A review by onceuponatimeireadabook
Howl for It by Shelly Laurenston
4.0
While I already own a copy or two of Howl for It, I was given an advanced copy of the republished edition from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The following review consists solely of my opinions and no one else's.
I love and worship Shelly Laurenston so when NetGalley showed a republication of Howl for It, I nearly poured a bottle of water on my laptop to click the request button. Howl for It is a duet anthology consisting of Like a Wolf with a Bone by Shelly Laurenston, Book 0.5 of the Pride series, and Wed or Dead by Cynthia Eden.
Like a Wolf with a Bone
I can’t not gush about Eggie Ray Smith, he's one of my favourite characters from Shelly Laurenston. I’ve been in love with Eggie Ray Smith’s character since reading about needing to call Uncle Eggie in to deal with some issues in The Beast in Him. He's fearsome and overly protective of anyone he deems 'his'. And, as soon as he set eyes on Darla Mae Lewis, she was his and he'd do anything to keep her safe. Which means when Darla Mae is attacked by a squad of full-humans trying to kill her, Eggie does what Eggie Ray Smith does best. He starts the killin'.
Most shifters in the world are terrified of Eggie Ray Smith, even his fellow packmates aren't comfortable around him and aren't exactly bending over backwards to invite him to sit a spell with them. Which makes little Darla Mae none too happy when she finds out. Eggie's a fearsome shifter to be sure, but he's not a bad guy. He begs for his mother's help to take out Darla's stitches because he's worried his hands are too rough to touch Darla. He tries to change himself for Darla but Darla is quick to tell him she likes him just the way he is.
Darla Mae Lewis is one of those people I'd love to have in my life, she's loving and trusting but she's also an assertive woman who will kick ass if she feels she has to. She's very loyal and defends Eggie Ray several times, even against her own sisters. Darla Mae is also a well-travelled and highly educated pastry chef, working at Van Holtz Restaurants all over the place and even having her European culinary education funded by her boss. Best of all? Darla Mae Lewis is a bona fide all-inclusive feminist. Yes, she's an apex predator shifter who shifter males know not to mess with, but she understands all women need equality and does the marching and protesting just like we are today.
In Like a Wolf with a Bone, we get to see how some older characters from Laurenston's shifter books were as 'new adults', Blayne Thorpe's daddy, Sissy Mae's and Smitty's parents, and, of course Dee-Ann's parents. We also meet Sara Morrighan's parents at a Woodstock-style party in the mountains.
With Like a Wolf with a Bone, I always enjoy reading the story. I think I actually have it memorised. Every part of the story had a beginning, a middle, and an end. Nothing was left unresolved. As a standalone and not a paired book, I'd rate Like a Wolf with a Bone, as 5 out of 5 stars because it's one of my favourite Laurenston books and it needs more gushing since it's a short story.
Wed or Dead
I admit it. Before this ARC, I'd actually never read Cynthia Eden's half of the book. So, this was actually my first time reading Wed or Dead. I enjoyed Kayla and Gage's story, but it wasn't really my kind of book. I'm not a fan of the 'genetically compatible for breeding mate' trope, women are not incubators and that's always what this trope says to me.
I did, however, enjoy the beginning of the story which starts with Kayla convincing herself to walk down the aisle of a Las Vegas strip chapel to her waiting groom, Gage. And then, we have a wedding night and meh. But that morning after routine was pretty amazing with the whole "can I really bring myself to kill the person I just had sex with, my newly wedded spouse?". The escape out the window was shocking and exhilarating from my spot in my safe bed with my cosy pupper under my head. Don't ask me to jump out the window to certain death, but I'll totally read or watch it.
The way the story played out, the betrayals and the enemy of my enemy is my friend thing? I liked it but some of it (the Big Bad) was too bad for me. Not on a literary level but on a moral level. There are just some things that you don't do and The Big Bad did it. Like, can I just slip into the story and be a little homicidal on The Big Bad?
While Wed or Dead wasn't very memorable for me, I did like reading it. I'll even go read the other Cynthia Eden books I bought just because they were there. Don't judge. I like to have options. But because it wasn't very memorable and it played on a trope I have no love for among a few other things you'll probably notice if you read it, I'm only giving it 3 stars.
Overall, I give Howl for It (both Like a Wolf with a Bone and Wed or Dead) 4 out of 5 stars and 3 out of 5 flames. I especially enjoyed reading Howl for It because the sexy times are limited because the stories are short in order to provide a full story for us readers to enjoy.
