Wolf Strap

Urban Wolf #.5

by Naomi Clark

When loner werewolf Ayla Hammond returns to her home town for her cousin's funeral, she thinks the worst she'll have to deal with is her prejudiced parents meeting her human girlfriend. But when the grisly truth about her cousin's death emerges, Ayla finds herself facing a monster that shouldn't exist. A monster even a werewolf might be powerless against.

Be Warned: f/f sex

Word Count: 9,570; originally published in the anthology, "Queer Wolf"

Genres: Urban Fantasy, LGBT, Shapeshifters, Fantasy, Lesbian, Paranormal, Romance

38 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Naomi Clark lives in Cambridge and is a mild-mannered office worker by day, but a slightly crazed writer by night. She has a perfectly healthy obsession with giant sea creatures and a preference for vodka-based cocktails. When she's not writing, Naomi is probably either reading or watching 80s cartoon shows, and sometimes she manages to do all three at once.

Reviews

[Luce · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars for the first book in the series Urban Wolf. This book novella length, I think they all may be novellas or short novels. This book is free on the publisher’s site and Smashwords.

I was intrigued because I am interested in reading book 5 which takes place at Christmas, so I wanted to read at least this one first.

In this world, warewolves and humans live side by side. In some areas relatively peacefully. Ayla Hammond returns to her hometown with her human partner, Shannon for her teenaged nephew’s funeral. Her parents were not happy when she came out to them, so she left and this is her first visit in years. Ayla finds out her nephew was brutally murdered and she is determined to revenge his death.

The author does a good job setting up this world and it is interesting that she chooses to have Ayla and Shannon in an established relationship. In this world, her werewolves shift from human to actual wolf form as opposed to most movie warewolves.

[Liv · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recommendation: Borrow

Would you read another book by this author?: I would consider it, as I feel this author has huge potential.

Who might enjoy this book?: People who enjoy a nice quick read with paranormal elements and suspense.

Overview:
This was a quick and interesting read. When I started it, I didn’t realize it was part of a series, which left me feeling like there should be more to the story, as it seemed fairly well thought out. The author displays great talent, and I’m inclined to give the next book a try to see how the story evolves. While this book didn’t WOW me, I definitely see potential for growth and development in future installments.

Issues while reading:
I wanted more development between characters.

Side Notes:
At the time of reading, I purchased this book for free on my NOOK.

[Justina Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a city where wolf shifters and humans live and work side by side. It isn’t always that way in other areas, but here the wisdom of such an alliance works well for both. However, this city is the scene of a vicious murder of a Wolf Pack sixteen-year-old. Adam was the nephew of an outcast Wolf Pack member named Ayla, drawn home to be there at the funeral. Ayla left her hometown when she came out to her parents having taken a human female mate. She still may face repercussions, but a much larger issue and danger face everyone. I was very engaged and absorbed by the tension and mystery. The gentle and loving moments for Ayla and Shannon were small jewel-like interludes within this tense and terrifying tale.

There are some harsh and ugly events and people included within the story, so be prepared. They kept me riveted to the unique situation in this town and the dark underside that faces Pack folks and humans almost everywhere else. Now, it has come to this balanced community. The unraveling of the mystery of Adam’s murder is the primary focus throughout the book. We get to intermingle with some interesting gay wolf shifters who are less in the closet since Ayla took her stand. I loved following that parallel and having Ayla get to be in her wolf form, too.

She and Shannon are an amazing couple and their story plus their interrelating with Ayla’s family, the police investigators, and the ‘bad folk’ spiced things up wonderfully. Ayla and Shannon’s relationship is not primary, but not neglected and I felt it added a spicy and stabilizing quality. There was also a startling and grisly revelation for me about what a “Wolf Strap” really is, how dangerous and devastating the consequences.

I hope you can stay the course; sit on the edge of your seat like I did and reach the ending and resolution of this mystery. I found it gripping but worth it.

[Angela]

(28 September 2014): $0.00 FREE on Publisher Website

[Charlie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this bc it was short (and free) and I was hoping for some lesbian sex scenes. What i got instead was a pretty boring murder-mystery and kinda flat characters. Oh well. Can't win them all, I guess.

[strawberry · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read it because i was bored on a flight and I thought it was supposed to be something else . But it did provide some semblance of entertainment.

[Christie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ayla Hammond is a lone wolf. Make that "werewolf". She's been on her own and far away from her hometown for a while, but she must return for the funeral of her 16-year-old cousin, whose death might be an anti-were hate crime. Werewolves and humans coexist, if a bit uneasily in the Urban Wolf world, and like every other minority, they have hate groups opposing them.

This time home, however, Ayla is bringing her new mate, P.I. Shannon Ryan, to meet the parents. Talk about a stress-inducing visit! Together, the couple face prejudice both within the werewolf community and from outside hate groups. And they just can't let the death slide, they have to know who killed 16-year-old Adam.

Wolf Strap is a pretty short short story, having appeared in the Queer Wolf anthology edited by James E. M. Rasmussen, and also available as a free download from the author's website (http://naomiclarkwrites.blogspot.com/...). Even having had the benefit of the (also free) prequel, "A Girl in Wolf's Clothing", to give me some background, the story really assumes that you know the urban fantasy genre and probably doesn't do enough to clue in an uninformed reader as to all the assumptions that underlie an urban fantasy. However, as an urban fantasy fan, I found it a good read with an unexpected plot twist.

[Yolanda Sfetsos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Naomi's UF stories, so I'd been looking forward to reading this free short story for a while.

Ayla is a werewolf. She's also got a human girlfriend and abandoned her pack years ago because of their prejudice. But her cousin was killed, so she heads back with Shannon to attend the funeral. She's nervous about returning, and introducing her mate to her parents but finds that a lot has changed since she left.

And discovering what really happened to her young cousin turns out to be a ghastly experience.

I really enjoyed this well-written and interesting shortie. Now I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I often find short stories lacking and in plot and character development. However Wolf Strap did not fall into that trap. The author did a wonderful job of bringing the characters, and world, to life in a relatively short amount of time.

I cannot wait to dive into Silver Kiss

Readers who like FF stories with a touch of paranormal/shifters will probably enjoy this story.

And hey its free on the below sites, so why not give it a go. You have nothing to lose, and possible will find a new series to sink you teeth into.

Smashwords - https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this and felt it was too short. It felt like half a story. I feel like it ended before it really got started. Her cousin got murdered and what that's it? I know cops... that is not it, until they were caught and convicted it would not be over, and even then they would be waiting for parole board to keep them in. And what is with the non cop? I is like you finally get into it and the rest of the book was blank.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

*downloaded free on ARE

Unfortunately I felt like I was dropped into the middle of a chapter and then was expected to know what was going on. Which is sad since this was pretty good but I really wish there was more to it.

[Joc · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is 0.5 in the Urban Wolf series and although I probably should have started with 0.25, I think this was a great teaser to Silver Kiss. Wolf Strap was good reading with a nice, quick pace.

[Valerie Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was super short, but it had potential. It felt like some great middle chapters for a novel I'd read.

[Lizzie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't do it for me. Didn't make me want to care about the characters. Didn't make a big enough impressions to even remember reading it just two weeks ago. Just wasn't that good.

[Natsu · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the idea presented in the story. I only wish it was longer. It would've made a nice supernatural/murder/mystery novel.

[Veronica Shields · Rating 3 out of 5]

The hasty editing was a little distracting, but otherwise this is a fairly decent short story.