Book Dish – Wolf With Benefits by Shelly Laurenston

Welcome to Book Dish. This isn’t a review. It’s Mad and Lillie honestly discussing a recent book. Book Dish may have SPOILERS. And possibly bad words. Today’s Book Dish is about Wolf With Benefits by Shelly Laurenston (out March 26, 2013)

Blurb:

Shelly Laurenston, New York Times bestselling author and a star in the paranormal romance genre, comes the eighth book is the successful Pride series, that blends outrageous humor and sexy shapeshifters to create irresistible heroes that readers fall in love with.

Ricky Lee has no plans of getting serious about anyone, but he will protect Toni Jean-Louis Parker. Not just because he’s been hired to do so, but because it’s the right thing to do. And if that means traveling around the country with one complicated She-jackal, dealing with chocolate-eating wild dogs, instigating trouble between his brothers, and having the most amazing sex he’s ever had…well, who said his job didn’t have perks?

Toni doesn’t know how she keeps getting herself into these situations. But even she has to admit there’s something about Ricky Lee Reed that she finds kind of interesting…and downright sexy. Now they just have to survive long enough to figure out if what they have is worth fighting for…

Mad: Let’s do this. *cracks knuckles* lol

Lillie: Alrighty. So we have Ricky Lee Reed,wolf shifter and the slightly goofy brother of Ronnie Lee and Toni Jean-Louis Parker, jackel and big sister to 10 prodigy siblings! That’s a lot of siblings…

Mad: Her parents weren’t playing when it came to kid-making. Haha!

Lillie: Nope! And those siblings were some of my favorite moments. The fact that she trained them to help discourage men by asking “Are you my daddy?” whenever men came near her was HYSTERICAL.

Mad: That cracked me up every time they said it. Priceless.

Kyle was a hoot, I don’t know if I would have had as much patience with him as Toni did.

And that scene when he first meets Bo and he tells him what he thinks about Bo being a hockey player? Bo replies with “I wish I could say you disgust me but I understand what you’re saying” I laughed so hard at that part.

Lillie: I liked that Toni didn’t see them as perfect. The comments of “those evil bastards”, “narcassistic brats” etc made me smile.

Mad: She was their rock and kept them grounded.

Lillie: She did and didn’t realize how special that was. I loved seeing her use those same skills in her new job with the hockey team. Watching her calm Bo was a thing of brilliance.

Mad: Yes…and the scene with the bear who hated to fly? What was his name? She handled it like she needed to.

Lillie: And I loved that Ricky Lee saw that in her from the beginning. He got what was important to her, what she needed, and handled her when necassary. I don’t think I could see any other character as a hero for her. He was just so laid back and let it all flow.

Mad: Right and he seemed like he never lost his cool and just was waiting for the entertainment to come to him, as he said to Toni. 🙂

Lillie: Speaking of entertainment, almost ALL the former heroes and heroines made an appearance in this one! Irene, Miki, Sara, Gwen, Blayne. I was so happy! It was like a big dysfunctional family reunion!

Mad: I agree, I felt that the whole time I was reading it. Loved each time a previous character came into the story.

How funny did you fine that Toni could not remember Blayne’s name to save her life? It was Blane, Blank, Bane, etc but never Blayne.

Lillie: Bwahaha! Seeing Blayne get flustered by that was awesome.

Mad: What did you think of Del, Toni’s sister? That chick was a piece of work!

Lillie: I’ve rarely been creeped out by a Laurenston character but that one did it. Pure evil. And I don’t think we’ve seen the last of her. I think her and Dee Ann will be having another Come To Jesus moment somewhere down the line.

Mad: Neither do I and it’s not going to be pretty when Dee-Ann finally gets her hands on her.

Without giving spoilers, what did you think of the new shifter that was introduced?

Lillie: That was my favorite part! More than the romance between Toni and Ricky, more than past characters, I LOVED Livy! She’s awesome! And I think Laurenston has created the best shifter EVER with her. All the hints dropped about what she was then when it was finally revealed, I squealed a little. I want her book now. Right this very second.

Mad: She and Dee-Ann together scare me …. I would not ever want to be on the wrong side of them. The things they could do…..

Lillie: Yeah, those two as friends (or as close as either of them come to friendship) is a little scary. Dee has always been the ultimate badass of this series but Livy may have her beat on the oh-shit scale. She’s got that dangerous side that Dee has but also the craziness of Sara. That combo… *shudders*

Mad: True! Which brings me to Sara…she was in only one scene but she was as crazy as ever, hilarious to see her pop up like that.

What was your favorite scene? Can you even choose?

Lillie: I honestly don’t think I can. Where Bo beats the hell out of Reece again as Ricky Lee watched? Where the 3 year old twins broke the mighty king of the jungle? The Reed brothers breaking into Brendon Shaw’s apartment again just to eat his yogurt? Soooo many!

You?

Mad: The twins chasing each other with knives/scissors…the scene where Freddy wanted to see how tall he could be if he stood on Bo’s shoulders & Bo let him? That melted me when he picked him up & stood him on his shoulders. Sissy & Ronnie Lee trying to help Ricky Lee get over his ex…when he didn’t need it. lol Or when Livy jumped that lion because he was rude to her without a hint as to what was going to happen.

Lillie: I’ve liked all of Laurenston’s shifter books but this is one of my favorites. I just loved it. Final grade?

Mad: If I could give it higher than an A+ I would….I loved everything about it! You?

Lillie: Same here. Definitely a recommended read. If I didn’t have a ton of review books I need to get to, I would already be rereading it.

Mad: I love when an author does that to me. I want to just dive right back in and just start rereading this whole series all over again.

Lillie: Me too. More Laurenston books NOW, please.

Mad: Yes. I feel like telling her WRITE FASTER, PLEASE but she might cut me like the characters she writes about 😉

Lillie: Good point. We’ll just stare longingly in her general direction.

Mad’s favorite quote:

“Can I stand on your shoulders?”

“What?”

“Can I stand on your shoulders? Just for a minute or so.”

“Why?”

“I want to know what it’s like to be tall.”

Bo was about to explain that the chances of a jackal being as tall as him – a lion-polar bear hybrid – were impossible but decided against it. In fact, he could actually hear Blayne in his head telling him not to tell Freddy that. So, Bo instead crouched down and held his arm out. The boy grabbed it with both hands and Bo lifted him, placing his small feet on his shoulders. When he had the boy secure, Bo’s hands wrapped tightly around Freddy’s ankles, Bo stood tall.

“Woooooow,” Freddy sighed out. “I can see the entire world from here.”

Lillie’s favorite quote:

“I was eighteen. She was nineteen. And kind of a,” he covered his goddaughter’s ears with his hands, “whore.”

“Now, now. That’s my cousin, Ricky Lee.” When Ricky just stared at him, Bobby shrugged. “Who is kind of a whore.”

GIVEAWAY!

We are giving away 3 digital copies of Wolf With Benefits! Nook or kindle format, winner’s choice. We’ll be drawing the names on Sunday and the book will be gifted on release day. To be entered in the giveaway, just leave a comment below. What is your favorite Shelly Laurenston book. And if you haven’t read Laurenston yet, what makes you like shifter books?