July '10 BotM: Howling at the Moon by Karen MacInerney

[Kathleen]

Please post comments and discussion here for the July '10 Book of the Month:

Howling at the Moon (Tales of an Urban Werewolf, Book 1) by Karen MacInerney

[Gina]

I have to order my copy - Coles doesn't have it in stock.

[Kathleen]

I am giving Howling at the Moon a rating of 3.5 stars. The first half of this book is very slow, but the plot picks up in the second half. I found the heroine, Sophie Garou, snobby and obsessively dedicated to career advancement, and hence, unlikeable. Her mother, Carmen Bianca, is a witch who owns a magic shop, Sit a Spell, which sells charms, crystals, and potions. A prominent politician dies after drinking a potion from Sit a Spell and Carmen is arrested for murder. Sophie works for a major Austin, Texas, accounting firm, and refuses to share the information on the arrest with her boss because it would embarrass the firm and affect her advancement. If my mother had been wrongly accused of murder, I would be asking everyone for their support and if they didn’t support her and me, then I would have been seeking another position. Sophie also refuses to introduce her boyfriend, Heath, to her mother, because her mother wouldn’t fit with his “country club” ways. Eventually Heath meets Carmen and is completely charmed by her. Also, neither Heath nor any of Sophie’s friends are aware of her “hairy little problem;” Sophie is a werewolf. The author frequently uses the phrase “my hairy little problem” in the first half of the book. I managed to figure out Sophie’s status as a werewolf was a secret the first time it was mentioned, but I tired of repeatedly hearing this phrase as a reminder in the following pages.

Eventually Sophie is a little more sympathetically portrayed when she comes to the aid of a young woman being attacked by three werewolves, but it was too little too late. My opinion of Sophie was formed at that point and there wasn’t an act of redemption that caused me to believe her character had essentially been changed. Sophie is instrumental is clearing her mother, but probably still wouldn’t claim her if they were spotted in public. The mystery surrounding the murder was interesting and is the reason for the half star. Seriously doubt that I will continue with this series. If Karen MacInerney writes a book with a different heroine, perhaps I will give it a try; the whodunit portion of this book had merit.

[Gina]

Oh, wow! Thanks for the heads-up, Kathleen. I don't like it either, when an author portrays a character so badly in the first half and not even redemption in the second half. It's a turn-off for sure.