Silver Moon: A Wolves of Wolf's Point Novel

Wolves of Wolf's Point #1

by Catherine Lundoff

Becca Thornton, divorced, middle-aged and trying to embrace a quiet life, discovers that there are still plenty of surprises to be had when her menopause kicks in with bonus lycanthropy. And she's not the only one. The seemingly peaceful and dull town of Wolf's Point has its own all-female werewolf pack and Becca has just become its newest member. But it's not all protecting Wolf's Point, midnight meetings at the Women's Club and monthly runs through the woods. There are werewolf hunters in town and now they've got Becca and the Wolf's Point Pack in their sights.

As if that wasn't enough, Becca's cute lesbian werewolf neighbor, Erin, is starting to haunt her dreams as well as her doorstep. What's a newbie werewolf to do, between hot flashes, silver bullets and unexpected transformations? Can Becca overcome her fears and help the werewolves defeat their greatest enemy?

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, LGBT, Queer, Fiction, Lesbian, Urban Fantasy

275 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Catherine Lundoff’s stories have appeared in over 80 publications including Callisto: A Queer Fiction Journal, The Cainite Conspiracies, Ghosts in Gaslight, Monsters in Steam, So Fey: Queer Faery Stories, The Mammoth Book of Professor Moriarty Adventures, Tales of the Unanticipated, Periphery: Erotic Lesbian Futures, Farrago’s Wainscot and Best Lesbian Erotica. She is the author of Out of This World: Queer Speculative Fiction Stories and Silver Moon: A Wolves of Wolf's Point Novel (new updated edition) and the editor of Scourge of the Seas of Time (and Space) , all from Queen of Swords Press.

She was also the author of two award-winning collections of lesbian erotica: Crave: Tales of Lust, Love and Longing (Lethe Press, 2007) and Night's Kiss (Lethe Press, 2009) and editor of the fantasy and horror anthology Haunted Hearths and Sapphic Shades: Lesbian Ghost Stories (Lethe Press, 2008). She was the co-editor, with JoSelle Vanderhooft, of the sf/f anthology Hellebore and Rue: Tales of Queer Women and Magic (Lethe Press, 2011) as well as the author of the fantasy/historicals collection A Day at the Inn, A Night at the Palace and Other Stories (Lethe Press, 2011) and the novel Silver Moon. As of 2014, she also writes erotica and erotic romance as Emily L. Byrne, with stories in such anthologies as Forbidden Fruit and Best Lesbian Erotica 20th Anniversary Edition , the novel Medusa's Touch and the short story collections Knife's Edge and Desire.

Reviews

[K.J. Charles]

I'm going to preface this by saying I don't like shifter and vampire books. I have no idea* why not, but I don't. I don't read series by some of my favourite authors because they have shifters and vampires as MCs and I just don't like them. It's not you it's me.

*I know exactly why, it's because I am a tremendously hidebound purist and if a vampire isn't terrible undead evil or a werewolf raging savage uncontrolled id, it's just *wrong* in my head so there. All views my own, don't @ me.

ANYWAY. I am in a Storybundle with this book at the time of writing (https://storybundle.com/lgbt) and I saw this book and could not resist. But why, KJ, you ask?

BECAUSE THE WEREWOLVES ARE ALL MENOPAUSAL WOMEN THAT'S WHY. In this town, when you get The Change, you *really* change. (You know the uncontrollable rage? With this Change, you get to take people's throats out. Sign me the hell up.) And only menopausal women get it. No young pretty women--we see a young woman impatiently looking forward to getting older for her turn!--and if there are men they're somewhere else and weird and we don't care anyway.

This is the single most brilliant werewolf concept I have ever heard, and all hail. All hail to a book entirely about women, and most of them older, about female friendships, about women who are menopausal and not in great shape and just plugging on with life. *About menopausal women.* This is literally the second book I have ever read in my LIFE with an explicitly menopausal heroine just talking about it. Second. (First was The New Moon's Arms.)

I thoroughly enjoyed this--Becca is a nicely drawn sympathetic MC, I liked the sweet beginnings of a f/f romance with Erin, and there were some good action scenes--but mostly I am here for the menopause rep. A++, would feel visible again.

