**This blog contains adult language and description of...ahem...adult activities.**
Warning: Spoilers Ahead!!! This is a recap blog which means I read the book and tell you everything that happens so you don't have to read it yourself. Do NOT continue to read unless you want to have the story completely and utterly spoiled.
Book Description: Addison Little just got the chance of a lifetime. Her best friend won an all-expenses paid trip to Safari Island and she's asked Addison to join her. Addison's always wanted to visit the shifter-run vacation spot but it's always been out of reach financially. This post-college trip is the curvy girl's last chance to have try* and let loose and she's determined to let her hair down and go wild. Chet Gallow is one of the best workers on Safari Island. He's been driving tour buses since the island first opened and he loves his job. After eight years, he's beginning to think it's time for a change. He wants to settle down and is sure the best way to find his mate is by leaving the island. But there are always surprises on Safari Island. When he meets Addison, he knows she's the one for him. The curvy girl isn't so sure. Chet is brass and full of himself. There's no way she wants anything to do with the egotistical rhino shifter even if he's drop dead gorgeous. But Chet won't give up so easy. He's found his mate and he's going to do whatever it takes to win her over.
Blogger's Note: I did not make the typo up there that's marked with an asterisk. I assume they meant for that to be the word 'fun' but who knows. It doesn't bode well when there's a mistake that big before the book even starts. Also, I'm super annoyed by how they keep referring to Addison as “the curvy girl”. Believe it or not, our body shape is not a personality trait.
This book was published in 2015 and this is my first time reading it. It says it's the first book in the Safari Shifters series.
We begin with Lily bursting into Addison's room without knocking. Addison has been trying to break her friend of this habit because she's almost caught Addison....ahem....double clicking her mouse if you know what I mean....a few times. Lily is mega excited because she's won a contest for an all-expenses paid, 5-day stay on Safari Island and she wants to take Addison with her. Addison is thrilled because she's always wanted to go.
We get an info dump about Safari Island here. It's in the South Atlantic near Africa and it was originally opened as a club for big game hunters. People were unhappy about this so a group of shifters did a hostile takeover and turned it into a vacation island instead. The island is almost exclusively staffed by shifters so it's the place to be if you want to meet one. It has an amusement park, a safari tour, a nightclub and a five-star beach resort. The employees live in a section called Safari Town. It's expensive but popular.
We switch over to Chet who has finished his last bus tour of the evening. He meets up with his friend Branch who has just finished as well. Branch (elephant shifter) wants to go off and drink and find women but Chet is tired. It's more emotional exhaustion rather than physical exhaustion. He's done the whole partying and sleeping around thing and now he's ready to find his mate and settle down. He figures he won't be able to find his mate on the island so he resolves himself to moving away. Branch tries to convince him to stay. He reminds Chet that lots of single women are showing up at the new nightclub and he just might find his mate there.
We meet back up with Addison as she and Lily arrive on the Island. She feels like everyone is staring at her because she's recently cut her long, curly hair into a short bob and “heavy” girls aren't supposed to have short hair. I can't tell you how much I hate this. They're picked up by a man named Max who has tan skin and green eyes. Lily thinks he's gorgeous but Addison is still stressing out about her hair.
When they get to the resort, they find out they are staying in one of the best suites. It has two bedrooms and a private beach and they get their own butler for the five day stay. The butler's name is Brent and he's gorgeous too because of course he is. Don't worry about remembering his name, though. He literally brings them a salad one time and then is never seen again.
The two of them settle in with those salads and drinks and discuss what they want to do with their vacation. Addison is hoping to do some sightseeing and go to the amusement park but Lily mainly wants to party and hook up with men. Lily reminds Addison that they're never going to get an opportunity like this again and they should take advantage of it.
