Year of the Rabbit

Shifters of the Chinese Zodiac, Book 1

By: Anni Lee

Narrated by: Bret Mykel

Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

Would you like sprinkles on your Murder Cupcakes?

Half rabbit shifter, half warlock, Leveret Wong can help anyone who comes into his magical bakery with sleep inducing raspberry buttercream and scones to make a person fall in love. The only person he can't seem to fix is himself.

Eliot Rand, the dog shifter of the Chinese Zodiac is sick of living under the harsh rule of the stars. He wants nothing more than to take back control of his life by rejecting his Fated Mate once and for all. Everything is going as planned, up until he starts working with the sweet, nerdy, funny, yet damaged and touch adverse rabbit shifter.

When destiny is ruled by the stars, fated mates takes on a whole new meaning, and a whole new dangerous design.

Set in the same Universe as The Zodiac Werewolf, this is the first book in the Shifters of the Chinese Zodiac MM Romance Series. You'll love Year of the Rabbit if you like your book boyfriends feral and protective, with sarcastic humor, hurt/comfort, healing through safe words, morally grey love interests, male male relationships, and slow burn love that turns scorching hot.

Note to listeners: While this book ends with a HFN, this is a continuing series with ever evolving relationships. It is NOT a love triangle.

©2022 Anni Lee (P)2024 Anni Lee

Murder Cupcakes, oh my!!!

This is a review for the first book of Shifters of the Chinese Zodiac brought to Audible. When I read this book 2 years ago I fell in love. When I saw the audio version of the book pop up on Booksprout, I jumped on it quicker than a duck on a June bug.

This is one of the occasions or I can truthfully say the narrator, Bret Mykel, did an outstanding job with his narration. Rumor has it, or when I looked him up on the interweb, he loves cooking French pastries (it also mentioned he's a dork who loves animation and theater as well). What a perfect narrator for this book!!! Anni Lee you picked a winner, you just have to get him to narrate Year of the Dragon too!!!

I love the way Anni Lee thinks and writes. I love a dark, dire, disturbing, disconcerting, devious, distressing read or in this case listen. See how I used all those 'D' words!?! Lol

I love to be surprised by what happens next in a story and how all the twists and turns finally lead us to an HEA. Oh how Anni Lee can weave a story and come through for us in the end.

Dark Themes, Excellent Narration

This is the first Audible book from Anni Lee I've listened to and I'm blown away! Bret Mykel does a phenomenal in narrating the book that has so many male characters. His intonation for each character is very distinctive and the depth of their feeling unfurl so well that it was almost like reading it myself. I did not have any trouble following who was says or doing what in book, unlike what I've experienced with virtual voice read books.

Despite the dark content at times, I couldn't help but be vested in the unfolding of Leveret Wong's life. Satisfied with how his life is at the moment, Leveret loves his job at the family bakery but is feeling the pressure from his domineering mother and father who are powerful entities in the Chinese Zodiac Shifters society. Their disappointment with him not being a powerful alpha couldn't be more obvious. Being half rabbit shifter, half warlock isn't all it is cracked up to be. His being gay is less of an issue than one would expect.

Unhappy with his mother's meddling by enrolling him in the local shifter school, he has low expectations of anything positive coming from the experience. Little does he realize two men are about to make him confront the past and grow into his destined future.

Eliot Rand a fellow classmate turned coworker, is dog shifter who also has had a traumatic past. Seemingly the bane of their math instructor Juni's existence, Eliot isn't someone Leveret initially sees as a friend and ally. Burned by friends in the past Leveret shuns any close connections, but slowly finds the benefit of having allies when the full moon appears.

The author handles very dark issues carefully, but very descriptive details. The angst that the characters feel are gripping.

I look forward to reading/listening to other books in the series.

Definitely be aware of the content triggers and warnings before you buy/borrow/ read/listen.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.