Review: How to Flirt With a Naked Werewolf

 

Book: How to Flirt With a Naked Werewolf by Molly Harper
Stand Alone or Series: Naked Werewolf #1
Pages:  371

Genre:  Paranormal Romance

Buy A Copy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble 

Available Formats: Ebook & Paperback 
Publication Date: February 22nd, 2011

How Did I Get This Book: Purchased

First Line: “When a naked man shows up on your doorstep with a bear trap clamped around his ankle, it's best just to do what he asks."

Preview Book: Google Preview

Description: Even in Grundy, Alaska, it’s unusual to find a naked guy with a bear trap clamped to his ankle on your porch. But when said guy turns into a wolf, recent southern transplant Mo Wenstein has no difficulty identifying the problem. Her surly neighbor Cooper Graham—who has been openly critical of Mo’s ability to adapt to life in Alaska—has trouble of his own. Werewolf trouble. For Cooper, an Alpha in self-imposed exile from his dysfunctional pack, it’s love at first sniff when it comes to Mo. But Cooper has an even more pressing concern on his mind. Several people around Grundy have been the victims of wolf attacks, and since Cooper has no memory of what he gets up to while in werewolf form, he’s worried that he might be the violent canine in question.
If a wolf cries wolf, it makes sense to listen, yet Mo is convinced that Cooper is not the culprit. Except if he’s not responsible, then who is? And when a werewolf falls head over haunches in love with you, what are you supposed to do anyway? The rules of dating just got a whole lot more complicated. . . .

How To Flirt With A Naked Werewolf by Molly Harper is a pleasant read that was both amusing and enjoyable. It features a charming and comical heroine, Mo, who's personality is a huge mix of sweet n' spicy. There is definitely a bark to her bite, but she also has an incredibly loving side - she is quick to help others and often shows that famous southern hospitality and charm. What I enjoyed most about this character was her no-nonsense attitude; she certainly does not believe in beating around the bush. Mo also has a number of endearing quirks, including growing up in a crazy hippie family (just wait until you see her full name!) and nursing a secret obsession with pretty panties.

The main eye candy in this delightful romp, is the brooding and undeniably sexy town werewolf, Cooper. He is a direct contrast to the charismatic and endearing Mo - which basically means they are a perfect fit. And man, do these two sizzle! Yes, they have a plethora of chemistry, but I was particularity fond of their bantering and bickering. Like I said before, Mo is a no-nonsense kind of gal and she often calls Mr. Personality out on his less than pleasant behavior.

The lovable, if what somewhat wacky cast of secondary characters contribute to the light tone. My particular favorite was Buzz, the restaurant co-owner/original cook/part time law enforcement/basically any other occupation that needs to be done.  while I enjoyed all of the background characters, they do come off as rather flat, stereotypical and one-dimensional.

Fun read with a  delightfully lighthearted and pleasant tone. Even during the depressing plot points, the story never drags you down. Through Mo’s internal commentary, Harper keeps the story firmly on the light and amusing track by embedding snarky, sassy and straight up hilarious comments throughout the story.

The ending was too cutesy for my liking, it definitely had the happily ever after vibe. I enjoy happy ending as much as the next person, but this one was a bit much for me. Everything is wrapped in a nice little pink bow – I like something to be less than perfect.  Does that make sense? Or am I just blabbing?

I would classify this as chick-lit with a side of paranormal romance. Obliviously, it is centered around a werewolf romance, but the tone is much closer to chick-lit. It's the perfect book to kickback with when you just want something fun. It certainly isn't deep, life changing or particularly epic - but it's cute, sassy, comical and downright fun. Sometimes that's all you need.

Favorite Quotes

"Every act of rebellion, whether it was wearing leather shoes or voting conservative in a mock election, made me feel more normal."

"He seemed to choke on the words, as if it literally hurt him to have to interact with another human being. How did this man make his living leading people around in the wilderness? Didn't they expect some civility for their guide fees? Or had he convinced them that Yukon Yankee rudeness was all part of the experience?"

"I would have to talk to Evie about the difference between me making idle conversation and dropping hints to match me up with some burly social misfit willing to move heavy objects."

"Don't take it personally. Some people were just born with a pine-cone shoved up their butts. In Cooper's case, it's lodged sideways."

"If I was smart, I would tell him to stop bleeding on my porch and hike his injured, unclothed butt into town."