Chet's just getting out of the shower when Finn and Branch show up. We're already getting way too many characters for a short book. Everyone got better names than Chet too. Finn is Max's twin brother and they're both crocodile shifters. Chet tells us that Liz is a pretty cool guy and a hard worker but Jess tends to party too much and hang out with the wrong people. Ahem. Sorry. I meant Finn is Liz and Max is Jess. I mean....you know what I mean. Max's best friend is a hyena shifter named Shane who works security.
Why does every book with twins fall into the good twin/bad twin trope? It's so overdone and tired. Try some originality, authors.
The guys get to the bar and run into Lily and Addison. Shane and Max have already been trying it on with them but Addison doesn't seem too interested. As soon as Chet sees Addison, he falls instantly in lust. She smiles at Chet which pisses Shane off. He comes over to puff up his chest and try to get all alphahole on Chet but it's mostly unsuccessful. Chet knows he can kick Shane's ass in human or animal form. I mean, a rhino and a hyena? Yeah, Shane is out of his weight class here.
It's important to note that during this exchange, the two men are just standing close to each other and making vague comments about Shane's security job. Neither of them are making a scene. At least not as far as the humans can tell. There's a little nonverbal communication going on that the shifters are picking up on but that's about the extent of it. As far as the humans are concerned, these two guys are just discussing Shane's security job in tense voices as they stand too close to each other.
Addison takes one shot and then tries to get Lily to leave. Lily seems to be into Max and Finn and isn't interested in going back to her room right now. At least not without them. Addison won't take 'no' for an answer and drags Lily out of the club. Shane thinks it's Chet's fault but he's the one who tried to alpha up.
It's the next day and Addison and Lily are walking along the beach. Lily's pretty pissed at Addison for pulling her out of the club. Addison is pissed at Chet and Shane for their gorilla-like display....which she shouldn't have even been able to pick up on. It's like Kidd forgot she didn't make the men actually fight out loud. Addison also just assumes they were fighting over her and neither of them said anything to indicate that. She thinks quite highly of herself.
Addison is bummed because the safari tour is all booked up and she's not going to be able to go. It was one of the things she was looking forward to the most. She's sulking about it and almost walks directly into some man with a camera. She thinks he looks out of place and it makes her nervous but he assures her that he works for the resort. He says he's doing some promotional work and he asks them if they'd be willing to go on camera and talk about their stay. They think he's a creeper trying to get feet pics or something but he produces a business card. His name is Ward and he works PR at the resort. He asks them to give him a call if they change their mind because he thinks they'd be perfect for the project. They go back to their rooms so Addison can take a shower and Lily can check with the front desk about Ward.
Lily wants to do it, Addison doesn't. Lily ends up agreeing for both of them and Addison is pissed. I really hate both these people. Addison is having a tantrum until Lily mentions that a private safari tour is one of the things they're going to get to do in exchange for doing this promotion. They have to leave pretty much immediately. They'll get a tour and then come back to the resort for dinner. I think it's going to be photographed. Or maybe they're just supposed to go on video after and talk about it. I don't know.
Chet turns out to be their guide. Addison thinks they're being set up but Chet assures her that's not the case. He wasn't even supposed to be working but Ward asked him to do this as a favor since he's the most experienced guide.
Chet's pretty stoked by how things are working out. Addison won't talk to him but Lily is super friendly. He puts in a good word for Finn and Max. I guess they're a package deal or something. Lily invites the three of them to join her and Addison for the dinner theater show while Addison glares at her.
They do the tour and Addison eventually loosens up. She seems amused when Chet stops to wave at a hippo but he explains it's a friend of his. It finally occurs to her to ask him what kind of shifter he is and he proudly tells her he's a huge white rhino. They finish the tour and Chet takes them back toward the resort. He tells them he's going to go change and Addison informs him that she doesn't really want him to come. He cockily tells her that he knows she loves him and he knows they'll be married by the end of the year.
I'm not sure that was the best way to go.
So far the only people I like in this book are Finn and Branch. Maybe Max.
Addison gets pissed because that would be a pretty normal reaction to a guy you're not interested in saying that to you. Chet doesn't care because he's decided she's his mate whether she likes it or not.
