Shift of Heart
Shifter Lords, Book 1
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Narrated by:
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Kai Kennicott
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Wen Ross
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By:
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S. E. Babin
Summary
In-hiding hedgewitch florist by day. Powerful demigoddess by blood. Shapeshifting immortal by accident.
After a terrible divorce left her blindsided, all Evie Quinn wants is a relaxing girls' trip to Scotland, not a fight for her life with a Chimera shifter—an ancient, secretive enemy with the power to shapeshift into anything with a pulse.
Surviving the attack is a plus, but her goddess mother drops a bomb on her: Living will change everything.
And… it does.
Now she's hiding out in a small town running a popular flower shop, doing her best to resist the urge to gnaw on raw meat every chance she gets, and badly pretending she's the same ol' lovable hedgewitch she always was.
Except, spoiler alert: She's not.
When a foraging trip reveals a dying shifter in the woods, Evie breaks all the rules to heal him and vanishes before he wakes up. Cue immediate panic when that dangerously attractive shifter walks into her shop a few weeks later, and she finds out he's the Alpha of every single shifter in the state.
Eep.
Fortunately, he's only looking for a florist, not Evie. Not yet. But divine magic brews in the skies, and the wild gods are on the prowl, searching for the source of a long forgotten ancient magic they sense stirring once again.
As Evie's secrets claw their way to the surface, she realizes she may have to team up with the one man who can save her life.
If he doesn't destroy it first.
For fans of dangerous supernatural tension, enemies-to-lovers romance, and reluctant heroines, Shift of Heart is the beginning of a dangerously addictive and magical new series.
©2025 S.E. Babin (P)2026 Podium AudioContinue the series
As S.E. Babin is a new author to me I had no inkling of how quickly I would find myself bespelled by her writing. A smoothly flowing narrative, lovely phrasing, clever yet subtle worldbuilding, unique characters and the ability to turn each sentence into a captivating image in my mind all combined to make this a charismatic reading experience!
Evie, the FMC, was a delight and kept me on my toes. In fact, all the characters were masterfully created - personality in abundance, magic that was explained well and then consistent, and banter that was snappy and often worthy of some serious eye rolls or giggles. It's dual POV too, which I liked; I loved seeing what the FMC thought of the MMC and his shenanigans and vice versa.
The storyline was everything I love and need to elevate a reading experience to top shelf. There was a cosy feel to some scenes, intrigue and contemplation to others, life or death in yet others. And they all flowed together seamlessly to carry and direct the narrative in a way that made me want to put aside adult responsibilities and just remain immersed in this appealing story.
I loved the use of the found family trope as it is my absolute favourite. Evie, Moira, Tess and Ash are all people I would happily spend more time with. There's also some sort of enemies to something going on that added so much energy and gleeful (malicious??!!) spectator appreciation to the mood of those pages. Got to love that!
One thing I did find unusual was how the author drip-fed character backstorys. I initially thought I'd missed a prequel but it became obvious that that was the author's writing style. Some things might have been held back for book 2 but everything I needed to cement a good foundation for the characters was delivered.
The narration was so good! The voice actors did a fantastic job adding spark to the already riveting interactions and energy to the banter.
I really cannot speak highly enough of this book. It's a mesmerising story told in accomplished prose. I tore through it and now have to wait a month for the next installment in the series - but who needs fingernails?! I highly recommend Shift Of Heart to readers looking for a layered, amazingly well-crafted urban fantasy tale with riveting magic and magical beings, a spirited FMC who doesn't take any nonsense and a good dose of mystery.
So good!
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I just couldn’t get past how creepy and gross the MMC sounded and spoke. Gross. I was nearly going to let it slide but when the MMC finds his aggressive, demanding behaviour off putting but also sexy *face palm* I just thought someone had to have respect for themselves here and leave the room. And it’s going to be me. Goodbye.
Had to stop at Chapter 12
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