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Wolf Mates #1
An American Werewolf In Hoboken
Alternate cover edition of ASIN B00WROKCEQ
Wooing a life mate can be hard enough for a wolf, wooing one while under the threat of a curse even more so.
Wooing a mate while pretending to be her dog? Nearly impossible.
After being drugged and captured by Animal Control, Max Adams is on Hoboken's doggie death row when his life mate adopts him, takes him home, and promptly names him Fluffy. While JC, in all her new-pet-owner-ness, feeds "Fluffy" vile kibble, dresses him in mortifying dog couture, and schedules to have his manhood removed, Max's human side gets to know JC. Especially in the biblical sense.
Hopefully well enough to make her fall madly in love, mate with him under the full moon, and move with him to Cedar Glen to live happily every after forever and ever amen. And fast.
Because the curse comes with a deadline...and the clock is ticking.
Wooing a life mate can be hard enough for a wolf, wooing one while under the threat of a curse even more so.
Wooing a mate while pretending to be her dog? Nearly impossible.
After being drugged and captured by Animal Control, Max Adams is on Hoboken's doggie death row when his life mate adopts him, takes him home, and promptly names him Fluffy. While JC, in all her new-pet-owner-ness, feeds "Fluffy" vile kibble, dresses him in mortifying dog couture, and schedules to have his manhood removed, Max's human side gets to know JC. Especially in the biblical sense.
Hopefully well enough to make her fall madly in love, mate with him under the full moon, and move with him to Cedar Glen to live happily every after forever and ever amen. And fast.
Because the curse comes with a deadline...and the clock is ticking.
180 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2004
393 people are currently reading
1563 people want to read
About the author
Dakota Cassidy
167 books1,938 followersDakota Cassidy is a national bestselling author with over thirty books. She writes laugh-out-loud romantic comedy, grab-some-ice erotic romance, hot and sexy alpha males, paranormal shifters, contemporary kick-ass women, and more.
Invited by Bravo TV, Dakota was the Bravoholic for a week, wherein she snarked the hell out of all the Bravo shows. She received a starred review from Publisher Weekly for Talk Dirty to Me, won an RT Reviewers Choice Award for Kiss and Hell, along with many review site recommended reads and reviewer top pick awards.
Dakota lives in the gorgeous state of Oregon with her real life hero and her dogs, and she loves hearing from readers!
Connect with Dakota online: https://twitter.com/DakotaCassidy https://www.facebook.com/DakotaCassid...
Join Dakota Cassidy’s Newsletter The Tiara Diaries! Join here: http://mad.ly/signups/100255/join
Invited by Bravo TV, Dakota was the Bravoholic for a week, wherein she snarked the hell out of all the Bravo shows. She received a starred review from Publisher Weekly for Talk Dirty to Me, won an RT Reviewers Choice Award for Kiss and Hell, along with many review site recommended reads and reviewer top pick awards.
Dakota lives in the gorgeous state of Oregon with her real life hero and her dogs, and she loves hearing from readers!
Connect with Dakota online: https://twitter.com/DakotaCassidy https://www.facebook.com/DakotaCassid...
Join Dakota Cassidy’s Newsletter The Tiara Diaries! Join here: http://mad.ly/signups/100255/join
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 308 reviews
April 14, 2016
THE REVIEW
Why this book?
I really liked Dakota Cassidys Paris, Texas Romance books so I thought I'll give this series a try
What I thought
JC adopts a dog captured by Animal Control, who turns out to be sexy werewolf Max Adams. This book was altogether fun! Max going back and forth being Max and Fluffy (yes she named him Fluffy) was amusing. When Max is Fluffy the inner dialogue is priceless and he gets himself in some hilarious situations! Parts when Max is human is smokin hot, the romance was sizzling! I really enjoyed this book and thought it was a sweet,sexy and a humorous read!
Why this book?
I really liked Dakota Cassidys Paris, Texas Romance books so I thought I'll give this series a try
What I thought
JC adopts a dog captured by Animal Control, who turns out to be sexy werewolf Max Adams. This book was altogether fun! Max going back and forth being Max and Fluffy (yes she named him Fluffy) was amusing. When Max is Fluffy the inner dialogue is priceless and he gets himself in some hilarious situations! Parts when Max is human is smokin hot, the romance was sizzling! I really enjoyed this book and thought it was a sweet,sexy and a humorous read!
August 10, 2017
8/09/17
Kindle FREEBIE.....only for a limited time so grab this book while you can!! Hilariously fun read!!
Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WROKCEQ/...
4 Fun Shifter Stars!!
This is a new to me author but I will definitely be looking forward to reading more of her books, especially the rest in this series!
Where to start....Max is one sexy, funny as hell Werewolf! He ventures from his rural home and away from his pack to the city to find his lifemate. Things don't go exactly as planned when he's captured in his "Ware" form by animal control, tranquillized, and put on "doggie death row", his inner dialogue is hilarious!
Along comes his softhearted lifemate JC. She is drawn to him, falls instantly in love with the huge mangy smelly mutt and adopts him. She takes him home, cleans him up, and pampers the crap out of him...again we hear his hilarious inner dialogue. Poor Max is stuck being her beloved pampered pooch because the one time he ran away she was heartbroken and he can't bare to see her crying.
So he shifts back and forth, rents the apartment next door and attempts to keep up the charade until he can win her over in his human form before he breaks the "Lifemates" news on her. This was a fun, quirky, sexy, book and the mating scenes were smokin' hot!!!
With an epilogue this would have been a 5 star read for me, we get a nice ending for Max & JC along with a clue as to the next book but I need some kind of epilogue!!!
Kindle FREEBIE.....only for a limited time so grab this book while you can!! Hilariously fun read!!
Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WROKCEQ/...
4 Fun Shifter Stars!!
This is a new to me author but I will definitely be looking forward to reading more of her books, especially the rest in this series!
Where to start....Max is one sexy, funny as hell Werewolf! He ventures from his rural home and away from his pack to the city to find his lifemate. Things don't go exactly as planned when he's captured in his "Ware" form by animal control, tranquillized, and put on "doggie death row", his inner dialogue is hilarious!
Along comes his softhearted lifemate JC. She is drawn to him, falls instantly in love with the huge mangy smelly mutt and adopts him. She takes him home, cleans him up, and pampers the crap out of him...again we hear his hilarious inner dialogue. Poor Max is stuck being her beloved pampered pooch because the one time he ran away she was heartbroken and he can't bare to see her crying.
So he shifts back and forth, rents the apartment next door and attempts to keep up the charade until he can win her over in his human form before he breaks the "Lifemates" news on her. This was a fun, quirky, sexy, book and the mating scenes were smokin' hot!!!
With an epilogue this would have been a 5 star read for me, we get a nice ending for Max & JC along with a clue as to the next book but I need some kind of epilogue!!!
January 16, 2016
3.75 Flirty, Sexy and Funny Max Stars
Max is cursed and must find his life mate before the next full moon. Question is, how can he tell her, when he locates her, with out freaking her out and scaring her away? Only one way to find out... move in next door and woo her until she can't possibly walk away, right?
JC lives a pretty boring life. She has sworn off men after her latest disappointment of another failed relationship with a sleaze bucket. So what's the next best thing? Go to the pound and adopt a dog.
That's how Max and JC end up meeting... over her adopted dog. The rest you will just have to read and find out for yourself what happens next.
I'll leave a short list of the things I loved about this book:
1. Fluffy
2. Max's inner dialogue
3. Witty banter
4. Dual POV
5. Max as he is flirty, funny, playful and sexy
6. The scene when the pack & his mom learn of his dog pound story.
7. Chicken Noodle Soup Night
8. Max's "What I Love About You" body scene. (Bow chicka bow wow..)
If you are looking for a:
*Witty
*Fast paced
*Little drama
*Quick resolutions
*Steamy moments
*Light & Easy
R.E.A.D.