[review originally posted on old edition even though this is the one I read because I don't book good]

[Della B · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a good story about a town where certain women entering menopause turn into werewolves. They are chosen to protect their community and land. Becca’s marriage ended when her ex found someone younger. The hot flushes are driving her crazy along with her bizarre feelings of following the moon and running in the woods.
The pack claim her to help her through “the change”.

There is some tongue in cheek humour but this is a werewolf story so carnage will be had. I love the relationship of the werewolves to the land and their ancestors. As well there is a twist to the regular lycanthropy tale which captivated me.

Lundoff is a new author to me and I am so glad to have found her. You will too.

[Jude Silberfeld-Grimaud · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had never heard of this series but when the author asked if I wanted to maybe review the books, I was like menopausal werewolves? Yes please, count me in!

Imagine going through “the Change” only to find out that for you – and some of your neighbours – it means turning into a werewolf. Then your ex-husband pulls the rug from under your feet a little bit more, and you start getting feelings for another woman. All at the same time. Who could blame Becca for feeling a tad overwhelmed?

I enjoyed this book a lot. It’s a little like a werewolves story for readers who don’t usually read werewolves stories. It’s much more about changes, all sorts of changes, than about werewolves themselves, even though it’s also very much about werewolves. There’s a thriller feel to it at times that, despite the uneven pace, took my breath away but my favourite thing was the flashes of humour breaking the tension before it got too much. That and Erin’s slow cowboy smile. It’s sexy as hell, I swear.

Silver Moon is the first book in the Wolves of Wolf’s Point series, first published in 2012, then in 2017. The sequel, Blood Moon, will be released in March.

I received a copy from the author and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Loek Krancher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing read!

This was a little bit different from what I'm used to read about wolves. Not much romance but It definitely is not lacking in originality. The storyline is great with a lot of action, mystery and magic. It keeps me on edge. Definitely worth to read this book and I can highly recommend.

[Sadie Forsythe · Rating 3 out of 5]

*mild spoiler*
I insta-bought this when I read the blurb and saw women who turn into werewolves with the onset of menopause. Heck yeah, older women almost never get to be heroines in UF and you even more rarely see menopause discussed. I was 100% on board for this. Unfortunately, I liked the idea of it a lot more than the execution of it. I thought Becca spent far too long in her head ruminating about her situation, I spent a lot of the book bored, I wasn't truly certain what happened in and after the climax, and I hated the subplot with the ex-husband because I felt like he won in the end.

Worst of all however, is that I didn't feel like the werewolves utilized their wolves. There was a group of hunters trying to kill them all, and the pack's response was things like trying to run them out of town by having the town's people refuse to serve them and to tamper with their van (and to be more vigilant in their patrols, but nothing seemed to come of this). Over and over the hunters threatened or took direct action to hurt the pack members and then Becca went to sleep and to work the next morning. I didn't really feel any sense of urgency in that and I didn't feel the pack was responding appropriately to the very real threat. Maybe the author was trying to emphasize that a pack of female wolves, older female wolves at that, wouldn't leap to violence like men would (certainly there is a little of that with the Scott comparison) but I kept wanting to yell, "Ladies, you have claws and fangs for a reason!"

I did think the romantic subplot was sweet, but again ~90% of it is in Becca's head. All in all, I loved the idea of this book, but was left cold by the story actually told. Plus, there are quite a few editing errors in it. I'll give Lundoff another shot, but I feel pretty "Meh" about this particular book.

[Catherine]

I had originally thought that this new edition of the book and the original edition of the book would display as separate editions, but they do not and I can't seem to split them out. The Queen of Swords edition of this book, the one with the purple cover, the wolf's head and the subtitle: "Wolves of Wolf's Point" is the new, updated version. The black and silver one is the original edition. There are some distinct differences between the two, though the basic story is the same. I hope you enjoy it!

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who knew menopausal werewolves could be so much fun? Becca is recently divorced and old enough to be going through the change. Only in this community, the change means much more for many of the women. Becca knows that the town has something going on, but she doesn’t know what. Besides menopause, she seems to be developing feelings for her neighbor Erin, and experiencing some oddities beyond the usual menopausal symptopms.

