Bear's Midlife Surrogate

Shifter Nation: Fated Over Forty

By: Meg Ripley

Narrated by: D.C. Cole

At 41, I never imagined I’d be signing a baby contract.
Or that the father would be my one true mate.

My ex gambled away my kids’ college funds
Along with my dreams of starting a business.
After putting everyone else first for the last 23 years,
Nothing will stop me from making my dream a reality.
So when a bear posts he’s looking for a surrogate,
As crazy as it sounds after having three grown kids,
I know this could be the ticket to getting my food truck off the ground.
I loved being pregnant and know what to expect,
But when I meet Evan at a coffee shop,
My bear’s buzzing, and it has nothing to do with my latte.
The man I’m sitting across from is my mate.
And he wants us to start a family. Together.
Raising another cub was never part of my business plan.
Until we end up making it the old-fashioned way.

Steamy shifter love scenes and an HEA inside! No cheating or cliffhanger in this standalone romance. Listeners 18+.

©2022 Meg Ripley (P)2024 Meg Ripley

Evan and Amy

Story: Bear shifter Amy (h41) dreams of starting a food truck business and responds to an ad seeking a surrogate after her ex-husband's reckless behavior leaves her burdened with financial struggles. Evan (H), a bear shifter in his mid-40s who hasn't found his mate, places an ad seeking a surrogate to fulfill his dream of having a cub. When they meet, the unexpected happens – Amy and Evan discover that they are fated mates. Despite Amy's initial reluctance to the idea of a committed relationship due to her focus on independence and her food truck dreams, she agrees to be Evan's surrogate for the financial support it offers. As Amy's pregnancy progresses and she works on her food truck, they navigate challenges, including threats from a shady character in the food truck community. Amy and Evan's story unfolds with a mix of steamy shifter love scenes, romance, humor, danger, and the struggle to balance personal dreams and newfound love. Amy's journey from a difficult past to a hopeful future, combined with Evan's determination to protect his newfound family, creates a tale of love, independence, and unexpected joy. Hot and steamy midlife, fated mates, bear shifters romance with plenty of challenges and struggles as Amy and Evan reach for their HEA.

Audio: Narrator D.C. Cole does a great job with Evan and other male voices, and a good job with Amy's voice - I personally prefer a female narrator is used to voice female voices. The audio quality is good and there were no issues.

It's Good

This is a well-written, slightly different take on fated mates and how relationships can evolve and be successful. I really enjoyed the journey with Evan and Amy. The narration of the audiobook was also well-done.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Shifters

I love shifter books and Meg Ripley writes great shifter stories. Evan decides he wants to have a cub of his own to raise. He is not getting any younger with no mate, he hires a surrogate. Amy answers the ad and as it turns out she is his mate. Amy is divorced and healing from that. This baby will get them to their happily ever after. Great characters and story. The narrator is great for the most part but all the female voices are awful and sound the same.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Surrogate Mate

Evan and Amy’s story takes us on a journey through life when we are trying to finally live the life, we always imagined we wanted after our children leave home. It explores what our image of that looks like and how as we are trying to achieve our dreams, they can change around the edges to become something even more fulfilling. I loved how they grew together even though Amy struggled to hold on to what she believed was her dream.

I really enjoyed their journey.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Good

Story Review:
MMC/FMC- Evan and Amy
POV- 3rd person
Genre- Paranormal Romance
Sub Genre- Shifter (Bear)
Heat- 🌋🌋☄️ (1🌋=2☄️). More plot than hot.
Series? Y
Safety? Y
Triggers- Sex and Violence
Tropes- Surrogate Romance, Fated Mates, Bear With Me
What I liked- the characters. I particularly liked Lenora. I don’t want any funny business either.
What I didn’t- I’d have liked to have seen more of the Bear Clan, but really, I have no complaints.

Narration Review:
Narrator was clear and easy to understand. His voice was okay. He didn’t do a bad job at the female voices, but I found myself falling asleep to his voice. It was not very engaging.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Fated Mates

This is a quick listen. The narrator did a great job with the different voices. The book is not quite a romance but more of I have no choice in the matter. It has a few action scenes. Overall an ok book.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

MIDLIFE SHIFTERS

Evan and Amy. Its never too late to find your fated mate. She has grown chidren. Her ex stole all from her. He wants a child not having found his mate. She answers his ad and finds a mate. Loved their story as all of Meg Ripleys over forty couples stories.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Surrogate Meets Her Fated Mate

I previously read Bear's Midlife Surrogate and it was such a great treat to be able to listen to it via Booksprout and audibles. After 23 years of raising her children and her ex-husband taking off with the children college funds; Amy is ready to begin living her life. Now that Amy’s three children are all grown she is now ready to get her food truck up and running, but she needs funding. When Amy comes across an ad for a surrogate Amy jumps at the chance. Amy and Evan meet at the local coffee shop. With Evan’s bear shifter friends finding their fated mates and having cubs, Evan is ready to do the same. When Evan meets Amy his bear knows that she is his fated mated. Amy’s plan was to be a surrogate to Evan get the funding she needed and leave. Amy gets more than she bargained for when the two realize that they are fated mates. Evan wants Amy as his mate and for the two have a cub the old-fashioned way.

Now that Evan has the family he wants, will Amy still get her food truck or will she and Evan have more cubs and run the food truck together?

I received an ARC via Booksprout and I am leaving my review voluntarily.

This is an enjoyable listen.

I love the depth of the story and how Meg constructs her characters. I keeps you so engrossed in the story that before you know it you're done and want to hear the next one. DC Cole is a great narrator for these lumberjacks and mountain gruff men too he sounds like the characters he's portraying.

Liked

Evan wanted to be a father. Not finding his fated mate, he decided to go to a surrogate. He meets his mate in his surrogate Amy. Amy has has a bad marriage and a mother of three now grown children. Her heart is guarded, she fights the pull to Evan. As the pregnancy progress, danger comes and Evan slowly gains her trust and protects her. Wonderful characters, danger, drama, fated mates and a happily-ever-after. The narrator done an outstanding job with the narration.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.