Wolf Around the Corner

by Aidee Ladnier

Tom Davidson ran away from family obligations to be a Broadway star. If he could make it there, he could make it anywhere…but he didn't. Trudging back home to Waycroft Falls, he finds his sister Annie and her hometown bookstore in danger of folding. Her open the upstairs of the historic building as a performance venue. Putting on a play should be a piece of cake for her famous New York actor brother.

Frank Braden lost the genetic lottery and got the family werewolf curse. Kicked out of his home for the triple threat of being gay, a werewolf, and a drain on his widowed father's new family, he settled in Waycroft Falls to make as inconspicuous a life as possible working in Annie's bookstore. Until her gorgeous younger brother comes to town and literally needs a beast for his play.

Tom breaks out the charm to convince Frank he's key to the success of the bookshop's theatrical version of Beauty and the Beast. Frank loves the bookstore, is hotter than sin, and has the perfect solution to Tom's stage makeup conundrum. Who better to play the Beast than a guy who can turn into one?

Genres: M M Romance, Audiobook, Urban Fantasy, Romance, Gay, Paranormal Romance, Paranormal

184 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 13, 2017

About the author

Aidee Ladnier, an award-winning author of speculative fiction, believes that adventure is around every corner. In pursuit of new experiences, she’s worked as a magician’s assistant, been a beauty pageant contestant, ridden in hot air balloons, produced independent movies, hiked up a volcano, and is a proud citizen scientist. A lover of genre fiction, Aidee’s perfect romance has a little science fiction, fantasy, mystery, or the paranormal thrown in to add a zing.

Reviews

[Joyfully Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Joyfully Jay review.

4 stars

I love Beauty and the Beast stories! Of course, you all already know I love wolf shifter stories too. When I saw the blurb for Wolf Around the Corner, my heart skipped a beat. A combination of both? YES!! I was not disappointed. This was a lovely book with lovable characters (except that dick…Dick), a plausible plot…ok maybe that whole shifting into a wolf thing…but I can certainly see a town coming together to save an historical building, and a sweet and sexy romance.

Tom was great, even if he was lying to Annie and everyone else. He wanted them to think he was successful because he didn’t want to let them down. He came home because he’d do anything for his big sister, although he wasn’t necessarily expecting her to ask him to put on a play. I liked how Tom was down to earth. Even though he wanted to project the persona of a successful actor, he wasn’t arrogant at all. He even took a tiny apartment in Mrs. Anderson’s building rather than expecting to be treated like royalty. He was attracted to Frank right away. At first, he’s shocked when he found out about Frank’s Galen’s, but he finally accepts it’s just…Frank. Tom realizes Frank’s not a wild animal and he’s got no fear.

Read Kenna’s review in its entirety here.

[BookAddict ✒ La Crimson Femme · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tom Davidson learns the hard way how being a big fish in a small pond does not translate to being a big fish in a large pond. Tom left podunk Waycroft Falls as quickly as he could so that he could make it big in New York. After a few years of not making it, even if his sister thought he did, he returns home at her request to help her out. Tail tucked between his legs, he keeps wanting to confess to his sister how much he failed. Lucky for Tom, the opportunity never comes.

This story is unexpected for me. It takes a sensitive topic in a plausible manner, that is if being a werewolf was real, and creates a lovely solution. There are a few conflicts in this story and all but one are resolved in a manner I found satisfactory. First, Tom is trying to decide if he can really continue being a failure in New York. Even of Waycroft is in the middle of nowhere, his talent can shine here and he can bring more revenue and education to this little town. Second, Tom's sister, is fighting to save not only her livelihood but preserve a historical building. In today's age where strip malls and on-line mega book stores are the business du jour, her little store is a dying breed quickly meeting extinction. Third, ms. Ladnier attacks the social stigma of being different and how education can make a difference. This point is the one which makes me enjoy the story and perhaps rate it higher than I would normally do.

