pack Challenge but unfortunately it fell a little short. A fun read, but disappointing in the lack of substance to go with the sizzle! In Christmas Pride we meet up with Desiree, 'Dez' MacDermot & Mace Llewellyn, childhood buddies whose lives diverged for twenty years. Mace, former Navy SEAL, & sexy specimen of lion shapeshifting perfection, is under pressure to resume responsibilities within his Pride. Dez is a 'kick ass' NY cop & when these two meet again during an investigation into the murder of one of Mace's pride members, the chemistry sizzles. The murder is a weak sub-plot; most of the action in the book is in the bedroom (or the shower, the stairs, the kitchen ... get the picture), with a brief but interesting 'Turf War' altercation between Lion, Wolf & Hyena species. In Shaw's Tail, we catch up again with Brendon Shaw, a lion shifter injured at the end of Christmas Pride. Ronnie Lee Read is a wolf from the Smith wolf pack, asked to care for Brendon during his 'fever' & recovery. It's a sexy, fun ride as we follow free-spirited Ronnie as she ditches her committment issues & wild lifestyle & moves from lust to LOVE with self professed King of the Jungle, Brendon. "Look at that. Your heart can stop in your chest but you keep on breathing." page 299 *Sigh* Admittedly all the action is once again of the horizontal variety (actually that may be a little bit of an understatement, I'm sure this couple tried horizontal, vertical & every which way in between.) We also take a hilarious look at all the irritating & fascinating facets of family. The scene where Brendon's brother, Mitch, puts Ronnie's wolf brothers to bed after an evening of moonshine, had me in stitches. Shaw's Tale outshone Christmas Pride in character development & smoothness of plot, & I really enjoyed Laurenston's take on pride and pack dynamics in the 2nd story; for me it was just a far more enjoyable story. There is plenty of Laurenston's trademark amusing banter, hilarity & comedic situations & at the risk of stating the obvious, plenty of sex in both novellas. Sex with sizzle & even though boy gets girl, if you're looking for a romantic love story this one probably isn't for you.