Book Reviews

Book Blurb

The man sent to learn his secrets is the one he can’t resist.

Bryce Reynolds knows trouble when it steps onto pack land in a tailored suit. Tom Barrington, the Shifter Council’s envoy, is observant, perceptive, and way too competent for Bryce’s peace of mind. Tom moves like someone who could be dangerous if he chose, and Bryce notices that in a way he really wishes he didn’t.

Tom keeps telling himself he’s only here to work. But Bryce is warm and generous, and every smile knocks another crack in the walls Tom built after losing everything he loved. Then there’s the low voice, teasing eyes, and that damn belt buckle…

What should have been a tense few days of observation turns into late-night conversations, quiet understanding, and a pull neither of them can shake. But the wrong choice could cost Bryce’s pack its safety, and Tom the professional integrity he refuses to compromise.

And when the secret Bryce’s pack is hiding finally breaks open, everything shatters. They’re dragged into a deadly pursuit through Washington’s shadows. To have any chance at whatever this is between them, they’ll first have to survive.

First edition published at Siren Publishing, March 2014. This new edition has been substantially rewritten and expanded with major new content.

Each book in the Strength of the Pack series is a standalone romance with its own HEA. An overarching plot runs through the series.
Content note: This series includes material that some readers may find upsetting. Full details are available on the author’s website (link in the Look Inside sample).

 

Book Review

‘Shifting Sands’ is a very apt title for this story – it has more twits and turns, political shenanigans, and changes in perspectives and alliances than some books twice its size! The background story of a mythical Argent having been found alive and well, the one that has been brewing in the background ever since Jesse was recognized as a member of the royal wolf-shifter line, is coming into full bloom in this fourth volume. It features Bryce, the Elk Ridge pack beta, and one of the political aides from the National Wolf Council as main characters, and both of them are right in the middle of the explosive series of events that will change the future of all shifters.

Bryce is the Elk Ridge pack beta, loyal to a fault, and unwilling to even entertain the idea of commitment. I had to smile at his attempts to ignore and dismiss the growing intimacy between the three new couples, thinking “he doth protest too much” the whole time. He may give in to the physical attraction he feels toward Tom, but he is determined that is all it is. Bryce does not believe in mates, worse, he actively despises the idea of having a partner chosen by fate or genetics or whatever the heck it is that determines who his mate is. So when he realizes Tom is his mate? He denies it all, rejects Tom  and hurts him deeply.

Tom has just come out of a long-term relationship with a partner who belittled him, and told him he is boring. It destroyed his self-confidence, so when he runs into Bryce, begins to fall for him, only to be cruelly rejected, Tom takes it harder than he might have otherwise. He still does the right thing to help protect Matt and Jesse’s pact, and even the deadly danger he faces cannot stop him. But when Bryce comes after him and the situation gets out of hand, both he and Bryce realize a few truths about their relationship that mean they may need to reconsider he whole “mate thing”.

If you like shifter stories with men who fall for each other despite their best efforts, if you want to read about pack politics and national shifter interests, and if you’re looking for a read that is deeply emotional as well as an action/adventure that will keep you in suspense, then you will probably like this novella. Personally, I cannot wait for the next installment.

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. The first edition of this book was provided by the author for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook
Length	Novel, 260 pages
Heat Level
Publication Date	19-February-2026
Price	$4.99 ebook, $12.99 paperback
Buy Link	https://www.amazon.com/Shifting-Sands-Paranormal-romance-Strength-ebook/dp/B0GDM2L8VQ