DNF @ 10%

For me, the writing on this one was a bit too chaotic. I couldn't follow the story well, and I couldn't get invested in the story enough to continue. The formating was weird, and I didn't like some of the writing style choices.

MJD has a knack for weaving very dark plot elements into incredibly entertaining stories that read like the best kind of rom-com with an edge, or to be more exact, fangs and fur.
I loved Oz from book 1 and getting to see him get his happy ending and continue to rumble with Annette is a delight. The fact that his love interest is an utterly unflappable and quirky woman that rolls with all the craziness that comes with the shifters only makes seeing them get together all the better. Lila is a truly interesting character that helps the reader navigate through all the complexities and craziness of the shifter in a fun way while adding her own compelling parts to the story.
Once again, the undertone of the book is grim - not as grim as with book 1, but definitely dark - and once again, the lightness in which Davidson moves the plot around it is impressive. She writes in a way that keeps the dark elements from overtaking the fun while making sure to highlight the wrongness of it. Not many authors can manage that.
Overall, this is a fun and engaging book from a series and set of characters that I really hope we get to read more about.
Many very happy thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the early read!

We met wolf shifter accountant Oz Adway in Bears Behaving Badly. Oz has moved from the accounting department to child advocate trainee and has lost his first assignment. Lila Kai is an extraordinary human who finds an adorable bear shifter cub who is on the run from Oz and the IPA. Lila is snarky a total hoot with a heart of gold. This is a laugh out loud read that had me giggle-snorting and flipping pages.

First of I want to say a huge thank you to the publisher SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca , the author MaryJanice Davidson , and to NetGalley for inviting me to join the showcase for this book as well as letting me read and review it. As soon as I saw it , I didn't even stop to think about requesting or even doing the showcase because its book 2 in a series I'm loving , and I had to read it . Just like the first one it had me laughing at some the stuff that was happening in it, and I loved the characters especially Mama Mac ( she had me laughing my head off when I was reading her part in the story ), and just like the first one its also heartwarming. Other thing I love about this one was that it was a slow burning romance and that help a lot with the story. Because its the type of read I need right at this moment in time, not something fast but slow and study as well as something that had me smiling and laughing , and yes I know I've said it had me laughing more then once. But doing this crazy times we all need a few days were we can read a good book that makes us smile and forget what is going on.

I have not read the first book in this series, so I don't know if that is why when I first starting reading, I was a little confused with what was going on. It took me until about a quarter of the way through to have a better understanding of who the characters were, and to get used to the use of parenthesis containing thoughts. I normally like to read a book in one sitting, but it wasn't until I got used to the writing style that I was able to get into the story. Once I hit that point, I was able to breeze through the rest of the book. I love reading anything with shifters, especially where the hero is a shifter and the heroine is a human! So it was really enjoyable to follow Oz and Lila on their way to happily ever after.

*ARC provided by NetGalley

This book was weird, in a good way. Not because it's about shifters, I am used to that. It is weird because of the writing style. I was not feeling it in the beginning, especially with the format the author wrote it, but by the middle of it, I was used to it and the reading really flowed.
Here we have two characters with difficult backgrounds. First, Lila Kai, a teddy bear's doctor (had never seen such a thing and it was really interesting) that moves to a new city and unusual things start to happen around her at the same time she meets Oz and feels extremely attracted to him. She was such a calm and unperturbed person and all she wanted was to be left alone, and she was very outspoken in a funny way. Second, we have Oz, the shifter. He was a good guy, sweet, and kinda nerd in a cute way. He is so funny in his inner monologues about Lila and his instant attraction to her was perfect to the story.
Also, this is the second book in a series but I do not think you need to read the first to understand this one.
3.5 stars.

NetGalley ARC Educator 550974

This is part two of the series, but can be read as a standalone. What happens when a human who is comfortable around were's, ventures near Oz? This book details it. Your favorite characters are back with more laughs, mystery and romance. A job well done Ms. Davidson. Can't wait for the next installment.

The premise sounded really interesting, but unfortunately I really couldn't get into this one. The writing wasn't bad, but I found it a little disjointed and, even though the main character's inner monologue had me giggling a couple of times, I just found I couldn't get invested.

Also, and this is just a personal preference thing, but I prefer my shifter characters to not have a different dialogue depending on what form they're in. I guess I subscribe to the idea of shifters having the same voice regardless of what form they've taken? But again, that's just a personal preference which didn't gel here.