From a character perspective, none of them really pulled me in. Most of them were annoying. I did feel pity for Frank who is a werewolf. In this world, it is a recessive genetic curse that is a luck of the draw if both parents carry the recessive gene. Frank does and when his mother dies and father remarries to a pure bred human, he's kicked out. He becomes persona non gratas which just kills me. My heart broke for Frank. What the town does through a reinterpretation of Beauty and the Beast with Frank as the featured Beast, is beautiful. How this play is used to educate people on this medical condition really made me smile. Whilst I appreciate Ms. Ladnier's bittersweet ending for Frank, it does leave me a bit miffed at Frank's asshat family.

This paranormal romance is recommended for m/m readers who enjoy angst with a bit of fairy tale ending.

* Review copy provided via Reading Alley for an honest review.

[Duncan Husky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, now this was something refreshingly different from the (entirely too many shut up quit looking at me like that) werewolf books that I have read. Here, lycanthropy, called “Galen’s Syndrome,” after the ancient physician who discovered it, is a recessive hereditary gene that only manifests when the parents share the gene. There’s a bit of hand-waving with a bit of magic involved but that’s less important. It’s a very rare condition, and one that is not well-known to the general public.

Galen’s aside, this is a very sweet story of a shy, thoughtful guy who’s dealing with a lifetime of rejection and small-town boy who went off to New York City to find his fortune and fame and is ashamed to admit that his most notable role was Guy in the Chorus #6 and that he sleeps on his friends’ sofa because he can’t afford even a crappy apartment. Tom is a smart, funny, and charming guy who is great at putting on a good front – hey, he’s an actor, right? Frank is much quieter, an introvert who has had a rough life and is only just starting to find friends and self-confidence again. He’s sweet and gentle, yet has been told over and over that his wolf is dangerous, whether that’s true or not.

What follows is the typical push and pull – big-city guy falling for small-town guy, guilty secrets, the dramatic tension of whether they can make the play work. This is well written, and I was cheering for Tom and Frank all the way. There’s easy parallels to be found between homophobia (which is also present) and fear of Galen’s syndrome, but Ladinier doesn’t make too much of them.

The one place where I think the novel fell down a bit was in pacing. In any romance story, there’s usually the will-they-get-together-or-won’t-they (spoiler: they always do) but that got a little drawn out here. Also, I never really got a sense of place for Waycroft Falls, which given the role that the town plays toward the end of the book is sort of surprising. For some reason, I spent the first half of the book thinking it was in upstate New York, but later it’s stated that they are in the South, with vague references to Atlanta.

This isn’t high drama, but a lovely small-town romance with likeable characters and a unique view of werewolves. I definitely recommend this one!

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this story. Tom is escaping his not to glamorous life in New York to visit his sister back home and she asks for his help to save her store. Frank has been on his own ever since he had to leave home and know that deep down all he is is an animal and not worth anything.

I felt so bad for Frank with how he was treated by his family and those in his home town but he has made a nice quite life for himself in Waycroft Falls, I understand why he is hesitant to do what Tom asks. Tom isn’t one to give up, but he isn’t sure how much more he can take in New York; I loved seeing his real personality come out with Frank and not just the fake smiles and confidence he shows others. I loved seeing these two find the love they have been missing but also a place where they could build a life together.

[Alexis Woods · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was received free in return for an honest review via Goodreads Don't Buy My Love review program.

So this was certainly an interesting take on a shifter book. Something along the lines of the wolf who’s not a wolf. Frank suffers from a genetic mutation caused by a curse that has given him Lycanthropy, which allows him to transform into a wolf and the half shifted form of a werewolf. At the tender age of 18, Frank finds himself in a little town, working in a little book store. When the owner's brother, Tom, comes to visit for the summer and moves in across the hall, our MCs meet and become friends.

In a bid to save the historic library/bookstore, Tom agrees to direct a play written by Frank: Beauty and the Beast. (Right. You saw that coming a mile away.) When Tom discover's how Frank can truly be the Beast, he convinces Frank to be the lead in the play. This leads to much closer interaction and intra flection and their wants and desires.