I really hate this whole 'mate' thing. It has elements of taking choice away from the female characters and it's gross.
Chet runs home to change and then he picks up Max and Finn. They're both clearly interested in Lily but Chet isn't sure it can work. Max is a bit of a player and he doesn't always treat women respectfully and Finn is the exact opposite. Chet figures if a girl is into the kind of guy Max is, she probably isn't going to be interested in the kind of guy Finn is. I don't think Chet knows much about women. There are plenty that liked to be praised and degraded all at the same time.
Addison actually has a good time chatting with the guys before dinner. She concedes that Chet seems nice but she doesn't want to date him because he's hella arrogant. She's definitely attracted to him but figures that's as far as it goes. It is possible to want to fuck someone you don't want to marry after all. Everything is going pretty good until Lily announces that anyone who doesn't go to college is simply lazy.
Wow.
That's incredibly privileged of you, Lily.
I can't even.....wow. Has it never occurred to her that there are a lot of people who want to go to college desperately and simply can't. For financial reasons or health reasons or any fucking reason. Who does this bitch think she is? Furthermore, not wanting to go to college doesn't make you lazy either. Some of the hardest workers out there are people who didn't choose to go into debt to get more education than they needed.
Addison doesn't see an issue with this statement but Finn is deeply offended. Poor Finn. I'm offended too.
When the food comes out, the waitress drops scalding hot soup in Chet's lap. He limps off to the bathroom and comes back just in time for the waitress to drop his burrito in his lap. He stands up and swears at her, making the entire restaurant stare at them. Addison is mortified at his behavior. This would be the nail in the coffin for me. Unless the waitress did it on purpose, there's no reason to stand up and chew them out in front of an entire restaurant.
Maybe she did do it on purpose. Chet's a dick.
The show after dinner is awful because the lead actors are out sick and it seems like the understudies are drunk. Addison leaves to go to the bathroom during the opening number and Chet meets her outside the door when she's done. He suggests they skip the rest of the show and take a walk on the beach and she agrees even though it means leaving Lily behind. Addison's a bad friend. Then again, Lily is a bad person so maybe it evens out.
When they get outside, Chet starts to strip. He tells Addison that he's anxious to shift and asks her if she wants to ride his rhino down the beach. That wasn't a euphemism for once. She's captivated by his muscular body and hoping to get a peek at his package but he turns around to take off his undies. He shifts and Addison is stunned at just how big his rhino is. Again, not a euphemism.
Addison feels up his horns for a minute or two and then climbs up on his back. When he's sure she's secure, he goes off down the beach at a trot. They get to a secluded area and he shifts back and builds a fire. Somehow he finds a blanket – I have no fucking clue where it came from – and he spreads it out on the sand so they can sit. He's totally naked, of course, but she doesn't care. He tells her how beautiful she is and then kisses her and grabs her boob. She's okay with that too, so he lays her down on the sand and proceeds to...ahem....dine at her buffet if you know what I mean.
Pretty much as soon as Addison....ahem....arrives if you know what I mean, Chet notices a small boat near the shore. He has a feeling it's animal rights protesters and he tells Addison they need to go back so he can call security. She'd rather continue what they started but he tells her he can't let the protesters do any damage or hurt any of the actual animals.
We shift into Chet's head now. He gets back to his clothes and his phone and calls security. They ask him to come to the office immediately so he takes Addison back to the theater where she can catch a bus back to the resort with Lily. They make plans to meet up again at the bar the next evening.
Finn and Max are irritated that Chet left them alone with Lily. I can't blame them. Finn seems way more upset but even Max says that Lily was whiny and boring. Chet drops them off and then goes to talk to Shane since he's the head of security. Shane asks him if he saw or smelled anything unusual and Chet says he didn't. The vibes that Shane is giving off makes Chet extremely nervous. He's worried about who is on the island and what they might be doing.