I did not realize that A Wolf After My Own Heart by MaryJanice Davidson was the second book in a series titled BeWere My Heart series. I had not read the first book, Bears Behaving Badly. While I would now like to read this book, I don’t feel that not having done so before reading the second book bothered my enjoyment of it. There is plenty of backstory when needed so everything felt into place as you read. The footnotes are uniquely fun.

Oz Adway is a sort of Clark Kent wolf shifter wanting to become more of a shifter Superman. Be prepare to laugh as this author bring her snarky tongue in cheek humor to this slow burn romance. Lila Kai is one unique human which many would call ordinary but she is hardly that easy to define. Runaway bear cub, plane crash, cursed house and the Interspecies Placement Agency are just a few of her problems. Hilarious at time, thought provoking at others.

An ARC of the book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley which I voluntarily chose to read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A Wolf After My Own Heart was for me a completely fun and satisfying read. It's the second (I think) of a series, and it was my first (I think) Mary Janice Davidson novel. The first sentence--possibly the best first sentence I've read in a long time--suggested that I was in for a cheeky ride, and that first sentence didn't lie. Davidson's prose is as snappy as her dialog; if I have any criticism, it would be that my fuzzy quarantine brain couldn't always keep up.

Lila Kai is a Stable (plain old biped) who has just moved--unbeknownst to her--into a neighborhood of Shifters. Her story isn't immediately known; it unfolds slowly during the course of the book, with little bits coming out when appropriate to the rest of the story. What is clear straight off is that she's unconventional, witty, and hard to shock. Oz Adway, a wolf Shifter, is immediately drawn to her, suspecting she's his mate in the way that Shifters (not just this author's) are wont to do. They're joined by a cast of characters, almost entirely Shifters, that will make you wish you could move into Lila's rented house too (read the book).

Lila and Oz's romance is secondary to a storyline about an orphaned werebear cub and Shifter supremacists and all the chaos that comes with it. Lila is welcomed into the Shifter fold as they all work together to figure out what happened with the cub's parents and why everything keeps catching fire (read the book).

I didn't feel like I needed to have read the first book (Annette and David's story) to follow this one at all, though I definitely wish I had just so I could savor the characters more. I'm hopeful there will be more in this series for sure.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion. Thanks!

This is truly an entertaining read. Lila's life took a sharp right turn the night she hit a wolf and found a bear cub. Mama and her wooden spoon had me grinning. The whole crew is remarkably remarkable. The authors wild imagination created a story I highly recommend.

Funny, Romantic, Action

Oz Away (wolf), an accountant at the Interspecies Placement Agency (IPA) decides he wants to be a field agent to locate Sally Small, a young bear shifter that runs away and refuses to believe her parents were killed in a plane crash. Sally attached herself to Lila, a human. Oz, and Lila unknowingly find out about a conspiracy to destroy the human race, so Shifters would be at the top of the food chain. A hilarious adventure begins as Lila adapts to her "new normal", as along with Oz, and others, she try to stop the events that would kill many humans and out the Shifters to the world

A Wolf After My Own Heart by MaryJanice Davidson is a fun, over-the-top, and snarky paranormal romance with a runaway shifter bear cub, fires, a crashed plane and much more adding some suspense, action, and deeper themes to the story. It also starts with a great first sentence.

Lila Kai drives a decommissioned ambulance and has just moved into a rental house in a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota. She’s a teddy bear surgeon, has a warped sense of humor, a strong protective nature, and a high tolerance for unusual events. Some insight into her personality comes from what she does and what she locates when she first moves to her new home. Oz Adway is a wolf shifter, a former accountant for the Interspecies Placement Agency (IPA) who is working his first field job as a case worker for them to find a runaway bear cub. What could possibly go wrong? (Note: Think of the IPA as an interspecies foster care system aimed at protecting at-risk were-children.)

Lila and Oz are great protagonists. Both have tragic backstories which affect their current-day actions and which add to the depth of their characters. However, there isn’t a lot of growth in their characters during the course of the story. And while there is attraction between them, this is not a steam-filled novel. The secondary characters were absolutely fantastic, especially the kids. Additionally, the bickering and love between foster siblings felt realistic.

The point of view mainly switches between Lila, Oz, and Oz’s wolf self. While I was always aware of whose point of view I was reading, the internal thoughts went on a little too long at times and slowed the flow and pace of the book. It also resulted in too much ‘telling’ and not enough ‘showing’.

Despite this, it was entertaining and very thought-provoking. It was also funny and heartwarming at times. Discovering some surprises along the way, with lots of laughter, I raced through this book. One of the unusual things about this book were the funny footnotes. Besides enjoying the story, I recommend that readers look for the deeper meanings that are within it. This is the second book in the series and I suggest starting with book one: Bears Behaving Badly.