I love and worship Shelly Laurenston so when NetGalley showed a republication of Howl for It, I nearly poured a bottle of water on my laptop to click the request button. Howl for It is a duet anthology consisting of Like a Wolf with a Bone by Shelly Laurenston, Book 0.5 of the Pride series, and Wed or Dead by Cynthia Eden.
Like a Wolf with a Bone
I can’t not gush about Eggie Ray Smith, he's one of my favourite characters from Shelly Laurenston. I’ve been in love with Eggie Ray Smith’s character since reading about needing to call Uncle Eggie in to deal with some issues in The Beast in Him. He's fearsome and overly protective of anyone he deems 'his'. And, as soon as he set eyes on Darla Mae Lewis, she was his and he'd do anything to keep her safe. Which means when Darla Mae is attacked by a squad of full-humans trying to kill her, Eggie does what Eggie Ray Smith does best. He starts the killin'.
Most shifters in the world are terrified of Eggie Ray Smith, even his fellow packmates aren't comfortable around him and aren't exactly bending over backwards to invite him to sit a spell with them. Which makes little Darla Mae none too happy when she finds out. Eggie's a fearsome shifter to be sure, but he's not a bad guy. He begs for his mother's help to take out Darla's stitches because he's worried his hands are too rough to touch Darla. He tries to change himself for Darla but Darla is quick to tell him she likes him just the way he is.
Darla Mae Lewis is one of those people I'd love to have in my life, she's loving and trusting but she's also an assertive woman who will kick ass if she feels she has to. She's very loyal and defends Eggie Ray several times, even against her own sisters. Darla Mae is also a well-travelled and highly educated pastry chef, working at Van Holtz Restaurants all over the place and even having her European culinary education funded by her boss. Best of all? Darla Mae Lewis is a bona fide all-inclusive feminist. Yes, she's an apex predator shifter who shifter males know not to mess with, but she understands all women need equality and does the marching and protesting just like we are today.
In Like a Wolf with a Bone, we get to see how some older characters from Laurenston's shifter books were as 'new adults', Blayne Thorpe's daddy, Sissy Mae's and Smitty's parents, and, of course Dee-Ann's parents. We also meet Sara Morrighan's parents at a Woodstock-style party in the mountains.
With Like a Wolf with a Bone, I always enjoy reading the story. I think I actually have it memorised. Every part of the story had a beginning, a middle, and an end. Nothing was left unresolved. As a standalone and not a paired book, I'd rate Like a Wolf with a Bone, as 5 out of 5 stars because it's one of my favourite Laurenston books and it needs more gushing since it's a short story.
Wed or Dead
I admit it. Before this ARC, I'd actually never read Cynthia Eden's half of the book. So, this was actually my first time reading Wed or Dead. I enjoyed Kayla and Gage's story, but it wasn't really my kind of book. I'm not a fan of the 'genetically compatible for breeding mate' trope, women are not incubators and that's always what this trope says to me.
I did, however, enjoy the beginning of the story which starts with Kayla convincing herself to walk down the aisle of a Las Vegas strip chapel to her waiting groom, Gage. And then, we have a wedding night and meh. But that morning after routine was pretty amazing with the whole "can I really bring myself to kill the person I just had sex with, my newly wedded spouse?". The escape out the window was shocking and exhilarating from my spot in my safe bed with my cosy pupper under my head. Don't ask me to jump out the window to certain death, but I'll totally read or watch it.
The way the story played out, the betrayals and the enemy of my enemy is my friend thing? I liked it but some of it (the Big Bad) was too bad for me. Not on a literary level but on a moral level. There are just some things that you don't do and The Big Bad did it. Like, can I just slip into the story and be a little homicidal on The Big Bad?
While Wed or Dead wasn't very memorable for me, I did like reading it. I'll even go read the other Cynthia Eden books I bought just because they were there. Don't judge. I like to have options. But because it wasn't very memorable and it played on a trope I have no love for among a few other things you'll probably notice if you read it, I'm only giving it 3 stars.
Overall, I give Howl for It (both Like a Wolf with a Bone and Wed or Dead) 4 out of 5 stars and 3 out of 5 flames. I especially enjoyed reading Howl for It because the sexy times are limited because the stories are short in order to provide a full story for us readers to enjoy.