Review - Cuddles for the Bear by Lisa Oliver
Cuddles for the Bear
by Lisa Oliver
My rating: 
Heat level: 
Volume 3 of Assassin's Alley
Posted in Book Reviews on April 12, 2026
Devon has been chatting with a young man online for months. It’s the one friendship he has outside of his colleagues at Assassin’s Alley. When the young man, named Wren, reveals he feels he is in danger from the man that has kept him as a slave for ten years, Devon wants to rescue him. It turns out that the agency which runs the Alley has had their eye Wren’s master for a while, due to his involvement in a trafficking ring. It turns out getting Wren away from the cruel man who purchased him as a teenager is the easy part. Wren has to discover himself after years of oppression, and Devon struggles to contain his strong feelings for the young man.
This third book in the Assassin’s Alley series is a mostly sweet story about two men learning the ins and outs of a new relationship. The series is about a group of paranormals who take out dangerous criminals that human law enforcement isn’t equipped to deal with. Each book focuses on different characters. However, they also build on the people introduced in each story, so while you could read this as a stand-alone, it’s better if you’ve read the first two books before this one.
The narration alternates between Devon and Wren’s points of view. We meet Devon first. Like most of the assassins, Devon is a shifter. In his case, Devon’s inner beast is a bear, with all the fiercely protective instincts in a cuddly package that go with it. As in the previous book, Sweet Things for a Crocodile, Devon’s protective instincts end up being problematic when it comes to Wren.
Wren is a more complex character. He was held as a prisoner for more than ten years and forced to serve the man who purchased him from his grandparents. Freedom gives Wren the opportunity to figure out who he is for the first time in his life. There’s also the question everyone is asking, which is “what” Wren is. Most of the drama in the story results from Wren’s fierce determination to exert his independence clashing with Devon’s drive to protect his fated mate.
“Cuddles for the Bear” is available from Smashwords or see Bookshop.org to purchase from an independent bookseller.
