Review: Jaguar Fever by Terry Spear

Jaguar Fever by Terry Spear
Series: Heart of the Jaguar #2
Published by Sourcebooks Casablanca
Published on: August 6, 2013
Genres: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 320
Format: eBook
Source: NetGalley

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She's being pursued by everyone, in more ways than one.

Even in an exotic world of humans, jaguars, and tantalizing creatures who shift between the two, Maya Anderson stands out from the crowd. Interest from human suitors is bad enough, but when male shifters give chase, the real trouble starts.

Who's the hunter and who's the prey?

Investigating the black marketing trade of exotic animals keeps Wade Patterson more than busy. When he and Maya both get entangled in a steamy jungle mission, it becomes impossible to tell who is being hunted or who the hunters are. Wade is desperate to survive this deadly game of cat and mouse. But it's Maya's piercing eyes that keep him awake at night.

As a werewolf fanatic I don’t typically read a lot of books that feature their arch nemesis, cats, but Terry Spear weaves a compelling tale of love and danger while also drawing attention to important issues facing jaguars in Central America. This novel manages to be both sexy and educational at the same time which is an odd combination in itself but in this instance it works.

The shifter lore is straightforward but still detailed enough to really capture the essence of what it means to be cat in Spear’s Heart of the Jaguar series. I enjoyed learning the differences between “city” and “wild” felines, and I found both the name and concept of the Golden Claw JAG Elite Force very cute. The author also uses this book as an opportunity to educate readers on some of the problems jaguars face as an endangered species and being an animal lover myself, I appreciated her willingness to incorporate a slice of reality into her fiction.

This book has fantastic character dynamics; I loved the interactions between the couples, brothers and women. There’s so much variety that it’s easy to get caught up in their dialogue. I was surprised by how much I actually liked Maya; we first meet her in the middle of the dance floor at a club attracting men like sex is on sale and I automatically labeled her a “party girl” and she is that but in a light-hearted, I-just-want-to-have-fun kinda way that’s actually quite endearing. I found her free-spirited nature rather contagious and enjoyed living vicariously through her. The men didn’t draw my attention nearly as much but they still had their uses if you know what I mean. *wink*

I found that the plot was a little underwhelming; it talked a big game but failed to live up to its true potential. Spear tried to work in too many plot threads and many of them were left unfinished which left me feeling unfulfilled. On the other hand, I did enjoy the world building and I loved Spear’s in-depth descriptions of Belize and the jungle; it’s a setting that I don’t visit often in my day-to-day reading so it was a nice change of scenery.

Even though this book didn’t wow me it still managed to hit all of the key elements that I look for in a good Paranormal Romance. This was my first Terry Spear novel and I doubt that it will be my last; if she can manage to get me excited about jaguars I’m eager to see what her wolves have to offer in her Heart of the Wolf series.

Heart of the Jaguar Series

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