I really enjoy both the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs and The Anita Blake series by Laurell K Hamilton. They both have a little of everything in them.

To Kinsey: I found the book

NORTH WOLF by M.A. Everaux is a novel that I didn’t see on the list. If you can try and read this book. It may seem kind of slow at first but be patient with it. It’s a real attention grabber when you really get into it and you’ll want to read it again. Trust I’ve been trying to find this novel for almost half a year so that I can read it again.

I’ve also read a book that mentioned dire wolves but I can’t remember what it was called. (trying to find that book again by the way so if anyone has any suggestions it would be greatly appreciated) I do remember that the book had four main characters; two sons (oldest is pack alpha and is a black smith), older father (who is a famous sculptor/ painter) and young woman who is the mate to oldest son and is also an aspiring painter but is human.

Also – Alice Borchardt’s trilogy (Silver Wolf, Night of the Wolf, the Wolf King), set in medieval Rome, is very good – not romance per se, but there is a central romance and the writing is lush and evocative. Borchardt was Anne Rice’s sister; she passed away a few years ago.

Thanks for the recommendations – I’ve ordered a few ya’ll mentioned.

And I look forward to more from Holley, too. Wish the bitch didn’t write at the speed of continental drift.

Barbie And The Beast by Linda Thomas-Sundstrom

I don’t know if the series strictly counts as “werewolf”, since the main focus is vampires, but there is a strong werewolf element in the series.

It’s out of print right now, but I saw on the author’s website that it’s going to be re-released through MLR press.

Does werewolf equal wolf shifter? I think of werewolves (not so much) as people ‘infected' or affected by something that makes them change into a wolfish looking human. Wolf shifters change completely into wolves. I think of one as frightening and one as a romantic. Does any of this matter to anyone but me?

IMO, a werewolf is a person who has no ability to shift into the wolf mode at will. A person involuntarily shifts into the wolf mode because of, say, the moon or an extreme emotion, which means he or she has no control over his or her ability to shift. Examples: Guy Endore’s The Werewolf of Paris, Oz from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, etc.

A wolf shifter is a person who has an ability to shift into the wolf mode whenever he or she wants, which means they have the full or some control over their ability to shift. Examples: Kelley Armstrong’s Bitten series and Annette Curtis Klause’s Blood and Chocolate.

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My all-time favourite werewolf novel is Robert R. McCammon’s WWII-era war/adventure/action/horror/romance novel, The Wolf’s Hour, featuring Michael Gallatin. I have to admit it’s rather dated, but damn, I loved this novel. Probably because it shoved everyone’s finger in an electric socket for being so different at the time (a wolf shifter as a heroic Russian-born British hunky spy-with-tragic-past who goes after some bad Nazi guys? Whoo hoo!).

The Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs is also a favorite. The pack dynamics are well thought out and Mercy’s unique identity & how she relates to structured werewolf culture is fresh and clever. The hero is very alpha without treating her like crap, or proving his masculinity by compulsively sleeping around, and the heroine came across to me as very strong and relatable. Also, the “love triangle” is wrapped up within the first 3 books — no ‘will they or won’t they’ drawn out forever. [I know I personally won't start reading any series that (a) isn't already finished or (b) doesn't have the couple settled together yet. I don't enjoy being strung along book by book, waiting for emotional resolution that may never come.]

In the book, Vivi is 17 and in high school in some southern state, the pack has recently been forcibly moved from the backwoods of (Virginia, I think), and they’re having survival issues in the city. There are intrapack politics, teenage angst, sexual tension, authentic emotion, and Gabriel is NOT a sleazy, Eurotrash skeeve.

Back to books: Susan Sizemore’s vampire series has begun to feature some wolves. Primal Needs is the story between vampire Sid and werewolf Joe (I think. My memory fails me).