This was a clean, well written book but lacked deeper emotions. While the love between the men is written into the pages, it didn't quite come across in the words. Additionally, there was one huge distraction/detraction to the story, which was the continued use of the words "inner animal". The use of this phrase in place of simply saying “wolf” made me feel like Frank didn't know what was inside him at some points. I can equate using inner animal to saying "the man". We as readers know it's a wolf, Frank knows it's a wolf, so why not just say it's wolf, or inner wolf. Every time I read inner animal I was pulled out of the story. Because of this detraction, I often felt myself being pulled away from the story, and the parts where I was really able to sink myself into the book was when there was no mention of the Wolf.

Points for the world building, but I was able to put this down without regrets too many times for me to give it any additional stars.

[blub · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unique modern werewolf tale

Tom Davidson is an aspiring actor who lived in New York. He returns home when his sister's livelihood is threatened to help her raise funds by putting on a play.

Frank Braden is Tom's neighbor. He's been alienated and turnout by his family because he was unfortunate to inherit the family genetic werewolf curse, known as Galen syndrome. He works in the bookstore that Tom's sister, Annie owns. When the plan to put on a play is decided; Frank is roped into writing the script and taking the leading part.

When first starting off I had a very intense dislike for Tom. I didn't like that he was trying to manipulate Frank into taking the lead part in the Beauty and the Beast play. It took me a long time to even change my mind about his character. Frank on the other hand I liked, though, I felt a bit bad for him and the prejudice he suffered. I liked that Frank had a support system he never expected he would because of his affliction.

The author delving into the behavior and treatment of individuals that suffered from Galen syndrome was fascinating and it certainly portrayed that fear and understanding can make people act badly. This story was quite different and set apart from other werewolf stories because the direction the author took with it and that was a draw for the story. It ended quite nicely though I wish the thing with Frank's family could have been resolved.

A free copy was provided to me from Reading Alley in exchange for an honest review.

[Penumbra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received Wolf Around the Corner from the ‘Don’t Buy My Love’ program on Goodreads for an honest and unbiased review. The MCs in this book are Tom Davidson, an unsuccessful actor, and Frank Braden, a young writer who has Galen’s disease that causes lycanthropy. The story is told in third person from both Frank and Tom’s pov.



I’ve read a few books by this author before and I enjoyed them, like I did this one. The blurb gives a good description of the plot but I’ll give a short summary. Tom returns to his hometown when he gets a call from his sister, Annie, to help save her bookstore from being torn down to make room for more modern shops. Tom moved to New York to make it as an actor but hasn’t been successful. He also hasn’t been truthful about his failure, so when he returns home, people think he’s a success. Frank suffers from lycanthropy caused by a genetic curse placed on one of his ancestors. Tossed out of his home by his father and stepmother, Frank has settled in town and Annie gives him a job at the bookstore. Both Tom and Annie convince Frank to write a story that can be turned into a play to help save the bookshop. Tom will produce and direct.

I liked the characters Frank and Tom. The author conveyed the different personalities well, and the changes they both went through as the story progressed. The romance pace was slow, which some readers might not like. There was instant lust, but it wasn’t acted on immediately. I did however, have problems with how lycanthropy was explained. It’s stated that Galen’s Syndrome is a genetic curse, which puts this story into a Fantasy/Paranormal genre even though it feels ‘normal.’ The story mentions repeatedly that people who are cursed are not animals. Frank even states he has his own mind when he shifts. But, here’s where it gets confusing. Throughout the story, the wolf inside Frank is emphasized as a separate being with its own personality and desires/fears/wants. Frank doesn’t just shift, which to me would be the DNA genetic curse affecting just his body, he actually has a creature expressing emotions living in him, and something he needs to control. That’s not just DNA manipulation, that’s another entity entirely. It’s a wolf, and Frank becomes that wolf. That’s where this story didn’t work for me. It kept emphasizing that Frank wasn’t an animal, that he wasn’t a wolf. However, every time the wolf inside expressed emotions/desires or lost control, the story mentioned the wolf’s feelings. The story didn’t mention that the wolf ‘represented’ Frank’s feelings, it was a being itself. Frank as a wolf didn’t lose his human mind when shifted. Just like the wolf didn’t lose its wolf emotions when Frank was in human form. So sadly, this attempt to explain lycanthropy didn’t work for me. Frank is a wolf shapeshifter.

