The Bad Bear is the Best

Gray Back Bears Series by T. S. Joyce

Paranormal Romance

Overall Series Rating: 3 (sXe)

This series works together with the other bear series written by T. S. Joyce. In fact, I’ve already reviewed the Fire Bears Series on my blog, which you can find by clicking here. Instead of reviewing each book, I’ll just give you an overall sense of what I thought of the series as a whole then give you a quick summary of each book below. P.S. I picked this cover out of the four books because I think it’s the hottest. You can tell me if you disagree.

By far the first book is the best. The Gray Back Bad Bear is hilarious, mostly because of the cute heroine Willa. Matt and Willa’s banter is the best and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. The other books are all fun to read, but they aren’t anything special. I also really liked Easton and Ava together, but because they are so incredibly sweet and the story moved along at a great pace. The thing I liked best about this series is that I got a better sense of the individual characters more in this series than the Fire Bear Series. The sex scenes are kind of hit or miss. Some are great, and some are bland. I am curious as to why Joyce decided to start her series with the second in command, but it was a smart move because it is such a funny book. It’s good to start the series strong and end the series strong as well.

T. S. Joyce continues the theme that shifters represent a subsection of the population that gets discriminated against, but at a smaller level that is much more accessible to most of us—being the outsider. All of the books in this series share the common theme that the two main characters are either outcasts or feel like outsiders.

A part of me wants to go back and read all of the other bear shifter books, but another part of me thinks there are better books to read and I shouldn’t bother. I hate to say that because it makes it sound like I wasted my time reading this series and I don’t think that at all. They are enjoyable! I certainly liked this series more than I did the previous one.

Are these books worth buying? (Kindle $0.99 each)

Considering they are only $0.99 I’d say yes. Especially if you are at loose ends and want an enjoyable book for the evening (they aren’t very long so they go by quickly). However, the nice thing is they are also Amazon Prime books, so if you’ve got Prime then you are all set.

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Quick & Dirty Summaries

Gray Back Bad Bear (3.5)

When Willa bumps into Matt at a bar, after being duped into a werebear diddle hunt, she isn’t surprised that she doesn’t catch his eye. But after getting the “friend” chat, Willa is surprised that she and Matt get along so well. The nerdy, sassy human girl isn’t afraid of the big bad bear. But the question is the bear afraid this tiny girl is also his mate?

Gray Back Alpha Bear (3)

After Gia and Creed’s one nightstand, neither expected to see the other again. But when Gia shows up unexpectedly, Creed is surprised at how happy this makes him. He’s in for an even bigger shock when Gia comes to him for help after being shunned by her family and friends. As the two of them navigate life’s unexpected gifts, they find that their attraction didn’t end after one night.

Gray Back Ghost Bear (3)

Jason hides his insanity behind a veil of good humor, but when park ranger Georgia comes around and Jason realizes he has found his made, he also finds out that the ghost he sees isn’t a figment of his imagination. With a little help from his friends, Georgia and Jason must try to overcome his ghosts as well as fight an unknown opponent—lives are at stake.

Gray Back Broken Bear (3.5)

Easton is the most broken of the Gray Back Broken Bears, but the reasons why have remained a mystery to his crew. When a little black crow shows up, suddenly Easton’s volatility escalates until he meets Ava, a fragile petite woman. However, Ava has a secret, and when it’s revealed it may cost her the only true love of her life and send Easton over the edge.

Super Short Shifter Series

Fire Bears by T.S. Joyce

Overall Series Rating: (3) (sXe)

Each of the three books that make up this series are short. At around 130 pages, each book focuses on one of the Keller brothers. The brothers are bear shifters who have been firefighters for generations. They are also controlled by a government agency that uses them as their own personal mercenaries, except these men do not get paid, they only get threatened with exposure and death. The series rating is higher than the individual book ratings because, in this particular case, the sum total is greater than its individual parts. Each of the books has the same problem–pacing and character development is sketchy and off putting. The central problem for the couples is superficial in most cases and is quickly eclipsed by the bigger problem of government control. But, like most shifter books, the allegory of shifter discrimination and hatred is a relevant one for racism and extremism today. It is this larger story of shifter integration into larger society that saves this series from banality and smut. Without that larger storyline connecting the books together, these short stories would seem like thinly veiled porn.

I am not going to review the individual books because my likes and dislikes are basically the same for all three novels. The primary characters have very little development. Instead of revealing characteristics through action, the author depends heavily on dialogue. Love is instantaneously, which is explained as ordinary due to shifter nature, but is unconvincing. The obstacles in each novel is glossed over in a way that makes them all unevenly paced. Action-action-action is followed by sappy dialogue and sex scenes. Despite all of this, Joyce does a great job of teasing out some of the issues with shifter-human integration. It’s sort of the X-Men argument, except a Magneto hasn’t appeared. Instead it is a test of humanity as to how the public deals with shifters and strongly echoes the central issues of slavery, racism, and homophobia. Tackling these big issues isn’t something most romance authors attempt and I admire Joyce for that. She really takes the possibilities of the genre to its fullest potential.

This series is a good example of why I don’t trust amazon reviews. The first book enjoys a 4.5 star rating from 146 reviewers. I’m not sure how that is possible, but it is. I don’t think I am that harsh of a critic, but my ratings are consistently lower than the Amazon reviews. And I have been stuck with many a terrible book because I trusted the Amazon reviews, which is why I am so glad I don’t pay for these books anymore. Although, I have to say, this series is very reasonably priced at $0.99 a book which isn’t too bad for fun, easy reads. That being said, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend the books. There are too many negatives and not enough positives for me to encourage anyone to read them.

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Bear My Soul (2)

Rory has kept her son Aaron a secret from Aaron’s father, Cody Keller, for five years. But as her son grows older and bigger it becomes harder and harder for Rory to keep Aaron’s shifter nature a secret. In desperation Rory seeks Cody out to see if he can help her son through his painful transformation from boy to bear. Cody is shocked and hurt that he was kept from his son, bitter that he cannot see Aaron grow up from an infant. However, when government forces threaten Aaron’s safety, Cody and Rory quickly realize they will do anything to keep their son safe.

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Bear the Burn (2)

Quinn is searching for a new start as a veterinarian’s technician after a heartbreaking loss. When she meets Dade Keller she is embarrassed being caught in a private display of emotion. Dade wants to stay away from Quinn to keep her safe but cannot deny that his bear has picked Quinn as his mate. Despite Dade’s efforts to be distant, Quinn is a target and in order to save her he must turn her into a bear shifter. In doing so he challenges the hold the government has on the Keller pack and his own hold on his emotional walls.  Quinn will need to reveal her inner strength in order to protect the pack that has accepted her as their own.

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Bear the Heat (3)

Boone has nightmares about losing his entire family to the secret government agency that is trying to control the bear shifter population. Cora is a reporter who broke the bear shifter story, trying to walk the line of reporting while also tempering the public’s knee-jerk hateful response to shifters. As Cora and Boone work together to help people see shifters as people, not animals, they realize their deep connection. This makes Cora a target and Boone struggles not to allow his fears to dictate his decisions. This was my favorite of the series probably because the underlying theme of acceptance was emphasized.