Sharon Shinn's fantasies are always fantastic because they are so richly developed and intricately detailed. In the creation of this modern-day shifter tale, Shinn draws upon the same skills that make her other works so wonderful. Not only is THE SHAPE OF DESIRE an intimate look at a different style of shifter with different rules from those often depicted, the work emphasizes the experience of a non- shifter: what is it like to be in love with someone who has to leave you to change shape, whose time in human form is getting shorter and shorter, and about whom you can't really discuss with anyone?

Maria Devane has loved Dante for fifteen years, and they have worked out a schedule for when they see each other. She tries not to make him feel trapped, and they live their lives by the fluctuations of when he must change into a beast, a transformation she has never witnessed nor seen the result of. However, Maria feels herself hollowing out with pain and anxiety the longer she is without Dante because he is staying longer and longer in animal form. In addition, she is afraid that a recent spate of murders might be attributed to him. She has to force herself to consider how little she knows about her lover and his unusual family.

THE SHAPE OF DESIRE is an excellent work. It raises some excellent questions about how well one can know someone as well as develops a fantastic tale.