This whole series sounds fascinating to me with lion shifters, international settings with a different country for each book, and mysteries of various kinds to solve. And with ‘The Pride of Amsterdam’ kicking it all off, set in the country of my birth, I was even more intrigued. Elizabeth Coldwell kept her end of the bargain – this was a great start to the series. There are two mysteries, no less, a set of characters with a complicated back story, and authentic Dutch names, foods, and places I felt right at home with. I realize that it’s taken me much too long to get around to reading this series, but I am looking forward to being able to read the available books in relatively quick succession.

Kees has been away from Amsterdam for fifteen years and only returns due to his job. He had good reason to leave after an encounter with a mysterious stranger he never heard from again left him devastated. Kees has made a life for himself in NYC, excels at rooting out computer and systems security breaches, and is a lot more self-confident than he used to be. But Kees is shaken up more than a little when he finds out that the man who hired him to find the corporate spy is the same guy he lost his virginity to on Millennium Eve. The attraction is still there, but Kees is understandably reluctant to give in. Never mind the fact that his lover-of-old turns out to be a lion shifter! Kees is a lot more calm and collected than Arjan expected, but he does take his time to consider his options.

Arjan is a lion shifter, son of the current leader of the pride, and knew that Kees was his fated mate when they met and made love fifteen years earlier. Arjan believed their age difference at the time was too much of an issue (with Kees only eighteen and Arjan seventeen years his senior), but I am still not sure why Arjan let that much time pass. I mean, fated mates are fated mates, right? Anyway, Arjan is happy to see Kees again and sets out to court him. But there are several issues that keep intruding: someone is killing members of Arjan’s pride, a corporate spy is wreaking havoc in Arjan’s company, and Kees is a lot more reluctant to open up than Arjan expected. There are internal issues in the pride as well, and things soon heat up to the point that Arjan’s life contains much more turmoil than he is comfortable with.

If you like lion shifters with an interesting pride history of several centuries and enemies to match that heritage, if you think that two men who were separated but never able to forget each other deserve a second chance, and if you’re looking for an action-packed read with lots of mystery and more than one twist, then you will probably like this novel.


NOTE: This book was provided by Pride Publishing for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews. ( )