It’s been twenty years since I’ve been home, and I accidentally just slept with the bear next door …

Welcome to my midlife shifter crisis.  I’m fleeing a failed marriage with a wolf.

I just slept with my childhood bestie.  And didn’t even realize it was him.  He’s hot and gruff and gives me more pleasure than I’ve ever known.

But he’s got a chip on his shoulder, ’cause he’s supposed to be our den’s alpha.  Oh, and I moved back in with my parents.

My consolation prize — A little werebear growing in my belly — that we have to keep a secret.

Titles in the Midlife Shifters series include –  Bear Next Door – Midlife Harem – Midlife Omega –

Title:  Bear Next Door
Series:  Midlife Shifters
Author:  J.L. Wilder
Published:  February 8, 2021
My Rating:  4 stars

In many ways, Bear Next Door which begins the Midlife Shifters series is a story of redemption and second chances for both Brady and Evelyn.  Brady should have become alpha of his clan, but his drinking caused him to be passed over.  Evelyn had run away with a wolf shifter believing she was desperately in love, effectively being shut off from her family, her home.  Turns out all those who tried to talk her out of this marriage were right, he did end up being an abusive jerk that she would eventually leave, or try to leave, and return home hoping that her parents would give her a second chance.

She never expected to find her true mate in a childhood friend, and a man who has been beaten down in life almost as much as she has, although in a different way.  What started out as an impulsive one-night stand is about to turn into so much more for this couple… if they survive that is.

I enjoyed Bear Next Door.  It has a slightly different feel to me as Brady fights his own inner demons, tries to take back what was, in effect, stolen from him, and puts together a complex plan to keep his mate safe until he can change their situation.  Evelyn is a strong woman, even though she might not have believed that.  Her strength comes from knowing that she and Brady are mates, that she has finally found where she should have been all along… and in fighting for the life she wants with the man she loves.

Although I was easily caught up in Bear Next Door, I won’t be continuing the series.  Not because the opening wasn’t really good – it was – but because the next two stories are tropes that I simply do not enjoy so this will be a standalone read for me, and that’s okay.  (I’m not a harem/reverse harem reader and that’s my choice)  I enjoyed my time with Evelyn and Brady.

I read this title through my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

Available for the Kindle