Review: Holly and the Tiger

Holly and the Tiger by CP Stone
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I always find myself tentative when an author I enjoy releases a book outside their usual genre. It rarely goes badly, yet my mind always jumps to those occasions where I found myself disappointed. Thus, when I found out an author I enjoy was going to write a paranormal romance, I was both excited and nervous.

You see, paranormal romance novels are a massive weakness of mine. If you had told me five years ago that my love for paranormal romance novels would push me towards all kinds of romance novels, I would have laughed at you. I’d tell you I was reading them for the action and the supernatural creatures, not the lovefests. Yet, here we are – romance is one of the genres I most read. As paranormal romance was my gateway into more general romance, the genre holds a special place in my heart. It is my go-to when I need something I know I’ll enjoy, when I need to take a step back and simply enjoy something light and fun.

Fortunately, I did not need to worry when the author I enjoy so much decided to write in a much-loved genre under the pen name of CP Stone. In fact, said author has now been added to my list of authors writing under a pen name in a beloved genre. If I’m being completely honest, Holly and the Tiger has made it into my top three books by the author. Thus, as you can imagine, I have high hopes for the future CP Stone novels – I’m rather excited for them, if we’re dropping truth bombs.

From the very first page, Holly and the Tiger sucked me deep into the story. I fell in love with the characters instantly. I fell in love with the story in no time at all. I fell in love with the romance between the two characters rapidly, with my love growing with every page I turned. It’s a story that sucked me in on all fronts, ensuring I finished the book in a single sitting.

With shifter stories, it can be difficult to come up with something new. You see it’s a shifter novel, and you roll your eyes, thinking it will be much of the same. With so many out there, it can be difficult finding those novels which bring something different to the table. Holly and the Tiger is certainly one of those novels. We’re given a shifter world much like that we already know, yet there is plenty thrown in to keep us curious. We’re given things to ensure we understand the world, as it is like some others out there, but the deeper we get into the story the more unique it becomes. I’m not going to give away any details, as I’m not the sort to offer spoilers, but know this story mixes in some interesting elements, bringing us something new and thoroughly engaging. I cannot wait to see what other twists appear in the future Wolfsden novels, as I believe this is just the tip of the iceberg.

There really were so many possibilities opened up for the future of this series. With Holly and the Tiger we have a story that has a start and end point, giving us a complete novel, but the things we were introduced to leave us desperate for more. There were characters I want to see more of – those I want to know the history of, and those I want to see the future of. There were creatures we were introduced to that I want to see more of – the shifters and the other supernatural creatures that also popped up. There were aspects of the world I want to see more of – details we were given that I wish to go deeper into, stories I would like to see based upon history we were given.

There is no doubt in my mind that the Wolfsden novels will prove to be an insanely addictive series. With this first book receiving an extremely strong four-star rating from me (it’s a four-point-five-star rating, with me being my usually horrible self and rounding down), I can easily see the future books in the series getting a five-star rating from me and becoming my favourite book by the author under any name.

With my standards set so high with this one, I’m fearful for the next book I dive into. Holly and the Tiger was a quick and easy read, yet it left a solid impact on me. The sooner I can get my hands on the next book, the better. I can tell you right now, I will dive into any of the future CP Stone books that are released – if the romance and world building is anything like it was in this one, I’ll be devouring each and every book in no time at all. Full length novel or short story, I do not care – I need more of this world.

If CP Stone wants to throw in a Siobhan and the Shifter novel, that is perfectly fine, too. I have so much faith in CP Stone that all the ‘s’ animals I could think of (I have a thing for alliteration, sue me) were ridiculous notions. Siobhan and the Squirrel. Siobhan and the Sloth. Siobhan and the Seahorse. Then, because we need predators not cute and adorable animals, my mind said Siobhan and the Shark. All sound ridiculous, right? Nobody wants to read such a thing. Yet I would completely trust CP Stone to turn something so ridiculous sounding into an amazing story – a story filled with wonderful romance, a gripping storyline, and fabulous characters, as was demonstrated with Holly and the Tiger.

Don’t let my above silly paragraph leave you with the belief Holly and the Tiger is a silly little shifter story, because it is far from it. It has all the necessary elements of a great paranormal romance novel, with the finding yourself and learning to love yourself message of a contemporary novel hidden beneath the surface. So, there you have it, it is a novel with plenty of depth and more than worth reading.

Overall, as the above ramble has demonstrated, Holly and the Tiger was a wonderful read. I was addicted from the very first moment, in love with all the story had to offer, and I cannot wait for the next Wolfsden novel to see what CP Stone brings us next.

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