Review: Howl by Annalise Grey

I was fortunate enough to receive a copy of this book from the author

Publication Date

Nov 9th 2011

Publisher

Self-published

Cover

Olena Vizerskaya

Available At

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Smashwords

Nineteen year old Sophie Mathews is a line-walker between two worlds - human and werewolf. She lives around humans but is never truly part of their world. That is, until she is spotted by a hiker.

What should have been a passing glance becomes so much more as Sophie falls for the one thing she is forbidden from ever having: a human mate.

Adding to her stress is newcomer Daniel, the arrogant wolf on Sophie's tail.

Then several humans are killed by a mysterious and dangerous beast within the pack's hunting grounds. The humans begin whispering of wolf-men roaming the forest and the threat of discovery looms heavy around the pack.

Everything is falling apart and Sophie realizes just how little control she has over her future.

Will she risk everything - her heart, her family, and her safety - for a chance to control her own fate?

Review
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance
Rating: 3 out 5 stars

Werewolves, mystery and love are combined in Howl to make a fascinating and original tale.

I think lovers of werewolf books are use to seeing a normal girl fall for a werewolf boy. In Howl, you will discover that the story is just as good with the roles reversed, it creates a refreshing take on a favorite genre of many. Annalise Grey also has an eye for the intricate details that added immensely to the overall story. The over-bearing, protective nature of the Alpha, the submissive ticks of the pack, the multiple births of the werewolf females, how the wolves act in wolf form. Those are just few. They added an authenticity to the story that is sometimes overlooked by authors.

Sophie was the perfect voice for Howl, in my opinion. The struggles she had to deal with made her an accessible character that was easy to like and relate to. The gradual growth was realistic, adding an even flow to the story. In fact, each character was strong in their own ways,  they each had their own personalities that never once blended into the background. Annalise was successful in evoking emotions from each character as the story unfolded. The sense of family shone through with a brilliance that pertained to the 'pack' loyalty that was needed. My absolute favorite character was Tristain, Sophie's twin brother, I loved the emotions he brought forth, the loyalty and love that radiated off of his character.

The plot line was original, throwing me through a loop that was highly unexpected. The mystery was succinctly solved, but giving way to the bigger mystery that successfully set up future books in this series. The sub-plots add to the intrigue as the reader will sense that not all is revealed when it comes to the Mathew's family. There was, however, something that was preventing me from being fully swept away. There were parts that fell flat, for me, things that were unnecessarily over detailed, like a trip to the grocery store. And although the romance between Sophie and Jaime is extremely sweet, I was still left wanting. It never evoked a heart-fluttering response from me. The romance wasn't delved into deep enough, it almost felt that the majority of it was skimmed over, lending a sub-plot feel to the romance. Maybe that was Annalise Grey's intention, I have no idea, because I can also say that there is more between Daniel and Sophie than just simple attraction, something deeper that will remain a mystery until it is revealed. I did really enjoy the story and look forward to seeing how the future books in this series will pan out.

There is no doubt that Annalise Grey knows how to weave an original, interesting tale that will reel readers in. If you are looking for a new, refreshing werewolf story, then I highly recommend Howl to you!