One other thing I definitely don’t like is the cover. I’m guessing the author didn’t have a say on the cover. I’m hoping at some point that she has a chance to get it redone because it’s bad and doesn’t convey the characters at all. We’re told that Tom is handsome and blond, possibly in his late twenties, so I’m guessing the person on the cover in the background is Tom. Frank has auburn hair and is about twenty-two years old! The man in the front looks wolfish, so I’m guessing that is supposed to be Frank. That model looks like he’s at least thirty-five to thirty-eight years old. Who chose the cover models? Because the Frank model is not representative of Frank in the least as described in the story. The author had Natasha Snow remake her Clockwork Kraken cover and it’s gorgeous. I hope the author considers redoing the cover for this book because it seriously needs reworking. Covers are rated in my book reviews even though I know covers don’t matter to some readers. For me, they matter a lot.

I enjoyed the relationship growth between Tom and Frank in Wolf Around the Corner, but the discrepancy between the story saying Frank wasn’t a wolf, but then creating a wolf that lived as a separate entity within Frank didn’t work for me. The cover also ruined it for me. I did however enjoy the plot and the pace. Therefore, I give this book, 4 Stars despite the two big issues I have with this story.

[MariF · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've got this book as part of the free book package for signing up to QueeRomance Ink (www.queeromanceink.com) site and newsletter, maintained by the nicest host - Scott Coatsworth with his husband Mark.
I wanted this book badly because I love shifters and fairy tales and here we have a modernized spin on Beauty and the Beast, with a staging of that same fairy tale as the main plot point.
It was a very different take on shifters, described as a rare medical condition that can be passed only by both parents being a carrier of recessive lycanthropy genes.
Most people are not even aware of Galen's syndrome and have a predictable negative reaction to anything out of ordinary.

Frank has lost his own family at a very young age because they were scared and ashamed of having such an oddity among them.
Tom, the Beauty of this story, is an unsuccessful actor who comes to visit his family in a small southern town and to help his sister with saving the bookstore, which is also a historical building, that a local villain, aka local real estate mogul Dick, wants to destroy and make a parking garage/new mall out of it.
Tom loves his big sister and wants to help, not to mention that staying in New York without a steady job is very expensive and he needs to wait out until a casting call will come his way.
Somehow everyone is thinking that Tom has made it as a Broadway star and Tom is not in a rush to disabuse them of this opinion.
He agrees to stage a charity play on a shoe-string budget, right in the store building, to help the store and, luckily, Frank who is a bookstore manager, is also a writer who agrees to write a play based on original Beauty and the Beast tale (not a Disney version).

Tom and Frank are instantly attracted to each other and despite Tom's freak out episode when he learns of Frank unique condition, he is quick to realize that Frank is more than his Galen's syndrome, and he has a perfect lead for the Beast that can make this play a success.
He also convinces Frank that this play will be a great vehicle to educate general public of this rare medical condition, despite Frank's stage and safety fears that such exposure will bring.

I liked how the town came together to save their historical building/bookstore and how most people have accepted Frank's condition and supported the endeavor.

Of course, there were some setbacks to romance progression due to Tom's temporary stay in the town and Frank's unwillingness to risk his heart to a person that will follow his dreams which don't include Frank as part of them.

Overall, it's a sweet fairy-tale story that I liked but it was slow-paced at times and felt longer than it should. Thus 4 stars.

[Tara Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

First off, my apologies to the author. I planned to review this months ago; my delay is in no way a fault of the book.