As she comes to term with the town and the way her body is changing, hunters come to town, set on eradicating the women or at least changing them to “normal” women. There’s a lot of Becca’s thoughts, but also plenty of action and worldbuilding. I liked that the magic comes from both Native and settler (for lack of a better term) ancestors. This turned into a good adventure and a thoughtful look at change. I can’t wait to read the sequel.

[Victoria (Eve's Alexandria)]

DNF @ 48%

I loved the premise of this so much - becoming a werewolf is such a great metaphor for the fierce physical, emotional and mental change of menopause. But the delivery wasn’t what I hoped and I didn’t warm to Becca, our POV character. At times she was TSTL. More than that though I couldn’t get along with the mythos of Wolf Point and the way settler colonialism was absolved through inheriting indigenous power and responsibilities.

[Leigh Kramer]

DNF at 48%

Intriguing premise—perimenopause transforms women into werewolves—that unfortunately came with baked in gender essentialism/transphobia (only cis women experience menopause and/or become werewolves) and was also confusing (only certain cis women in this town transform, most of whom are not aware of the werewolves’ existence. The magic calls them.) The origin story was culturally appropriative of Indigenous people and the magic element of how cis women become werewolves suggest the Magical Indigenous Person trope, if not on page here then inherent to the origin story. It also threw in some colonialism related to European settlers who also settled in the valley. And if all that wasn’t enough, Becca repeatedly verged on TSTL while the story wanted us to think she was going to be an Exceptionally Talented Wolf with a whiff of White Saviorism. I realized she reminded me of Cooper from Charlie Adhara’s disappointing Big Bad Wold series. Cooper was presented as a Great Detective when the whole series is riddled with evidence to the contrary and his arc also headed in the direction of White Saviorism. Once I saw the connection, I couldn’t unsee it.

Character notes: Becca is a 50 year old white hardware store clerk—up to where I’ve read, she’s having confusing feelings for Erin but still thinks she’s straight. Erin is a white lesbian accountant. This is set in Wolf’s Point.

Content notes: MC makes microaggressive comment toward Chinese American character (Becca realizes she screwed up but never apologizes; it was not great), MC rescues missing child who was abducted and possibly raped, perimenopause, murder (vigilante justice), violence, arson, hospitalization for gunshot wounds, divorced (ex cheated), cultural appropriation (not countered), Magical Indigenous Person trope (built into werewolf origin story), slut-shaming of ex-husband’s new wife (not countered), alcohol, bierasure (not countered), gender essentialism, transphobic premise (only lady werewolves experience menopause), ableist language, ex-husband’s new wife is pregnant (he never wanted to have kids while with MC), secondary character committed herself to psychiatric hospital after her first werewolf transformation (she didn’t know werewolves were a thing; another character got her out), secondary character’s mom is in the hospital, mention of nightmares, reference to past “skirmishes” with local tribe (town’s origin story), reference to meth lab blowing up (past)

[heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the idea of a story that is about powers manifesting at the transition into crone (in the religious sense). So frequently we read and write about girls turning into women, and with their sexuality, they get to kick ass, but this is cool because it's about becoming powerful at menopause.

Wolf's Point is a syncretic, peaceful, multicultural town in remote mountain valley. Half the town is in on a secret so well-kept that it comes as a complete surprise to Becca. It turns out that the Women Of A Certain Age in town strip naked and turn into wolves to protect their town.

Of course, there are adversaries to repel, a new persona to integrate into, all that jazz. Also, Becca is developing a crush on her neighbor, which is confusing because Becca hadn't thought she was into women.

I thought the premise was fascinating, and I loved the dynamics in how the women related to each other and structured their town and their pack. I also liked the honest discussion of WHY you would keep this secret from someone you suspected would find out on their own.

Sadly, I thought the pacing was not up to the promise of the story. There were too many threads left loose, like what exactly made Oya so crazed with anger, and what Becca is going to do about her crush.

Read if: You are tired of teenage girls getting all the fun. You want to watch all sorts of different women relate to each other.

Skip if: You are looking for a totally immersive book.

