Book Review: For the Bear's Eyes Only (Grizzlies Gone Wild) by Kathy Lyons

For the Bear's Eyes Only is the third book in the Grizzlies Gone Wild series by Kathy Lyons. While it would be helpful to have read one or both of the previous books, I do not think it necessary to enjoy this read. Those that know the series will certainly get more out of it because of the larger story arc, but newcomers will not be left completely out in the cold. The first book was The Bear Who Loved Me, and the second book was License to Shift (which I somehow missed reading).

Life as Alan Carman knew it is over. After he was captured and tortured by a mysterious enemy, the lawyer's latent grizzly-shifter DNA was triggered. The old Alan is gone, and in his place is a terrifying vicious beast that lives and breathes for revenge. He will track down the person who did this to him-and it'll be the last thing he ever does. Tonya Kappes refuses to let Alan run headlong to his death. A bear-shifting deputy-and the Gladwin Clan's beta-Tonya faces Alan with one weapon: the love that's lingered between them since they were kids. But the idealistic man she knew has changed into something raw, primal, and unbelievably sexy. And, if Alan can't learn to love the beast inside himself, maybe he can love the animal in her.

For the Bear's Eyes Only is a good installment of the series, an I was eager to see how Alan and Tonya come together. Alan has been altered, and he is now a shifter, but not the bear he always wanted to be. He is a monster, and is willing to kill to prevent the woman that made him this way from hurting anyone else. Then comes Tonya, the woman he has always loved but could never have, trying to bring him home and convince him he is not the monster he fears. Together they search for the person behind the experiments and in the process find themselves. Alan needs to come to terms with his new life, and learn not to hate himself while Tonya needs to come to terms with her emotions and the pain Alan is going through. I love that despite the wild nature they now share, the pair actually talk things out and deal with their problems rather than jumping into bed and forgetting about them- though there is plenty of that too. They actually work on the emotional aspect of their issues, both shared and individual. This always earns respect from me for the author.

For the Bear's Eyes Only is a good read, but not one that wowed me. It is a must read for fans of the author or series, but those that are not invested in the story might not enjoy it as much as the rest of us.