Hour of the Lion

Written by Cherise Sinclair

Narrated by Noah Michael Levine and Erin deWard

“Put Victoria with two Alpha brothers, and wow, oh wow, your socks will be knocked off.”

First a Marine, then a black ops agent, Victoria Morgan knows the military is where she belongs…until a sniper’s bullet changes her life. Trying to prove she’s not washed up, she rescues a young man from kidnappers. When the dying boy transforms into a cougar—and bites her—she learns of an entire hidden society. He begs her to inform his grandfather of his death and to keep the secret of the shifters’ existence. She can’t refuse, but what if the creatures pose a danger to the country she swore to protect?

As guardian of the shifter territory, Calum McGregor wields the power of life and death over his people. When a pretty human female arrives in their wilderness town, he and his littermate become increasingly concerned. Not only is the little female hiding something, but she is far more appealing than any human should be.

While investigating the shifters, Victoria begins to fall in love with the werecat brothers and the town as well. For the first time in her life, she might have a real home. Her hopes are crushed when a deadly enemy follows her from the city, and the shifters discover she knows their secret. Now nobody is safe—least of all Victoria.

"HOUR OF THE LION was simply amazing. Hot hunky shifter men, a strong and sassy heroine, a gripping story, and some oh so lovely ménage action are just the tip of the iceberg in this phenomenal read! A Top Pick and 5 Stars" ~ The Romance Reviews

• Language: English
• Publisher: VanScoy Publishing Group
• Release date: Jul 1, 2018
• ISBN: 9781947219199

Cherise Sinclair

Whenever I ask for BDSM recommendations, I am told the same two words all the time: Cherise Sinclair. ~ Under the Covers Reviews New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author, Cherise Sinclair is renowned for writing heart-wrenching stories with laugh-out-loud dialogue, devastating Dominants, and absolutely sizzling sex. And did I mention the BDSM? Her awards range from a National Leather Award to a Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice nomination to a Goodreads BDSM group’s Best Author of the Year. Cherise currently lives in the Pacific Northwest with her beloved husband and writes full-time under the supervision of a merciless feline.

Reviews for Hour of the Lion

[Christine Stephens · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

i love this whole series.. i hope the other 3 come along soon for us to listen too

[avamp1r3-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I'm sorry, but I couldn't even finish this book. First off, I didn't like how the main character took the knowledge that there are werecats. She acted like she'd never even heard of the myth of them, like it was the first time she'd ever even heard of the idea of a wereperson. Then when confronted with the 'fact' that there were wolves and bears et cetera she's all "wait a minute... what?!" DUH, if there is one, than there is the other.

>>>>>>>>>>spoiler alert<<<<<<<<<<<<
Then we have ourselves a marine soldier trained as a spy recently returned back to the states due to injury. Key word being recently. And yet, this bad as SPY doesn't know better than breaking into a house she is GOING to rent, nor does she understand basic fucking principles of spying... she stand at the front windows of a bar peering through windows and doesn't expect to be caught????

Then there is the fact that the teen she tried to rescue sends her into the lions' den... a town of shifters FULL of human haters and mistrusters. I don't know, just seems unreasonable. But I was willing to move on, but after a while, so much more irritating little things piled up that by the 30% mark I was fed up.
>>>>>>>>>>end spoiler<<<<<<<<<<<<

I found the emotional/sexual tension between the characters to be null. Once in a while I'd 'feel it', but really, I just found the connections to be weak and boring.

I found the whole 34% I read to be weak and boring in fact. And decided that I wasn't enjoying a single thing about the book. I was intrigued by the premise, but found the actuality of it a huge disappointment and irritating.

[grapeapril75-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book!! Such a great story. It had me from beginning to end. It was also great to see a kick but female character who didn't turn wimp when she hooked up with a man, or men as the case maybe.

A great shifter story with lots of intrigue. It has plenty of steamy scenes but the story would stand with out them.

Can't wait to read more! It is a step away from the author's usual BDSM but a great turn!

[soireadthisbooktoday · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

2.5 stars

The Urban Fantasy field used to be a lot more interesting. Strong storylines, terrific, strong female characters with heart and mind and soul and strength. A lot of fighting, a bit of sex – it was fantasy writing at it’s best.

I don’t know when that changed – I know it was before “50 Shades of Horrifically BAD Writing” but since then, it seems that the world of Urban Fantasy written by women has become UF written by stupid, sexist, hormonal women with no taste and less capabilities. Basically really badly written porn.

