Pride of Africa (Hotel Safari #1)
by Tori Knightwood
Rating: 3 stars
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Blurb:
She planned on studying lions…Serena Fitzgerald is a southern belle and a student of animal behavior. She came to Kenya to study under a world-renowned biologist who also owns a safari lodge. Serena expects to work hard. She expects to learn a lot. But she didn’t expect to fall for her mentor’s son.
Colin Kemboi is a bored and rich playboy. Half British and half Kenyan, he fits everywhere and nowhere. But as a lion shifter, he yearns for the Kenyan bush. And he yearns for a woman who can love all of him, not just the jet-setting lifestyle he can provide.
Will Serena accept Colin’s lion half? Is Colin willing to settle down with a woman who isn’t among London’s elite?
This stand-alone short, recommended for ages 18 and up, is a multicultural, interracial romance with a little bit of spice and a happily-ever-after.
My Review:
I heard of this book in an instafreebie promo page that I visited, I went to look it up and realized it was free and got it. I mean lion shifters in Kenya, how cool is that? And as I expected I liked the premise, it was fun to read about lion shifters in this country and there were these nice touches about how he wouldn’t shift where normally lions didn’t run. It also felt like the author knew what she was talking about when it came to this country.
It was a fun read, with shifters and a bit of heat and romance. It a fun, but short read. Sadly I found the book a bit rushed. It was like the book was put in fast forward, conflict got brought up in a conversation and resolved in the same conversation. One date was enough for them to fall in love and the whole conflict of why they couldn’t be together got resolved in the next chapter after it got brought up. There is a twist at the end that lacked the impact it could have. The whole lion shifter thing got hardly explored. It just felt a bit too fast. There wasn’t time to really get to know the characters, feel the romance and get to experience the scenery.
And even though the story felt rushed, I still enjoyed it. While the pace is fast there are still attempts to put some personality in the characters, with how Serena is shy and interested in animals and Colin feels like he doesn’t quite fit into the high society and likes how down to earth serena is. And while I would’ve liked to get to know the characters better, I liked that they both had their own personality. There were also some interesting side characters and I wondered if some of these would get their own story.
So the characters did have some personality and I did think they made for a good couple, I just wanted things to slow down a bit, so I would have more time to spend with them, see them getting to know each other and see more of the setting as now it didn’t come alive as much as I hoped. I did have a pretty vivid visual of how the lodge looked, but that’s mostly because of what my mind conjured up and a few details we got.
I thought the setting was original as I don’t think I’ve read a book set in Kenya before. I also liked how it featured a lion shifter in a country these animals naturally occurred. The book was well written and enjoyable even though it was fast paced. And I do plan to pick up the rest of the series.
To summarize: This book is great for when you want a short, but fun romance set in Kenya. I had fun reading this book, the setting in Kenya was unique and it felt like the author knew what she talking about. The characters had enough personality to get a bit of a feel for them and their romance was sweet and had a bit of heat. Sadly I felt like the whole story was told on the fast forward stand. The whole book felt a bit rushed, like everything went by a bit too fast and I would’ve liked more time to really experience everything, get to know the characters and see some topics be more explored. It is well written and made for a enjoyable read and I do plan to check out more of this author’s work.
Links:
– Goodreads
– Amazon
– B&N
– Kobo
Pride of Africa is free on all vendor sites!
You can also read my review on Goodreads and Amazon.
I like the idea of lion shifters in Kenya, that’s a pretty cool premise. It’s a pity it moved too fast, sounds like it would have benefited from being fleshed out a bit more; but it’s good you were still able to enjoy it π
Wattle recently posted…Book Review #10: Debauched by Jennifer Dawson
The premise was so cool and despite the rushed feel at times it was still a fun read π
The premise is a great one and I loved reading your detailed, well written review. What a shame this one was a tad rushed – you are kind and tolerant about this quibble, but I find it very frustrating if the storyline is hurried along too much.
The story was still enjoyable, so I didn’t mind the rushed feel too much, although I wish it slowed down a bit at times so I could get absorbed in the story better. I think the author was aiming for these books to be fast paced and short reads. I already have read the second book by now and the pacing was done better there.
It sounds like it has some potential, to bad about it being so rushed though.
It was a fun read, but it was too bad about the rushed pace.
I haven’t read a book set in Kenya. Sounds really interesting. I grabbed the freebie. Thanks for putting this on my radar. I hope that maybe some of the later books are less rushed (I saw you grabbed several of them).
Melanie Simmons @mlsimmons recently posted…Spooktacular Giveaway Hop 2017
I am glad you grabbed the freebie! I hope you’ll enjoy it. The Kenya setting was really neat. I already read the second book as well and that was paced much better, so I hope it stays that way with the later books :).
Whew! It’s been some time since I read a paranormal Lovely Lola! I adore lions, but the shapeshifting doesn’t work for me these days. I used to really get into shape shifting wolves, but even that is a reach lately. Someone told me about a shapeshifting bunny a little while ago too.(lol) Hugs…
RO recently posted…KNOCK YOU NAKED BROWNIES & SOME TRIVIA
I really like a good shifter book. There sure is a lot of variety nowadays with the animals they shift into.
I haven’t read a book set in Africa but I do love shifters.
Mary Kirkland recently posted…Review: Jace by Alisa Woods
I also love shifters. I think this was the first book I read set in Africa.