Kiera Wilson left her recent memory at the bottom of a cliff where she barely escaped death. She remembers her long-time friends but not the man who claims to be her fiancé. She doesn’t have anything against getting to know him again, but her friends aren’t so sure she was happy with him. He’s big and burly and kind of scary, but also hot in a growly way.

Lev Pierce, alpha bear shifter, is not only alpha but CEO of a massive hotel chain where suddenly shifters are attacking others in broad daylight. On top of that, his mate is almost killed and no longer remembers who he is, not to mention his mother hates her. Everything around him is falling apart.

Somehow Lev has to fix everything while convincing the love of his life that she truly loved him. As he delves into finding solutions, he discovers that someone is sabotaging his pack. If he can’t figure out who the culprit is in time, he is going to lose all that he loves, including his mate.

Titles in the Bearly Mates series include — Bearly Marked —♥— Bearly Chased —♥— Bearly Mated —♥—

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

Title:  Bearly Marked
Series:  Bearly Mates #1
Author:  Milly Taiden
Published:  February 12, 2023
My Rating:  4.5

I was easily swept up in Bearly Marked from the first chapter and had no intention of putting this book down until I reached the ending.  There’s such an underlying sense of urgency throughout Lev’s and Kiera’s story that even when Lev slowed down and took the time to try to win his fianceé’s love and trust again, I still felt the need to hurry them along, that danger was dodging their footsteps constantly.

When Kiera lost her memories of the past year in the accident that should have ended her life she stepped into a world of confusion and gratefulness.  Everyone knew more than they were telling her and this stranger claimed to be her future husband, that they had plans for a future that she simply doesn’t remember or trust.  Yes, she’s thankful to be alive but has to deal with no memory of meeting, let alone loving this stranger enough to promise him forever.

Then the unexpected pleasure of learning to know Lev all over again amidst one friend’s support and another friend’s suspicions was marred by the obvious hatred of his mother and the danger that is affecting Lev’s businesses across the country.  There’s more going on beneath the surface than either Kiera or Lev realize for the worst kind of betrayals are already in motion and not every relationship will survive the fallout.

This was a tense, steamy, romantic, action-packed introduction to the Bearly Mates series.  I had my suspects picked out early on, and was somewhat sad to realize that I was correct… but I didn’t expect just how far those betrayals would go.  I would not hesitate to recommend this story to any Paranormal Romance reader who loves a well-written novel, craves the excitement of solving a mystery, or simply loves a good romance.

I read this title through my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

Available for the Kindle