In the small town of Bear Creek, bear shifter, Stellan guards an old wound. As a direct descendant of the town’s founders and member of the Bear Creek Guardians, he is sworn to protect its secret shifter inhabitants. But now history threatens to repeat itself as shifters fall mysteriously ill—the same sickness that took Stellan’s father from him years ago.

As a doctor at Bear Bluff Hospital, Stellan carries the burden of responsibility to help others avoid the pain he and his mother experienced.

Mia arrives in Bear Creek with secrets of her own. A gifted herbalist, Mia has all but given up on finding love, but she is inexplicably drawn to Stellan’s caring nature, though her past has left her slow to trust. When Stellan reveals the truth about Bear Creek’s shifters and asks for Mia’s help, she agrees to use her skills to find a cure.

Working together in close quarters, Mia and Stellan’s attraction ignites. But with time running out and shifters’ lives at stake, love seems a luxury they can’t afford.

To save the town and secure their future, Mia and Stellan must stop the sickness, heal old wounds, and overcome their differences. The fate of the town hangs in the balance, and so too the second chance both Stellan and Mia have been hoping for.

Descended from the first Bear Creek Guardians, Stellan is one of six protectors, each with a story to be told. He has guarded his heart for too long, but in coming together to safeguard their town, this shifter doctor and gifted healer may just find that love is the most potent cure of all.

Titles in the Bear Creek Guardians series include — Bearheart Protector —♥— Bearheart Healer —♥— Bearheart Rebel —♥— Bearheart Hunter —♥— Bearheart Guardian —♥— Bearheart Destiny —♥—

This is an adult 18+ story that contains language, possible violence, and/or sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

If you love (or have yet to discover) all the series that connects to the magical town of Bear Creek, then please visit our Harmony Raines page for a list of titles in the series set within this shifter community.

Title:  Bearheart Healer
Series:  Bear Creek Guardians #2
Author:  Harmony Raines
Published:  July 6, 2023
My Rating:  4.5

Bearheart Healer is the second title in the Bear Creek Guardians series, and it seems that the past has come back to haunt this area again when people begin to fall ill from a threat this town has faced before… with devastating results.

As a doctor, and as one of the Bear Creek guardians, Stellan holds his responsibility to heal and protect very firmly in his heart.  While the recently missing hikers may have been located, there are still far too many unanswered questions surrounding that event.  And there is still a feeling of unease in the air around Bear Creek, unexplainable but felt nonetheless.  Into this unsettled atmosphere comes a new threat… or perhaps, a very old threat.  Shifters are showing symptoms of an illness that occurred in this area several years ago, one that Stellan is personally familiar with as it stole his father from him.  In a race against time, Stellan will welcome help from any source… or from his mate, the herbalist who has made Bear Creek her home.  Stellan knows he’s found his mate, but he doesn’t have the luxury of time to show this human what she means to him.  He has to find a cure for this illness before it destroys the people of the town he loves.  And perhaps the answer lies with the newest member of the community.

Mia is a naturally born healer.  Her compassion for others is obvious, her love of the land and the gifts it gives is strong, and her ability to create cures from the bounty of nature is simply amazing.  Yet, Mia has sought out sanctuary in this charming small town for more than the job she’s hoping to land but for the quiet, safety she feels here.  She has secrets, and she is constantly scanning the treelines, the bushes, and the darkness for the one thing she hoped to escape by moving here… her stalker.  The attraction she feels toward Stellan is immediate, but her trust will be harder to win.  And circumstances in the town right now aren’t making trusting strangers very easy.

I loved Stellan and Mia as a couple and individually.  They are both talented, compassionate, and perfect for each other.  They approach the illness in the area from differing viewpoints, and frankly, that is exactly what is needed to solve this mystery.  The mysterious millionaire is once again tossing around the offer of money to help… and I still don’t trust him, but that is an ongoing thread throughout the series.  Another thread has also moved ahead a bit, but without giving away spoilers, I’ll just leave it at that comment.  I always enjoy seeing familiar faces in Bear Creek, and this time was no different.  Bearheart Healer kept me engaged throughout, gave me a lot to think about, and even more hooked on discovering where those threads will take us as the series continues.

I read this title through my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

Available for the Kindle as this title is currently in KU