Tiger shifter Hari Daya takes one look at Ambar Patel’s photo and is smitten. Further research heightens his fascination. An arranged marriage would work, except the lady isn’t buying and tells him to take a hike.
Ambar is already involved with human Jake Quinn. Casual pleasure and loving works best for her since she dreams of traveling the world and delving into new experiences. The fisson of heat and desire she feels for Hari is unacceptable. There will be no tiger mate for her.
Jake Quinn has no idea either his lover or his new friend are shifters, but there sure is something weird going on in his head. As much as he enjoys sex with Ambar, he is thinking about Hari, too. Suddenly there’s kissing and togetherness way past his comfort zone. The slide into sinful pleasure with both Hari and Ambar is easy–it’s the relationship dynamics that give them headaches and make them wonder if they’re making a huge mistake.
Shelley Munro is a world traveler, living outside her country of origin and allowing other worlds and cultures to broaden her understanding of life on this planet. Such personal exploration shows as she writes about customs and traditions that are unique to the people of India. What is equally interesting in this story and which is true in real life is that those traditions seem to be just as strong and just as binding even if the family is not living in India.
So it is with Ambar Patel and her brother. Her parents were determined that she will be obedient to their insistence on an arranged marriage with a man from a “good family” and someone who fulfilled their expectations for a son-in-law. Even though her parents were now dead, her brother had maintained connections with the marriage brokers in India and now a potential spouse had presented himself. No way, not Ambar!! She is a woman of the modern world with her own dreams and plans for the future. Her relationship with human Jake Quinn is another example that she likes being in a sexual relationship, but it is no-strings, casual, and may or may not be long-term. There was one really big problem: tiger shifter Hari Daya’s inner animal had already identified Ambar as his mate. And Hari has willingly sought her out, traveling half-way around the world to find her. Ambar’s tiger, however, doesn’t seem to have a similar response to Hari, at least not one she is willing to take seriously and she cuts him off at the knees thirty seconds after he introduces himself.
This is a rather complicated story that takes in the consistent rebellion Ambar stages against her family and cutural traditons. But she is not alone. Her brother is gay and he has broken with his tradition in taking a permanent partner and living openly in a committed relationship.
This story involves a number of issues that affect individuals who are seeking to free themselves from old-world ways and move into a more modern way of living and relating. It also involves the relationships between humans and shifters, the loving and caring in gay relationships and the unusual dynamics that result in a menage. It is also the story of one young woman’s journey to find her true place in the world and how she can fulfill her dreams without setting aside her love interests and people who are important to her. Hari and Jake’s relationship was a surprise to both of them and they both struggled with that a lot. Jake had to come to terms with the fact that both Ambar and Hari were tiger shifters. And all three had to manage the “speed bumps” in what it meant for all of them by being in a threesome.
This is not an easy read–I don’t think it was intended to be. It is complicated because human relationships are complicated. Feelings, emotions are messy and as a result life is messy. So there is that sense of messiness in this novel. However, it doesn’t detract from the issues nor does it turn the reader aside from the novel, at least it didn’t me. I was fascinated as how these three individuals would work this all out and deal with the relentless determination Ambar had to “see the world” and find the adventures she so desires.
So open your literary hand and grab on. This book is about tiger shifters, and thus the title. But I think there is a double entendre here–as in, life is a whirlwind, just like grabbing a “tiger by the tail.” I think romance readers will enjoy this book, especially those that are willing to wade into a messy, complicated, but ultimately satisfying love story.
I give this book a rating of 4 out of 5.
You can read more from Judith at Dr. J’s Book Place.
This book is available from Ellora’s Cave. You can buy it here in e-format.
