So glad you could stop by to check out the newest shifter romance by Julia Talbot.  In One and Only Bear, Oscar and Patrick find themselves searching The Grizzly List for companionship.  What they thought was just friendship and cuddling turns into a whole lot more! This is book 2 of The Grizzly List series but can be read as a standalone book.

I received one copy of this book at no charge in exchange for my honest reviews but all opinions expressed here are my own.  This post contains affiliate links.

One and Only Bear by Julia Talbot

Purchase Links: Amazon

Title:    One and Only Bear

Series:   The Grizzly List Book 2

Author:   Julia Talbot

Publisher:  OmniLit / All Romance eBooks, LLC (March 1, 2016)

ASIN:  OmniLit / All Romance eBooks, LLC (March 1, 2016)

Genre:     M/M, Shifter, Paranormal

Length/Format:  328 KB/96 pages

Heat Rating:   3

Star Rating:   3 1/3

 

About the Author:  Learn more about Julia Talbot by checking out the author’s website or following along on Facebook or Twitter.

 

Book Blurb:  

Oscar is a socially awkward bear who’s not like the other bear shifters in Colorado. He’s a white spirit bear, and he works as a phone psychic. When he decides to try the Grizzly List weekly, he’s only looking for a friend, knowing love isn’t in the cards for him.

Firefighter Patrick is an outgoing grizzly shifter who’s happy to meet Oscar and give him whatever he needs, as long as Oscar doesn’t need a mate. Patrick doesn’t believe in fated mates.

Can these two teach each other that what they want and what they need aren’t the same thing?

My Review:

In One and Only Bear by Julia Talbot, you get to follow the story of Oscar the spirit bear and Patrick, the firefighting grizzly.  Oscar is definitely a bit of a loner and works from home as a phone psychic.  He has some social anxiety issues and has never been sexually attracted to anyone.  He is lonely, though, and really just wants someone to snuggle with and bake desserts for.

Patrick was looking for something more than a hookup but less than a permanent relationship.  He was intrigued by Oscar’s ‘friendship only’ message and decided what the heck…he is a cuddly bear and can always use a few new friends.  However, Oscar gets under his fur quickly and they both realize that their relationship has some serious possibilities.  However, it also has a few obstacles as well and they guys have a bit of a rough patch to get through before their happily ever after.

One and Only Bear by Julia Talbot is a rather short story but the characters seemed fairly well developed.  I did find myself wondering quite a bit about Oscar.  I wasn’t really sure what being a spirit bear meant for his character.  He was a phone physic which made sense, but how did it factor into his lack of attraction for other people?  Was that a fluke or are spirit bears supposed to be alone and not find mates?  I really wanted to know more about him and what made him tick.

Patrick was pretty much an open book.  Friendly, outgoing, cuddly and a lover of all things sweet.  He was happy to snuggle with Oscar but definitely wanted a bit more.  He didn’t push, though, and I found his character to be quite nice and the perfect match for Oscar.

Seeing as this was such a short story, I did find that the writing was a tad bit rushed.  The characters seemed well developed, there was a nice amount of heat and there was a small amount of drama before their happily ever after.  However, I found that the pace was a bit quicker than I wanted and we didn’t get to linger with the characters or situations long before moving onto the next page.

The secondary characters were all enjoyable.  You got to see more of Finn and Lane from Book 1 of the series and there was an intriguing trio of kitties at the end that I would like to learn more about. The author did a great job of bringing the ‘bear’ characteristics into human form.  They are both very cuddly and have near constant cravings for all things sweet.  Oscar is very shy and nervous but Patrick takes charge gently and seems to be a good fit for him.

Overall, One and Only Bear by Julia Talbot was a good short story with enjoyable characters.  I would have liked to see it a bit longer to really delve into Oscar’s history and maybe just slow the writing down a bit.  But, it was an enjoyable read and I will definitely be looking for more from this author.