TIGER MAGIC by Jennifer Ashley is a wonderful story about survival, perseverance, trust, friendship, overcoming a horrible past, and love. If you are a fan of Jennifer Ashley's books TIGER MAGIC is a must read. I have never cried so much reading a book as I did reading TIGER MAGIC, and I enjoyed every tear. I also laughed, cheered and could not put the book down. TIGER MAGIC is about Tiger, the shifter who was rescued from the lab at Area 51. As you read TIGER MAGIC, little by little the experiments that were done to Tiger are revealed, and you cannot help but shed tears. The love story that unfolds between Tiger and Carly is very sweet.

The opening of TIGER MAGIC is of a beautiful woman broken down on the side of a two lane deserted road about 30 miles from Austin. Carly is cussing Ethan (her fiancé), for insisting she take the Vette for her big day, and not her reliable better maintained compact. She is trying to call Ethan to come get her, but of course there is no reception on this deserted stretch of road. She decides to get out of the car and see if she can get better reception, but again this was not to be her day. When she gets out of the car she sees Tiger about 10 feet away in the tall Texas grass, but for some reason she is not frightened by the sight of this very big, very tall stranger with striped hair in the middle of nowhere.

Tiger is out for a run, in tiger form and comes across Carly in her current predicament. Before he goes to her he watches her in her tight white dress and his body, mind and heart decide right then that she is his mate. He changes into clothes he has stashed and heads to her to see if he can help her. When he learns from Carly of her car troubles Tiger is very happy that Connor has taught him how to work on cars and he has Carly's borrowed Vette running enough to get them back to Ethan's house. When they get there Tiger tries to not let Carly enter the house and find what Tiger knows is going on. I am going to leave it there, because the next series of events sets up Carly & Tiger getting together, not that Tiger would have let Carly get away. Little by little Carly finds out what has happened to Tiger in his not so distant past and no matter how hard she tries or what Ethan put her through she cannot help but fall in love with him.

TIGER MAGIC is not all about Tiger and Carly. Tiger has to learn how to live in the real world outside a cage and lab. He has to be taught things that most people take for granted everyday, and deal with real world situations. Everything from getting food and cooking it to learning to kiss. Connor has been charged with teaching Tiger how to fit into society. Connor though does put his foot down teaching Tiger how to kiss and tells him someone else will teach him how to do that. Liam has put Connor in charge of Tiger, because they have formed a bond and get along very well. One thing that everyone has noticed is how well Tiger gets along with all the cubs and how they love to be with him, and quiet down if being fussy as soon as he is around them. This quality becomes very important later in TIGER MAGIC as several situations arise with the cubs and Tiger is there to rescue them.

Eric ( Las Vegas shifter town leader) calls a meeting for all the U.S. shifter town leaders to meet in Dallas to discuss what to do with Tiger. They are demanding that Tiger be collard with a "real" collar. Liam tries to explain that he has tried to put a "real" collar on Tiger, but every time he tries it almost kills Tiger. The other leaders vote that if he cannot tolerate the collar he is to be put down before he does something terrible that will bring attention to all shifter towns and what is going on there. The other real threat to Tiger is a Special Forces unit attached to Shifter Bureau South, with a Commanding Officer out to make a name for himself and receive a lucrative promotion. There are several situations that put a lot people in danger that Tiger comes in and rescues them. But most of the shifters are still leery and afraid of Tiger because no one is completely clear of the experiments that where done to him or what exactly he was breed for. If I have not said it enough I love TIGER MAGIC there is just something so sweet and vulnerable about Tiger that makes you want to hug and protect him.

Book Summary

He doesn't have a name. He doesn't have a clan. The humans who held him prisoner for forty years have taken them away. He knew nothing but captivity until nearly a year ago, when he was released into the light. Now Tiger lives in the Austin Shiftertown, where he struggles to belong and searches for an identity.

Carly Randal thinks her fabulous life is complete—until her car breaks down on the side of the road, and a wild–looking Shifter is the only one to help her. Tiger takes one look at Carly and knows instantly—she will be his mate. As Carly is drawn into his Shifter world, she risks everything she has for that forbidden something she still wants: passionate love.

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