Then look no further...
Max is cursed and must find his life mate before the next full moon. Question is, how can he tell her, when he locates her, with out freaking her out and scaring her away? Only one way to find out... move in next door and woo her until she can't possibly walk away, right?
JC lives a pretty boring life. She has sworn off men after her latest disappointment of another failed relationship with a sleaze bucket. So what's the next best thing? Go to the pound and adopt a dog.
That's how Max and JC end up meeting... over her adopted dog. The rest you will just have to read and find out for yourself what happens next.
I'll leave a short list of the things I loved about this book:
1. Fluffy
2. Max's inner dialogue
3. Witty banter
4. Dual POV
5. Max as he is flirty, funny, playful and sexy
6. The scene when the pack & his mom learn of his dog pound story.
7. Chicken Noodle Soup Night
8. Max's "What I Love About You" body scene. (Bow chicka bow wow..)
May 1, 2014
This was good, and what's even more amazing is I finished this in one sitting. Fluffy made the book for me. I loved his reactions to things. He kept me laughing throughout the whole book.
My one complaint is that I found JC's reaction predictable, but completely understandable. I probably would have reacted the same way. So, it could have been a lot worse.
However, I have to say that I was surprised by the little twist near the end. I didn't see it coming. And don't get me started on the set up for the next book! OMG. I'm dying to read the next one!
This is a must read for anyone that loves to laugh, loves werewolves and paranormal romances.
April 29, 2022
3 stars. This book was just ok until the end where it really picked up and I enjoyed it. I felt like the storyline was extremely predictable, and while I found some parts of this story funny, I wasn’t laughing out loud or anything.
Safe; no virgins, hero not a manwhore, no cheating, no ow drama, minor om drama, no scenes with om/ow.
Safe; no virgins, hero not a manwhore, no cheating, no ow drama, minor om drama, no scenes with om/ow.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 29, 2015
Cute fated to be mated and Perfect hero too. Lots of humor and I see so many possibilities of stories to come.
Safe zone approved.. 100%
Safe zone approved.. 100%
May 4, 2017
As much as I like this author and narrator for the Witchless in Seattle series, I did not enjoy this story as much. It might be that there wasn’t as much story here as sex. I was almost hooked at the end to grab the next, but I am not sure if I will bother.
I was disappointed in An American Werewolf in Hoboken. I picked up a free copy quite a while ago and it wasn’t until I finished the last Witchless in Seattle book that I remember it and I picked up the audiobook copy for only $1.99. This is the same narrator for the other series, but this was just didn’t catch me as much.
It has an interesting premise. Max Adams is alpha of a misfit pack of outcasts. The werewolf council wanted to execute all of these werewolves who escaped government testing or other facilities where they were tortured or experimented on, or their offspring. Max’s father refused and created his own pack to protect these people. The Council then cursed the Adams men. Once their destined mate was prophesized, they have until the next full moon to mate with them or die a horrible death. Max’s aunt is the one who gets the prophesy in her chicken noodle soup and tell him to go to Hoboken to find his woman.
He’s on a time crunch, but Max decided to take him time getting to Hoboken so instead of hopping in his car, he changes to wolf and wanders there (without clothes?) only to be caught by animal control and be put on death row. JC happens to come to shelter that day to adopt a dog and wanders down the wrong corridor and finds Max. JC turns out to be 100% human with no knowledge of werewolves.She adopts him and takes him home. She inappropriately names her giant dog Fluffy for a cuteness factor.
Human Max realizes that JC is the woman prophesized for him and once he has the sex dream about her, as all mates do, then he is 100 percent certain. I thought this was just a way to get the sex in while the story plays out so the audience doesn’t get frustrated, but no it was just the beginning of the sexfest.
Human Max moves in the conveniently available apartment across the hall from JC, and allowed Fluffy to run away. JC is so devastated that her dog ran away and searches prove fruitless even with Max’s help, that she gives in and has sex with him on his kitchen table. Max can’t stand how unhappy JC is over Fluffy so he continues the ruse spending half his time as Fluffy.
Time is running out for Max. The full moon will be upon them soon and he has to let JC know that he and Fluffy are one and the same and convince her to mate with him forever and ever or he dies.
While the story premises was an interesting idea, once we set up the adopt Max/Fluffy part of the story, it was mostly filler of sex between Max and JC while they dated and we didn’t really get more story until Max took her to meet his family and try to figure out how to tell her about his little werewolf problem.
There were several great attempts to flaunt the comic aspect of the premise such as when Fluffy protects JC from her pushy ex-boyfriend or when JC is taking Fluffy to the vet to discuss being neutered (which upped Max’s timeline considerably), and overall it needed more of these types of scenes.
When I pick up an erotica, I expect more than a fair amount of sex in the story. When I pick up a paranormal romance with a sense of comedy, I expect a story not a sexfest. I was almost interested at the end for the next story, but it isn’t high on my list.
I was disappointed in An American Werewolf in Hoboken. I picked up a free copy quite a while ago and it wasn’t until I finished the last Witchless in Seattle book that I remember it and I picked up the audiobook copy for only $1.99. This is the same narrator for the other series, but this was just didn’t catch me as much.
It has an interesting premise. Max Adams is alpha of a misfit pack of outcasts. The werewolf council wanted to execute all of these werewolves who escaped government testing or other facilities where they were tortured or experimented on, or their offspring. Max’s father refused and created his own pack to protect these people. The Council then cursed the Adams men. Once their destined mate was prophesized, they have until the next full moon to mate with them or die a horrible death. Max’s aunt is the one who gets the prophesy in her chicken noodle soup and tell him to go to Hoboken to find his woman.
He’s on a time crunch, but Max decided to take him time getting to Hoboken so instead of hopping in his car, he changes to wolf and wanders there (without clothes?) only to be caught by animal control and be put on death row. JC happens to come to shelter that day to adopt a dog and wanders down the wrong corridor and finds Max. JC turns out to be 100% human with no knowledge of werewolves.She adopts him and takes him home. She inappropriately names her giant dog Fluffy for a cuteness factor.
Human Max realizes that JC is the woman prophesized for him and once he has the sex dream about her, as all mates do, then he is 100 percent certain. I thought this was just a way to get the sex in while the story plays out so the audience doesn’t get frustrated, but no it was just the beginning of the sexfest.
Human Max moves in the conveniently available apartment across the hall from JC, and allowed Fluffy to run away. JC is so devastated that her dog ran away and searches prove fruitless even with Max’s help, that she gives in and has sex with him on his kitchen table. Max can’t stand how unhappy JC is over Fluffy so he continues the ruse spending half his time as Fluffy.
Time is running out for Max. The full moon will be upon them soon and he has to let JC know that he and Fluffy are one and the same and convince her to mate with him forever and ever or he dies.
While the story premises was an interesting idea, once we set up the adopt Max/Fluffy part of the story, it was mostly filler of sex between Max and JC while they dated and we didn’t really get more story until Max took her to meet his family and try to figure out how to tell her about his little werewolf problem.
There were several great attempts to flaunt the comic aspect of the premise such as when Fluffy protects JC from her pushy ex-boyfriend or when JC is taking Fluffy to the vet to discuss being neutered (which upped Max’s timeline considerably), and overall it needed more of these types of scenes.
When I pick up an erotica, I expect more than a fair amount of sex in the story. When I pick up a paranormal romance with a sense of comedy, I expect a story not a sexfest. I was almost interested at the end for the next story, but it isn’t high on my list.