This was a very cute love story.
Tom is the "failed" Broadway star who has come home for the summer to try to save his sister's old historical bookstore space so they don't build a shopping mall by doing a play of Beauty and the Beast to raise cash.
Frank is the estranged-from-his-family werewolf roaming in the woods and sometimes being caught naked when people take his clothes. He is trying to get back into his apartment when he falls out of a tree literally into Tom's path.
The two are initially unsure about starting a relationship, even with undeniable chemistry. But of course they do and Frank plays the Beast in the play by morphing partway to wolf for the scene, to much success.

No, the plot was not complex, but I really enjoyed the story. The aspect of using "Galen's syndrome" and having it understood and tolerated as little or as much as homosexuality is by some people in our current society was really well done, and made the characters and their challenges real for me. I also really liked the symbolism of using Frank's playing the Beast onstage to "come out" as a werewolf in front of family and friends...and that all their reactions weren't positive, but mixed.

This was my first M-M story I ever read, and I liked it enough that I will read more.

[Susan Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been reading paranormals for many years and thought there were no new twists on werewolves or vampires. I’m happy to say Aidee Ladnier proved me wrong. In Wolf Around the Corner, we meet Tom, a less-than-successful actor on Broadway, and Frank, who meets the definition of werewolf. They come together on a play, but what elevates the story is two things. The first is Tom’s initial natural response to meeting a werewolf and then overcoming that response. The second is the author’s very clever explanation for the existence of werewolves in the modern world. (Hint: the reason is not modern at all.) These two are surrounded by some fun secondary characters who make the small town of Waycroft Falls come alive. An enjoyable read of redemption for several of the characters.

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

I forced myself to finish this for a challenge, but it still bored me.

[E. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Turning a curse into an asset...



“Wolf Around the Corner” by Aidee Ladnier is a paranormal m/m romance story that features a not-quite-successful New York actor who comes back to the small town of Waycroft Falls to help his sister start her new business. He has a spark with one of her employees and convinces the man to perform in a version of “Beauty and the Beast.” It turns out he really can morph into a beast. Perfect for the play, not so great for his assimilation into the close-knit small town.

I enjoy the way this author turns common themes on end and provides a unique way of looking at things. There is an intriguing explanation for the ability of certain humans to shift into wolves with the twist of ascribing the talent to a curse. I was drawn to both main characters, each of whom has to deal with society’s perceptions and the difficulty of maintaining a façade for the world, and the delightful parallel between the play being performed and the events taking place in real life kept me invested in the story.


This is a great twist on a beloved fairy tale and a nice blend of science and fantasy. I have only read a few stories written by this talented author, but each one has impressed me with her imagination and talent for creating a compelling tale and I look forward to reading even more of her titles.

A copy of this title was provided to me for review

[Issa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this story at no charge from the M/M Group DMBL Program in exchange for an honest review.

These are the hardest reviews to write, when you really love something about a story and really dislike something else. The premise of the story is pretty simple. Tom is back to his small town after failing to make a theater career in New York City. He needs a place to reboot while he figures out how to get his career off the ground. His sister Annie offers him the top floor of her bookstore for a theater and coaxes him into directing Beauty and the Beast as she hopes to make the building more profitable by having a theater. The other MC is Frank, Annie’s employee. He’s a loner who ended up in town one day and Annie took pity and hired him. He has Galen’s syndrome, a rare genetic condition that causes those who have it to turn into wolves.

So points for a creative way to bring shifters into a story.

First the good. Frank. I adored him. He’s shy, introverted, socially anxious, part of which is likely his personality and part of which is his experience living with Galen’s syndrome. His parents kicked him out because of the syndrome and he has a lifetime of rejection due to his condition. Very few people know about it and a fewer number of those accept it. Frank is so very relatable as he handles his awkward meetings with Tom, someone Frank has a crush on, and his worry in hiding his condition from everyone while shifting as he needs to keep healthy.