Clearly the author thought we needed some kind of mystery and danger in the story. We didn't. She could have just given us the love story of Chet and Addison and it would have been fine. They already had obstacles to overcome since she had a bad first impression of him and he needs to convince her she's his mate. We didn't need nefarious protesters thrown into the mix here. The book is too short for this. It's going to take away from character development and believable growth.
The next day Chet goes to talk with Ward. Ward tells him they found an anti-poaching activist in the rhino pen and they think that might be who was on the boat. Ward is concerned that one of the activists might hurt a human and that would ruin the resort. I'm sure that wasn't foreshadowing or anything. Serious stuff done, Ward teases Chet about running around on the beach with Addison and then remarks that the resort would be a good place for a honeymoon. Chet is down with that but isn't sure he can get Addison on board anytime soon.
Ward hints that they'd like to give Chet some kind of promotion but he's still pretty sure he wants to leave the island. Particularly since he wants to marry Addison and he doesn't think she'd like to live there full time. Ward has done some background checks on Addison and he tells Chet that she's working in a grocery store so she isn't really tied to anything. They can find her a job on the island and they've just built some really good schools so it will be a great place for the two of them to raise a family.
Lily and Addison are having breakfast in bed together. Lily has mostly forgiven Addison for walking out during the show but she's still pretty pissed at the twins. To be honest, I'm 100% team twin here. Lily asks why Addison has completely undergone a personality change in mere hours and now likes Chet when she hated him before. Addison doesn't think it's too weird. She says she just feels safe and comfortable around him. Lily tells her that shifter lore says once a human kisses a shifter they'll know if they're mated or not. Since Addison stopped hating Chet after he kissed her, it must mean they're mates.
Addison brushes it off but the more she thinks about it, the likelier it seems. She's not one to change her opinions of people so easily and Chet did nothing to actually change her opinion of him. She should still hate him but she doesn't. In fact, she's looking forward to seeing him later and feeling anxious at the idea of leaving the island at the end of their stay. She's becoming more and more convinced that Lily might be right.
They spend the day at the amusement park and then come back to get ready to go to the bar. Chet pops in unexpectedly and says he's there to finish what they started at the beach the night before. What follows is perhaps the most clinical and unsexy sex scene I've ever read in one of these books. Not only was it just poorly written from a descriptive standpoint, it was full of grammar errors and missing words.
Chet bites her shoulder at the end and I really wish these authors would do their research into which animals do that. Rhinos don't do that. Afterwards, Addison just comes right out and asks him if he thinks she's his mate and he says he does. She tells him she loves him and I have serious whiplash. I really hate this fated mate trope. She asks him how they're going to work their relationship and he says she can move to the island, he'll move to where she lives or they can move somewhere new altogether. She immediately agrees to move to the island.
This bitch hated him a few paragraphs ago and he has done jack shit to redeem himself. He's still an arrogant asshole and has done nothing to convince her that he can change. The only thing he knows about her is that she's pretty and she works in a grocery store. The only thing she knows about him is that he's a rhino and he drives a tour bus. That's it. That's what they're going to base an entire relationship off of. They've done nothing to correct their first impressions of each other and yet we're supposed to believe that once the horniness wears off they're going to live happily ever after.
I call major bullshit.
We immediately move to an epilogue. I guess that whole activist thing might be continued into another book or something. It's three months later and Addison is calling Lily to announce her engagement. The resort is going to pay for the entire wedding in exchange for being able to use pictures and video in their promotional materials. Lily is excited to return to the island and can't wait to start planning the wedding. I do know her return to the island is book two. I don't think I want to read it because I hate her way too much.
Also, she ends up with Finn and Max which is just criminal.
This wasn't a great book. The characters (except the twins and Branch) were all annoying and there's no way I believe something that moved this fast is actually a HEA. The book was riddled with errors and even the sex scenes, which let's face it are the entire point of books like this, weren't well written. I honestly don't think I'm going to continue this series despite the fact that I'd love to read Branch's book since I've never read an elephant shifter before.
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