Also read: Range of Ghosts, by Elizabeth Bear. Wheel of the Infinite, by Martha Wells.

[Jos]

DNF 15%

This one wasn't for me. I loved the idea of a late in life werewolf awakening, but I didn't feel connected or invested in the main character.

[Anne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Interesting premise: menopause turns women into werewolves, with a lesbian "romance" (really more of a unacted-upon crush). I wanted to see how it ended but I had to force myself to finish this. I skimmed/skipped parts of the second half. It felt like it needed a lot of editing and got worse in the second half. Characterization paper thin. Way too much internal monologue. Romance barely happened, which was disappointing. The plot had boatloads of problems which often related to the lack of character development. We don't really understand why anybody does anything. The main villain doesn't make a lot of sense and I wasn't even clear on what happened to her in the end. The climax involves the so-called magic of the town but it was also very undeveloped and barely referred to earlier. It should have been woven into the story all along. The sheriff unbelievably doesn't know his small town's being protected by werewolves, even though there's a centuries-long werewolf tradition there and everybody else seems to know about it.

[Baxter Clare Trautman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming story about menopausal women turning into werewolves. May be more fact than fiction to that!

[Runalong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hugely enjoyable and with some great refreshing takes on werewolves in particular the focus on characters who are women in their middle age. Good mix of action and character work

Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very interesting read. Not your typical werewolf book. I never would have thought all the wolves were menopausal women.

[Heather Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

When reading a contemporary werewolf story, generally one’s first thought isn’t “I love the multi-layered allegorical resonances,” but that’s what I came away with from Lundoff’s Silver Moon (originally published 2012 by Lethe Press but now reissued as one of the initial offerings of Queen of Swords Press).
Becca Thornton’s quiet life in the rural town of Wolf’s Point seems likely to be troubled only by the occasional tiresome contact from her ex-husband until three experiences intersect at once: the first stirrings of menopause, an unexpected attraction to the woman next door, and turning into a werewolf. Fortunately, the local women’s club is there to walk her through her lycanthropic initiation into their not-so-secret inner circle. Wolf’s Point has a long tradition of calling on women of a certain age to join the supernatural protectors of the town and its surrounds.
Becca is distracted from her uncertainty about this new stage of her life (heck, about all three new stages) by the incursion of a cult-like group of werewolf hunters, though their methods and opinions are more suggestive of gay conversion “therapy”--a parallel that is no more likely to be coincidence than any of the other thematic resonances.
Lundoff’s writing style is delightfully smooth and transparent, letting the story itself take the wheel. She evokes both the delights and annoyances of small town life--especially for a character who will be a newcomer however long she lives there--and mirrors them in the struggle to integrate into the alien dynamics of a werewolf pack that Becca seems to have had no choice in joining. This makes the thriller-style plot involving “conversion therapy” entirely believable as Becca is tempted by the possibility of “being normal again”. Conversely, the romantic subplot never raises such questions, only the standard anxieties around an unexpected attraction and the complexities of exploring it when everything else in your life is turned upside down.
I liked the overall pacing and how the various plot strands, both dramatic and humorous, were braided together. In an era when the “sexy dom/sub werewolf soulmate” plot seems to have taken over shapeshifter fiction, Silver Moon is a breath of fresh air: just a complex personal story of a woman going through The Changes. All of them.

[lauraღ · Rating 3 out of 5]

To Becca, it felt like she was waking up from a long sleep.

A fun werewolf adventure with a unique premise: in this sleepy little town, when women of a certain age start feeling that change coming upon them, well... it comes with another change too. I.e. menopause comes with a dose of lycantropy. I loved that; the premise, the pack of 50-yo+ ladies taking on werewolf hunters, and a little f/f romance all made this sound like the book of my dreams.

Unfortunately the book doesn't do an amazing job of like, keeping your attention. The writing isn't amazing and I got pretty bored at times. Lots of little plot holes, and definitely a few places that could have been edited better.

Still, I'm so tickled by the idea, I'm glad I read this. 2.5 stars.

[Astrid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now that was an enjoyable read. Many years ago I read every werewolf novel available but then got bored... every book followed pretty much the same story and portrayal of the beasts. Now, this book is different and maybe that's not for everyone but I enjoyed it a lot. There is a depth to it and the language is beautiful.

