Title: Christmas Pride
Author: Shelly Laurenston
Series: Pride #1.1
In: The Mane Event (Shelly Laurenston)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Paranormal romance, Shapeshifters, Urban fantasy
Pace: Medium
Format: Collection, eBook, Novella
Year: 2007

Christmas Pride is a very sweet and delicious novella. It was incredibly easy to just… inhale this whole story in one sitting. Difficult to even look away for the two seconds it took to have a glass of water. Which is honestly exactly what I want in a novella – they’re short enough to read in one sitting, and they have to be amazing so that I want to read them in one sitting.

I loved that this romance focused on a couple that grew up together and reconnected. It’s the usual feelings of inadequacy and class separation. But it works. Therefore, rather than feeling like an insta-love story, it’s one that feels like it’s been decades coming. Plus, there’s also the great acknowledgement that although they had feelings for each other as teenagers, they actually needed the time apart to grow into the people they became. I mean, it’s all well and great to be able to spend your whole adult life with a person, but it’s pretty hard to actually grow and change in that circumstance (I speak from experience).

Mace is wonderfully stubborn in his pursuit of Dez. I particularly loved all of the “cat games” that he played with her in his pursuit. Personally, I prefer someone coming head on in this kind of situation. But I love that his sneaky cat tactics are exactly what Dez needs to realise that what they have is real. I also love how Dez is able to constantly stick up for herself… when she really feels the need. It’s a great relationship with a lot of give and take.

Then, behind the lovely romance that definitely takes centre stage is the mystery of just who killed Petrov. And then the dynamics and politics of the hyena / lion antagonism. Something that I want more of as the series unfolds… I’m also wanting more hyena-based stories in the greater Smith’s Shifter World…

<- Miss Congeniality

Shaw’s Tail ->

Image source: Amazon