Annie is also a wonderful character in this story. She takes care of Frank, giving him work, supporting him, counseling him when things go wrong for him. But she lets him live his life and doesn’t butt in when not wanted. She thinks Tom and Frank would be a good couple, and the most she does in that arena is bring them both together to meet. She never suggests the they can fix each other’s problems, and when she talks to Frank and Tom separately, she supports and gives them advice as individuals. I loved Annie. Her scenes with Frank were some of my favorite.

My biggest problem was with Tom. He’s shallow and self centered and I could not warm up to him. He is always thinking of himself, how can he get back to New York, how can he make the play a success, how he can stop feeling like a failure. When he first sees Frank, he sees him as a guy he could tap for a good time while in town. When he learns about Frank’s shifting, and accepts it after initially not, he immediately fixates on to Frank as the answer to the Beast problem in his play.

“I feel responsible.” Frank rubbed at his neck where a smidge of sunburn prickled.

“Well, don’t” Tom dredged up a a smile, but it looked halfhearted on his face. “Just help me make this play the best thing this town has ever seen, so I can go back to New York and not feel like a failure for once. It shows in my auditions. My ego could use a little stroking, and directing won’t look bad on my resume.”

and

Tom watched Frank descend. A nagging worry irritated him, a sudden urge to call Frank back and tell him they’d just use stage magic or makeup, and Frank’s secret would be safe. But he didn’t. This production needed something special to catch the eye of the town council and maybe even the state historical board. Something to wow the reports enough...

These quotes basically sum up Tom. In his world, it’s all about him, his needs, his feelings. He never really tries to understand Frank or his perspective. He does a cursory comparison of Frank’s Galen’s symptom to Tom coming out as gay, but the comparison, assuming you can really even compare the two, is so short you could miss it. Even Tom��s research into the condition seems calculated so Tom knows how to handle him, not for Tom to try and know him. Not once does Tom speculate how Frank’s outing will affect Frank or how Frank’s acting will affect him even though there is plenty to argue that both could be good for Frank.

As a result the HEA was flat and felt out of touch with story because I never felt the emotion between the two. Tom’s emotion with his dreams and lack of follow through, yes. Frank’s emotion with his family and his condition, definitely yes. But together, no. In the end, I wanted Frank to be alone or with someone else.

If I take Tom out of the equation, the book is pretty good. The play takes up just the right amount of time and the actors are individuals and well fleshed out for the little time they appear. And though the story is about a play with a happy ending, the author stays real by not giving the characters a complete story book ending. Tom doesn’t get everything he wants and Frank does not find complete acceptance.

So I guess I round out at three stars. I did like but Tom keeps the story from rating higher for me.

[DC · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a bit to get through this story. It wasn’t until the last few chapters that things got interesting. Earlier than that was rather slow and repetitive. It didn’t help that I found Tom to be a selfish jerk who was taking advantage of incredibly sweet Frank. As it neared the end and their romance was in full bloom (and Tom finally came to his senses) that I finally enjoyed it for the romance that it was. However, the whole Galen’s syndrome thing was a big negative for me. Not the shifting part, just the “cursed genetics” part. I’ll give the author credit for trying something different, but the execution contradicted the attempt. Frank and his allies kept making the point that he is not a werewolf, that he carries a cursed genetic defect that enables him to appear as a wolf but that he is still just a human. Yet, throughout the story, Frank endlessly refers to his “inner wolf” and his wolf acting up and trying to get free or howling or tail between his legs, etc.; in other words, a distinct creature. Even the rapid healing thing. Frank was a wolf shifter, Galen’s irrelevant.
And I couldn’t get a handle on the truth behind Frank’s family. Frank alluded to his dad not abandoning him and getting him set up in the new town, but yet he openly acknowledges (several times) that Annie found him lost and alone when he showed up in town after being kicked out of his family’s home. And, as we saw first hand, his dad and stepmom wanted nothing to do with him.
Sweet romance, slow at first but it comes together at the end. The Galen’s part, not so good in execution.

[Meggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wolf Around the Corner was an enjoyable easy romance, but not for me. I didn't connect with Tom and Frank, their romance was bland and boring. In overall good enough.