Title: Shifty Business (Bend-Bite-Shift Trilogy #3)
Author: Olivia Hardin
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Age Group: Adult (18+)
Rating: 4 stars
Purchase: Amazon
Review copy provided by Enchanted Book Promotions.
Gerry Hinton thought she had the perfect career as an operative for the Company. Her next assignment should have been another “mission accomplished”, but hell was delivering hand baskets that day.
When a little girl gives a mysterious silver box to Gerry, her world self-destructs. Suddenly under constant mental attacks, the only person who can save her is her partner, Nicky–but nothing comes without a cost. Secrets buried deep in the past begin to rise, threatening everything she holds dear.
My overall rating for this book is a four. I thought it had great potential, and it was intriguing and interesting, but not enough to classify it as one of my favorite books ever. However, I don’t often give out higher ratings, so you definitely shouldn’t feel put off that this is a four instead of a five. It’s actually quite a good book, with a consistent, fast plot and memorable characters with distinct personalities. Maybe I would’ve liked it even more if I’d read the two previous installments in the series, but I liked it well enough without reading those. The story took a while to make sense, and I didn’t know all characters mentioned at first, but once I got past the first fifty-or-so pages I started to really enjoy this novel.
Main character Gerry is a shapeshifting witch, which in itself, is pretty awesome. I like it when authors mix and clash paranormal creatures and come up with interesting combinations. Her boyfriend Nicky is a half-vampire, which isn’t that creative, but works for the plot. As in most paranormal romance books, half-vampires are the lowest of the lowest on the paranormal social ladder, so for a while Nicky and Gerry kept their relationship a secret. But secrets have a way of catching up with you, and both of them will have to face the past sooner or later. I don’t want to give away too much of the plot. Gerry gets a mysterious silver box from a young girl while working for the Company, and she slips into a coma. Nicky has to find a way to bring her back, which leads to the uncovering of quite a few secrets of the past.
The book had a healthy mix of action and slower scenes. There were a lot of love-making scenes as well, and generally they were well-written. I loved how both main characters had their own quircks, and their interactions bordered from romantic and hot to sarcastic and teasing, and I liked that. Their relationship was dynamic and evolving, and it felt like an actual, real relationship. The secrets Nicky discovers while Gerry is a coma though, might put an end to all this, which ups the stakes. I started cheering for the two of them early on, and my heart rate went up the more secrets were revealed and the more their relationship was in peril.
I have to add that I love the titles of these books. The first book is called “Witch Way Bends”, which is such a clever word game! The second book is called “Bitten Shame”, and the third, of course, “Shifty Business”. I like how all titles sound together, and how they fit into the Bend-Bite-Shift trilogy.
That aside, as I said, I liked the plot and characters. The writing was good, but it could’ve used some polishing. I’m not sure if the book had an editor and/or proofreader, but it could’ve used a last read-over before being published. I know it’s hard to catch all mistakes, but there were some run-on sentences and awkward word choices that caught my attention. All in all though, the book was still great and a pleasure to read. A nice read for fans of paranormal romance who are looking for some new twists in familiar concepts.
