Title:  Hunter Bear
Series:  Enforcer Bears #2
Author:  Zoe Chant
Published:  June 11, 2016
My Rating:  5 stars
Source:  Kindle Unlimited
Cover Description:

Curvy artist Cleo Waters has inherited an old house by a lake in Linden Creek. With her old life in ruins, she wants to take a break in the lonely forests, restoring the house her grandmother lived in. She didn’t expect that it would come with a secret treasure map — or a sexy, naked man bathing in her pond!

Bear shifter Steven Anders is hunting for a criminal jaguar shifter in the woods of Linden Creek. Steven still wears the scars of the past on his body and in his heart. He has never been fond of company or settling down — until his bear sets his sight on gorgeous Cleo and recognizes his mate. But can he open his heart to love and learn to trust?

When Steven and Cleo decide to follow the directions on the treasure map, they soon end up fighting for survival in the jaguar’s lair. Lost in a system of secret underground caves, is their love enough to show them the way home? And can danger teach them to trust each other despite the ghosts of the past?

Sexy shifters and their feisty mates who aren’t shy about loving each other – so, this is an adult, 18+ reader tale.

Titles in this series:  Bear Cop, Hunter Bear, Wedding Bear

Read on for my thoughts on Hunter Bear.

Hunter Bear is one of those stories that I began expecting one thing and discovered multiple gems within the story.  I love when that happens, when I’m a bit surprised and awed by an author’s ability to give me even more of what I expect from them.  Zoe Chant has become a prolific writer of Shifter Romance, but she never cuts corners in delivering an intriguing, sexy and engaging story that touches the heart.

Cleo has returned to her roots, to the summer spot where she’d felt free, happy and complete.  She’d loved spending time at her grandparent’s cabin on the lake – and now it was her’s.  The cabin needed some loving work done to make it a home again, her parents had neglected it a bit since they no longer visited this area.  And if the truth was told, she needed the distraction of hard work.  Her life has fallen apart, betrayed by the man she thought loved her, dumped for fame and glory – and perhaps worst of all, she had lost her touch, her ability to draw.  Of everything that hurt the deepest.  Perhaps a month or so here in the wilderness with no one around could help her find that spark once again.  Really she isn’t holding out much hope, but anything is possible.

Steven is on the hunt for an escaped jaguar shifter.  Two were in custody, this one was still at large and the wily criminal was staying just beyond his reach.  Oh, he’d found tracks but they always lead back to a water spot where he’d lose the trail.  But Steven was determined to keep going until he’d found the jaguar.

As Cleo was doing a bit of wandering around her property she came upon a naked man in the pond under the waterfall.  To say she was surprised is an understatement but she’s not stupid.  She confronted the stranger with phone in hand and a call into the local police department, such as it was with one man.  Steven couldn’t believe that neither he or his bear had heard Cleo’s approach.  Now he had to quickly reassure the lovely human before she panicked.  He knew his brother, Chris, would vouch for him when she called the police but he didn’t want to frighten this woman.  She was important to him.  She was his mate… the woman he never, ever expected to find.

Steven and his bear were loners, no clan, no ties – they moved with the wind or at a whim.  With his family background and a scumbag for a father, Steven never intended to settle down.  He didn’t trust that he wasn’t exactly like his father.  And he wold never inflict the pain on a mate that his father had done to his mother.  Ever.  So finding his mate wasn’t a totally pleasant surprise, but one that he couldn’t change.  He slowly worked to make her acquaintance, let her get to know him and see what happened next.  He still had a jaguar to catch, and now it was even more important because his mate could not be harmed by that escaped shifter.

Now, about those gems I mentioned.  What fascinated me and perhaps gave me the most pleasure from Hunter Bear was the journey Steven and Cleo took to follow the handwritten treasure map that Cleo’s grandmother had left for her to find.  The underground caverns took on a mysterious world of their own.  Here not only the current, but the suspense, tension and emotions were fast paced.  The descriptions at this point of the story are breathtaking and so easily brought you right into the caves with Steven and Cleo.  There is a lot of mystery and treasure here, the best kind of treasure of the personal kind.  I won’t spoil it – but if for nothing else, this story was well worth the time for the discovery of this rarely seen beauty.

I would highly recommend Hunter Bear to any lover of Shifter Romance.  I completely enjoyed my time with this couple.  Their story is unique, thoughtful and full of danger and mystery.  What’s not to love about that?

Available for the Kindle