"I figured I wouldn't have another opportunity to baby-sit a werewolf, so I should make the most of it."

"He looked so upset - scared and upset and pretty pissed off to see me crouching over wolf footprints as if I was some cross between Nancy Drew and Steve freaking Irwin."

"It took too much energy to keep thinking up all those clever insults."

"It was not healthy for one man's smile to make my panties spontaneously combust."

"You're my constant. You don't fade away."

"Your heart was in the right place, even if you head was up your ass."

Review: Red Moon Rising by Peter Moore

Book: Red Moon Rising by Peter Moore
Series or Stand-Alone: Series

Pages: 336
Genre: Young Adult

Purchase A Copy: Amazon | Book Depository
Publication Date: February 8^st, 2011

How I Got This Book: From the Publisher, For Review

Description (From Goodreads): Being only half-vamp in a high school like Carpathia Night makes you a whole loser. But Danny Gray manages to escape the worst of the specists at his school. Thanks to genetic treatments he had as an infant, most people assume Danny's other half is human. Which is a good thing.    

Ever since the development of synthetic blood – SynHeme – vamps have become society’s elite, while wulves like his father work menial jobs and live in bad neighborhoods.  Wulves are less than second class citizens; once a month they become inmates, forced to undergo their Change in dangerous government compounds.

For Danny, living with his vamp mother and going to a school with a nearly all-vamp student body, it’s best to pretend his wulf half doesn’t even exist.  But lately Danny's been having some weird symptoms -- fantastic night vision; a keener-than-usual sense of smell; and headaches, right around the full moon.

Even though it's easy to be in denial, it's hard to ignore evidence.  There's only a month until the next few moon, and Danny's time is running out.

Peter Moore speaks to adolescents in a voice that will have them laughing, set in a world that will get them thinking.

Red Moon Rising is a highly ambitious undertaking that is part Urban Fantasy, part coming-of-age and part social commentary. The story is essentially about a boy - who happens to be half vampyre, half wulf. In Danny's world vamps rule and wulves are second class citizens at best. The tension between the two groups mirrors the turmoil the United States faced in the 1960's. In the book segregation between the species has ended, but the tension still resides. The vampyre are still considered the high class citizens, while the Wulves are stuck with low paying jobs.

There were things that I really loved about Red Moon Rising and there were things that I could have done without. I, for one, really enjoyed the way Moore modeled the social unrest after the American Civil Rights movement. It was a highly creative take on your average paranormal YA story - it was very much a coming-of-age story that tackled such topics as inequality,self-image and pride. I loved the fact that this was not your typical paranormal romance - this story has a lot of backbone. While Danny does meet and fall for a girl, it does not take front seat in the plot - it rides shotgun at best. Danny spends the majority of the book worrying about his Wulven heritage and the effects that it has on his daily life. You see, when Danny was baby he had genetic treatments that were supposed to sort of neutralize his Wulven DNA. However, he got sick during the process so they were never able to finish. He and his family always figured that he had gotten far enough in the treatments to keep him from shifting, but soon they realize they were wrong.

Danny is an easy character to relate to, because like almost every teenager in the world, he is going through an identity crisis. Granted, most people (that I know of) don't worry about whether they will be more vampyre or more wulven. He certainly isn't perfect, but he is really trying to accept and embrace his new life. He makes mistakes, but he is the first to admit when he is wrong. Overall he is a very likable character and it is easy to get behind him. You want everything to work out for Danny; you genuinely want him to be okay.

While I loved the idea of the story and found Danny to be an intriguing character there were elements of the writing that I wasn't too crazy about. Moore peppers the book with tons of pop culture references, but they are all slightly altered. He often quotes popular songs, movies and televisions but changes them to fit his vampire universe. While at first this was amusing, I soon grew tired of hearing about McJagger and Gwenbeth Paltroff. These almost pop culture references began to throw the book of track. In all honesty, Red Moon Rising is a serious book and these distractions did not tie in with the tone.

I was a little disappointed with the ending as well. There was a great deal of build up between Danny and the villain, Gunther but the climax was a bit lacking. I just feel like things were a bit rushed and we were left will an awful lot of questions. I understand that it was setup for a sequel, but the reader doesn't really get any sort of resolution in the end of book one.

That being said, I will still be looking out for a book two. I feel like Danny's story is just getting started and now I am very invested in what happens to him. I just would have liked to have a little bit more closure before diving into book two.