The Beast in Him (Pride, Book 2) [Paperback]

Shelly Laurenston (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 25, 2008

Some things are so worth waiting for. Like the moment when Jessica Ward "accidentally" bumps into Bobby Ray Smith and shows him just how far she's come since high school. Back then, Jess' gangly limbs and bruised heart turned to jelly any time Smitty's "all the better to ravish you with" body came near her. So, some things haven't changed. Except now Jess is a success on her own terms. And she can enjoy a romp - or twenty - with a big, bad wolf and walk away. Easy.The sexy, polished CEO who hires Smitty's security firm might be a million miles from the lovable geek he knew, but her kiss, her touch, is every bit as hot as he imagined. Jess was never the kind to ask for help, and she doesn't want it now, not even with someone targeting her Pack. But Smitty's not going to turn tail and run. Not before proving that their sheet-scorching animal lust is only the start of something even wilder.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Brava (March 25, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0758220375
• ISBN-13: 978-0758220370
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #389,468 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Laurenston continues to deliver humor and heat both, with her sexy shifter series., March 28, 2008

By 

melindeeloo (sb,ca) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Beast in Him (Pride, Book 2) (Paperback)

Beast in Him is a great follow-on to Laurenston's The Mane Event (Pride, Book 1), it's fun combination of humor and spicy romance with an abundance of sexy Alpha shifters both male and female.

We met 'Smitty' Bobby Ray Smith, werewolf and former Navy SEAL, who was both buddy and business partner to Lionshifter Mace the lead in the last book. Smitty is sexy confident and cocky about his skills with women, he hasn't had to do much more than smile and crook his finger to keep his bed filled. But its just not going to be that easy when he runs into Jess former geek and now millionaire owner of a tech company and alpha to her wild-dog shifter pack. Smitty and Jess have a history, they both escaped from the same backwoods Smith-Pack run town where they spent their childhoods -- Jess trying to avoid being beaten up by the bigger she-wolf teens and Smitty running interference for Jess until the day he abandoned her for the navy. Now when their paths cross 15 years later, Jess has payback in mind, she's going to show Smitty just what he missed out on by leaving her behind -- she's gonna get him panting and leave him drooling while she grinds him beneath her stillettos as she makes him eat her dust. But a Smith is nothing less than doggedly determined and Smitty will coerce, cajole and generally run roughshod over Jess until she succumbs to the sparks that sizzle between them.

The first couple of chapters were tough for me since it's been a little bit since I read Mane Event and Laurenston jumps right in with characters from the first book so I was a little confused until those brain cells kicked in. But after that it was a fun read chock full of alpha personalities, and even though the men were strong and sometimes scary, in the packs it is the women who have the real power. One scene where Smitty's momma steps in to 'set things right' was a lot of fun and watching Jess getting a bit of payback from Smitty's sister who was one of Jess' main tormentors as a child will win a cheer from former geeks and square pegs everywhere. But while all of that adds depth to the Pride/Pack world, the real meat of the book is the relationship between Jess and Smitty. Laurenston does a great job of building the tension and setting enough obstacles between them that is really satisfying to watch Jess and Smitty work for their happily ever after.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Beast in Him- A Joyfully Recommended Title, May 16, 2008

By 

M. Nix - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Beast in Him (Pride, Book 2) (Paperback)

Jessica Ward has wanted Bobby Ray Smith since they were kids. Then he left town to join the military. Not long after that, Jess left and many years later, is now not only the alpha of her own pack, but the CEO of a company. Jess is no longer the gangly geek girl who hid most of the time in high school. Now the timing is just right to show Bobby Ray that she is all grown up.

Bobby Ray is settling in with the part of the Smith Pack that followed him to Manhattan. He also has his new security business that is growing slowly as the word gets out. On the night he discovers that not only has Jess grown up but she has also become a beautiful woman, it's an eye-opening and lust-inducing event.

That night is the beginning of the unique romance of Bobby Ray and Jessica. Besides the day-to-day worries of their businesses, now they both also have the welfare of their respective packs to worry about and keep safe. Just their luck that when the packs seem to be accepting them, something happens that could not only risk the peace between the packs, but also any chance that Bobby Ray and Jess have to finally mate. Now it is up to Jess, Bobby Ray, and their packs and family to overcome the potential threat.

What is a girl to do when she has decided it's time to be claimed by her mate? In The Beast in Him, and if you are Jess, you arrange to meet up with your long-time mate of choice and proceed to show him how good you could be together. Bobby Ray was not ready to settle down, or so he thought, until he came up against Jessica during a security job. Now there is nothing he won't do to have her as his mate. So why is she giving him so much stress? Once again, I have found that nobody does subtle humor and mean in a loving way like Ms. Laurenston. Jess knows what she wants and how she wants it. Bobby Ray knows what he needs and just can't figure out how to get it. With fun antics, hot nights, a pack of crazy wild dogs, and the semi-insane Smith pack, there is no way to miss...right?

I found myself laughing so many times while following the circle route that Jess and Bobby Ray took into love. When you throw in the zany secondary characters and how they "helped" the situations - I just could not resist laughing, sighing, and yes, even snorting. My only warning is to be careful when drinking while reading. There are more reasons to love The Beast in Him than I could list here, but I will tell you that it is Joyfully Recommended and not to be missed.

Jo
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Follow-up to 'The Mane Event', April 29, 2008

By 

Helen Hancox "Auntie Helen" (Essex, England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Beast in Him (Pride, Book 2) (Paperback)

'The Mane Event' introduced the group of characters who appear in this book - shapeshifting Wolves, Hyenas and Lions. In 'The Beast In Him' Smitty (Bobby Ray Smith), business partner of Mace Llewellyn in the previous book, meets up with a childhood friend, wild dog Jessie Ann Ward. He last saw Jessie Ann when he went to join the Navy at 18 years old, trying to once again protect her from bullying from the young female wolves of the Smith Pack. However the Jessica that he meets now, fourteen years later, isn't that shrinking and scared young wild dog but is instead the Alpha of her Pack.

And thus follows a chase - Smitty trying to catch Jessie, Jessie holding herself aloof from him at times, at others giving in. Jessie wants him to prove that she is important to him by the standards of his Pack, a rather rough mating, but Smitty wants to treat Jessie right and not hurt her. Thus the 'misunderstanding' of the plotting which was really rather a damp squib. There's a plot line of a potential kidnap and of family disharmony over Smitth and Jessie's relationship but the vast majority of the story is about Smitty and Jessie's discovery of each other - mostly in a horizontal fashion.

As with the previous book, this one wasn't entirely satisfying. The world of the Wolves, Wild Dogs, Cats etc was interesting but rather subordinate to the main story. There was little romance in the relationship between Smitty and Jessie, they seemed to spend a lot of the time misunderstanding each other. They had little in common and in some ways that part of the relationship worked well but overall it was a disappointing read. The roll-call of characters from the previous book became confusing occasionally and at times the story seemed to meander around in a rather directionless manner. It's a reasonable read but nothing particularly special.

Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book[...]. © Helen Hancox 2008