Bam’s Ever by Sandra R. Neeley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Bramley, Bam, as he’s known to his friends and family is a Bear shifter. He’s also a healer. He senses things about others and the world around him, but he can’t get a sense of what’s right for himself. He’s always known he wasn’t enough for a Mate. And he’d accepted it; until her. The female that would have been his Mate, had he been born worthy of one. And didn’t fate just love to jerk him around? It wasn’t enough that he couldn’t have her. She had to be placed right in front of his eyes where he had to interact with her and watch her find the male she was truly destined for. But it’s okay; he’ll watch over her, protect her, and love her enough to let her go when she finds her male. Only now, after pushing her away repeatedly so she’d find her true One, she’s missing. And he’ll be damned if he will allow her to stay missing; her male should have protected her better. He’s gonna find her, he’s gonna bring her home, and whether he’s worthy or not, he’s making her his! If he survives, that is… 

Everly grew up forced to submit, used by the Fox skulk she was born into and especially by its heir apparent. It’s just the way of the world she lived in, but she’s always wanted more, wanted better. A chance encounter when she was young introduced her to a new friend and a whole new world of possibilities. Thanks to her friend and her friend’s brother, she learns to stand on her own, defend herself, and she refuses to settle for less than she knows she deserves. Then she meets him, her Mate. But he won’t have her, no matter how hard she tries. Until one night they finally connect. Just when she thinks it’s all going to be okay, her world comes to a screeching halt when he rejects her a final time, telling her to go to a male that means nothing to her. She runs away from her home, her friends, everything, as she searches for solace. There’s only one thing that could bring her back, her Mate. And now he needs her; his very survival depends on her. She’s going after him, and after she saves him, she’ll walk away if he still doesn’t want her. Now she only has to hope that she’s strong enough to save him, ‘cause she’s going in alone. 

Edmond is Alpha of the local Fox skulk. He believes he’s entitled by birth and is cruel by nature. He was humiliated by Everly years ago and has fixated on her ever since. He’s managed to make her life a living hell. As far as he’s concerned, she’s his property to do with as he desires, and he plans to keep it that way. But there’s a chink in his plan; there’s a big Bear shifter hanging around lately, and Everly thinks the Bear is her Mate. Edmond is livid; the Bear not only interfered with his afternoon plans of a little fun with Everly, but he and his Wolf friend injured both Edmond and Edmond’s little brother. Any fool knows what that means; the Bear has to die, a slow and painful death at that. And Everly? She’s going to suffer for causing Edmond so much trouble. Neither one will ever know what hit them.

Bam’s Ever

Assumptions and misunderstandings!

The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 🩵🖤❤️💚
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥
Story/Plot: 📕📗📙📘📔
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏🌍
Character development: ☹️☺️😍😄🥰

The Hero: Bramley (a.k.a. Bam) – he is a half grizzly bear/half black bear shifter. He is part of a clan of different types of shifters in the Louisiana Bayou. They own a construction company together and most of the males have now found their mates. Though Bam has always known that he wasn’t enough and would never have a mate. He is a healer bear, meaning he can speak to the animals of other shifters and sense their emotions. He sees his friends with a gold aura, which gets really bright when they meet their one (or ever as he calls them). Though he doesn’t have an aura at all, so he doesn’t think he is deserving of a mate, even after he meets her.

The heroine: Everly (a.k.a. Ever) – she is a fox shifter. She was part of a skulk (clan) of foxes since she was a little girl, and her parents were killed (not by accident). The alpha of that skulk often took girls as his own once they hit puberty and his son took Everly as soon as she started puberty. He claimed her as his, used her whenever he wanted and even shared her with his friends. Since she grew up, she moved away from the skulk and now owns her own business in town where she makes sculptures and fountains out of metal. Valerie, her best friend and Valerie’s brother Vince are both lion shifters and they helped protect Ever.

The Story: Since Valerie mated Maverik and moved into clan territory, the skulk has been bothering Everly again. The one who thinks she is his, rapes her when he wants and makes her pay for his “Protection”. He brings his two friends with, and she can’t fight all of them. Though once Bam knows what is happening, he does his best to protect her even though he doesn’t think he can really claim her since he isn’t “golden.” He thinks he will just end up making her miserable.

Bam has been my favorite character since the beginning of this series. His parents abused him when he was young and made him feel stupid for being different. He always thought he wasn’t good enough. Though in reality he is just a gentle giant. He is a really big guy and his bear is huge, and he looks at everything kind of like a child. Though he is also very smart and incredibly intuitive. Since he was young, he liked to take apart electronics and appliances and see how they work and them put them back together, so he has a side business of fixing things like that.

There were a lot of misunderstandings going on and incorrect assumptions in this story, not just between the two main characters, but also between Riley and Maia. Riley is planning on leaving and going to Missouri where he is buying Amos’s old place and land. Riley is a strong Alpha panther and can’t really handle all the alpha’s in Kaid’s pack, so he is going to start his own pride and he wants to set it up, along with a new business and a good life so that when Maia is old enough and ready to be his mate, that he will have built a nice life for her (This will be a spinoff of the current series). However, she misunderstands just about everything he does and overhears him a few times making terrible assumptions about him and his motives. Though I can’t wait to read that series after this one.

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