The Mane Event

Pride Series #1

By: Shelly Laurenston

Narrated by: Charlotte Kane

Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's Summary

Shelly Laurenston turns up the heat with two sizzling novellas.

Christmas Pride: How come all the good-looking ones are insane? That's what runs through NYPD cop Desiree "Dez" MacDermot's mind the minute she hooks up again with her childhood buddy, Mace Llewellyn. It isn't just the way he stares at her with those too-sexy gold eyes, as if he could devour her on the spot. Or the six-four, built-like-a-Navy-SEAL bod-o-death. It isn't even that he sniffs her neck and purrs, making her entire body tingle. It's more about that disconcerting, shifting-from-man-to-lion thing that unhinges her...and makes her want more. Mace likes making Dez crazy. In fact, he likes her any way he can get her...in bed, on the desk, here, now, again. Together, they'd always been trouble, but Dez has no idea just how good trouble can feel.

Shaw's Tail: Brendon Shaw, hotel owner and lion shifter, has seen better days. He's been beaten, had a gun to the back of his head, and had to be rescued by a Pack of shape-shifting wolves. He didn't think he'd survive the night, much less find the woman of his dreams. And he never thought the woman of his dreams would have a Tennessee accent and wear cowboy boots. Once he sets his sights on her, the predator in him is ready to pounce and never let go. Ronnie Lee Reed is ready to change her life, and New York City is the place where any girl, even one who runs with a Pack, can redefine herself. First order of business: Find a mate, settle down, and stop using men for sex. Even big, gorgeous, lion-shifting, oh-my-what-big-um-paws-you-have men. Then again...

©2007 Shelly Laurenston (P)2013 Tantor

Wow! Two Captivating Stories!

I landed another shifter series to listen too! The characters were great, and I loved the steamy sex scenes. Both plots moved at a steady pace, and included some action and humor. I liked how the "cats" and "dogs" came together. :-)

Charlotte Kane did a great job narrating this story. I saw there were several comments about the narration speed being too fast. I didn't think it was too fast, but I've been know to adjust the narrator speeds to 1.25 sometimes so this story at 1.x was good for me.

I'm definitely looking forward to listening to the other stories in the series!

Why speed up Johanna Parker/Charlotte Kane?

Any additional comments?

In a stroke of genius, the publisher chose Johanna Parker (changing her name to Charlotte Kane) to narrate Shelly Laurenston's Pride series. Shelly Laurenston writes funny, bawdy, "suspend reality and just enjoy" books. They need a skilled narrator to pull them off.

Then in a stroke of sheer stupidity, they mechanically sped up the entire narration! Did they think putting Ms Parker on fast forward would fool dedicated audiobook listeners? Or were they hoping Johanna Parker on speed combined with a name change would distance her from her fame as the narrator of the Sookie Stackhouse series?

Whatever their reasoning, it's disrespectful to the author to not provide her with the best production possible for her audiobook. And insulting to audiobook fans who can easily discern when a book has obviously been adjusted to a higher speed. No human could consistently keep up the pace in this audio.

The accelerated narration has angered fans as can be seen in Audible reviews while others capable of adjusting their ears to the engineered velocity of the narration, remain grateful to see Ms Laurenston's books in audio. I fall into the second camp but...

In the end, I hope Tantor will remove the engineering that unnaturally speeds up the narration and provide us with a quality production to match the caliber of narrator they chose for Shelly Laurenston's series.

Love this Author!

I have everything Laurenston has written (including under the name G A Aiken) on my e-reader. I've been waiting for years for the audio additions. If you like the Were genre with a dose of humor you won't go wrong. The Pack series and Pride series are a great read and a great listen. Hope that all her books come out in audio and I'll be buying them as fast as they are released.

Wow! So good

THis was sooo good. I loved the narration. This was my first Kane narration and I have to say, I just loved all the southern accents. This is two stories in one , I loved both stories. Mace and his cop then Shaw and his wolf. Smex was great. Story had humor and action. I loved the hyena attack from story one and two. If fact, the hyena attack ends story one and begins story two... Smart!

Worth the credit... or buy simply for the narration

Narration was awesome

Sexy and funny

Any additional comments?

Two stories one book... The first one was a bit too much. (graphic sex) I mean it had likable characters and I think I would have enjoyed it slightly more if I'd seen more interaction with the other characters and story other than they just knew each other in high school and now as adults were drawn to having sex every five minutes. But even with that it wasn't a bad story... But I did like that it introduced other characters such as the wolf pack and lion shifters, which reappear in the next story more prominently. The second story made me laugh. I loved the interaction of the family members. The strong willed independent heroines and patient/protective and tenacious males. The more you hear about Ronnie's past and adventures the more you like her and laugh. And when you see her mates shock and awe over those antics you can't help but like him more as well. I would love to see more stories about this family. And can't wait to read book two in hopes that it will follow more along the lines of the way book one ended. In fact I was sorry to see this story come to an end. The narrator was awesome. Sounded like one of my favorites Johanna Parker? If it wasn't her under another name then she's got a vocal twin out there. Either way narration was great!!

More, more, more!

I nearly didn't get this book mainly because the offerings from her alter ego G A Aitken were horribly narrated, and got on my last nerve by the end of the first chapter! But this is seriously good - Dez is something else. A woman you don't mess with. Mace is Mace and all laid back Lion. And I just love Smitty and Sissy Mae, and I can't wait to meet the rest of the Smiths, and the Van Holtz, the African Wild Dogs, the hockey team and Bears plus the other odd animals and the few humans who get caught up in the mayhem. The characters are quirky and crazy just as I imagined they would be. Charlotte Kane narrates the story so well - you can tell who is who , and the accents are great. I love the way Dez keeps losing hers - lol. I'm only part way through and am getting ready for Charlotte to do the next ones in the series. If the rest turn out as well as this they will be awesome.

