Title: Wolf’s Clothing

Series: Legend Tripping 02

Author: E.J. Russell

Genre: Paranormal, Urban Fantasy

Length: Novel (349 pages)

Publisher: Riptide Publishing (10 Oct 2016)

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts

Blurb: What do you do when you finally prove the existence of the otherworld, but the ghosts kick your ass?

For Trent Pielmeyer, the answer is run like hell—away from his hostile family, away from the disbelieving cops, and far, far, far away from anything that smacks of the supernatural. After seven years’ captivity in a whacked-out alternate dimension, he is so over legend tripping.

When Christophe Clavret spots Trent in a Portland bar, he detects a kindred spirit—another man attempting to outrun the darkness of his own soul. But despite their sizzling chemistry, Trent’s hatred of the uncanny makes Christophe hesitant to confide the truth: he’s a werewolf, one of a dwindling line, the victim of a genetic curse extending back to feudal Europe.

But dark forces are at work, threatening more than their growing love. If Christophe can’t win Trent’s trust, and if Trent can’t overcome his fear of the paranormal, the cost could be Trent’s freedom and Christophe’s humanity. Or it might be both their lives.

ISBN: 978-1-62649-410-7

Product Link: http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/wolfs-clothing-legend-tripping-novel

Reviewer: Prime

Review: Wolf’s Clothing is the sequel to the first book in the Legend Tripping series, Stumptown Spirits. While it is probably not vital to read book 1 before getting to book 2, there are a lot of key facts about the MC Trent Pielmeyer which would make a lot more sense.

We met Trent in book 1, at first he was introduced by his friend because he was “missing” and his family assumed that he was dead. Instead he was involved a deadly ghostly reenactment of a centuries old crime. Trent, and another man, were left in a sort of limbo. In Trent’s case, he was there for seven years. Therefore, when he reappeared out of nowhere – whether he told the truth or everyone assumed that he was suffering from PTSD – he was dismissed as something of a head case. He also reappeared looking as though not a day had past – he was a 27 year old in a 19 year old’s body. And on top of all that he often has nightmares of the seven years where he relived the hanging of a man in colonial Oregon.

Pretty twisted but now Trent wants nothing more than to move on. But while Trent has his own problems and wants to avoid all things paranormal, in particular anything that involves legend tripping, Christophe Clavert is an interesting case. He’s a wolf shifter, but he’s a bit resentful of his capabilities. Or rather, he doesn’t actually see it as a gift, more so a curse. There are a few parallels with Marvel’s X-Men during the course of the book and while I think that more detail could have gone into why Christophe feels this way, what is there is a good glimpse into the character.

Trent and Christophe both need to battle their own demons over the course of the book. They work well together and while the chemistry isn’t there from the outset it is clearly one of those cases where the romance is much more subtle and evolves as they get to know each other, i.e. it was definitely no love at first sight type of deal. However, it is ultimately Christophe’s issues that dominate and are thoroughly resolved by the end of the book. In fact, I find myself a little disappointed more time was spent on the detective that was following Trent and more about his mental state after being stuck in limbo for seven years. For that reason part of me was confused why the story was so long, but in the end I really got into the story.

If you liked the first book or if you’re looking for a paranormal/spirit based book with a twist this is the book for you, or at least worth the consideration.