3.5 out of 5 stars
E-book. 386 pages. Published January 12th 2021 by Dreamspinner Press (first published October 13th 2020)
Blurb:
Paramedic and firefighter Bruce Collier became a werewolf to protect his family—and hopefully make amends for the way he treated his younger brother. His bitterness nearly turned him into the monster he thought his brother was… until he met Mr. Happy. Werewolf Laddin Holt—aka Mr. Happy—likes things organized as he makes them go boom. He’s Wulf, Inc’s explosive expert and the only one calming the turmoil inside Bruce. At least until they’re drawn into a conflict between two factions of fairies living around Lake Wacka Wacka. Bruce wants to take them out, Laddin has other ideas, and neither of them sees the real threat lurking behind the scenes—or how their love could be the answer to everybody’s problems.
Likes:
- Bruce and Laddin, together and separately.
- Bruce chose to become a werewolf.
- The pixies.
- Bitterroot.
- Straightforward plot.
- Good enough recap for me to remember what happened in book one.
- Laddin didn’t let his disability get him down.
- Verse couple.
Dislikes:
- Not instantly hooked.
- Bruce’s motivations seemed a little forced.
- No one cared what would happen to Bruce if he ate the apple.
- Josh.
- Bruce needed therapy.
- No punishment for Bruce’s dad.
- I didn’t get invested in the series.
- Unlikeable side characters.
I was a little worried that this book would expect the reader to remember tiny details of book one. It’s been almost a year since I read Were-Geeks Save Wisconsin. Thankfully, all of the important plot info was presented, by way of showing how Bruce got involved with Wulf Inc.
That being said, the beginning of the book was a little slow, and I definitely wasn’t instantly hooked. It took me a while to really like Bruce. Part of it was that his explanation for why he bullied his brother when they were kids seemed weak, and his motivations in eating the fairy fruit felt forced. The kind of forced where the author wants something to happen for plot reasons, even if the reasoning behind it isn’t exactly rational.
It wasn’t until later in the book, when Bruce began to open up, that he became more understandable, and more likeable. What his father did to him as a child was cruel in the extreme. Not just the physical aspects, but the mental harm Bruce carried into adulthood. Bruce genuinely doesn’t like himself. But it was easy to see that he really was a good man. Watching Laddin help Bruce come to like and accept himself was really sweet.
However, I have two complaints about Bruce’s childhood and the resulting trauma. The first is that Bruce’s trauma got swept under the rug at the end, as if finally being in a healthy romantic relationship was a magical cure. It’s not. He should be in therapy. The second point is that nowhere in the book did anyone suggest that Bruce’s dad pay for what he did to his son. It wasn’t just mental harm, it was physical as well. Where’s the justice?
Laddin was easier to like from the beginning. He was born with a defect on his hand but didn’t let it get him down. In fact, his disability isn’t mentioned much in the later part of the book. Then again, neither is his OCD. And he didn’t really get the chance to use his demolition skills at all.
I was surprised at how quickly Laddin and Bruce became friends. It was a smooth transition, without much resistance. Bruce opened up to Laddin quickly, in a way that felt very natural as I was reading. It also didn’t take much effort for them to go from friends to lovers. Bruce has always been straight, and the explanation that he might like guys now because of the fairy fruit was lame. But the smut was good and I liked that they were a verse couple.
The non-romantic plot was fun and relatively straightforward. Their goal was always to defeat the demon and save the world, which is the plot left over by the cliffhanger at the end of book one. The addition of the pixies was both funny and a little gross at times. And Bitterroot was an interesting antagonist.
Because I don’t remember much from book one, I didn’t like Josh. I have no loyalty to him, and he was a complete ass. Especially when he found out what their father had put Bruce through. He redeemed himself a little at the end, but not enough to make an impact.
I also have to call out the majority of the Wulf Inc. staff who constantly told Bruce to eat the apple without seeming to care what happened to him afterwards. I tend to enjoy side characters, but I disliked almost everyone but Bruce and Laddin.
I have to say, I’m not invested in this series. I enjoyed this book when I was reading it, but I’m not eager for another. I think part of it is the whole world setup. Like, even though Bruce chose to turn into a werewolf, Wulf Inc. still turns people without their consent and just hopes they’ll come work for the company. I’m also not really interested in what’s going on with Bitterroot and the dragons. And I’m not eager to see romance happen with any of the side characters.
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