Title: How to Howl at the Moon

Series: Howl at the Moon 01

Author: Eli Easton

Genre: Paranormal, Shape shifters

Length: Novel (323 pages)

ASIN: B00T12QQOW

Publisher: Pinkerton Road (28 Feb 2015)

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: 💖💖💖💖💖 5 Hearts

Reviewers: Prime & Shorty

Blurb: Sheriff Lance Beaufort is not going to let trouble into his town, no sir. Tucked away in the California mountains, Mad Creek has secrets to keep, like the fact that half the town consists of ‘quickened’—dogs who have gained the ability to become human. Descended on both sides from Border Collies, Lance is as alert a guardian as they come.

Tim Weston is looking for a safe haven. After learning that his boss patented all of Tim’s work on vegetable hybrids in his own name, Tim quit his old job. A client offers him use of her cabin in Mad Creek, and Tim sees a chance for a new start. But the shy gardener has a way of fumbling and sounding like a liar around strangers, particularly gorgeous alpha men like Sheriff Beaufort.

Lance’s hackles are definitely raised by the lanky young stranger. He’s concerned about marijuana growers moving into Mad Creek, and he’s not satisfied with the boy’s story. Lance decides a bit of undercover work is called for. When Tim hits a beautiful black collie with his car and adopts the dog, its love at first sight for both Tim and Lance’s inner dog. Pretending to be a pet is about to get Sheriff Beaufort in very hot water.

Purchase Link: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Prime’s Review 💖💖💖💖💖 5 Hearts:

How to Howl at the Moon is the first book in Eli Easton’s series, Howl at the Moon. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, Easton is not an unknown author to me and I’ve always enjoyed her writing style. I can’t think of a book that I haven’t either liked or loved. The thing that I wasn’t sure about was the shape shifting part, as I don’t think I’ve read anything by Easton that involves paranormal themes.
However, all these concerns were for nothing. Other than an excellently written book that was easy to follow and had be completely engrossed from start to finish, this was a really different take on the whole shape shifter thing. While it wasn’t dark and gritty, this is a rather light hearted series that is great to read when you don’t want to go full angst, this was a creative and unique look at how shape shifters come about. It’s fascinating because I love that the creation/emergence of shifters gets a back story. To put it simply, that is really cool.

The story starts with Sheriff Lance Beaufort, from the little town of Mad Creek nestled in the Californian mountains. He, like his father and grandfather before him, protect the town from any threats and discovery by humans. Lance and much of Mad Creek are called “quickened” or “quick”. A quickened is a dog, an actual pet dog, who was so loved that they received the ability to shape shift, becoming half man and half dog. This transformation is called receiving the “spark”. Lance is a third generation quickened, which means that he was never a pet, instead he was born with the ability to change.

For Lance, life is not smooth, trying to help the newly quickened as they arrive in town, and adding the danger of discovery caused by humans with increasing drug trade Lance is on alert. When a new human moves into town, Lance is concerned especially since he appears to be an adept gardener. Despite his physical attraction to the man, Lance can’t do anything with the human – not until he sure that man is not growing and distributing marijuana. But the other obstacle of having a human around, until there is complete trust Lance cannot betray the town and his family and reveal the secret of the quickened.

When Tim Weston moves into a house in Mad Creek, looking for a safe place to regroup. After losing the rights and trademarks of the hybrids he had created from the boss that he had trusted, he has nothing and the opportunity for free rent while working on new hybrids is an enticing offer which he takes. He likes Mad Creek and begins to fix things so that he can start creating his hybrids. The problem is that when he arrived, he attracted the interest of the sheriff and not in a good way.

This is a totally unique story and a lot of fun. The characters have a bit of a slow burn chemistry, but they are also completely endearing. Loved this book, can’t wait to move onto the next book.

Shorty’s Review 💖💖💖💖💖 5 Hearts:

I loved Lance and Tim together even though Lance screw things up at first by deceiving Tim. This story is about a misunderstanding leading to investigating an innocent man and the antics of several characters that lead to anger and an attack by people who have ill intent.

I loved everything about the story. It progressed beautifully. there was the right amount of sexual tension, shyness, frustration, humor, and suspense to make for a well written book that fully immerses the reader in a quaint little town and it’s inhabitants.

The explanation behind quicken was intriguing to say the least. I loved all the characters and am looking forward to getting know more of them as the series continues.

Fantastic read and highly recommended.