Sep 21 2009
If You Like Werewolves
It has come to my attention via a reader in email that I’ve never done an “If You Like Werewolves” post (and frankly, I need to start up the series on a regular basis. The fact is that there aren’t a ton of werewolf stories in paranormal romance. Werewolves are prolific in the Urban Fantasy subgenre but in PNR, the wolf is more rare.
Nalini Singh’s Pys/Changeling series has focused more on the cat shifter than the wolf shifter although the Snow Dancers will likely play a bigger role in future books. Caressed by Ice features a she-wolf/Psy pairing but it didn’t delve into the shifter culture as much as it was focused on the emotional trauma suffered by Brenna and the thawing of Judd, the Psy Arrow.
I fell in love with the wolf shifter myth with Kelley Armstrong’s Bitten and Stolen which are told from the point of view of Elena who became a werewolf when Clay bit her. Armstrong’s latest work, Frostbitten, is a return to the world of Clay and Elena.
Kinsey Holley’s Kiss and Kin is a sexy werewolf shifter story but it’s a short story and I don’t think we were given enough time to explore either the myth of the shifters or the emotional bond of the characters. I look forward to more from Holley though.
Sarah McCarty’s upcoming paranormal series has werewolves and vampires that shift into wolves but Caleb, the first in the series, really doesn’t explore the wolf shifter dynamic and myth.
Susan Krinard’s main focus is the wolf, or Loup Garou, but even she has branched out into other shifter territory such as shifting unicorns (Lord of Legends).
If you were to compile a best of series for werewolf lovers, what romance books would you include?
*****
Edited to Add: Suggestions of werewolf romances from the comments:
- Dakota Cassidy – Accidental Werewolf (via May)
- Lora Leigh – Breed series (via Gina)
- Kresley Cole – A Hunger Like No Other and Wicked Deeds on a Winter’s Night. Her next book is about the Lykae as well. (via Cheryl McInnis)
- Terry Spear – starting with Destiny of the Wolf (I want to read these) (thanks Silver James)
- Rebeca York – Moon series, starting with Killling Moon
- Larissa Ione – Desire Unchained has a werewolf heroine (via marga)
- Mireya offers up a series of shifter books: Judy Mays, Rhyannon Byrd (though this author also has a series with Harlequin), Tielle St. Clare, Charlene Teglia, Christine Warren (her Others series, ties to her formerly known as the Fix series, which started at EC. A few of hers involve werewolves), Sherri L. King, Shiloh Walker, Nathalie Gray, etc. Shelly Laurenston writes fun shifter stories for Kensington’s Brava. Most of hers involve werewolves.
- Amanda: Cynthia Eden’s Hotter After Midnight.
- Kimmy: Sharie Kohler’s "Moon Chasers’ series; Karen Whiddon’s "The Pack’ series is pretty decent as well.
- Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Vane, Fang and Fury are up there too. (via Lesley)
- Lauren Dane’s Cascadia Pack and Shelly Laurentson’s series contains some werewolves (via Reacher Fan)
- Lane recommended LM Prieto’s books featuring m/m werewolf romance and Estara recommends the JL Langley werewolf books.
- Madelaine Montague, polyamorous stories suggested by Reacher Fan.
- Rebecca Flanders (OOP), Wolf in Waiting recommended by Meljean Brook.
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Sep 21, 2009 @ 09:50:25
Mercy Thompson series – Patricia Briggs is by far my favorite. Adam Hauptmann is my favorite!!!
I love Bitten and Stolen by Kelley Armstrong too.
Sep 21, 2009 @ 09:52:40
I am not a big fan of werewolf centered books but my all time favorite werewolf books were by Donna Boyd. The Passion and The Promise. The Passion had me up for hours reading and I was so disappointed that she didn’t continue after two books. Not sure if the publisher decided against it. I recommend any fan of werewolves read those two books. Beautifully written books with great actions and romance set in Victorian times.
