Mad for a Mate

Davidson’s jam-packed, laugh-out-loud third BeWere My Heart paranormal romance (following A Wolf After My Own Heart) plops readers right into the action as Scottish born, Minnesota-dweller Magnus Berne discovers a naked stranger sleeping on his front porch. He can smell that she’s a bear shifter like him, but he has no clue why she’s swum miles from shore to his island retreat. The stunt is one of many challenges Verity Lane has performed with the “Damp Squib” club, a group of young shifters who can’t actually shift due to a birth defect, so they set out to prove their mettle through acts of daring. Intrigued by her joie de vivre and concerned when he hears that one of her group was recently found dead, Magnus sticks close to Verity to figure out who is targeting the Damp Squibs—and, of course, love soon blooms from their flirtatious and amusing rapport. Davidson brings her signature over-the-top humor to the careening mystery, and loads the story with dozens of characters and references to past series events. New readers may be challenged to sort out who’s who, but fans will be delighted. Agent: Ethan Ellenberg, Ethan Ellenberg Literary. (Apr.)