February 8, 2015
Max Adams, alpha of the Cedar Glen pack, has a family curse and must mate by the full moon after he meets his fated mate...JC Jensen. Two problems: one, she’s a human, on a break from men. Two, she thinks he’s her new adopted dog, Fluffy. Then, romance happens.
The Good, The Bad and Everything In Between
-Kindle Unlimited book
-Different setup for a shifter romance: To think that the alpha of a pack would pretend to be a dog named Fluffy just made me laugh. As long as you look past the plot holes, there’s enough humor in the Fluffy scenes to enjoy it. As well as...
-Decent leads with chemistry: JC and Max have some genuine heat when they get together. Yes, it’s insta-love but all things considered, they were hot together.
-A bit repetitious: I would have given up some of the sex scenes to get more dialogue between Max and JC. Actually reading such scenes as where they get to know each other or the mating would have helped me to appreciate their connection.
The Bottom Line
All in all, a cute shifter romance. I’d read more from this author.
The Good, The Bad and Everything In Between
-Kindle Unlimited book
-Different setup for a shifter romance: To think that the alpha of a pack would pretend to be a dog named Fluffy just made me laugh. As long as you look past the plot holes, there’s enough humor in the Fluffy scenes to enjoy it. As well as...
-Decent leads with chemistry: JC and Max have some genuine heat when they get together. Yes, it’s insta-love but all things considered, they were hot together.
-A bit repetitious: I would have given up some of the sex scenes to get more dialogue between Max and JC. Actually reading such scenes as where they get to know each other or the mating would have helped me to appreciate their connection.
The Bottom Line
All in all, a cute shifter romance. I’d read more from this author.
October 8, 2014
An American Werewolf in Hoboken ... hokey title but very fitting from Dakota Cassidy. She has a canny ability to craft stories that are unique and wildly humorous. And, this story was no different. The way Max and JC meet will leave you in stitches and the name "Fluffy" attached to a werewolf was wrong on so many levels but I died when the derivation came into play..."Fluffinator." I enjoyed how JC found out about Max and also discovered some unexpected revelations along the way.
An American Werewolf in Hoboken was a light, and dare I say, "fluffy" read. There was little to no angst or drama which some readers may have an issue with. I am a reader who enjoys dramatic intensity and there just wasn't any in this story. Nonetheless, I found the story to be very enjoyable. The audiobook narrator did a solid job bringing the story to life but I found her voice whiney at times during the JC portions -- not overly so, but apparent. Overall though, I did enjoy the story and look forward to reading or listening to more.
An American Werewolf in Hoboken was a light, and dare I say, "fluffy" read. There was little to no angst or drama which some readers may have an issue with. I am a reader who enjoys dramatic intensity and there just wasn't any in this story. Nonetheless, I found the story to be very enjoyable. The audiobook narrator did a solid job bringing the story to life but I found her voice whiney at times during the JC portions -- not overly so, but apparent. Overall though, I did enjoy the story and look forward to reading or listening to more.
tbr-later
July 31, 201531 July 2015: $0.00 FREE on Kindle
22 January 2015: $0.00 FREE on Kindle
22 January 2015: $0.00 FREE on Kindle
July 19, 2023
Review of audiobook version of humorous, paranormal romance
JC Jensen is a 32-year-old hairdresser who has lived in Hoboken, New Jersey all her life. She is something of a loner, with only her best friend, Vivienne Hathaway (“Viv”), whom she has known since they were both eight years old, as a consistent relationship in her life. Because she has had far too much lousy luck with men, she has put herself on indefinite hiatus from romance, and has decided to fill her companionship needs by going to the local shelter to adopt a rescue animal. Her initial idea is to get a cat, but she finds herself inexplicably drawn to a six-foot long, 135 lb, filthy, unneutered dog who looks like he is part wolf. Because he is on death row, scheduled to be killed within 24 hours, JC has no time to dither about her decision, so she follows her instincts and saves the scruffy beast. She ironically christens him with the moniker, Fluffy, and within hours of his being in her life, she forms an intense, attachment to him.
Little does JC know that Fluffy is actually a werewolf. Max Adams is 103 years old, looks 38 in his human form, and is cursed to die by paranormal means if he doesn’t mate with JC, his prophesied mate, by the next full moon, only four weeks away. It would be challenging enough to meet that deadline if the woman who is his destiny were a fellow werewolf, or even another type of shifter. But JC is 100% human and, worst of all, she obviously has no idea the paranormal world he is part of even exists.
The initial part of this novel, where Max is masquerading as JC’s pet dog, has many quite funny moments that I enjoyed a lot.
I was greatly surprised at how many detailed sex scenes there are in this book given the fact that the Witchless in Seattle series by this author is ostentatiously minus any sex at all. I don’t object to the sex scenes, because they are quite well written. I just had—fortunately, wrongly—assumed that DC is anti-sex in all her fiction.
This novel follows the classic tradition of adult romance fiction of offering the dual point of view of both the hero and heroine. As a long-time romance fan, I greatly appreciated that choice, because it allows the reader to deeply get to know and understand the romantic hero, and Max is a wonderful hero who is well worth knowing.
Unlike urban fantasy and mainstream-published paranormal romance, which tend to be heavy on action-adventure and can be counted on to offer comprehensive magical world-building, this book does not provide either of those things. Possibly because it is a very short novel of only about 45,000 words, compared to the 70,000-90,000 words of the typical mainstream-published UF or PNR. Those relatively few words do not leave much room for details about the magical world, especially when most of the story is taken up with humor and sex, with only a bit of adventure during the climax scenes at the very end of the story.
It is a tribute to the author’s writing skill that this paranormal novel is quite entertaining, in spite of its scanty world-building, mainly because JC, Max, his alter ego Fluffy, and the many colorful subcharacters are all quite engaging.
Romance readers who do not typically read UF or PNR will probably be adequately satisfied with the amount of magical details this book contains. As for me, personally, I've read quite a lot of UF and PNR over the years and, as a result, I had many questions I would have liked to have had answered, including the following:
1. It isn’t made clear how long werewolves live. We are told Max is 103 years old, but his grandparents don’t seem to be still alive, and it isn’t stated how or why they died.
2. I don’t understand why Max looks as if he is 38 years old instead of in his early 20’s, other than for the convenience of the author’s artistic preference as to the typical age of her heroines, which tends to always be around 32-33. If Max looks like he is in his early 20’s, as most ageless werewolves do in UF and PNR, he would probably look so young that JC would feel like she is robbing the cradle to be with him.
3. It is made quite clear that, in this magical universe, werewolves—unlike in UF and PNR—can procreate, which is not typically the case, given that their unavoidable shift into wolf form at the full moon is generally portrayed as causing a fetus to abort. It is also hinted in this story that werewolves can be created, but we are not informed as to how this occurs, and there is no epilogue to let us know if JC chooses to become a werewolf.
4. It isn’t made clear if the only way the werewolves in Max’s community support themselves is via the income provided by casual visitors who randomly pass through Max’s town. The only businesses mentioned that exist in the town are “quaint stores and kitschy eateries,” and there are purposely no accommodations of any kind, so that visitors won’t stick around.
5. Max’s pack has been living in a rural area in New Jersey for over 100 years. It is not explained why and how the werewolves have not long since hunted to extinction all the local wildlife.
6. I was surprised that Max’s wolf form is only 135 lbs, and that this is described incessantly throughout the book as “enormous.” To me, personally, “enormous” would be 170-200 lbs, given that werewolves in UF and most PNR are typically described as bigger than the biggest dogs and wolves on the planet, and the biggest known dogs are around 200 lbs (Great Dane and Neapolitan Mastiff), and the biggest wolves in the world are 175 lbs (Canadian Timber Wolf and Dire Wolf).