Sep 21, 2009 @ 09:59:54
Carrie Vaughn’s Kitty Norville stories…
Start with Kitty and the Midnight Hour and go forward.
Sep 21, 2009 @ 10:15:29
I enjoyed the Accidental Werewolf (Dakota Cassidy). I liked hearing about girly-girl being bitten (accidentally, of course) then falling for mr. alpha of pack. Funny & an entertaining read too.
Sep 21, 2009 @ 10:34:54
You have to add Lora Leigh’s Breed Series.
Sep 21, 2009 @ 10:38:33
Kresley Cole writes great werewolves-with a slightly different twist- in her IAD series. A Hunger Like No Other and Wicked Deeds On A Winter’s Night both center around werewolf heroes, and so does Pleasure Of A Dark Prince, which comes out in 2010 I believe :- )
Sep 21, 2009 @ 10:55:14
Great list of werewolf books coming out! :D If I may be so bold as to add my own…
13 TO LIFE (the first in a series purchased by St. Martin’s Press) is a YA paranormal romance that will be in bookstores in June 2010, with its sequel coming in December of 2010 and book 3 hitting shelves in 2011. 13 TO LIFE began as the first winner of a cell phone novel contest in the western world and landed me a multi-book deal.
My book 1 copyedits come my way this week, book 2′s already on my editor’s desk and I’m fast drafting book 3 right now and I just got a sneak peek at my cover. Things are hopping here!
Thanks for mentioning some wonderful books–lots to look forward to!
~Shannon Reinbold-Gee
Author of 13 TO LIFE (coming June 2010)
A Tale of Teenage Love, Loss and–oh, yeah–Werewolves. ;-)
Sep 21, 2009 @ 11:04:05
My favorite werewolf romance is probably Rebecca Flanders’s WOLF IN WAITING, which was originally part of the Silhouette Shadows line. It’s part of a trilogy that was overall very good. She’s the same author katiebabs mentioned above (Boyd), except I didn’t really think Boyd’s books were romances in the sense that there is a HEA.
Sep 21, 2009 @ 11:04:49
Hi.
How about “Nadya” by Pat Murphy, a pretty good story. S.P Somtow’s “Moon Dance” is dark, scary and utterly unforgettable. More of a horror story than the one by Murphy.
Sep 21, 2009 @ 11:09:47
All of the werewolf books I think are really good are urban fantasy and not romance. I’ve read a few of Lori Handeland’s Jagger-Suchers books, but I really can’t recommend them. While she will show strength for part of the book, I will find myself thinking the romance is pretty entertaining, but I don’t think she has ever met a deus ex machina ending that she didn’t like.
I’ve been listening to the first Kitty Norville (Carrie Vaughn) book (Marguerite Gavin who also does the narration of the Kim Harrison Hollows series reads this one also which is one reason I decided to pick it up) and I’m kind of impressed by Vaughn’s presentation of pack politics. However, it definitely seems to be urban fantasy rather than romance.
Sep 21, 2009 @ 11:10:02
C.T. Adams’ Tales of the Sazi series which starts with Hunter’s Moon. Terry Spear has a series, starting with Destiny Of The Wolf. Mary Janice Davidson’s Wyndham werewolves series. Also Rebecca York’s Moon series, starting with Killing Moon.
I know there are a bunch more but those are the ones that come immediately to mind.
Sep 21, 2009 @ 11:17:49
Most of the werewolf stories I’ve ever read are erotic romance: Judy Mays, Rhyannon Byrd (though this author also has a series with Harlequin), Tielle St. Clare, Charlene Teglia, Christine Warren (her Others series, ties to her formerly known as the Fix series, which started at EC. A few of hers involve werewolves), Sherri L. King, Shiloh Walker, Nathalie Gray, etc.
Shelly Laurenston writes fun shifter stories for Kensington’s Brava. Most of hers involve werewolves.