Perfect blend of sexy and funny!!!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Love that this series is in audio format. So much fun to read.

What did you like best about this story?

This is the first book with two stories in it that introduces the reader to the lion pride and wolf pack.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This series is my go to series. I read them over and over again.

wow....Really?

Would you try another book from Shelly Laurenston and/or Charlotte Kane?

I would recommend any of Shelly's books but only if they get another narrator....She drags ALL her words and reads like she is racing in the indy 500....Really????

How could the performance have been better?

Get an New narrator...One who does not seem like she/he is trying to rush us through the book and one who puts the inflection in their tone, you know simple things like pauses, changes in emotion..... I am sorry this is not a personal attack on the person themselves, just the way they read this book, it was so distracting I just quit listening and I know the book almost by heart!

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

ANGER, plain and simple, I love shelly laurentson's books and own them all, I have written to tantor BEGGING for an audio version and was beyond excited to find they were finally coming out. I purchased mine early!!!. But this narrator just blew it for me. I am not usually so harsh with reviews but after waiting so long, I was horribly disappointed. They should have gotten Max Bellmore, he blew the LOTU series away!. Love all the pride series and will try again with the next one, in the hopes that the reviews get read and some adjustments are made. Love you shelly your books are the Best I have read in a long time and I just want a listen as good as the written version!!

Any additional comments?

Yes, Please slow down, drop the exaggerated drawl after every word AND just read a fantastic novel the way it is written with inflection and patience. I am sure that given a few tweaks, we could get an audio version which will keep us coming back for more!!

Very good beginning to the series

Christmas Pride by Shelly Laurenston

4 stars

This was a pretty good story. I’ve read some stories by Shelly Laurenston but never tried this series before. I like it so far.

Dez grew up in the Bronx and because a police detective. She’s tough and doesn’t take any crap and loves her job. Unfortunately she has issues with men not being able to accept her or her job. She tends to avoid dating and when she meets back up with Mace again (after not seeing each other since they were 14 years old) she tries to keep her distance from him, thinking he only wants one thing.

Mace is a Lion shifter. He was a runt when he was younger and still loved Dez, the girl who always accepted him as he was. He was in the Navy for years but as soon as he gets out of the service he looks Dez up. He’s determined to get in to her life and make her part of his in a very permanent way. Unfortunately this is difficult since she won’t give him a chance and is constantly pushing him away.

There is a plot line that brings Dez in to the shifter world to an extent, when a Pride male is killed and she’s investigating it. It makes things interesting and brings things out pretty quickly. When things become too hard to explain, Mace ends up having to entrust her with his secret faster than planned to, knowing that if he lied to her he’d end up paying for it in the end. I was happy with how well she handled the shifter issue. TBH, she had more problems with Mace trying to get seriously involved with her than she did with him being a shifter…an interesting problem to have…

I liked Mace and Dez’s story and liked seeing them together. I will admit that Dez being determined that Mace was only looking for sex (without any actual knowledge to back it up) and always pushing him away was a bit annoying a times (and funny at others). It did become gratifying thought, to see Dez gradually slack up on her defenses and letting Mace in little by little, even while she’s still protesting. I really liked Maces’ relationship with his Wolf pack buddies and there were some interesting secondary characters that look like they will be fun to see more of in future stories.

Overall this was a pretty good story and was an enjoyable read.

Shaw's Tail

4-4.5 stars

This was a very good story as well. I liked Ronnie Lee and Brendon as a couple. The story wasn't action packed but it was a fun but sexy story that I really enjoyed.

Ronnie Lee Reed is a wolf shifter. She's always been a wild child (she has trouble with schedules and restrictions) and hates being tied down. She's just moved to town with her pack and has decided it's time to straighten out her life. She gets off track when she gets involved with a lion shifter in trouble.

Brendon Shaw is a lion shifter (we meet him briefly in the previous story). I like Brendon a lot. He's a good guy and surprisingly fun and is able to be sneaky when needed. He gets himself in a jam that Ronnie's pack helps him out of. Ronnie gets volunteered to stay with Brendon while he has a fever and when he gets a whiff of Ronnie he wants her immediately. Since he's sick he doesn't get very far and once he's recovered she's gone. He didn't even get her name but he's determined to find her and she ends up closer than he imagined.

Regardless of Ronnie's decision to settle down, she's not real anxious to do it with Brendon and makes things difficult for him as he tries to woo her. It's not that she doesn't like him because she does (a lot), but he's a different breed (apparently this can cause issues for the children) and regardless of her feeling she should settle down, she's afraid of being trapped. Brendon realizes her reluctance and is rather sneaky in getting her to stick around long enough to realize he's her one (like he's already realized she's his one). I really liked seeing their interactions, sometime they were very humorous (parts had me laughing) and there were parts that were sweet as we see the emotions growing.

Overall this was a sweet, humorous and sexy story that I really enjoyed. The characters were great and I look forward to seeing more of the secondary characters get their own books. I'll definitely be continuing the series. I'd recommend this book. :D

Sorry, not finishing.

Any additional comments?

I had no idea this book would be so dirty. It's not at all romantic. I don't read books without sex in them but when the author uses words like dick and pu$$y during sex that's enough for me. I know a lot of you like that kind of talk but I don't happen to be one of them. Sorry..

As to the narrator: For as much as I listened to she did a fine job.