And now I'll go and read the sequel

[J.A. Ironside · Rating 3 out of 5]

In all honesty, this should have taken about two days to read but I had two buddy reads and library books to finish (plus a book of my own to write) so Silver Moon took a bit of a back seat to all that. This is a light, enjoyable fantasy with a few unusual twists.

It follows MC Becca, a 50 yr old divorcee who discovers that menopause brings certain changes. No, not just the usual ones. Chosen by the ancient power of the land to become a guardian now she is past her childbearing years, Becca discovers that the inner circle of the women's group (think WI) is not in fact about bake sales and tombola. Becca had expected a lot of things when she hit menopause but lycanthropy definitely wasn't on the list, nor was the growing attraction to her female neighbour and fellow packmate. And definitely not having to fight an intense battle against werewolf hunters. Whether she releases her inner wolf of not, Becca may just have bitten off more than she can chew.

This was a lot of fun. There were things I loved about it, such as showing middle aged women as adventurers and influences rather than shuffling them into the waiting area for would be grandmothers or crazy cat ladies. The women in this book are powerhouse and almost all of them are over 50. (One younger woman - twenty something - expresses impatience that she's too young to know if she'll be chosen to join the pack.) I liked the fact that the focus was not on women as mothers. Becca has chosen not to have children as have many others. So often narratives don't know what to do with women who are not mothers and we end up with the stereotypical childless woman who longs for the right man and a child. (Newsflash but not all of us want children no matter who we're with.) Silver Moon presented these women as complete even without children. Another thing the book did well was presenting late discovery of pan or bisexuality. (Look, we don't all know in school, ok? Some of us sit bang in the middle of the attraction scale but because society which is largely heteronomative tells us from birth that girls must desire boys, some of us end up shutting off half our identities unconsciously and it's only when we've exorcised that BS that we realise.) It was great to see a 50 yr old discovering this side of her identity and bearing up the wisdom that sexual attraction is a very fluid thing that changes throughout your life.

So A++ on all of those fronts.

Why only three stars? The magic system was somewhat fuzzy (no pun intended!) The plot jumps around a lot and Becca isn't a decisive enough character to carry it. So many times it felt like she acted because of reasons rather than because that was the plausible and logical progression of the story. (Also a minus point for making one non differentiated bad guy a paedophile just because it was a shorthand way of saying bad gay.) The end din't quite land for me either and tbh the romance could have been played up more and carried more of the plot - if I'm saying there needs to be more romance the gods themselves do tremble because I don't like romance!

Anyway, I enjoyed this and thought it was a good read. I'd recommend it. I just wish the story had been better developed.

[Carol Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silver Moon is a book in which some women become werewolves at menopause. That's a great premise! We certainly start feeling like we want to burst out of our skins then.

The premise is developed well. Becca, the protagonist, is a divorced woman who lives in a town called Wolf's Point, but she has no idea how appropriate that name is.

The other women werewolves (all the werewolves in the town are women) can tell that she's about to become one of them, and they invite her to come to a meeting where they can help her during her transition.

She's shocked at discovering the hidden part of her nature. She's also shocked to discover that she's attracted to one of the other women.

The werewolves of Wolf's Point are benign. They guard the town. But there are hunters, mostly men, with one woman, who are trying to kill them.

The woman, Annie, is pushing to convert them with a potion that can make them "normal" again. The parallels with "conversion therapy" for lesbians and gays are clear.

This is a good, well-thought out narrative. I enjoyed the book. It's so feminist.

[Lisa R Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

You decide.

Catherine Lundoff’s “Silver Moon: A Wolves of Wolf’s Point Novel” was a good depiction of a menopausal woman, but not in a humorous way, just straight up. I hoped it would be funny, the premise is funny. A clueless, straight white women hits menopause, turns into a wolf, and develops an attraction to her neighbor lady! Now that could be a comedy, but not in this story.

