Cynful (Halle Shifters)

Cynful is the long awaited sequel to Bear Necessities, and is book 2 in the Halle Shifters series by Dana Marie Bell, which is a spinoff of her Halle-Pumas series and related to her Poconos Pack series. Julian is spirit bear shifter with extraordinary healing powers and a shamanistic outlook on life. He has known the identity of his fated mate for some time, however due to a vision that warned of his possible death which would result in her death as well if they were mated, Julian did not claim her from the beginning. Cyn is a human, who is adamant about maintaining her independence and not letting a man control her life, an attitude that was solidified when her mother was left completely useless after the death of her very controlling father. Cyn finds out about the mating and Julian's reasons for not mating her, and resents the fact that he made the decision on his own without consulting her about her own future. All of this happened in the previous book. In Cynful, we get the story of how Julian sets out to win his mate. Now that the circumstances surrounding the vision have passed, Julian is desperate to claim his mate, but Cyn is not in the same frame of mind. Cyn makes Julian jump through hoops to prove to her that he is not a controlling man, intent on running her life, and that he is her perfect match. While all of this is happening there is also a psychotic killer with a mysterious agenda on the loose. When Cyn finds out that Julian's life may be in danger, her warrior nature asserts itself.Cynful is a very different book from the rest of the books in this series and any of the spin-offs in that Julian is a very different type of hero. He is not a beta hero, but he is not exactly an alpha either. While he has unusual powers that allow him to assert his dominance over others if he wants to, Julian is a healer and compelled to sacrifice himself for those who are in need of him. Because of that he is often unwilling to put his wishes first, as was the case of his delaying his mating with Cyn. Cyn, on the other hand, is a warrior pure and simple. She is a protector and unwilling to allow others to hurt or take advantage of those she loves. They are a perfect match, and they both need each other, but it takes them a bit to figure out how exactly they will fit in each other's lives.As most of the related series to this book, it features cameo appearances by many characters from the related books. A nice surprise was in store for the Puma alpha couple, and of course we get to see a lot of Bunny and Tabby. Chloe is still in the picture, something that I never enjoy much since she is not my favorite character, but hopefully she will get he story told soon and that will be it for her. I am very interested in Bunny's brother and a possible story for him in the future. A tragic event for Marie and Jamie will not be a welcomed surprise for readers who have liked this couple in the past. That being said, it seems to me that Ms. Bell is trying to give us an opening for another possible story through the tragic events in this one. I will keep an eye out for that one as well.This book was not what I was expecting. Personally, I preferred Bunny (from Bear Necessities) as a hero to Julian. However, Julian wins over the audience despite his unusual hero status. He is charming, stubborn, funny, self-sacrificing, and alpha enough to make readers swoon. Cyn is a strong and fun female lead. They carry the story well, and while it may not be what readers are expecting it is still an entertaining read. I am looking forward to the third book in the series, which is tentatively titled Glorious and will be the story of Glory and Ryan.

The second Halle Shifters book was not as good as the first, but I enjoyed the story. Julian was as great a character here as he was in the first book, but the romance was weaker. I didn't really feel that Cyn and Julian had a great romantic connection, and the heat felt a little weak.On another, mostly secondary, note, after a decent showing in the first Halle Shifters book, I am back to strongly disliking Gabe. Honestly, he HAD to leave Sarah to get this big, bad Hunter training. He screwed over Sarah, Jim, and Chloe. And he isn't even a good Hunter! In both the Halle Shifters books he is the least effective character. Alex and his cousin, Julian, Cyn, Tabby, Rick, even Alex's dad, uncle, and Max and Emma get stuff done! Gabe, the Sheriff and bada$$ Hunter, just makes vague "oh, this is trouble" noises, and then does nothing. He can't find anyone! He is useless. All he does is show up at the last second to try to keep the bears from killing the bad guys. So exactly why did he screw over Sarah to get this training?

"Cynful" continues the Halle Shifters series, which follows the Halle Puma series, but this book is completely enjoyable even if you're new to to Dana Marie Bell's books. While I don't want to summarize the story here, I'll say that I loved the characters, and Bell's wonderful humor makes reading her books a fun experience. For those who have read the previous stories, "Cynful" is a great continuation, finally giving us the story of Julian and Cyn, and it was great to see these 2 strong characters get together. We also get to see everyone from the previous stories, and anticipate future stories for Ryan and Glory, and Chloe as she continues to heal. "Cynful" is the the total package for me - I laughed, I cried, and I stayed up late into the night reading because I couldn't bear to put it down.

I was greatly looking forward to this book as a continuation of the series, but I was quite disappointed once I read it. The characters seem less engaging in this one, and the banter that I loved so much in the previous books - the humor and wittiness - has devolved into forced, repetitious and predictable conversations. What is worse, to me, is that ANY of the characters could (and do) say these lines. They are becoming indistinguishable from each other. Hopefully she'll get back on her game in the next book.I think part of the problem is she made several unique and fascinating characters (Bunny and Tabby, Max and Emma, Simon and Becky), and Cyn and Julian were much more intriguing in Bear Necessities as secondary characters than they were as primary characters in their own book.

I've been working my way through the Halle Shifters/Puma stories and I've developed a great interest in Julian. He was in the first book I read but I tried to read them in order so I pushed him back.Julian DuCharme is an enigma, he's a bear healer, considered a myth by most shifters because they've never seen one before.Julian is in Halle because he's found his mate, Cynthia "Cyn" Reyes, owner of a Tatto shop and one hot human. She knows he's a bear but not what kind and she realizes that he can heal others. She has really fallen for him but isn't sure she wants to be "furry".This is a delightful story, all the other shifter stories are, funny and irreverent but totally engaging.Join Julian and the other shifters as they look out for Cyn and her co-workers. Great story!!!