Review: Mark of the Bear by N.J. Walters

Liz’s Review

Mark of the Bear  by N.J. Walters
Paranormal romance released by Samhain Publishing on April 16, 2013

When the devil wants a deal, there’s no bowing out gracefully.

Hades’ Carnival, Book 2

At twenty-nine, Hollywood scream queen Kellsie Morris is acutely aware the clock is ticking on her career. Luckily, the one big role she needs to pad her retirement fund has just come through—the story of an immortal, shape-shifting warrior trapped in a carnival run by the Devil’s minions.

When Kellsie arrives on set, she can’t resist climbing aboard an amazingly realistic carousel bear—and finds herself flung into a world where the horror is real. As real as the heat radiating off the half-naked hunk in her arms.

Marko has waited an eternity for the chance to free his goddess, the Lady of the Beasts, and his fellow warriors from an ancient curse. But once he lays eyes on Kellsie, he knows to the bottom of his soul that his purpose is to protect her life.

But in this hellish game, it’s the Devil’s move. And there’s no predicting when and where the final, brutal stroke will fall—and which lover will pay the ultimate price.

Warning: This book contains a heroine who’s a screamer—in and out of bed—and a warrior who gives a whole new meaning to “method”. After reading, please use caution when standing up. Your knees may be weak.

Since I read the first book in this series, Night of the Tiger, I already knew what to expect as far as general plot. Heroine rescues trapped hero and they have to work together to stay alive for twenty-four hours or Hades gets both of their souls. But because I also am a big fan of N.J. Walters, I know that even when she does a series, each book is unique. There are no cookie-cutter storylines with her. Yes, it’s the same scenario, but the characters, the background, and the details are very different. Not once when I was reading this book did I think, “oh yawn, I’ve read this before”, and that’s the hallmark of a great series for me. If an author can redraw the same scenario in each book so that it feels different, then it’s a winner.

I love a heroine that is emotionally damaged, but not so worked-over that she can’t function. Kellsie started off her acting career with a boyfriend who became a famous actor and left her behind in the dust to play quickly-killed characters as a b-movie scream queen. She’s all alone in the world and she only has herself to rely on. She’s the epitome of an independent woman, that doesn’t need a man to help her. She looks after herself, because no one else ever has. It’s that tough outer skin and bruised heart that make her so endearing. She takes an acting job on a film titled “Hades Carnival”, which takes her into a remote mountain area for filming. Immediately she’s aware that things aren’t what they seem, and in no time she finds herself in a battle for her soul.

Marko the bear. What to say about him? Several words come to mind. Yum. Hot. Big. Fierce. He was a fantastic hero, full of love for his goddess and his brothers-in-arms, the other shape shifters. Once freed from his animal form upon the carousel that inhabits Hades Carnival, he knows that the coming twenty-four hours will be the most grueling and important hours of his long life. He must keep himself and Kellsie alive or see both of them spend eternity in hell. As the hero in the previous book did, Marko tries to set himself emotionally apart from Kellsie, because a distracted warrior makes mistakes and he can’t afford to make any when the stakes are so high.

Hades proved once more to be as crafty as expected, offering first Kellsie and then Marko anything they desired. Hades needs the shape-shifting warriors to lead his armies against the other gods so he can take over the world. In the first book, we find out that two of the shifters have died with the women that freed them, one managed to survive, and one turned against his goddess and now works with Hades. But Marko isn’t going to give up so quickly, and Kellsie is just the woman to stand by his side.

What I really love about these books is the real emotion. Even though the majority of the book surrounds the twenty-four hour time frame when the beast is freed from the carousel and Hades and his minions go after them, nothing feels rushed. Can a person fall in love in twenty-four hours? Maybe you believe that or not, but in these books the emotions are real and timely, neither rushed nor too slow, but just perfect. And the author doesn’t shy away from allowing the characters to question their feelings. Both Marko and Kellsie wonder about the feelings they’re having, wonder if the other can be trusted, wonder if they’ll survive and if so…what happens next. While there is less sex in this book than in the first one, the scenes are no less scorching and emotionally powerful.

I enjoyed this book, losing myself in the mix of mythology and modern times, shape-shifters, a scream queen, gods and goddesses, minions, and souls-in-the-balance battles. I’m looking forward to reading the next two books in the series and finding out what happens to the two remaining shifters.

Grade: B+

You can read an excerpt here or buy a copy here.

Join the conversation!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.