by: Kathy Lyons
Series: The Heart of a Guardian
Genre: Paranormal Fantasy/Shifter Romance
Release Date: May 19, 2026
Her nephew vanished. His bear will hunt.
When Becca Weitz's teenage ward disappears, she turns to the one man who terrifies her—Carl Carman, the brooding camp director with more secrets than answers.
Carl knows what happened. Theo shifted into a grizzly for the first time, triggering a deadly hunt. Mad scientists want the boy for their experiments, and as alpha of the Michigan bear clan, Carl will destroy anyone who threatens his people.
Protecting Theo means bringing Becca into his dangerous world. But the single mom baker is stronger than Carl expected—and the connection blazing between them could be their greatest weapon or their fatal weakness.
She's human. He's alpha. Their enemies want them both dead.
Originally published as The Bear Who Loved Me
Since the death of her parents and sister, Becca Weitz has been trying her best to run the family bakery and raise her teenage nephew. After yet another one of their arguments, Theo seemingly refuses to answer her phone calls. Theo has been getting more agitated lately, but not speaking to her or returning her phone calls has never been something he’s done before.
Becca gets a surprise visit from Theo’s summer camp counselor, Carl “Max” Carman, and discovers Theo has been kidnapped. But the surprises don’t end there. In order to get Becca to cooperate and not get local police involved, Carl has to kidnap her and introduce her to a world she never knew existed. “Buckle up ‘cause it’s about to get weirder.” Shifters exist, and her nephew is one of them.
Leading his clan and putting out fires is what Carl does. In trying to build a democracy instead of a dictatorship, he has others gunning for him. When he gets word that a couple of teens are missing, he has to use every resource at his disposal to find the kids and find out what’s going on.
From the beginning, I loved the characters of Becca and Carl. Their back-and-forth communication is at times playful and funny. But when the situation calls for it, they’re serious. Their love is intense and romantic. The secondary characters definitely put this book over the top, and I loved them just as much as I loved Becca and Carl. From Mark, Carl’s best friend who is dying, to Alan, Carl’s younger brother and clan lawyer, to Tonya, Carl’s friend and highest-ranking police shifter in the area, all the characters added something special to the story. The mystery of Theo’s kidnapping and subsequent fallout was a little mind-blowing. Bound by the Guardian is one of those books that once you pick it up, you aren’t going to want to put it down.
I definitely can not wait to read the next book in the series.
*Received a copy of the book from the author and voluntarily reviewed it.**
Rating: 5
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The Heart of a Guardian Series:
Claimed by the Guardian (Book 5) releases July 7, 2026
Awakened by the Guardian (Book 6) releases July 28, 2026
Crowned by the Guardian (Book 7) releases August 18, 2026
Winner of several industry awards including the Prism—Best of the Best, Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice, and Fresh Fiction’s Steamiest Read, Kathy and her other pennames have published over 80 romance novels and sold over a million copies.
Her hobbies include racquetball, rollerblading, and tv/movie watching with her husband. She’s a big fan of the Big Bang Theory (even though it’s over) and her favorite movie is The Avengers because she loves everything created by Joss Whedon. And she’d love to share all things geek with you in person at any of her many appearances. She’s usually found at the loudest table in the coffee shop or next to the dessert bar.
Places to find Kathy Lyons:
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