The narrator, Hollie Jackson, who also narrates the Witchless in Seattle series by this author, does a good job with male and female voices. Fortunately, the recording is not done by dual narrators, which I find extremely irritating, because every time a chapter is in the heroine’s point of view, the female narrator does all the male and female voices, including the hero. And every time a chapter is in the hero’s point of view, the male narrator does all the male and female voices, including the heroine. It’s like watching a movie where a male actor plays all the female parts, every other scene, and vice versa, which is very disorienting.
I rate this novel as follows:
Heroine: 4 stars
Hero: 5 stars
Subcharacters: 4 stars
Romance Plot: 4 stars
Humor: 5 stars
Paranormal World-building: 3 stars
Writing: 4 stars
Audiobook Narration: 4 stars
Overall: 4 stars
JC Jensen is a 32-year-old hairdresser who has lived in Hoboken, New Jersey all her life. She is something of a loner, with only her best friend, Vivienne Hathaway (“Viv”), whom she has known since they were both eight years old, as a consistent relationship in her life. Because she has had far too much lousy luck with men, she has put herself on indefinite hiatus from romance, and has decided to fill her companionship needs by going to the local shelter to adopt a rescue animal. Her initial idea is to get a cat, but she finds herself inexplicably drawn to a six-foot long, 135 lb, filthy, unneutered dog who looks like he is part wolf. Because he is on death row, scheduled to be killed within 24 hours, JC has no time to dither about her decision, so she follows her instincts and saves the scruffy beast. She ironically christens him with the moniker, Fluffy, and within hours of his being in her life, she forms an intense, attachment to him.
Little does JC know that Fluffy is actually a werewolf. Max Adams is 103 years old, looks 38 in his human form, and is cursed to die by paranormal means if he doesn’t mate with JC, his prophesied mate, by the next full moon, only four weeks away. It would be challenging enough to meet that deadline if the woman who is his destiny were a fellow werewolf, or even another type of shifter. But JC is 100% human and, worst of all, she obviously has no idea the paranormal world he is part of even exists.
The initial part of this novel, where Max is masquerading as JC’s pet dog, has many quite funny moments that I enjoyed a lot.
I was greatly surprised at how many detailed sex scenes there are in this book given the fact that the Witchless in Seattle series by this author is ostentatiously minus any sex at all. I don’t object to the sex scenes, because they are quite well written. I just had—fortunately, wrongly—assumed that DC is anti-sex in all her fiction.
This novel follows the classic tradition of adult romance fiction of offering the dual point of view of both the hero and heroine. As a long-time romance fan, I greatly appreciated that choice, because it allows the reader to deeply get to know and understand the romantic hero, and Max is a wonderful hero who is well worth knowing.
Unlike urban fantasy and mainstream-published paranormal romance, which tend to be heavy on action-adventure and can be counted on to offer comprehensive magical world-building, this book does not provide either of those things. Possibly because it is a very short novel of only about 45,000 words, compared to the 70,000-90,000 words of the typical mainstream-published UF or PNR. Those relatively few words do not leave much room for details about the magical world, especially when most of the story is taken up with humor and sex, with only a bit of adventure during the climax scenes at the very end of the story.
It is a tribute to the author’s writing skill that this paranormal novel is quite entertaining, in spite of its scanty world-building, mainly because JC, Max, his alter ego Fluffy, and the many colorful subcharacters are all quite engaging.
Romance readers who do not typically read UF or PNR will probably be adequately satisfied with the amount of magical details this book contains. As for me, personally, I've read quite a lot of UF and PNR over the years and, as a result, I had many questions I would have liked to have had answered, including the following:
1. It isn’t made clear how long werewolves live. We are told Max is 103 years old, but his grandparents don’t seem to be still alive, and it isn’t stated how or why they died.
2. I don’t understand why Max looks as if he is 38 years old instead of in his early 20’s, other than for the convenience of the author’s artistic preference as to the typical age of her heroines, which tends to always be around 32-33. If Max looks like he is in his early 20’s, as most ageless werewolves do in UF and PNR, he would probably look so young that JC would feel like she is robbing the cradle to be with him.
3. It is made quite clear that, in this magical universe, werewolves—unlike in UF and PNR—can procreate, which is not typically the case, given that their unavoidable shift into wolf form at the full moon is generally portrayed as causing a fetus to abort. It is also hinted in this story that werewolves can be created, but we are not informed as to how this occurs, and there is no epilogue to let us know if JC chooses to become a werewolf.
4. It isn’t made clear if the only way the werewolves in Max’s community support themselves is via the income provided by casual visitors who randomly pass through Max’s town. The only businesses mentioned that exist in the town are “quaint stores and kitschy eateries,” and there are purposely no accommodations of any kind, so that visitors won’t stick around.
5. Max’s pack has been living in a rural area in New Jersey for over 100 years. It is not explained why and how the werewolves have not long since hunted to extinction all the local wildlife.
6. I was surprised that Max’s wolf form is only 135 lbs, and that this is described incessantly throughout the book as “enormous.” To me, personally, “enormous” would be 170-200 lbs, given that werewolves in UF and most PNR are typically described as bigger than the biggest dogs and wolves on the planet, and the biggest known dogs are around 200 lbs (Great Dane and Neapolitan Mastiff), and the biggest wolves in the world are 175 lbs (Canadian Timber Wolf and Dire Wolf).
The narrator, Hollie Jackson, who also narrates the Witchless in Seattle series by this author, does a good job with male and female voices. Fortunately, the recording is not done by dual narrators, which I find extremely irritating, because every time a chapter is in the heroine’s point of view, the female narrator does all the male and female voices, including the hero. And every time a chapter is in the hero’s point of view, the male narrator does all the male and female voices, including the heroine. It’s like watching a movie where a male actor plays all the female parts, every other scene, and vice versa, which is very disorienting.
I rate this novel as follows:
Heroine: 4 stars
Hero: 5 stars
Subcharacters: 4 stars
Romance Plot: 4 stars
Humor: 5 stars
Paranormal World-building: 3 stars
Writing: 4 stars
Audiobook Narration: 4 stars
Overall: 4 stars
August 19, 2017
Fun and sexy
This is the first book by this author that I have read. It was a lot of fun, and sexy too. I enjoyed the characters a lot. The story line was fun as well. I look forward to reading more books by this author.
This is the first book by this author that I have read. It was a lot of fun, and sexy too. I enjoyed the characters a lot. The story line was fun as well. I look forward to reading more books by this author.
April 11, 2014
I'm not into giving spoilers or a "run-down" of the entire book. This is my opinion of another incredible read by Dakota Cassidy.
Dakota has written another phenomenally entertaining story with humor, love and grit! Whether her books are paranormal or every-day-normal, Dakota Cassidy nails it every time. Her plots flow smoothly and never lag. Character development in this book is above par... as is the chemistry, emotion and humor. I couldn't find one thing that I didn't like about this book and I will read it again. Luckily, I have the old and the new version...which makes me one happy lady!
Like her other books, this story pulled me in and didn't let go. Dakota has a way of writing that all authors strive to have, but not all of them can achieve. Honestly, she makes it look so easy! She gives us stories that make us feel as though we ARE one of the characters and I became JC, a woman in search of a furry, little bundle of independent joy to adopt, who in-turn gets a lot more than she bargained for.
I immediately loved "Fluffy" and wished I really could've been the one to adopt him. From his mangy hair to his beastly growl, I'd have to have him if he were in our animal shelter.
Max Adams...HOLY HOTNESS!
I found myself laughing (a lot) at the dialogue from JC and Max--both internal and external with the various secondary characters. Everything JC said, I thought sounded just like something I'd say. The things she did...I'd do. Because JC is relatable. To me that is the most important thing about a book. Even in its fictional greatness, I want to find a connection immediately and of course, I found one in An American Werewolf In Hoboken. Character development in this book is above par as is the chemistry, emotion and humor. I couldn't find one thing that I didn't like about this book and I will read it again. Luckily, I have the old and the new version...which makes me one happy lady!