A fifty year old divorcee, Becca Thornton, lives in the small town of Wolfs Point. Magic or curse, it’s never clear, is in the air as she has one hot flash and she starts to turn wolf-like, all with no warning. The book is for older gals, I mean, how often in lesfic does a whole book center around menopausal women. The romance is minimal, there are bad guys, and she is a reluctant wolf with the insecurities of a divorced middle age women.

[J H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Women's magic/paranormal adventures after turning 50

SAPPHIC BOOK BINGO: not a romance, out of your comfort zone, coming-out story, non-human character; UNICORN: character over 50, period (possibly other categories)

4 1/2 stars

This was a great read! The premise was new to me, and I'd never heard of, nor read, anything where life got magical, and more exciting and dangerous, starting at fifty. Even though there were two POVs, it was more like an ensemble of characters. It had Native American magic, shape shifters, hot flashes, friendship and bonding of a group of older women, and even a romance. Readers under fifty years of age will love the group of women and the cause of their unusual werewolf shifting just as much as those middle-aged and older.

[Melyna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is why I bought this book "... menopause turns her into a werewolf." I tend to read M/M romance but this F/F story about menopausal women turning into werewolves was a must read. It is an interesting take on werewolf mythology and I enjoyed it. Although Becca was the main character, I found myself relating to Erin more. Good story with a theme I can definitely relate to. Except for the turning into a werewolf part, although that would be pretty cool, or better yet a dragon. ;-)

[Cleo · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 / B- I wanted to like this more than I did. I love the premise - queer middle aged women werewolves? Who are the guardians of their town! And they don’t get their powers until they hit menopause?!? Of course I wanted to read this book.

I enjoyed it but I thought there was too much plot for the length of the book and it got a little too bonkers at the end for my taste. I didn’t care much about the group trying to eliminate the werewolves, I wanted to spend more time with the MC Becca freaking out about her new powers and her new-ish feelings for her cute neighbor and fellow werewolf.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

dnf. I was super excited for a book about menopausal werewolves but there's a fine line between Trope and cliche, and unfortunately this book leans heavily into the latter instead of the former. the writing is simplistic, expository, lots of telling instead of showing. the characters felt flat. it's just an okay book.

[Sophy H · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh honey, no.

I was brought to this book from She-wolf: A cultural history of female werewolves.

I was looking forward to this as a woman "of a certain age" having hot flushes and crazy peri-menopausal symptoms! I was thinking yesss, finally, us middle agers get our own back, ripping the throats out of those who piss us off! Er, no.

I felt like I'd trundled into a YA novel! The writing felt amateurish, the characters weak, the story slow and bumbling and the "action" half-arsed. I feel bad writing a negative review as Lundoff states at the beginning of the book that she sought feedback from her readers and rewrote certain bits of the story to "make it better". I'm kind of worried as to how it was pre-rewrite!

Very disappointing interpretation of an idea which could have been really fabulous.

[Hilcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Silver Moon, Catherine Lundoff weaves a fantasy set in a small town where only a few women are called by magic to change into werewolves when menopausal symptoms flare up. This book's premise is what sold it to me.

The story's central character is a woman of a "certain age" going through multiple changes in her life, including menopause. At first glance it might seem as if equating those biological changes with the werewolf theme is dramatic, but in fact I found it to be both creative and on target. Change. Through the theme of change Lundoff also focuses on other issues that affect women during this time in their lives. She adds insightful touches such as the "invisibility factor"* that women experience after they reach a "certain age," which ties in quite well with the issue of those same women being abandoned or dismissed by husbands or partners (like yesterday's news) for younger women.

I mentioned above that the story is about change, but in the end it's really about either fighting those changes or embracing them gracefully when the inevitable time comes. Lundoff serves this fantasy dish with a scoop of hope. While the main character in her story goes through that roller coaster, the other women show the final result: accepting change doesn't mean you have to give up love or sexuality, instead there is much to be gained, lots to offer and still great things to come in the future.

I read Silver Moon from a female's perspective, but this book is categorized as a lesbian fantasy. As such, and if you read this book from a concrete or literal point of view, I would say that it is high on the fantasy/paranormal with lots of action, amusing and insightful moments (at least they were amusing and insightful to me), and quite low on the romance. A quick, enjoyable read.

