A Polar Expedition: and Other Stimulating Research Opportunities - Kass O’ Shire

 

After a long grueling day of my fated mate listening to the song “Fighting Trousers” by Professor Elemental on what seemed to be repeat, I thought I’d take a leaf out of his book and focus in on some gaslamp monster romance. “A Polar Expedition: and Other Stimulating Research Opportunities” by Kass O’ Shire. A headstrong magical scientist wants to find the source of magic, much to her peer’s and superiors' chagrin, but she goes ahead anyway, trudging further and further into places she shouldn’t be. She’s being followed, tracked ,by a polar bear shifter who can’t bear (see what I did there?) to follow his strict orders, captivated by this little stubborn human who only wants to learn.

Sirin (our female main character) is plump, nerdy and down to get dirty (in the field. She throws herself into her work, get your mind out of the gutter.) She also knows herself and has the confidence to reach for what she wants. While she has terrible things happen in her life, she doesn’t let it slow her down for one second, in fact, when she does think about it, it pushes her forward. I can appreciate the exploration of trauma, loss and other deeper subjects in romance novels, what we have experienced does shape us, however, this wasn’t about her past, this was about her joy in discovery. When confronted with danger or a dire situation, her “bring it on” headstrong attitude screams from the pages, and makes you fall in love with her a little bit more. 

Berne, the polar bear shifter is your classic big, bulky cinnamon roll. There’s a perceived danger there, of course there is, he’s a bloody bear, but through it all you know he’s actually a teddy. From the first moment we meet him we know he’s a good guy. His sense of morality is what makes him shine, and while he’s not quite keeping up with Sirin’s intellect, his curiosity and love for the natural world make him an ideal companion for her, plus, like all good scary shifters, he’s completely obsessed with her. I love that for them. 

The world O’Shire has created is full of wonder, magic doesn’t intrude too much, it’s present, and it’s focus is mainly on shifting. For the humans like Sirin, this means tapping into it to heal, to get some extra strength, to stave off bodily functions. For “Shades” like Berne it’s shifting. Different cultures have different methods, and while Sirin has been isolated from that, she is obviously over the moon to learn that magic can be used in such a manner. 

It’s a slow burn romance, until it’s not. While Sirin is aware of a presence while she’s travelling, she doesn’t meet Berne for a while. Berne however is watching, learning and getting to know all of Sirin’s little quirks, somewhat creepy yes, but it’s also very adorable. As soon as they arrive at his house, the proverbial sparks start to fly and it’s not long before they’re mated and mating. Granted, there were extenuating circumstances for the mate bite, but I won’t go into them in further detail. It’s a bit of a major spoiler. The spice level is high, this is one of the rarer types of monster romance where the couple get down and dirty (mind still in the gutter? Good, that’s where it should be by now) while the guy is actually in his shifted form. Yep, polar bear porn. In this reviewer's humble opinion, if you’re reading monster smut, you should get monster smut. None of this only having sexy times in your human form. Nope. Give us beasts or give us death. There’s also some chasing. I like chasing. Chasing makes the Monster Botherer very happy. Ahem. It’s well written, it’s hot, and it flows. No jarring raunchy scenes here, it belongs with the rest of the story which gets a big thumbs up from me. I swear, if I have to read another “oh do me, do me” in a novel set in ye olden days I might just scream into my pillow, and not in a fun way. 

If you want strong female characters that don’t have to wield a sword or lead an army to take a stand for what they believe in and physically strong but really just soft and squishy guys that just want to make stew and look after their family, this book is for you. The gaslamp setting is rich and all enveloping, the lore is fascinating and you’ll be happy just to be along for the ride. The footnotes after each chapter are a wonderful addition that bring so much more personality to both the story and Sirin and Berne’s relationship. I would bother.