Heat (Bearpaw Ridge Firefighters #1) by Ophelia Sexton

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Title: Heat (Bearpaw Ridge Firefighters, #1)
Author: Ophelia Sexton
Published by: Indie
Release Date: July 18, 2016
Format: Kindle Book
Pages: 202
Genres: Paranormal Romance
Reading Challenges: CC's Goodreads Reading Challenge
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon
My rating:

Blurb:

When pastry chef Annabeth Jones goes on the run from her abusive fiance, the small town of Bearpaw Ridge offers her a safe haven. Nestled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, with friendly neighbors and a bakery/cafe that needs a new owner, it's the perfect place for her to start over.

Firefighter and bear shifter Dane Swanson knows at once that kind, curvy Annabeth is his fated mate. She's also human, in a world where shifters must keep their existence secret. Annabeth has no idea that Bearpaw Ridge's population is more shifter than human ... but if they're to be mated, Dane will have to find a way to tell her everything.

Wary of new relationships, Annabeth can't help warming to the strong, handsome man who can't get enough of her cinnamon rolls ... or her. But her fragile hopes are shattered when her ex tracks her down, determined to reclaim her.

Dane is equally determined to protect his mate -- but will Annabeth still accept him when he reveals the other side of his nature?

Heat is a novel-length steamy standalone paranormal romance with no cliffhangers.

My Review:

This was a decent shifter read.

Dane isn’t your normal aggressive, over the top, arrogant, alpha shifter.  He is actually kinda like a beta.  He is sweet and he doesn’t pressure her to move to fast.  Which was a nice change from the general shifter books.

The romance is pretty slow but there was enough of side story to make up for it. I especially liked how Annabeth was a pastry chef and how she ‘escaped’ a quasi-abusive relationship.  The beginning didn’t have much back story so I felt she ‘escape’ wasn’t delved into enough. I could have been more invested if we had more info.  And who doesn’t love a firefighter? Anyone who risks their life for others is pretty damn sexy in my book.

Annabeth showed great strength and didn’t freak out when she was confronted with a scary situation.  She stood her ground and showed a brave side that matched her sweet one, giving her a little more depth that I appreciated.  The whole hiding the fact that they were shifter’s felt a bit tired to me though.

It was a short , cute read. No more no less.