If you are one of the last people on the planet to have never read one of Dakota's books, you need to get busy. You are seriously missing out on some quirky, fun banter and hot hunks who can't help but fall in love with some sexy, strong women. I know all of you dream of stories that hook you and won't let go...well, wake up and buy An American Werewolf In Hoboken. Get your book-fix satiated with JC and Max. You won't be sorry.
February 13, 2015
★Book Basics★
Genre : - Paranormal Romance
Series : - 1st in the series
Love triangle? -
Cheating? -
HEA? -
Would I read more by this author/or in this series? - Yes
Rating - 4 stars
★Review★
Do not ask me why, but I was really surprised that this book was originally published in 2004.
It did not feel 11 years old. Mind you, there was nothing that really "aged" it, unlike a fair few books I have read lately that have had so many pop culture references littered about I wondered if they were sponsored, they are not going to age well!
Anyway - I really enjoyed this story.
It was quirky and fun, and the back story of Max and his pack made for a very interesting change to the norm and I really loved the way the author went with that.
Loved Max as Fluffy, indeed some of my favourite bits were when Max was as Fluffy and we were in his head.
Really liked both main characters - neither annoyed me in any way, and they had great chemistry.
All in a really fun, does not take itself too seriously, light hearted shifter romance. A great 4 stars and I will be continuing on with the series.
Genre : - Paranormal Romance
Series : - 1st in the series
Love triangle? -
Cheating? -
HEA? -
Would I read more by this author/or in this series? - Yes
Rating - 4 stars
★Review★
Do not ask me why, but I was really surprised that this book was originally published in 2004.
It did not feel 11 years old. Mind you, there was nothing that really "aged" it, unlike a fair few books I have read lately that have had so many pop culture references littered about I wondered if they were sponsored, they are not going to age well!
Anyway - I really enjoyed this story.
It was quirky and fun, and the back story of Max and his pack made for a very interesting change to the norm and I really loved the way the author went with that.
Loved Max as Fluffy, indeed some of my favourite bits were when Max was as Fluffy and we were in his head.
Really liked both main characters - neither annoyed me in any way, and they had great chemistry.
All in a really fun, does not take itself too seriously, light hearted shifter romance. A great 4 stars and I will be continuing on with the series.
May 3, 2014
A little fun, a lot sexy, extremely predictable and easily devoured in a couple of hours. JC Jensen's lonely and decides a pet would be better than her last boyfriend so off to the shelter
Originally Read: April 27 2014
Rating: 3.75 Stars Actually
This entire review and others can be found at: http://www.ireadthatbook.com
Originally Read: April 27 2014
Rating: 3.75 Stars Actually
This entire review and others can be found at: http://www.ireadthatbook.com
January 13, 2015
My swinging mood is worse than ever this January, and I've not been able to read much except brain candy, if I could.
Unfortunately, brain candy differs from stupid and boring, and this short novel feels such to me. Candy I can suffer, stupid never much.
I DNFed it and wento to bed to brood. Serves me right.
Unfortunately, brain candy differs from stupid and boring, and this short novel feels such to me. Candy I can suffer, stupid never much.
I DNFed it and wento to bed to brood. Serves me right.
May 14, 2015
This was a good book. Some very funny parts! I enjoyed the relationship between Max and JC. I would have liked more info on the H's past romances. We got info on the h's dating past, but not the H. Overall a fun read. Safety gang safe!
August 28, 2016
ACTUAL RATING 2.75
March 26, 2023
Two and a half stars.
The basic story was good. Werewolf on a quest to find his fated mate is drugged by animal control and he gets adopted by her and then continues to pretend to be her dog so as to not hurt her feelings. Hilarity ensues. It's a basic screwball comedy setup.
However, it was marred by some basic lack of attention to detail and pacing that bothered me a lot. Stuff like when he knocked a bottle off the kitchen table so they can screw on it, the bottle shatters, but there's no glass on the floor later. Like he's pretending to be her dog, but how does he get into the apartment, and does he actually crap on their walks? And we're three quarters through the book before the curse is detailed, and for some reason we're expected to know that "becoming his mate" involved actually having sex during the full moon. It wasn't explained, so I thought there might be a ceremony or something.
Also, the sex scenes were way too long. Really really long. And the word "abdomen" is not sexy.
The basic story was good. Werewolf on a quest to find his fated mate is drugged by animal control and he gets adopted by her and then continues to pretend to be her dog so as to not hurt her feelings. Hilarity ensues. It's a basic screwball comedy setup.
However, it was marred by some basic lack of attention to detail and pacing that bothered me a lot. Stuff like when he knocked a bottle off the kitchen table so they can screw on it, the bottle shatters, but there's no glass on the floor later. Like he's pretending to be her dog, but how does he get into the apartment, and does he actually crap on their walks? And we're three quarters through the book before the curse is detailed, and for some reason we're expected to know that "becoming his mate" involved actually having sex during the full moon. It wasn't explained, so I thought there might be a ceremony or something.
Also, the sex scenes were way too long. Really really long. And the word "abdomen" is not sexy.
September 12, 2017
4.3 Hoboken Stars
This was a well written funny read. JC has rescued Fluffy the abnormally large hairy dog, or is he really? This is the first time I have read anything by Dakota Cassidy and truly enjoyed her style of writing. This read was fun, sexy and downright humorous.
If you love paranormal with a mix of everything you will truly enjoy this read.
This was a well written funny read. JC has rescued Fluffy the abnormally large hairy dog, or is he really? This is the first time I have read anything by Dakota Cassidy and truly enjoyed her style of writing. This read was fun, sexy and downright humorous.
If you love paranormal with a mix of everything you will truly enjoy this read.
November 14, 2018
I really enjoyed this paranormal romance with shifters and a family curse. The were needs to find his life mate, and mate with her by the next full moon. But he doesn't know how to tell her what he is. I liked the main characters and the storyline. I especially liked how her best friend helps her to understand what is going on in her life.
July 14, 2019
Needed an easy read and picked up this. Had some humor, don't know about the sex scenes as I skipped them (just wasn't in the mood to read that). Might actually try more in the series as it made me grin several times. Great lit, no. Amusing in light silly way, yes.
April 18, 2023
This is a silly silly book, and it’s narrated by Holly Jackson. So basically, whenever HJ decides to narrate a series it’s just Pavlovian and I smash every single book in the series. Ice planet barbarians YES✔️ ……… Nava Katz demon hunter YES-SLAY✔️ …….. apparently this series WELLOK✔️.
June 13, 2025
A Hairy Situation
This is an old one re-released but a fun paranormal romance about a massive adopted dog called Fluffy, who is actually werewolf Max, caught by animal control on the hunt for his life mate.
It's funny, great world building, sweet, romantic and fun to read.
This is an old one re-released but a fun paranormal romance about a massive adopted dog called Fluffy, who is actually werewolf Max, caught by animal control on the hunt for his life mate.
It's funny, great world building, sweet, romantic and fun to read.
March 10, 2019
This could have been a light, fun, cozy read. I don’t consider myself conservative or prudish, but did we have to trudge through a sex scene every few pages? I actually ended up fast forwarding my audio version just to get somewhere with a plot.
December 2, 2014
An American Werewolf in Hoboken was a breath of fresh air. After having read books that were more serious in tone as well as books that took themselves too seriously, I was more than ready for a light, fun read and this book certainly delivered.
