Review – Shifting Dreams (Cambio Springs, Book 1) by Elizabeth Hunter (5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Length: 276 pages
Publisher: Recurve Press, LLC
Release Date: March 3, 2013
ASIN: B00BOGUGUS
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Cambio series
Source: Borrowed ebook from Kindle Unlimited
Rating: 5/5 stars
“Single mom Jena Crowe is desperate for a day off. Work at her diner never ends, her two boys are bundles of energy, and she’s pretty sure her oldest is about to shift into something furry or feathery.
Added to that, changes are coming to the tiny desert town of shapeshifters. Changes not everyone will welcome.
Caleb Gilbert was looking for a fresh start, and the quiet town of Cambio Springs seemed like just the ticket for a more peaceful life. Now if he could just get the spitfire owner of the local diner to go on a date with him.
But when murder rocks their small community, Caleb and Jena will have to work together before the secret of their safe haven is exposed.”
Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Cambio Spring series. There are three books and two short stories in this series. I borrowed this as an ebook through Kindle Unlimited.
Thoughts: I am a big Elizabeth Hunter fan. Previous to reading this series I have also read her “Glimmer Lake” series and her “Moonstone Cove” series and really loved them both. This was an excellent start to the Cambio Springs series; I fell in love with these characters and this town almost instantly.
The story follows Jena, a single mom of two boys, who recently moved back to Cambio Springs after the death of her husband. Cambio Springs has fallen on hard times with the closing of the nearby military base and there is a thought to revive the town with a resort. To this end the mayor hires a new police chief, Caleb, as one of the first expansions to the town’s functions. Unfortunately, Caleb has to be kept ignorant of the town’s big secret that almost everyone in Cambio Springs is a shapeshifter.
Caleb and Jena really hit it off right away, but then a murder in the town throws everything in disarray. Caleb is left wondering about the strange actions of the town’s denizens and Jena is struggling not to tell him right off about the town’s shifters.
The characters here are easy to engage with and very fun to read about. I love this small town with its magic spring and shifter community. This story was easy to fall right into and stay involved with. I loved the mystery as well and was sad when the story was over.
I always find Hunter’s writing style very easy to read. She does a great job of having fun characters, a great setting, an intriguing mystery and some humor as well. The towns in her stories seem so real that I would love to visit them myself. I immediately went and grabbed the second book and two short stories in this series.
My Summary (5/5): Overall I loved this. Hunter is definitely becoming a go-to author for me. Her writing flows well and is easy to read. There is always some humor and action. I love the setting and characters here as well. I would highly recommend this to those who enjoy small-town paranormal reads and are looking for something a bit different than “the single heroine who runs herself ragged”. Jena is just as compelling but has a family, a job, and a wonderful small town community to back her up. Can’t wait to read more books in this series; this was just such a fun, feel good read!
