Review: Howling at the Moon by Karen MacInerney

I came across this author while surfing the bloggosphere searching for a new werewolf series to begin. I was very pleased to make Karen MacInerney‘s acquaintance! (so to speak) I didn’t have any expectations when I started reading this book but quickly became enthralled.

There are quite a few pop culture references made throughout this book that I could relate to. One of them being, Sophie’s a religious What Not To Wear episode watcher. Whenever there’s nothing on TV I will often watch this show (to my boyfriend’s horror). This little tidbit allowed me to easily relate to the main character and I was able to imagine myself in her shoes. For me, this is a sign of a good novel so the author immediately gained my full attention. I also liked her last name, Garou. I’m assuming it’s from the French term loup-garou (werewolf). It was a neat little detail.

Sophie as a main character was quite humorous. I could relate to her on many levels. I got a good laugh at the start of the book when she shapeshifted and got stuck in her panty hose. I’m a pretty clumsy person and if I were a werewolf I could totally see something similar happening to me! I also smiled every time Sophie had to run to the bathroom to shave her legs because of the excessive hair growth caused by her “condition”. Not to mention, how her two hind legs stayed bare during her transformations. Very cute! I’ve never come across anything of the sort in my other werewolf readings.

The story revolves around a 28 year old female werewolf who’s trying to make it in the human world. She has a job, a boyfriend, a best friend but she just happens to turn furry every once in a while. She’s never had any contact with anyone of her kind so her knowledge of her species is rather limited. She’s also a bit of a fashionista. The contrast between her wolfish nature and her addiction to Manolo Blahnik’s was hilarious. I also enjoyed MacInerney’s approach to wolfsbane. Sophie’s constant guzzling of tea made me relate to her all the more with my own coffee addiction.

Then there’s the men. One human and one werewolf but both are very swoon worthy. Heath: the high-powered, delicious and devoted lawyer boyfriend. And Tom: the sexy, predatory, full-blooded werewolf. What’s a girl to do! She stays faithful to her beloved, aside from a few guilty kisses with Tom, but I have a feeling as this series progresses that may change!

There’s plenty more to the story such as witches, murder, treachery and another breed of shifters but I don’t want to give away too much. I really enjoyed this book and have added the second book in this series: On the Prowl, to my TBR pile. Howling at the Moon was a great book and a great start to a new series. MacInerney provides a new twist to modern werewolf literature that’s comical but with a lore aspect that I really enjoyed. A great read, I’m eager to read the next book!

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