If you haven't read any of this Pride series you'd be forgiven for feeling swamped as we march straight into the lives, loves and lycanthropes of the wide cast. BITE ME is not something most people would say to a bear, tiger or honey badger. People who each shift into one of these forms abound, their sensitive nostrils easily picking up the fact that someone is a mere human - and this plain race does start to feel uninteresting after long enough spent seeing the world from a shifter point of view.

Albanian bears discuss East European mobsters with Californian giant pandas while a jackal watches a fight at a funeral. A honey badger girl called Livy feels unconcerned, as badgers go their own way, but a nice guy called Vic happens to meet her on the New York street. Vic is half tiger, half grizzly, and since his bear side likes honey they have something in common. Livy is a photographer, having given up on the arty side since she needs to make a living, and when life gets tough she curls up under her office desk. That's where Vic finds her, bringing flowers and of course, honey. Trouble is, he has an assignment for her, and it may not be easy.

Before long Livy is knee deep in wolves, so as a refuge from stress she burrows her way into Vic's house and climbs into a cabinet with his honey. We learn that shifter building contractors overcharge, because they work for other shifters who just can't explain matters to human builders. Life is busy and adventurous around these people even before there's romance in the air. Up north in a bear- only town, Livy gets to experience condescension and distrust. She eats honey after all. Vic takes care of her, brings her to a Renaissance fair, where we are treated to a wonderful scene of the honey badger girl jousting against larger shifters on carefully trained horses.

There's more, but I don't want to spoil the excitement. There's violence, strong language and snakes in the house in this fast-paced story by Shelly Laurenston. BITE ME will please her devoted fans and bamboozle anyone who's never read a shifter story. If you're new, start with an earlier book.