#Review - Shifting Summer by Laura Bickle #Fantasy #Romance

Series: Mane Shift # 2
Format: Kindle, 181 pages
Release Date: October 20, 2021
Publisher: ‎ Syrenka Publishing LLC
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Genre: Urban Fantasy Romance

She’s a mediocre witch…and an even worse shifter. 

Luna Summerwood, eldest of the Summerwood witches, always thought she was the least powerful one in her family. Her magical gift is the ability to talk to animals, which keeps the chaos in her veterinary clinic down to a dull roar. But a bite from handsome shifter Renan has turned her into a shifter, too…and that’s one power she doesn’t want. 

Luna can’t control when she shifts into a maned wolf, and those unexpected transformations wreak havoc on her professional and personal life. Renan does his best to help, but he just found out some very bad news: A shadowy cult of sorcerers put a curse on the Summerwoods' house. Now, Luna and her sisters are being haunted by an ancient spirit that will stop at nothing to destroy them. 

To make things worse, the Summerwoods are being investigated by local law enforcement. Luna’s ex-boyfriend, Dalton, lost control of his shifter powers and killed someone. As a result, Dalton’s a wanted man hiding from the law in Luna’s attic. He can’t control his wolf, and anyone in proximity to him is a potential target. Even Luna.

When Luna’s sister, Halley, disappears, the witches know that they’re losing the fight. Running on four feet and no sleep, Luna must find her voice as a shifter in order to protect all she holds dear. 

Shifting Summer is the second installment in author Laura Bickle's Mane Shift series. At the end of Shifting Silence, Luna Summerwood was near death and bitten by a Maned Wolf named Renan who was cursed by a faction known as Casimir. Renan was an insurance adjuster who tracks down high value items stolen from museums. To make matters worse, Deputy Sheriff Dalton, who is Luna's ex, was also bitten, and he has really difficult issues throughout this story. The only person who seems to help is Halley.

As the book opens, Luna is having all sorts of issues staying human, and not permanently shifting into her Maned Wolf form. To make matters worse, their nemesis, Casimir, have not given up their attempts at taking Summerwood from Luna and her sisters Halley and Starr. Luna is also a Veterinarian that can actually speak to her patients. It's a good thing since she literally has all sorts of animals on her land that can tell her when her enemies have invaded.

One of the other parts of this story are the flashbacks. Luna is able to see Renan's past with a woman named Lysandra. This flashback focuses on the Tooth of Thralls which was once stolen by Casimir, and now belongs to Luna and her sisters. It has the ability to control shifters, as well as creating them. This seemingly would be a way to cure both Renan, Luna, and Dalton of their shifting curse. 

Renan's dreamscape is often more interesting than what is happening in the present. (Except for the adorable animals). Readers get a better understanding of the past relationship between Renan and Lysandra and the fact that Lysandra might very well be the pivot point that allows Luna and her sisters to beat Casimir once and forever. I also feel for Halley. I won't explain why, but if you were losing your eyesight, and had the ability to do something really exiting, would you take the chance? 

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