On a side note, personally I don’t consider Lora Leigh’s Breeds a paranormal series, as the Breeds do not shift. I consider her series futuristic. The Breeds are bioengineered.
Sep 21, 2009 @ 11:26:42
Love Nalini Singh’s Caressed by Ice and Branded by Fire, as well as Patricia Briggs’ Charles and Anna (Alpha and Omega) series.
Sep 21, 2009 @ 11:42:45
Patricia Briggs is at the top of my list, definitely with Charles, Bran and Samuel. Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Vane, Fang and Fury are up there too.
Sep 21, 2009 @ 11:43:54
There’s an entire group author blog dedicated to werewolf and shapeshifter romance (I swear, this isn’t blatant self-promo!) over at: http://shapeshifterromance.wordpress.com/
Most of the blog posts discuss shapeshifter and werewolf romance and urban fantasy, though some other paranormal creatures get thrown in now and then! :)
Sep 21, 2009 @ 11:47:37
Well, two I haven’t seen mentioned that I’ve really enjoyed are the Riley Jensen series by Keri Arthur as well as Eileen Wilks’ series which may not be strictly romance. Others I’ve read are by Lori Handeland and LA Banks. The only straight up romance with werewolves that I’ve read are by Susan Sizemore.
Sep 21, 2009 @ 11:51:40
Oh, almost too many to name, but then I just LOVE shifters of all kinds, wolves, dragons, tigers, lions – not were-gerbils though. LOL
Lauren Dane explored werewolves in two different series – the Cascadia Pack (I thought the first two were the best, Enforcer and Tri-Mates, but there is an ongoing story of a werewolf mafia that not resolved till the last book – book 7) and two books of Cherchez Pack (Ascension and Fire and Rain). Very different pack stories, but both involve crossing over human mates. Published by Ellora’s Cave and the later Cascadia Pack by Samhain.
Shelly Laurenston’s Smith family wolves are part of her Pack and Pride books, The Beast In Him is Bobbie Ray’s story that includes him marrying a wild dog – another breed that’s fascinating to see. The Mane Event has two short novels – The Christmas Pride is hysterical, but Mace is a lion shifter with a human mate and a wolf alpha (Bobby Ray) for his best friend. The second part is about another lion shifter and a female wolf. The Mane Attraction is also about a male lion and female wolf. (The lions are half brothers and the she-wolves are cousins.) All are funny and have good stories going, like everything Laurenston writes. The Mane Attraction includes the home pack dynamics when Sissy Mae brings the lion shifter onto their territory to recover from a gunshot wound.
I’m not exactly Lora Leigh’s biggest fan, but Elizabeth’s Wolf was one of her best Breeds novels.
A writer that explores wolves is Madelaine Montague. She’s written some interesting books for New Concepts, Wolfen, Call of the Wolf and Hunger of the Wolf. Her most recent is titled Wolf and has the interesting premise of special forces soldiers infected with an unknown entity that slowly causes them to evolve into shifters. They aren’t wolfen, or werewolves, even the wolfen aren’t sure just what they are, but know them as wolves. Like wild wolves, the pack breeding female has multiple mates. They have fleeting menage elements, but all are basically polyamorous stories.
So many shifters, so little time. :-)
Sep 21, 2009 @ 12:02:26
i really enjoyed Desire Unchained by Larissa Ione which features a werewolf heroine…
Sep 21, 2009 @ 12:23:44
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?
I second Shelly Laurenston’s Pack Challenge as the funniest wolf shifter book ever.. especially when the heroine asked if she popped her shifter-cherry.
Sep 21, 2009 @ 12:27:43
Most of the werewolf romances that I’ve read started out as e-books. Shelly Laurenston, Annmarie McKenna, Lauren Dane, and Shiloh Walker are some examples. Sarah McCarty also has a few werewolf stories that I enjoy.
Sep 21, 2009 @ 13:31:47
My favourite werewolf books of all time (and they do not end happily romance readers) are Donna Boyd’s The Passion and The Promise.
