Mate Claimed by Jennifer Ashley
Shifters Unbound, Book 4
Berkley Sensation
Contemporary, Paranormal, Shapeshifter
ISBN: 978-0425251010
Reviewed by Jo




Iona Duncan co-owns a construction company with her mother and her sister.  The three of them also share a secret;Ionais actually a wild cat shifter and has never been reported as such and made to wear a collar.  Hiding this could not only cause problems forIona, but also for her human mother and sister and yet none of them would have made a different choice if asked.  However,Ionais having problems with her shifter self, problems that she doesn’t understand quite yet.  One thingIonadoes know is that her life would be easier if the leader of her town’s Shiftertown didn’t stalk her all the time.

Eric Warden is the leader of the local Shiftertown and keeping the shifters out of trouble is his responsibility and a full time job as it is.  Now it’s getting worse as the dumb government is trying to cut corners and shoving two types of shifters together, and these species don’t really get along – nor do the two leaders.  To top it off, Eric long ago learned about Iona’s secret and has kept an eye on her.  He knows that she is about to come into her sexual maturity and that if it’s not handled well, Iona could lose herself or her life.  He is determined to get her through it in one piece.

Ionais shocked to learn what is wrong with her and that Eric is willing to help her.  Yet she can’t ignore the pull she feels towards him or her need to mate.  The merging of the two shiftertowns is going a bit better than expected, bumpy but not deadly, when shifters suddenly go missing.  Claws are about to come out, yet all the shifters bond together to search and rescue the missing.  As this mission goes on, Iona and Eric learn that something strange is going on with the humans who are supposed to help the shifters.  More missing shifters and odd scents lead to the answers about what is really going on, who is behind it, and why the two shiftertowns were forced to merge in the first place.  Fur is going to fly before it’s over, the question is will it be shifter against shifter or will the humans have finally messed with the wrong group?

Suspense and lust combine when two strong willed people learn to listen to their hearts along with their heads.  Mate Claimed has several subplots that all come together in a surprising way as the last page is turned.  Iona has lived her life with a huge secret that is about to blowup in her face.  She is determined to protect her mother and sister as they always protected her from any fallout.  Eric had a hard enough job and then enters a half-shifter about to bloom and a forced merge with a hostile clan.  Keeping everyone out of trouble and finding the answers about what is really going on will have to share with his need for Iona.  I really loved watching as Iona and Eric circled each other and then coming to terms with the passion that exploded between them.  I also enjoyed watching as the two shiftertown leaders learned how to deal with their new living circumstances.  Each page brought new answers and new problems until all the answers were discovered and love conquered all – just as it should be.  Mate Claimed is suspense filled, danger driven, and passion fulfilled from the very first page until the last.