Lion UnSEALed

A Paranormal Military Romance

By: JJ Jones

Narrated by: Kalinda Little

Length: 4 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

Ex-Navy SEAL Boden "Bodie" Hart has been hiding in plain sight ever since the moment he was outed as a Lion Shifter.

Now, by using his ability to communicate with animals to score himself a job on tour with a circus, Bodie is confident his secret will never be discovered.

But when Bodie begins to fall for a cute co-worker named Reagan, he knows it is only a matter of time before he has to tell her the truth about who and what he really is.

However, Bodie has no idea that the truth is about to catch up with him sooner than he ever expected....

Paranormal romance meets military romance in a book that has twists that will keep you guessing right to the end. Be prepared to be surprised and thrilled!

©2016 SimplyShifters.com (P)2016 SimplyShifters.com

"We go home." WTF?!? Really?

Something is definitely lacking. Author really needs to work a little harder on a better ending.

Struggle through to chapter 7 and gave up.

Would you try another book from JJ Jones and/or Kalinda Little?

I might try a sample of another book to see if it was any better. It would have to wow me, though to fork out any $$. So I am doubtful that I actually would.

Would you ever listen to anything by JJ Jones again?

I would be willing to listen to a sample to see if I have the same issues. I am not sure if the issue is all the writing or partially the narration.

What didn’t you like about Kalinda Little’s performance?

My first impression was that I didn't really enjoy listening to her voice. It could have been just because I am unfamiliar with her, and had I enjoyed the book and been able to listen further I might have changed my mind. There have been narrators that have grown on me despite initially not enjoying them. Renee Raudman comes to mind. The whole narration sounded stilted, again, I am not sure if that is all the writing or if some of it is the narrator. I downloaded the kindle edition, but can't bring myself to look at it.

What character would you cut from Lion UnSEALed?

Whatever the heck that owners name was. The hero and the heroine.

Any additional comments?

There were a lot of little things that alone, wouldn't have caused such a strong reaction. But added together I just couldn't take it. I didn't care for narrator. I usually get lost in the story so I don't THINK about the narrator. I never once forgot about the narrator or that I was being read to. The language and dialogue were stilted.I was really confused by WHEN this was. The atmosphere of the carnival was like a Victorian freak show. But I am pretty sure it was supposed to be modern. But I really don't think we have shows where people come to see the bearded lady and the little people. I think there would probably be protests and riots now a days. Then again, I didn't see any cell phones or computers, so maybe it was the early part of the 20th century. I just don't know. We didn't meet the heroine until at least the 4th chapter. The first three were all about this crazy victorian-like freak show featuring a codependent little person and strong and silent broody shifter and a over the top a-hole owner.The characters where all so exaggerated, they were cartoonish. The first crisis point comes when some "Christian" men decide to attack a young girl. I only bring this up because I couldn't exactly figure out how the character knew they were Christian. The closest thing to a "religious" statement was this brilliant dialogue: " This whole damned circus is just a cesspool if you ask me. Just a breeding ground for theft and sexual deviance. Hell, I just about had to lock my daughter up with a bolt and chain to keep her away from the mess. I don't want her contaminated by the filth." I didn't see any mention of people wearing crosses, carrying bibles or praising Jesus. A Jewish person, a Muslim or a heck, an atheist could have said the same thing. If there had been any indication written in that would show me they considered themselves Christian I wouldn't have thought about it. If it had been integral part of the plot, no problem. But when an author takes a behavior that is basically being a jerk or being violent and snidely assigns a religion to the character. It sort of dumps me out of the story and makes me feel like the author has a personal problem with that religion. And I want to enjoy the story, not be dumped on by the authors personal problems or agendas. We meet the heroine. The premise of the plot is a common one. Naive girl runs away from abusive environment and hides out in vehicle/room of a brooding alpha male who doesn't want a relationship. She is VERY dramatic and angsty. She tells the hero that "I can't stay in Alice. I just can't. I'll die if I do." Cue the eye roll. The BIGGEST problem I have with the story, however, is it's emotional tone. I am not sure how old the heroine is, but the hero is almost 40, but this feels like a teen book. To understand how this book made me feel you need to put yourself back in time. You are 12. You want to go to a concert by a group called Satan is Lord with a 20 year old boy. Your Dad informs you that you are to young to go out with a 20 year old. You are too young to go to a concert by yourself. He doesn't approve of the name of the band. Furthermore, you have church tomorrow morning. You shout at him that you aren't a baby. You are in love and church is stupid. You run to your room sobbing and spend all night writing a fantasy story about how horrible it is to be a girl in this hypocritical, Christian, patriarchal world. I leave you with this little gem: "Reagan could feel her irritation bristling along her skin, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand straight up on end. This wasn't the first man to talk down to her merely because she was a female. It was a mans world, after all, and she was only trying to exist in it. That didn't make encounters like this any less frustrating, she thought. She knew she was as smart as any man and yet she was forever trying to make others see it. Being called dramatic was insulting, even if this stranger didn't know it. It made her seem frivolous and incapable, neither of which came close to describing who she was.