I LOVE werewolves. There was this really great one I read when I was growing up. I can’t remember the author. St. Peter’s wolf was the title. It might have been a horror. There was a bit of a romance in it too!
Sep 21, 2009 @ 13:33:05
LOL, Katiebabs, I see we both have excellent taste!!! I even got my CP Elyssa Papa to read them, and she hates sad endings, but loved these books.
Sep 21, 2009 @ 13:53:17
Favouritest werewolf book EVAH! is Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause. It’s YA, and it’s awesome. The awesomest werewolf mythology out there, imho.
Sherrilyn Kenyon has shifters interspersed with her Dark Hunters. Night Play features wolves, and it’s my favourite in the series. Angsty, wounded hero, loyal to family. Heroine is size 18, and he likes her that way. There’s a lovely scene where they smack down her ex. It was charming.
The funniest take on the werewolf myth I’ve read is Howling Mad, by Peter David, wherein a wolf is bitten by a werewolf and, every full moon, turns into a man.
Sep 21, 2009 @ 14:00:44
Both of Lauren Dane’s werewolf series’ are good.
Sep 21, 2009 @ 15:16:04
Cynthia Eden’s Hotter After Midnight is a great one. Wolf Shifter cop falls for psychologist to the paranormal world. First in a series, but the other two books feature a succubus heroine, then a demon hero. Love the world-building though. And Colin, the wolf shifter, is a total hottie.
Sep 21, 2009 @ 15:35:42
Since no one has mentioned her, I totally enjoyed J. L. Langley’s wolf shapeshipfter With or Without series which is definitely romance. However, the protagonists are both male and while the two concern the same pack, one is stand-alone somewhat shortish and not as interesting.
The books live off the characters and the dialogue. The werewolves have a society running alongside ours secretly and the rules make a lot of sense and work in the direction of trying to minimize discovery
Without Reservations has lots of conflicts because both heroes have different skin color and only one of them is gay. The reaction of the straight male’s friends is very realistic
With Caution is my favourite book – one of the friends of the first book’s straight hero finds out that he also has a male mate (both of them are werewolves, but he has been recently turned and the other guy is a born werewolf). He has a history of being abused in his background and still tries to protect his teenager brother, and since his father is homophobic that ups the tension a lot. (Warning for people with low squick factor and spoiler: The younger brother also meets his werewolf mate in due course – he has to be changed to save his life – but the way it is handled while they both acknowledge it the adult will patiently wait for the boy to grow up and refuses to touch him before then). The way that these problematic developments are dealt with is very believable within their world and the sex is quite hot, too.
Sep 21, 2009 @ 16:47:18
I haven’t seen it mentioned, but My Sister is a Werewolf by Kathy Love is part of her fang/young brothers series. All the titles sound kinda hooky (ex. Fangs But No Fangs, Fangs for the Memories), but they were all quite enjoyable. And I bought My Sister as an eBook and really enjoyed it. :)
Sep 21, 2009 @ 17:15:27
@Suze: Blood and Chocolate was made into a movie. Unfortunately, it glossed over most of the pack dynamics and mythology behind shifting. It ended up being a fairly bad movie. I’m glad to hear that somone liked the book-because everytime the movie comes on, I always wonder if I’d like the book better.
Sep 21, 2009 @ 18:18:14
@Randi: ARGH! The movie was terrible! It was a hideous disappointment. Not only did it gloss over the pack dynamics and mythology, it rearranged them, revamped, rewrote, renovated, and completely destroyed the charm of the story. The only thing the movie had in common with the book was the names of the characters.
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).
Sep 21, 2009 @ 19:08:25
@Suze: OMG! That’s a whole other storyline!!!!!! Oh, Hollywood. How you make me sad, sometimes. LOL. Well cool-I’m totally going to order Blood and Chocolate.
