‘Vintage Pride’ is the third volume in this entertaining and exciting series about lion shifter prides across Europe, and it moves the location of events to France. The Champagne region, to be exact, and with a main character who has been mentioned in the previous book: Jean-Luc, who manages a vineyard with his brother-in-law, a lion shifter from England. The chateau his family owns is the focus of a paranormal investigation team from American TV – which is hilarious for more than one reason. I mean, this team is looking mostly for ghosts, but anything paranormal would do. If they had any idea they are dealing with shifters, their careers would be made… and that is exactly what supplies much of the underlying tension in this story. The other elements are the strange noises and weird sightings in the scullery and cellar, and they had me stumped almost until the end.

Ethan is an American paranormal investigator who doesn’t believe in the paranormal. He leads a team on a successful reality show and loves his job – especially when the producers decide a few episodes in Europe are just the thing to stay ahead of the competition. After all, with buildings far older than anything of Western culture in the US, there are bound to be some interesting hauntings and ghostly appearances to be found. The option of a trip abroad comes just at the right time for Ethan, whose lover just dumped him. Not that Ethan is out to find another lover, but when he runs into the reclusive Jean-Luc, how is he supposed to resist?

Jean-Luc has lost the will to live. His mate died in a car accident, and the grief is almost too much. Jean-Luc’s sister and brother-in-law try to push him back into the land of the living, but they are having a hard time. Jean-Luc is withdrawn, extremely angry about the intrusion of a TV team in his home, and not even the impending grape harvest can pull him out of his slump. But as soon as the TV team arrives and Jean-Luc takes one whiff of their scent he knows he is in trouble, He has no idea how there can be a second mate for him, but he is unwilling to let Ethan go.

It was fascinating to watch the skeptic and the shifter get to know each other. I kept thinking that, at some point, Jean-Luc would have to reveal the fact he can shift into a lion. The risk for him is much higher than normal – Ethan’s career would be a huge instant success if he decided to publish that fact. The other part of the plot, around the strange noises and sightings centered in the chateau’s kitchen was just as much fun to follow – and the final explanation was accompanied by a lot of tension and a scary confrontation.

If you enjoy ghostly mysteries and paranormal investigations, if you think that a lonely paranormal investigator and a reclusive Champagne producer who occasionally shifts to become a lion might be a good match, and if you’re looking for a suspenseful mystery that goes hand in hand with an unexpected romance, 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. ( )