REVIEW: Blind Date With A Werewolf by Patricia Briggs
Dear Patricia Briggs,
Blind Date With a Werewolf is a novel told in five short stories (plus a brief epilogue), featuring Asil (“the Moor”), one of my very favourite werewolves (admittedly there are a few of them but still) in the Alpha & Omega/Mercy Thompson universe. Three of the short stories have been previously published in anthologies featuring multiple authors. I had only read the first one before so most of the novel was new for me and even the one I had already read I had mostly forgotten. (Forgetting a story is not a judgement. I consume a lot of media and the details tend to fall out of my brain after a few years.) There are two brand new stories and the the overarching link is explained in the first short story, Unappreciated Gifts, thusly:
Dear Asil:
We have become worried about you. A werewolf alone is a sad thing, especially at Christmastime. So we have a challenge for you. Five dates in three weeks. We have taken the work out of it and connected you with five people (from online dating sites) who should make the excursions from your lonely existence worthwhile. Or amusing, if only to us. The dates, except for meals, which we thought should be up to you and your partner for the experience, are planned and paid for (when necessary). Tickets for your first event should arrive in today’s mail—all you have to do is write an email and arrange a meeting time and place.
You should know that all of these people think they have been talking to you and are looking for you to bring a little romance into their lives. We have carefully chosen people we think would be very hurt to find out they were unwitting participants in a game. Some of us believe that you would not hurt a stranger just to avoid a little discomfort. Others think that knowing that we have informed the whole pack (via email) and instigated a betting pool will be better incentive. Especially since no one, so far, has bet on your attending more than one date.
Below you can see the profile, photos, and email exchanges between your first date and . . . well I guess you know it’s not really you. Charles, computer guru that he is, did help with sending email that looks like it’s coming from you and intercepting the return emails. He was unwilling until we enlisted his mate. Lest you get excited, Anna is not one of us. And though she does know who we are, she has sworn not to tell.
Should you succeed in all five dates (success defined below) we shall confess, turn over any and all audio/video footage, and submit ourselves to your reckoning.
Sincerely,
Your Concerned Friends
*A successful date is one in which (a) neither party runs screaming into the night, (b) there are no dead bodies at the end of it, and (c) lasts longer than two hours—at least an hour and a half of which is spent with your date—which is an hour and fifty minutes longer than we expect any date of yours to last.
Asil came to Bran, the Marrok, in Aspen Creek, some 20 years earlier, wanting Bran to put an end to him. Most of the time since then, Asil has been at best, ambivalent about his continued survival and more often than not, actively courting death. He is extremely old, having been alive at the time Charlemagne was crowned and his wolf is not at all well-controlled. He is an extremely dangerous wolf anyway, but his wolf makes him even more so, being as unstable as it is. Another consequence of great age is boredom so these dates provide some welcome respite to Asil and he is intrigued enough he’s prepared to go along with the premise.
Apparently, there were enough humans pretending to be vampires that they held a yearly winter dance, which Asil and—he checked the name—Kelly were scheduled to attend. Sometimes Asil thought that he’d been a werewolf too long to understand humans at all.
As it happens, the “dates” are not what they appear to be on the surface and Asil finds himself stepping in to protect those weaker than himself over and over again. Of course, he does it in the way only Asil can – with zero modesty and little humility, looking beautiful and knowing it.
You really are willing to dance with me? In Missoula, Montana, where you might get beaten up for it? You aren’t like any straight guy I’ve ever met.”
“I am like no one you have ever met,” said Asil with assurance.
I do love him so.
Each story is discrete but, with the possible exception of the first one, there are additional aspects that link them, quite aside from the blind dates.
The stories are not for readers unfamiliar with the world of Alpha & Omega or Mercy Thompson as they reference events in the main novels which are pretty crucial to understanding Asil and his motivations. But for those, like me, who know the world? Pure delight. I raced through the novel/anthology (it is both, really) and alternatively laughed, smiled, gasped, worried and smiled again. I don’t want to give too much away about the stories because they are bite-sized glories best discovered by reading them. I will say that the Asil of the first date is not the Asil of the fifth and the changes which occur only make me want an(other) entire novel about him and what’s next for him. The showbiz saying goes “leave them wanting more” and Blind Date With A Werewolf did exactly that. As complete as the book was, I wanted to (metaphorically – as I read electronically) shake the pages to see if any additional gleanings fell out and I am fairly desperate for more.
We are getting used to dead bodies and have decided it would be better if we discard that part of the rules entirely, as you seem to be struggling with the concept.
Grade: A
Regards,
Kaetrin
Ok, wow. I’m in. The Kobo link went to their Australia site, is apparently unavailable on the US site. No worries, I am patient. Thank you so much for the review, Kaetrin.
I am waiting not very patiently for this. On several hold lists hoping it will come in soon.
@Darlynne: No, it’s available at Kobo in the US. Kaetrin’s links just go to AUS sites.
@Kaetrin, I’m ignoring your review for now as I hope to read this soon! I definitely enjoyed the stories that I’ve already read.
I have fallen far behind on the Mercy books but I’m a committed fan of the Anna and Charles stories. Will I be able to follow this one?
@Darlynne: I can only see the Australian site so I link to what I can and trust that readers will be redirected to the site that suits their location. I’m sorry it didn’t work this time!
@Nudibranch: Fingers crossed for you!
@Kareni: I didn’t give too much away I hope!
@Janine: I *think* so. I honestly can’t remember which book had a character by the name of Marisol in it. It may have been a Mercy book but it may have been an Anna and Charles book. Sorry! If you know Asil’s backstory relating to Marisol you’d probably be okay?
@Kaetrin: Is that the witch from Cry Wolf who killed his wife?
@Janine ~ Yes, Mariposa is indeed that witch.
@Kaetrin ~ I read the book last night in its entirety and very much enjoyed it. I agree wholeheartedly with your review. This is a book I expect to read again. (I’d read two of the stories previously but was happy to revisit them.)
@Kareni: So Marisol is Mariposa? The same character?
Mariposa is the name used in Blind Date with a Werewolf. I don’t believe that she was ever called Marisol, but I may be mistaken.
@Janine: @Kareni: Sorry my mistake – not Marisol – Mariposa.
@Kareni: I’m starting to feel like I need a series re-read. This could be bad…. LOLOLOLOLOL
@Kaetrin ~ but what a way to go! (I love a good reread.)
@Kaetrin: It’s always great when you want to reread an entire series.
@Kaetrin: Thanks for explaining. I put the book on hold at the library.
@Kareni: I have re-read or re-listened to this series a number of times already but I love it so!
@Jayne: Yes. Briggs is one where I usually feel that way and Susanna Kearsley is another. At present, I’m re-listening to a lot of Kristen Ashley because they’re comfort reads and podcasts are too depressing right now!
@Janine: Hope you like it!
I finally got around to this one and really enjoyed it. I was 26th or so in line for it at my library, so I went back and reread the first book in the Alpha and Omega series to refresh my memory about Asil’s past which was helpful.
Now I’m catching up on that series and contemplating the Mercy series because I want to know more about Asil’s Concerned Friend. I read the first one or two Mercy books back when they first came out but didn’t keep up with them. I remember starting the one with all the vampires and not wanting to read about them. I’m going to try the series again since it’s been a while.
I agree a follow up Asil novel/series would be awesome. I was really happy that he ended up in such a better place, emotionally, by the end of this book.