Review: More Than Just Shiftless
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 24, 2014
SHIFTLESS focuses on Terra, daughter of a strong alpha wolf.  From age 12 her father has dominated her life, pushing her in a direction she wasn't ready for, and by the age of 16 she's had enough and leaves her pack.She's been packless for 10 years and while she values her independence and knows she can't return to her father's pack, she knows she's lost something.  A sense of self because wolves do best in packs.  Her wolf has been suppressed for so long it rarely surfaces.  She hasn't made much of her life and now it's eating at her.A series of events happen to Terra and a new alpha is on the scene.  Of course her father is still causing problems. . . Of all things he and his pack are close enough to visit. . . And after all these years he has kept an eye on Terra. . . Which is creepy in itself.  Then there's her nephew, of alpha stock, with his human father.  This isn't just a wolf shifter romance between Wolfie and Terra.  There's a lot on pack politics and expectations, family relationships both in the human world and with the pack.This isn't an instant smell and mate type shifter romance.  It's more of a acquaintance to friends to someone to trust and respect until finally there's an understanding.  The love isn't spoken or implied.  Part of that is due to Terra and her issue with her wolf.  I felt Wolfie is more wolf and doesn't know a thing about courtship.  Terra sounds just as clueless.  The 'going to second base' was an ok analogy but these are adults, not teens, so use adult phrases!  There isn't one sex scene and the HEA is implied but not finalized.  Instead the two are working toward a common goal and they know each other well enough to trust that eventually they'll be together.  I assume the next book will continue this theme and they'll be mated.If the two packs join then there has to be some resolve over the prejudice of purebloods vs human or half bloods and bloodlings.  One pack was taught only purebloods are worthy and important.  The other pack is of outcasts. . . And since both packs live so close to each other, I wondered if those outcasts were from Terra's father's pack.This is the type of book for someone who enjoys wolf shifters, pack dynamics, a strong female lead, and the ability of that female to move on with her life and mature into who she was meant to be.  It is well plotted and written.  There's a decent amount of shifter moments, no sex at all, which was different but welcome. Overall a good read.  - Dan's Wife