Author's Bookshelf: Shifting by Bethany Wiggins

Hi all!  So, I know it's been a long time since I did anything under this category.  But I've read a couple of ARCs recently that I just couldn't not talk about here on the blog.  I'll be posting my own review of each of them (there are only two right now) this week.

Shifting by Bethany Wiggins

Why I read it:
I've met Bethany and her sister before.  They're both amazing women so I always knew that when they debuted I'd read them.  This is Bethany's debut novel and I had the opportunity arise to participate in an ARC tour for her book.  (Thanks, Elana!)

Mini-review:

I struggled at first to connect to the character, but that's just a personal thing, I think.  I mean, I've never faced the humiliations Maggie Mae goes through in this book, though I have faced bullies in the past.  And I've never faced the foster care system so for me it took a couple of chapters to click with the MC.  But I did click.  And I liked that even though this is a romance, she never once feels like she's going to just die if Bridger doesn't reciprocate.  She fights it and she fights back against the bad things she faces.  I didn't once question whether this is a girl I'd want my (hypothetical) daughters to read and admire.

But I love, love, love, love anything to do with Navajo culture.  My dad grew up in New Mexico, my Grandpa owned trading posts on the reservation, and it's always just been there as something I'm peripherally familiar with.  So the idea of taking the paranormal romance genre and dropping it into that world was really appealing to me.  Plus I'm often a sucker for a good YA romance.
The best thing about this is Bridger O'Connell, the love interest.  He's a good guy.  Not a "bad boy," not a player.  Just a good guy who is trying to do the right thing.

Final review: Thumbs up. You should be pre-ordering this one or rushing to your bookstore of choice on September 27th.

About the author:

Bethany Wiggins has always been an avid reader, but not an avid student.  Seriously!!!  She failed ninth grade English because she read novels instead of doing her homework.  In high school, she sat alone at lunch and read massive hardback fantasy novels (Tad Williams and Robert Jordan anyone?).  It wasn't until the end of her senior year that the other students realized she was reading fiction – not the Bible.

Seven years ago, Bethany's sister dared her to start writing an hour a day until she completed a novel.  Bethany wrote a seven-hundred page fantasy novel that she wisely let no one read – but it taught her how to write.  Since then she has completed six novels, each one a little better than the one before.

The all-important links:
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Amazon
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