So I'm not so low key into paranormal shifter books. Lately it's been bears. Before it was cat shifters. Dragon shifters always. So the concept of "mate" doesn't exactly make me run. Even if it's a short cut to fast sexy times.

Amnesia is also a trope I like. Amnesia + Shifter should have been insta-hit.

But I don't know where this fell off the face of the earth. Was it when clearly Barry & Charli should have put two and two together about the robbery? Or when Barry went zombie like Charli should have questioned her safety? Or when Charli's boss more or less seemed disinterested in Charli's assertion that something is weird about Barry's possible involvement?

This is all basically in the first 40%, though to be fair Charli spends the first 20% vasilating about what to do, if she wanted to have sex with him, was it a good idea to keep him around.

Also spoiler - I thought this was a stand alone but it's the first in a series (I guess?) so we don't get a whole slew of answers (including who the hezmata Barry really is).

But that's OK, he's shifter enough to sort of understand that Charli is his and Charli is a telepathic Doctor Doolittle so she knows his bear thinks of her that way so let's build a future on that.

-.- just...your mileage may vary but I wasn't keen on this at all.

It has been too long since I've read Milly Taiden, so when I had the chance to read Bearly in Control, I pounced on it! I was so excited to read it not only because she wrote it, but also because I love my bear shifters and I was so looking forward to meeting Barry. The book and the man himself did in no way disappoint me - I completely loved them both! 

Charli is a total bada*s and I have to say it, even though it feels a little weird to, but she's even more of a bada*s than Barry. She's strong, independent, and she can take of herself and Barry too. That doesn't mean that Charli is all hard and rigid though, just the opposite really. She's sweet, compassionate, and caring. Charli has a heart of gold and I loved everything about her! 

Barry might not be the toughest hero you've ever read about, but that doesn't mean that he's not strong or that he's a sissy. Yes, he's sweet, but he's protective, possessive, and commanding too. Barry is sexy, thoughtful, and so lovable - I know I sure did! 

Bearly in Control wasn't much of a mystery to me, but I really enjoyed where the story took us. It was definitely intriguing and I'm excited to figure out some of the things that were unanswered and where the next book takes us. As for this book itself, though, it was steamy, funny, playful, and full of action, danger, and heart. It was a fantastic read and I can't wait to read more about these characters! 

Bearly in Control is a standalone, it's told from multiple points of view, and Barry and Charli do get a happy ending, but if you're like me, I know you'll be wanting more! 

~ A Hopeless Romantic's Booklandia, 4 Stars

This one was ok, but I was a little confused and couldn't get into it really. I had to set this away and maybe come back to it later.

I was Bearly in Control of my eyeballs all through this story, as they kept rolling this way and that with all the bul–antics going on. This is the thing with bear shifters stories, they are either fantastic or an epic fail… and you can imagine where this one fell on that scale for me.

It started out ok, with some issues with the lack of proper world building, but you know, it was nothing truly terrible. Little by little though, things start to make less and less sense, there are a gazillion loose ends and unexplained stuff happening and the lines kept getting cheesier and cheesier (for example the whole rat thing).

Charli is a veterinarian with an incredible gift: she can talk to animals. Well, she can talk to them and they can talk back to her while she is in physical contact with them. When she is called in to look at a wounded bear she’ll have the surprise of her life when the trailer is bear-less and a naked hot guy is standing there. A naked hot guy who happens to be a were-bear but has amnesia after a head bump and can’t remember anything…not even that he is a bear.

Anyway, besides being a veterinarian, Charli was asked to be part of a special police task force who’d deal with possible shifter related crimes when the human police can’t crack weird cases. Her teammates are all policemen that are also shifters. Now here was one of the major issues I had with the story: they sucked. For some reason, the author decided to paint them all as amateur detectives and even though most of the things going on were obvious they didn’t put it all together until the very end. I’m not trying to say I’m a genius and usually have the plot all figured out by the first 5% of a book, but a lot of stuff going on was so evident and their not figuring it out earlier put them in a very lame light.

In between the crime’s “mystery” and the weird circumstances around amnesiac-werebear that Charli named Barry, we have the romance. Barry’s bear decides that Charli is his mate and Barry really likes her, so they become a couple. Even though he has amnesia and can’t remember if he has a family, a girlfriend or is gay. Their attraction is very powerful, and they have hot sex, including butt stuff on the very first time.

By this time I’d already thrown the towel with this book but I was hoping the end would have some answers about Barry’s identity and the mastermind behind everything… well, no such luck with this, people! The story finishes in a lame ass HFN with Barry still not having the faintest clue who he is, the people after him and in charge of the investigated crime are still at large and absolutely nothing gets resolved.

In less words, I didn’t really enjoy Bearly in Control. I made it to the end on sheer will force and stubbornness not to DNF an ARC I’ve accepted. I know authors put a lot of themselves in their stories and I really don’t like to give bad reviews… but this once I’m sorry to say, it was just too much.

Charli Avers has always had a natural affinity towards animals and being called in to tame a bear is part of the norm. She knows shifters exist and when the bear wakes up to be a fully naked male, she realizes what she is. The problem is Barry doesn't know who he is and it looks like he may somehow be involved with a bunch of thefts happening locally.

This was fun but I just didn't like it as well as I liked the authors other books. Charli was entertaining, I didn't think there was the chemistry that would have catapulted this book to awesome.

Good lord, this book read like a bad fanfic where the male protagonist doesn't realize he's a shape shifting bear, and both him and the female protagonist have uncontrollable insta-lust with each other. I had to stop reading it because I was rolling my eyes so much.

This book had such a good premise and I was looking forward to a light-hearted read, but I have expectations even for light-hearted. It was impossible to connect with the characters as they weren't fully fleshed out or even vaguely realistic. The dialogue was uninteresting and the plot was slow and boring.

Charli Avers is a Veterinarian with a special gift. That gift has landed her a job working with a team that will hopefully solve crimes that might involve shifters. The public at large don't know they exist. Her team includes two shifters a human boss and herself. They can also call on a few local cops.
When a bear disappears from her barn and a naked man with no memory is there instead, Charli knows there is a mystery to solve.
This book is obviously the start of a series. Our protagonists might think the cases solved but us readers know better. All the characters are a lot if fun, with many more stories to tell. It's a nice long book so it gives us time to really get into the characters and the story line. It has everything you could want from your shifter romance, danger, mystery, sex and lots of giggles. I loved it and can't wait for the next one.