Don’t get me wrong. There is still some really bad crap in Hour of the Lion by Cherise Sinclair. As well as some really bad logic on the part of the main character, Victoria. For a big, strong, Marine/CIA spy, she pulls some real boners when it comes to thinking things through. And, come ON people – can we STOP with the BDSM sometime? Like SOON?! This whole idea of “the guys love me so they are going to tie me up and beat the shit out of me and humiliate me as they parade me naked in front of all their buddies and people they never even heard of and then lets them screw me to prove it” thing is sick, disgusting, and makes me want to vomit. This book wasn’t on the ‘heavy’ side of the whole sicko thought process, but there was enough “I am going to hold you down and control you and force you to let me do whatever I want to do to you whether you like it or not, and you are going to like it (and, of course, she gets all hot and bothered and buys into the whole thing --- gag) to make me roll my eyes and scream at the heroine. Stupid bitch. Took my original, ‘Oh, goodie, I may like her nearly as much as Kate Daniels” thought process and flushed it down the crapper. But be that as it may . . .

But, what I did like about the book is that it has a real storyline, with an actual setup, confrontation, and resolution. There are multiple plotlines without going overboard and being totally confusing, and the characters are, mostly, likable while the bad guys are truly bad, pointing out just how much humans may think the weres in the story to be monsters – but pointing out in great detail how it is humans who are truly the monsters. Monsters who should be put down with extreme prejudice as quickly (and painfully) as possible.

Vic is, as pointed out above, a Marine and CIA spy who is wounded in battle and, as happens in the military, is basically thrown aside as being, though previously useful, now damaged goods. Hurt, both physically and psychologically by the cold disregard of the mentor who she trusted, she finds herself going to the rescue of a woman under attack – and gets far more than she bargains for. Suddenly captured and at the mercy of sadistic humans trying to learn the secrets of previously unknown weres, Vic is thrown into the position of trying to rescue a young and very brutalized were. Rescuing him from the real monsters, she is forced to watch him die as they attempt to escape, his final words requesting that she travel to the home of his grandfather, to give word of his death.

Torn by her duty to her position and the dieing request of a child, she travels to Cold Creek, not knowing whom it is she is to contact, or what she will do when she gets there. The main storyline is exciting, well thought out mystery suspense, with a strong dose, of course, of UF, though at first the town seems entirely normal. As the UF storyline begins to grow, there is both good and bad to the story, as the weres try to retain their secrecy, and their safety, and Vic tries to decide if they are a danger to the US people, or if they deserve their privacy and safety.

The “Gathering” portion of the story, while logical in and of itself, was handled ridiculously badly by the author. I won’t even go into it. Suffice it to say, if you only read books for the sex scenes you will probably like it. If, instead, you expect logic and to have the main character going into a situation with good intel, well, sending someone you supposedly care about into a situation like that with as little intel as possible is not only stupid, but dangerous and again had me screaming out loud at the stupidity.

So, a better stab at good writing than normally found in this type of novel, but not exceptional. All in all, I wouldn’t recommend it to fans of ‘UF porn” as there probably isn’t enough porn to suit you, and I wouldn’t recommend it to readers of writers like Ilona Andrews or other exceptional UF writers because there is too Much porn. So, overall? Meh. I wish it had been better, though I am not surprised it wasn’t.

[bea_writer · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed the book a lot, although it was very different than her Shadowlands series. I can see how this will expand to a series and I look forward to the next book. The were world was unique, and I enjoyed it for that reason.

The book is still erotica, so if you are offended by lots of hot sex then this is not the book for you.

There wasn't a whole lot of character development, but this was a quick, fun read. My only complaint was the military similes that Vicky used ALL of the time.


Otherwise, a pleasant read.

[breena31 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I think this is the first book with a menage that I truly enjoyed. There is just something about the way Cherise Sinclair tells a story that pulls me in and makes me fall in love with her characters.

[ladyisis_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I absolutely loved this book. I couldn't quit reading it. It had me on the edge of my seat, wanting to toss someone over a cliff, crying, and laughing. All great things in a really good book. I love the whole setup and world making. The characters were great especially the lead characters: Alec, Calum and Vicki. Cold Creek is a place I would love to visit and find a home. Finding a pair of hot males that wanted to keep me would be even better. I am beginning to think that Ms. Sinclair is incapable of writing a mediocre story. I highly recommend this book.