*(If you don't know what the "invisibility factor" means, you haven't turned 50 yet. It's when people, this applies to men and women, stop seeing you as a "woman," and in fact you become almost, if not totally, invisible.)

[Evaine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was very much looking forward to reading this book which sounds like a paranormal/shifter f/f romance starring MCs of a 'certain age'. You see, when some of the women of Wolf's Point begin menopause, they also become werewolves.

Well, it really wasn't a romance. Yeah, Becca, the main POV character, developed a crush on her across the street neighbour, Erin, but aside from a whole lot of internal whining about was she coming on too strong, was she really attracted to her THAT way, was she reading the signs wrong, there wasn't much that could actually be pointed to as a romance. There was also a lot of complaining about the inconsiderate/cheating/obnoxious ex-husband which I found rather clichéd. And just about every time Becca felt herself heating up, she wasn't sure if it was embarrassment, being turned on by Erin, or a menopausal hot flash. It got tiresome after a while.

I liked the premise of the story - mature female werewolves protecting their town and environs from all the baddies - but I don't feel it was ever explored in anything more than a cursory fashion. Yes, there was the whole plot of the baddies come to town to eradicate the scourge of the werewolf because.... well.... because.

I have to admit that I never warmed up to Becca. As I said, I found her rather whiny. About everything. Her marriage that was more than 2 years over, her job, her menopause, her werewolfiness, her crush on Erin, her interactions with the other mature women of the town. OMG, she bitched and moaned about everything and hardly ever came to a firm decision about anything. I honestly could not see what Erin - maybe - found attractive about her.

I don't know if there are going to be further books about the Wolves of Wolf's Point, but I suppose that if one comes along and the price is right, I might be tempted to pick it up to see if it actually goes someplace but I won't be disappointed if there's not.

[K. Lincoln · Rating 4 out of 5]

Becca's having hot flashes. She just divorced her husband, is finally settling into her job at the hardware store and getting to know her neighbors in the small town of Wolf's Point. But those hot flashes signal the change- only it's not just menopause Becca has to worry about.

There's the weird way the group of middle-aged women who invited her to join their club look at her now. There's that strange hair growing on her hands and the sudden urge to get back to nature. Not to mention her attraction to Erin, one of the club members who makes Becca feel all squirmy inside.

A group of strangers set up camp outside town and start threatening Becca's Pals just as she finds out her hot flashes and hair mean she is becoming a werewolf. That women's club isn't just a place for margaritas and chit-chat, the town of Wolf's Point holds an ancient magic that "calls" women of a certain age to become wolves in order to defend it.

Becca's been chosen :)

This twist on werewolves is definitely worth a gander. I love the main idea: middle-aged women defending their territory through ancient magic. I also liked the low-key romance that blossomed between Becca and Erin. The pacing of the action was a bit off for me. Even when Beccas finds herself in her enemy's clutches it just seems a bit slow instead of heart-poundingly anxious.

I also felt besides Shelly and Erin, the other women's club members were somewhat interchangeable and never solidified for me.

However, the end of the book was left open enough for more installments, so I'm hoping future installments develop the characters more.

This Book's Snack Rating: Pita and Hummus for the mature taste of the werewolves and the creamy-smooth feelings Becca has as she faces Changes

[Carol March · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shifters for the rest of us.

I love it. A werewolf story set in a small town where the tradition of certain women becoming shifters at menopause is a great change of pace from the alpha guys and gorgeous women who abound in this genre.

Becka is divorced, working at a hardware store and contemplating the journey into the last stages of her life when she notices the first signs of her transformation into her wolf identity. Alarmed, mystified, and mortified, she goes through all the stages of dealing with a burgeoning identity before discovering the not very well-kept secret of the women of Wolf’s Point.

Learning to accept herself, her new friends, the historical roots of the wolf pack she has just joined, and her newly discovered attraction to another pack member keep Becka more than occupied. But a strange group of campers pose an imminent threat to the pack and we’re off and running in a fast-paced thriller as Becka learns how to be a wolf, how to accept new definitions of family and love and how to take her destiny into her own hands.

Coming of age at midlife ought to be a new genre, so many women are doing it. Highly recommended.