The synopsis of the book already made me smile. You have Max, a werewolf, who's on a journey to find his life mate based on a prophecy with a deadline, but runs into a glitch. While in wolf form, he's captured by Animal Control and then subsequently adopted by his life mate, JC, a hair dresser.
After a string of bad relationships, all JC is interested in is finding a pet to combat some of the loneliness she was feeling after she caught her last boyfriend cheating on her. As a pet owner myself, I loved how JC, who has never owned a pet, really tried to research on what to do make sure that her dog would be taken care. Even if that meant giving Max the name of Fluffy, as a way to play down the fear other people may feel when encountering Max, in his large, scary looking wolf form.
A lot of the humor comes from Max, trying to take direction as a dog, simply because he wants to get to know JC better. Tamping down his human side certainly wasn't easy.
For example, on the first night home, Max simply was not interested in the dry lamb and rice dog food that supposedly was good for him, but half the steak (just half after all) that JC had grilled for herself was just the ticket. :) By the way, he also took offence to being called Fluffy. It's Mr. Werewolf, thank you very much.
Once Max confirmed that JC was his life mate, the wooing had to commence. So while JC was at work, he moved in to the apartment right across the way from JC. Of course, he had hoped to leave Fluffy behind and continue as Max. That wasn't the case.
When JC came home to find Fluffy missing, Max offered to help "find" Fluffy and in the process felt so bad about how upset JC was, he opted to be Fluffy while also periodically changing into Max. A little wary of Max, JC was half attracted, half wanting to run away because of all her past experiences. However, Max's charm won out and they ended up sleeping together that same night.
What I liked though is that before they did the deed, Max made it very clear to JC that while they are giving in to their attraction, he did not consider her a one-night stand and that there was something more going on. What a nice guy and I mean that sincerely.
For the next couple of weeks or so, Max goes back and forth to being Fluffy and back again. During that time, he and JC have a lot of great sex, but also spend time getting to know each other and soon feelings start to grow. . Also, more funny moments come about during a visit to the vet, with Max as Fluffy being territorial about his woman against the vet. Worries about going in to possibly get neutered plague his mind as well.
However, the prophecy deadline, which states that Max must mate with his mate during a full moon or else he dies is looming. But there's also the fact that how do you tell your girlfriend that you are her dog, Fluffy and that Fluffy is her new boyfriend, Max, without completely freaking her out. That's quite a dilemma and makes for some amusing internal dialogue for Max as he tries to figure out what to do.
JC is also struggling because she's wondering if Max is just too good to be true and that there's probably some kind of hidden flaw about him. She also senses that he's holding something back. Eventually, she decides to just go forward and one way of going forward was to go with Max to meet his family. Thankfully, a werewolf friend of Max's is able to take Max's place at the pet hotel so that JC doesn't suspect anything.
JC really likes Max's family, home and the town he lives in and her feelings start to get stronger. Unfortunately, the way that it was revealed that Max and even his entire family were werewolves came about by accident and suffice to say that JC was stunned and had a hard time processing what she learned and what she saw and wanted to leave.
Since Max didn't want to force JC to stay or have her stay out of pity because if she didn't say, he would die, opted to let her leave. Broken-hearted, he stood by his word to her that she could leave if she couldn't deal with his secret.
So JC left, but felt really conflicted because she really did love Max, but wasn't sure how to process, deal, accept who and what Max is. It wasn't until an intervention from her best friend, that by the way, had its own twist, that made her want to go back to Max. This was even more urgent after her friend told her about the prophecy.
Thankfully, she rushes back just in time to save Max and to have their happy ending.
Normally, I tend to be wary of insta-love situations but this is a book about werewolves and life mates after all. :) Plus the fact that this story was well written and told with humor, sass with a sexy and sweet shifter, certainly made it a very enjoyable read and time well spent.
The synopsis of the book already made me smile. You have Max, a werewolf, who's on a journey to find his life mate based on a prophecy with a deadline, but runs into a glitch. While in wolf form, he's captured by Animal Control and then subsequently adopted by his life mate, JC, a hair dresser.
After a string of bad relationships, all JC is interested in is finding a pet to combat some of the loneliness she was feeling after she caught her last boyfriend cheating on her. As a pet owner myself, I loved how JC, who has never owned a pet, really tried to research on what to do make sure that her dog would be taken care. Even if that meant giving Max the name of Fluffy, as a way to play down the fear other people may feel when encountering Max, in his large, scary looking wolf form.
A lot of the humor comes from Max, trying to take direction as a dog, simply because he wants to get to know JC better. Tamping down his human side certainly wasn't easy.
For example, on the first night home, Max simply was not interested in the dry lamb and rice dog food that supposedly was good for him, but half the steak (just half after all) that JC had grilled for herself was just the ticket. :) By the way, he also took offence to being called Fluffy. It's Mr. Werewolf, thank you very much.
Once Max confirmed that JC was his life mate, the wooing had to commence. So while JC was at work, he moved in to the apartment right across the way from JC. Of course, he had hoped to leave Fluffy behind and continue as Max. That wasn't the case.
When JC came home to find Fluffy missing, Max offered to help "find" Fluffy and in the process felt so bad about how upset JC was, he opted to be Fluffy while also periodically changing into Max. A little wary of Max, JC was half attracted, half wanting to run away because of all her past experiences. However, Max's charm won out and they ended up sleeping together that same night.
What I liked though is that before they did the deed, Max made it very clear to JC that while they are giving in to their attraction, he did not consider her a one-night stand and that there was something more going on. What a nice guy and I mean that sincerely.
For the next couple of weeks or so, Max goes back and forth to being Fluffy and back again. During that time, he and JC have a lot of great sex, but also spend time getting to know each other and soon feelings start to grow. . Also, more funny moments come about during a visit to the vet, with Max as Fluffy being territorial about his woman against the vet. Worries about going in to possibly get neutered plague his mind as well.
However, the prophecy deadline, which states that Max must mate with his mate during a full moon or else he dies is looming. But there's also the fact that how do you tell your girlfriend that you are her dog, Fluffy and that Fluffy is her new boyfriend, Max, without completely freaking her out. That's quite a dilemma and makes for some amusing internal dialogue for Max as he tries to figure out what to do.
JC is also struggling because she's wondering if Max is just too good to be true and that there's probably some kind of hidden flaw about him. She also senses that he's holding something back. Eventually, she decides to just go forward and one way of going forward was to go with Max to meet his family. Thankfully, a werewolf friend of Max's is able to take Max's place at the pet hotel so that JC doesn't suspect anything.
JC really likes Max's family, home and the town he lives in and her feelings start to get stronger. Unfortunately, the way that it was revealed that Max and even his entire family were werewolves came about by accident and suffice to say that JC was stunned and had a hard time processing what she learned and what she saw and wanted to leave.
Since Max didn't want to force JC to stay or have her stay out of pity because if she didn't say, he would die, opted to let her leave. Broken-hearted, he stood by his word to her that she could leave if she couldn't deal with his secret.
So JC left, but felt really conflicted because she really did love Max, but wasn't sure how to process, deal, accept who and what Max is. It wasn't until an intervention from her best friend, that by the way, had its own twist, that made her want to go back to Max. This was even more urgent after her friend told her about the prophecy.
Thankfully, she rushes back just in time to save Max and to have their happy ending.
Normally, I tend to be wary of insta-love situations but this is a book about werewolves and life mates after all. :) Plus the fact that this story was well written and told with humor, sass with a sexy and sweet shifter, certainly made it a very enjoyable read and time well spent.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
abandonados
August 27, 2019Malo, malo con ganas... Dashen del futuro, ni se te ocurra intentarlo con esta saga otra vez.
April 11, 2014
I received a copy of this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Blurb:
Max needs to find his mate now or face deadly consequences. Being caught while in full shift by Animal Control was embarrassing enough, but matters only get more complicated when he's adopted by JC. A human. A human destined to be his mate.
