I fell in love with MaryJanice Davidson’s books when I found her Undead series which follows the adventures of the Queen Vampire, Betsy Taylor. That series was always such a fun read, filled with lots of absurd situations and quirky characters. Davidson continues with the quirky characters, but makes some of the situations more realistic in Mad for a Mate and a bit heavier since the series has children who came up with bad home lives or were bounced around in foster care… although there’s still lots of crazy situations too!
One of the reasons I enjoy Davidson’s writing so much is the frantic pace that her characters end up talking from time to time. Four people will be talking, maybe not all about the same thing, and she doesn’t give you lots of definition as to who is saying what. For some people this can get confusing or they don’t like that style of writing, but I do, since this is in reality often how groups of people talk; everyone talking over each other, not really listening, but still wanting to be heard.
Davidson shines when it comes to character development, even if some of the characters are air-heads or vapid. And her secondary characters are always as complex as the main ones. Often one of them will become my favorite over the leads. Nadia is stealing my heart (and I’m hoping/thinking she’ll be the lead in the next book) since she reminds me of myself a bit, seems to not really like people, but is a soft, squishy mess under that hard exterior.
If you enjoy the quirky characters in Darynda Jones’s or Janet Evanovich’s books, you’ll want to check out Mary Janice Davidson. And while each book can be read alone, it’s best to start each series at the beginning so you can catch all the inside jokes and character crossovers from book to book and series to series. ( )

MAD FOR A MATE was humorous urban fantasy. Magnus Berne is a bear shifter who is in Minnesota to look after his goddaughter who has recently lost her mother - Magnus's excuse for not having a real relationship. He's living on an island in Lake Minnetonka and is currently wondering who is dropping department store mannequins on his lawn.

Then, one day, instead of the daily mannequin, he finds Verity Lane. It seems she's ended up there after swimming six miles as part of a challenge from her club of squibs. Verity is out to prove, mostly to herself, that just because she can't shift into a bear form, she is still a powerful and worthy person.

However, when two of the members of the club die, it becomes apparent that someone is murdering squibs. It is up to Verity and Magnus to find out who the killer is.

Magnus and Verity are both prickly people and they are both busy denying that they even have a relationship even as they are both falling in love. The dialog is entertaining and witty.

There is a large cast of quirky characters in this story. Many of them were stars of earlier books in the series as noted in footnotes. I enjoyed learning some of their stories and seeing how they fitted into the plot of this story. I also liked the Twin Cities setting for this story and enjoyed seeing places I knew and had visited.

It did take me a while to get into the flow of this story. The author has a quirky style that reminds me of Shelly Laurenston's urban fantasy stories. ( )

I have already read this book twice-once for my pleasure, and then I re-read the series (three books so far) to review this one with everything fresh in my mind.

This should have been a solid 4.5/5 book for me, but Verity (the female protagonist) just annoyed me in the beginning with all her "just kidding" stuff. But that is just me.

If you have read the first two books, you will know just how this book will go.

Bear shifter Magnus Berne meets someone unusual (in this case, it's a Squib named Verity Lane).
The shifter has been depressed for a long time and thinks he will never find love.

The Squib? The same as the shifter-angsty about her future, had a difficult childhood (not as complicated as most of the others in this series, though) and sort of resents what she is.
These two will eventually come together (in more ways than one!) when they are forced to investigate the murder of one of Verity's friends from a squib club she belongs to. This book will also connect with the past two books and the mystery that was started with the first book.

I loved seeing all the characters from the first two books (although I did miss Pat), the mystery was fascinating and the romance was steamy, but not porn steamy!

*I received this book as an ARC but I have already preordered another copy. ( )

A fun continuation of the BeWere My Heart paranormal romance series. The romance isn't quite as organic as in the other books, but it works. We learn more about the Shifters and their society, and see that their families can be just as dysfunctional as Stable families.

Recommended for fans of paranormal romance and humorous romance. ( )