Book Review: Burden (Bayou Bear Chronicles Book 1) by Lila Felix

Title: Burden
Author: Lila Felix
Series: Bayou Bear Chronicles #1
Pages: 296
My Rating: ❤❤❤

In the depths of the Louisiana swamps, clans of bear shifters roam freely. Hawke Turnclaw, the Alpha over all of his kind, is drowning in the legacy left to him by the Alpha before him, his own father. When he goes on a rescue mission to save a rogue Black bear from the clutches of a Grizzly clan, he finds more than just a Black bear, he finds his mate.

Echo has always been told she's an anomaly, a fluke. She's the only bear of her kind and that makes her a hindrance to her clan. She's tried to run away, but they keep her tethered through guilt and a shock collar around her neck.

And then someone shows up claiming he's her mate. Now belonging to a new clan, will she ever be able to understand that she's so much more than just a burden?

Hawke is in way over his head. After his father's death, he is forced to become alpha of his black bear shifter clan. His dad wasn't the best of alphas and, needless to say, the clan was left in financial turmoil. Also, kids are skipping school and a lone black bear has been spotted in grizzly shifter territory. Hawke just can't seem to catch a break.

The lone black bear turns out to be his one and only true mate, Echo. She however, doesn't really know about the whole mate thing, actually she doesn't know about any black bear traditions or history. The Grizzly clan she has been living with since she was a baby constantly berates her and treats her as an outsider. That doesn't stop them from making her cook, clean, keep inventory, do laundry, deal with finances, and guard the perimeter. Her life is miserable, but she can't escape due to the large metal shock collar around her neck, that is until she meets Hawke.

Echo is so thankful that Hawke rescued her, but she starts to feel like a burden. That's all she has ever been told that she was. A burden. Their actual relationship (I mean they are mates...) develops rather slowly. It is pretty adorable, yet awkward at the same time. You have to remember, Echo is completely unfamiliar with black bear customs and is learning about all of their mating rituals for the first time. As you can guess, there is a whole lot of blushing!

My only real problem with Burden was how things were worded. Some of the dialogue just didn't seem all that natural. I just wanted a bit more, especially some lingo from the bayou! That would have been REALLY fun to read! But, other than that, Burden was a cute story. I really loved the plot and thought that Echo and Hawke were really great for each other. Both of them were extremely thoughtful and caring.

Also, I absolutely loved the character of Martha. She was completely relatable and super sweet!

"It wasn't like there was a dating and mating website for bear shifters. If there had been, its mascot would have been that yellow Care Bear with the heart on its stomach."

"This was more than the mate-claim. It was more than love. More than a fluttering of our hearts, or a tingle when she entered a room."

"She paced back and forth while I rinsed and decided to face the music - or the Echo."