While Max gets to know JC's heart and body as a man at night, he endures all the indignities of pretending to be Fluffy-the-gigantic-rescued-dog during the day. He's falling fast for the sweet, big-hearted woman. All he can hope is that JC is falling just as fast, and that her heart and mind can be open to the possibilities of a very long future together. Or Max's future is going to be cut very, very short.
Quote:
Right. I'm not really Fluffy your dog, pretty lady. I'm really Fluffy-slash-Max, your forever hook-up. I stayed disguised this way because if I knocked on your door, flowers in hand, and demanded you be my werewolf woman so I won't die, I had the distinct impression you might have hesitations.
Dakota Cassidy is most well known for her Accidental series. An American Werewolf in Hoboken is the first of a newly re-released series that the author has reworked. The previous iteration of the series is difficult to find, and I've not read any of them prior to this.
The paranormal universe is obviously a second home to Cassidy. While she keeps the agreed upon framework laws of the realm, she does add her own touches. It's these touches that help the world-building develop and stand out to an avid para reader.
The author's voice is a bit more muted her than in her newer books. There is still the humor and emotion that display her chops as a writer, but it's not quite as sharp.
JC's character is consistent throughout the story, even when coming to terms with the truth about Max and his family. However, she's still a little less defined than the characters in other series. She's sweet, and gently funny, but through much of the middle of the story, it feels as though she's just along for the ride. She does have moments of clarity and sparkle, but they were mostly prevalent when she was interacting with Max as Fluffy.
Max is more clearly portrayed, and if you read the story more from his point of view than JC's, her character's blurred edges make more sense. After all, when you're falling in love with someone, you're still getting to know them, right? His masculine affront over being caught by Animal Control, humorous self-deprecation, and the predicament of having to pretend to be his life-mate's dog, balances out his almost perfect hero tendencies. That balance makes his character believable.
The peripheral characters are also a bit less defined than Cassidy's other works. They are usually the charming glue that makes her plots stand out, and showcases the true depths of her abilities as an author. While the characters in An American Werewolf in Hoboken don't all run together, they lack a certain something that makes them starkly memorable.
The story moves along well. There's passionate sex, amusing banter, a little fear and some danger. And a very clever and unexpected twist that caught me completely off-guard.
While I find the Accidental series and her more recent Plum Orchard series to shine brighter, the Wolf Mates Series still promises to be leaps and bounds better than a great many of the other para series on offer by other authors. No matter what world she's weaving around a reader, Dakota Cassidy's talent for story telling is always evident.
I highly recommend this book and look forward to the rest of the series!
Blurb:
Max needs to find his mate now or face deadly consequences. Being caught while in full shift by Animal Control was embarrassing enough, but matters only get more complicated when he's adopted by JC. A human. A human destined to be his mate.
While Max gets to know JC's heart and body as a man at night, he endures all the indignities of pretending to be Fluffy-the-gigantic-rescued-dog during the day. He's falling fast for the sweet, big-hearted woman. All he can hope is that JC is falling just as fast, and that her heart and mind can be open to the possibilities of a very long future together. Or Max's future is going to be cut very, very short.
Quote:
Right. I'm not really Fluffy your dog, pretty lady. I'm really Fluffy-slash-Max, your forever hook-up. I stayed disguised this way because if I knocked on your door, flowers in hand, and demanded you be my werewolf woman so I won't die, I had the distinct impression you might have hesitations.
Dakota Cassidy is most well known for her Accidental series. An American Werewolf in Hoboken is the first of a newly re-released series that the author has reworked. The previous iteration of the series is difficult to find, and I've not read any of them prior to this.
The paranormal universe is obviously a second home to Cassidy. While she keeps the agreed upon framework laws of the realm, she does add her own touches. It's these touches that help the world-building develop and stand out to an avid para reader.
The author's voice is a bit more muted her than in her newer books. There is still the humor and emotion that display her chops as a writer, but it's not quite as sharp.
JC's character is consistent throughout the story, even when coming to terms with the truth about Max and his family. However, she's still a little less defined than the characters in other series. She's sweet, and gently funny, but through much of the middle of the story, it feels as though she's just along for the ride. She does have moments of clarity and sparkle, but they were mostly prevalent when she was interacting with Max as Fluffy.
Max is more clearly portrayed, and if you read the story more from his point of view than JC's, her character's blurred edges make more sense. After all, when you're falling in love with someone, you're still getting to know them, right? His masculine affront over being caught by Animal Control, humorous self-deprecation, and the predicament of having to pretend to be his life-mate's dog, balances out his almost perfect hero tendencies. That balance makes his character believable.
The peripheral characters are also a bit less defined than Cassidy's other works. They are usually the charming glue that makes her plots stand out, and showcases the true depths of her abilities as an author. While the characters in An American Werewolf in Hoboken don't all run together, they lack a certain something that makes them starkly memorable.
The story moves along well. There's passionate sex, amusing banter, a little fear and some danger. And a very clever and unexpected twist that caught me completely off-guard.
While I find the Accidental series and her more recent Plum Orchard series to shine brighter, the Wolf Mates Series still promises to be leaps and bounds better than a great many of the other para series on offer by other authors. No matter what world she's weaving around a reader, Dakota Cassidy's talent for story telling is always evident.
I highly recommend this book and look forward to the rest of the series!
February 9, 2016
This is one of those books I really could have liked more. It had a fun plot -- a werewolf named Max is inadvertently captured by the pound while in shift and adopted by his life-mate. (Derek would have been... unthrilled by his literary counterpart.) During the time when JC (the mate) believes him to be her pet, she names the big ferocious werewolf "Fluffy", dresses him in silly doggy T-shirts, and in other ways inadvertently subjects him as much as possible to every humiliation you can imagine a man in a dog's body might feel. Meanwhile, "Fluffy" is also wooing JC as his human self, Max. It's a cute premise, but it just wasn't enough to last a whole book. (I will say, however, that the cover for the audio, which features a very cranky looking large dog getting a bath, cracked me up.)
There was some really cute banter in this and Max was that oh-so-rare find, a werewolf alpha who, at least in his personal relationships, is secure enough to act more beta. He didn't stomp around all angry and you-will-do-as-I-say-with-your-legs-spread like a lot of werewolves you find in books. I have a shameful love of the ragey alpha he-beast, but a character like Max is a refreshing change from time to time.
Unfortunately, this wasn't enough to really keep the book going and the book dragged a bit through the middle. It took way too long for Max to reveal his secret to JC and by the time the audio book got going, I had already found another one that look interesting in case I couldn't go the distance with this one.
Here's the thing: even though I have a sort of attraction to the "True Mates" schtick, I find that very few authors can read a book featuring "True Mates" that I find interesting. It's always insta-love that is really just an excuse for copious amounts of sex. There was a certain amount of that here, but I liked the fact that Max gives JC a choice in the matter -- it's not just "We're fated to be so we are." So even though there was some insta-love, particularly on Max's part, there was also a bit more choice than I'm used to in these books. The book even references the fact that Max and JC barely know each other at the end. Unfortunately, it just wasn't enough of a difference to keep my interest during the rather boring middle.
I have read a few Dakota Cassidy books at this point and the first thing I ever read by her was a short story about a werewolf (unconnected to this series) called Honey, I Shrunk the Werewolf. It's been a long time since I read it, so I'm not sure if I'd still love it today, but I think part of the reason it worked so well was because it was not a long story. I've only read a few others by her besides these two, but I think a lot of my problem is that, for me, Cassidy's schtick just doesn't last long enough to stretch into a full-length book.