This is the fifteenth book that I have read by this author. She continues to bring great characters and entertaining story lines together. I am looking forward to her next book.

SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca and MaryJanice Davidson provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. This is my honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way. Publication date is currently set for February 23, 2021. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.

A Wolf After My Own Heart by MaryJanice Davidson is the 2nd book in her BeWere My Heart series. We meet our heroine, Lila Kai, as she comes across a bear cub, whom she brings to her new house (it is cursed and run down), and though she is human (stable), Lila finds herself protective of the little girl (Sally). What Lila will discover is that her house is in shifter territory, but with her finances so low, she is content to live there. Lila is smart and savvy, and also a teddy bear (stuffed) doctor.

Oz Adway, our hero, is a wolf shifter, who works for IPA (Interspecies Placement Agency) and takes on the assignment of finding Sally Small, who was recently orphaned by a plane crash, killing her parents. Oz lives with his mom, and two adoptees, and his were scent (Sally), pushes him to check out Lila’s house, who he immediately finds himself attracted to, despite she being a stable (human). Sally has a tendency to run away often, but meeting the other local young orphaned shifters (Dev & Caro) living next door, she always comes back to stay in the basement of Lila’s. We also get to spend a lot of time with Annette Garsea (previous book heroine), who will work with Oz to discover the mystery of Sally’s family. Did they both die, since someone is calling Sally to stay safe with Lila?

What follows is a wild adventure with a crazy group of shifters, including the orphans (I actually like Dev, Caro and Sally the best) that have you either laughing or rolling your eyes. I did like Lila, as she was a very good heroine, who had no problem dealing with shifters; Oz was a hunk and a nice guy, but I personally didn’t really feel the chemistry between them, though they there were likeable.

After a lot of chaos that destroys Oz’s family house, and has them all staying at Lila’s run-down house, the last third of the story line becomes an exciting and intriguing adventure, putting them in danger, with their lives on the line. A Wolf After My Own Heart was a good story line, with some really great characters. I will say that I found the wacky humor a bit overdone, with a lot of frenzy and confusion throughout. If you enjoy a paranormal romance, with lots of crazy wild humor, then you should be reading this series.

This was a great story. It took a few chapters to get the flow of the story, but then it was really fun to read. I loved the characters and the plot was well thought out. Lots of neat twists and turns. I hope there are more in the series. However, there were a lot of typos and small grammatical errors.

I have been provided with a review copy of A Wolf After My Own Heart from NetGalley for an impartial review. This is the second book in the BeWere My Heart series and I just loved getting to reenter this world. I was just drawn into this wonderful story and I just couldn’t get enough of it. It was just so easy to get lost in this great story. I just didn’t want it to end. I just lost myself in and I just couldn’t get enough of these interesting characters. I can’t wait to see what’s next from this author.

Another funny, snarky, witty shifter romance from an unforgettable author!! If your looking for a light hearted fun time pick up this book!!!

This is the second book in this series (shhh...don't tell anyone...I didn't read the first book). It has been many years since I have read anything by MaryJanice Davidson, but I remember loving her Undead series.

The main characters are Lila and Oz who are both very quirky but endearing. There are a whole host of secondary characters and they were all quite lovely (except the bad guys!). I particularly liked the two foster kids Dev and Caro. Lila is new the neighborhood. This is the first house she has lived in since living with her mom so it is a big deal. You get hints that she has some past baggage which is slowly revealed throughout the story as Oz gets to know Lila better. Most of the storyline is trying to figure out who the bad guys are. Lila is very clever and figures it out as Oz does.

Honestly, the best part of this book was not the storyline but was how funny it was. This is why I loved her Undead series. I actually laughed out loud and read some parts to my husband. I also loved the relationships that Lila was building between all the characters, but weirdly not the romantic relationship between Lila and Oz. They didn't actually spend much time together and when they were it was ok.

The weirdest part was excessive use of parenthesis and weird foot notes. If it was just Lila or just Oz who used the parenthesis in their internal dialogue it may have worked but they both did. It was done to be humorous, but took me out of the story too often.

This was an ARC copy given for an honest review. While I didn't love the storyline, it made me laugh and the world needs more laughter so it gets 4 big fat stars.

This second installment might be better than the first! The paranormal elements that are made to seem like every day, the relationships, the conflict, everything mixed together to make the perfect tale.

I wanted to love this book. I did not. The hero is boring the heroine was okay but I did not love them as a couple or was not invested in their love story. The story about the cubs was okay but the characters were not interesting. I think this is my least favorite Mary Janice Davidson.