Sep 21, 2009 @ 19:18:41
Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause is indeed a classic werewolf romance. Nice world building and treatment of the were mythos, in my opinion. (Just do ignore the recent movie, which has little to do with the excellent novel.)
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.]
Sep 21, 2009 @ 20:08:50
Angela Knight has written a few werewolf books. She’s definitely romance rather than urban fantasy.
Sep 21, 2009 @ 20:25:25
@joanne
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.
~~
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!).
Sep 21, 2009 @ 22:46:15
I read Lycanstein by TG Powell. It was released earlier this year and the author claims it is the first of three parts. The book is about 200 pages and was a good start. I got it off Amazon.
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Sep 21, 2009 @ 23:14:51
I really like Caitlin Kittredge Nocturne City Books. She also has very sexy covers.
Sep 22, 2009 @ 10:05:24
I really liked LM Prieto’s After Dark and After Midnight. It’s another m/m werewolf tale with compelling characters. Devon is a remarkably unusual werewolf character; sweet and thoughtful, will a very yummy english accent. His partner, Andrew is a newly awakened mage with ghosts of his own. He’s also a great example of a strong hero who is definitely not an alphole.
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.
Sep 22, 2009 @ 12:02:49
It doesn’t seem as if anyone’s mentioned Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse series.
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.
Sep 23, 2009 @ 14:48:00
Howling At The Moon (Tales of an Urban Werewolf Series) by Karen MacInerney
Barbie And The Beast by Linda Thomas-Sundstrom
Sep 23, 2009 @ 15:14:36
@ April
i meant to mention it when i first wrote in, but i forgot…
But you’re right, as it has both werewolves and shifters….
Sep 26, 2009 @ 00:04:07
I see most of my favourites were already listed, so I won’t re-post them, but I didn’t see any mention of Sharie Kohler’s ‘Moon Chasers’ series; Karen Whiddon’s ‘The Pack’ series is pretty decent as well.
Who is afraid of Big Bad Wolf? | Dear Author: Romance Novel Reviews, Industry News, and Commentary
Sep 29, 2009 @ 04:01:20
[...] week, I posted an “If You Like” query looking for good werewolf romances. I commented that the Urban Fantasy genre is replete with werewolves but that the werewolf is much [...]
Oct 03, 2009 @ 16:24:31
Speaking of funny werewolf books – and there’s a romance in it, tho it’s not a romance novel – Barking, by Tom Holt, a Brit comic novelist whose books make me howl (ba dum dum). His humor reminds me of Terry Pratchett. Barking’s about a hapless London probate lawyer who gets turned into a werewolf. Funniest thing I’ve read in years and years. There are also vamps and a unicorn.
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.
Dec 02, 2009 @ 09:56:22
ok can someone help me please. theres this werewolf romance novel i cant remember the name but i remember this girl was taken to live with her cousin who he is a total ass. anyways hes worried about the clan goin on and she falls in love well at the end of it shes laying in the rain naked and shes preg if you can help me out i would greatly apprecitate it thank you
Jun 01, 2011 @ 20:35:51
Most of these series I have read. The Mercy Thompson series is pretty good. Kate Steele also has novels about werewolves/ wolf shifters.
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.
Jun 01, 2011 @ 21:35:35
OK, I’d really like to find the dire wolves book. I’ve always been fascinated with that species.So if you remember the title, please post it here.
Jun 02, 2011 @ 02:17:37
Eureka!!!!!!
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.
Jun 08, 2011 @ 01:24:52
Ok, This is not a romance novel, but I suggest everyone buy Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber and Other stories. The stories are dark, violent, and sexual. Sometimes in a disturbing way, but good Lord are they beautiful. The ones about human animal-transformations are absolutely a perfect examples of what werewolves and their ilk should be.
Aug 28, 2011 @ 16:25:40
There’s a romance book called The Werewolf Upstairs (part of the strange neighbors series) by Ashlyn Chase that has werewolves, ghosts, witches…ect in it. I recently read it and found it to be really cute and cozy.
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.