Nothing is better than hilarious shapeshifters caught in love. And no one writes it better than Shelly Laurenston. The Mane Event is a collection of two novellas and contains the first two stories in the Pride Series. These stories are a great introduction to the Pride world and set up the group of shifters and friends who you’ll follow in each subsequent book.
Christmas Pride
Christmas Pride is the first novella and is the only one with a human protagonist. Desiree “Dez” MacDermot is a human cop. She’s a badass, loudmouth, Bronx detective. Dez is not a heroine in need to protection or help. In fact, Dez is perfectly fine on her own until Mace Llewellyn comes along. Mace is an ex-Navy Seal and, more importantly, a lion shape-shifter. Together these two create hot chemistry and hilarity.
The story focuses on the relationship between Dez and Mace. My favorite part about novellas is that you get to avoid the long and slow build up until the main characters finally get together. In Christmas Pride, it doesn’t take long to reach the inevitable payoff and the journey is worth it. Ms. Laurenston cracks me up. Her characters are real and absolutely ridiculous. They say and do things that most of us only think about, which makes the Pride Series such an enjoyable read. There were multiple times throughout the story that I burst out laughing and received strange looks from my husband. To me, that makes the story an excellent one.
Shaw’s Tail
Shaw’s Tail is the second novella inside The Main Event. This story follows two characters who were introduced during the course of events in Christmas Pride: Brendon Shaw and Ronnie Lee Reed. Brendon is a lion shifter and Ronnie is a wolf shifter. Canine and cat make a fabulous combination and the puns, put downs, and antagonizing is never-ending. Just imagine the biggest cat person ever falling in love with the biggest dog person ever…It’s fabulous.
The opening to Shaw’s Tail is actually one of my favorite openings for a story. Brendon is struggling with a shifter fever which means he’s out of his mind. It’s not every day you get to read about a lion performing a play bow or dancing the mambo. I was giggling just as much as Ronnie throughout each uncomfortable situation. And when their relationship takes off, somehow the story gets even better. Together the two shifters from opposite sides of the track fit so well together. Shaw’s Tail is even better than Christmas Pride and is the perfect illustration of just how good the future stories get.
Overall, both novellas are great reads. However, you do have to deal with the first story kinks. There are some awkward phrases and over-abundance of cliches, especially in Christmas Pride. The first time I read this compilation, although I devoured it, something didn’t hit me right, which is why I give them 4 stars. But you don’t want to miss these first two stories in the series and this is definitely a series you can’t skip. If you’re a fan of Paranormal Romance, then these tales are must reads.