As for the audio quality, the narrator was... good. Not great. Just good. The reviews on Audible indicated that a lot of readers didn't like the narrator because she doesn't do a good job of distinguishing the male voices and they are correct. I won't go so far as to say they sounded exactly like her female voices, but it was a close thing. I wasn't nuts about some of her comic delivery either. Basically, I'd listen to her again, but only if it was a story I really wanted to hear.
There was some really cute banter in this and Max was that oh-so-rare find, a werewolf alpha who, at least in his personal relationships, is secure enough to act more beta. He didn't stomp around all angry and you-will-do-as-I-say-with-your-legs-spread like a lot of werewolves you find in books. I have a shameful love of the ragey alpha he-beast, but a character like Max is a refreshing change from time to time.
Unfortunately, this wasn't enough to really keep the book going and the book dragged a bit through the middle. It took way too long for Max to reveal his secret to JC and by the time the audio book got going, I had already found another one that look interesting in case I couldn't go the distance with this one.
Here's the thing: even though I have a sort of attraction to the "True Mates" schtick, I find that very few authors can read a book featuring "True Mates" that I find interesting. It's always insta-love that is really just an excuse for copious amounts of sex. There was a certain amount of that here, but I liked the fact that Max gives JC a choice in the matter -- it's not just "We're fated to be so we are." So even though there was some insta-love, particularly on Max's part, there was also a bit more choice than I'm used to in these books. The book even references the fact that Max and JC barely know each other at the end. Unfortunately, it just wasn't enough of a difference to keep my interest during the rather boring middle.
I have read a few Dakota Cassidy books at this point and the first thing I ever read by her was a short story about a werewolf (unconnected to this series) called Honey, I Shrunk the Werewolf. It's been a long time since I read it, so I'm not sure if I'd still love it today, but I think part of the reason it worked so well was because it was not a long story. I've only read a few others by her besides these two, but I think a lot of my problem is that, for me, Cassidy's schtick just doesn't last long enough to stretch into a full-length book.
As for the audio quality, the narrator was... good. Not great. Just good. The reviews on Audible indicated that a lot of readers didn't like the narrator because she doesn't do a good job of distinguishing the male voices and they are correct. I won't go so far as to say they sounded exactly like her female voices, but it was a close thing. I wasn't nuts about some of her comic delivery either. Basically, I'd listen to her again, but only if it was a story I really wanted to hear.
February 1, 2017
As much as I like this author and narrator for the Witchless in Seattle series, I did not enjoy this story as much. It might be that there wasn’t as much story here as sex. I was almost hooked at the end to grab the next, but I am not sure if I will bother.
I was disappointed in An American Werewolf in Hoboken. I picked up a free copy quite a while ago and it wasn’t until I finished the last Witchless in Seattle book that I remember it and I picked up the audiobook copy for only $1.99. This is the same narrator for the other series, but this was just didn’t catch me as much.
It has an interesting premise. Max Adams is alpha of a misfit pack of outcasts. The werewolf council wanted to execute all of these werewolves who escaped government testing or other facilities where they were tortured or experimented on, or their offspring. Max’s father refused and created his own pack to protect these people. The Council then cursed the Adams men. Once their destined mate was prophesized, they have until the next full moon to mate with them or die a horrible death. Max’s aunt is the one who gets the prophesy in her chicken noodle soup and tell him to go to Hoboken to find his woman.
He’s on a time crunch, but Max decided to take him time getting to Hoboken so instead of hopping in his car, he changes to wolf and wanders there (without clothes?) only to be caught by animal control and be put on death row. JC happens to come to shelter that day to adopt a dog and wanders down the wrong corridor and finds Max. JC turns out to be 100% human with no knowledge of werewolves.She adopts him and takes him home. She inappropriately names her giant dog Fluffy for a cuteness factor.
Human Max realizes that JC is the woman prophesized for him and once he has the sex dream about her, as all mates do, then he is 100 percent certain. I thought this was just a way to get the sex in while the story plays out so the audience doesn’t get frustrated, but no it was just the beginning of the sexfest.
Human Max moves in the conveniently available apartment across the hall from JC, and allowed Fluffy to run away. JC is so devastated that her dog ran away and searches prove fruitless even with Max’s help, that she gives in and has sex with him on his kitchen table. Max can’t stand how unhappy JC is over Fluffy so he continues the ruse spending half his time as Fluffy.
Time is running out for Max. The full moon will be upon them soon and he has to let JC know that he and Fluffy are one and the same and convince her to mate with him forever and ever or he dies.
While the story premises was an interesting idea, once we set up the adopt Max/Fluffy part of the story, it was mostly filler of sex between Max and JC while they dated and we didn’t really get more story until Max took her to meet his family and try to figure out how to tell her about his little werewolf problem.
There were several great attempts to flaunt the comic aspect of the premise such as when Fluffy protects JC from her pushy ex-boyfriend or when JC is taking Fluffy to the vet to discuss being neutered (which upped Max’s timeline considerably), and overall it needed more of these types of scenes.
When I pick up an erotica, I expect more than a fair amount of sex in the story. When I pick up a paranormal romance with a sense of comedy, I expect a story not a sexfest. I was almost interested at the end for the next story, but it isn’t high on my list.
I was disappointed in An American Werewolf in Hoboken. I picked up a free copy quite a while ago and it wasn’t until I finished the last Witchless in Seattle book that I remember it and I picked up the audiobook copy for only $1.99. This is the same narrator for the other series, but this was just didn’t catch me as much.
It has an interesting premise. Max Adams is alpha of a misfit pack of outcasts. The werewolf council wanted to execute all of these werewolves who escaped government testing or other facilities where they were tortured or experimented on, or their offspring. Max’s father refused and created his own pack to protect these people. The Council then cursed the Adams men. Once their destined mate was prophesized, they have until the next full moon to mate with them or die a horrible death. Max’s aunt is the one who gets the prophesy in her chicken noodle soup and tell him to go to Hoboken to find his woman.
He’s on a time crunch, but Max decided to take him time getting to Hoboken so instead of hopping in his car, he changes to wolf and wanders there (without clothes?) only to be caught by animal control and be put on death row. JC happens to come to shelter that day to adopt a dog and wanders down the wrong corridor and finds Max. JC turns out to be 100% human with no knowledge of werewolves.She adopts him and takes him home. She inappropriately names her giant dog Fluffy for a cuteness factor.
Human Max realizes that JC is the woman prophesized for him and once he has the sex dream about her, as all mates do, then he is 100 percent certain. I thought this was just a way to get the sex in while the story plays out so the audience doesn’t get frustrated, but no it was just the beginning of the sexfest.
Human Max moves in the conveniently available apartment across the hall from JC, and allowed Fluffy to run away. JC is so devastated that her dog ran away and searches prove fruitless even with Max’s help, that she gives in and has sex with him on his kitchen table. Max can’t stand how unhappy JC is over Fluffy so he continues the ruse spending half his time as Fluffy.
Time is running out for Max. The full moon will be upon them soon and he has to let JC know that he and Fluffy are one and the same and convince her to mate with him forever and ever or he dies.
While the story premises was an interesting idea, once we set up the adopt Max/Fluffy part of the story, it was mostly filler of sex between Max and JC while they dated and we didn’t really get more story until Max took her to meet his family and try to figure out how to tell her about his little werewolf problem.
There were several great attempts to flaunt the comic aspect of the premise such as when Fluffy protects JC from her pushy ex-boyfriend or when JC is taking Fluffy to the vet to discuss being neutered (which upped Max’s timeline considerably), and overall it needed more of these types of scenes.
When I pick up an erotica, I expect more than a fair amount of sex in the story. When I pick up a paranormal romance with a sense of comedy, I expect a story not a sexfest. I was almost interested at the end for the next story, but it isn’t high on my list.
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