Fun
I enjoyed this series.
I have feelings about it, though.
There were a number of things I didn't like:
The frequency the verb "hump" appeared.
The magic sex aspect (werewolfism can be contracted by getting pregnant by a werewolf, or just....doing the deed if you're a recessive werewolf. You can also get it from being improperly killed by a werewolf, which I found confusing but at least made it less of an STD)
The fact that the part of MMC was played by a man who has many (tho not all) of the same red flags that Tamlin has. They are classic romance hero traits, but with Morrison as his foil they were much harder to accept as "just par for the course."
I love Morrison, and felt like they spent a lot more time developing a real friendship with him than with Abernathy, which made it much harder to root for Abernathy. It felt odd, like we COULD have been friends with Abernathy, we just......didn't bother. Because romance heroes aren't real? I don't know. This man withholds information as a matter of principle and it is infuriating. It gave me Tamlin/Lucien flashbacks the way she gets all real information from his friends and not him directly. The reveal at the end kind of fixed that, but it was still all implied and not explicit and still kinda huh? And also maybe icky--like Twilight icky. I wish we'd seen some wooing and friendship and hanging out between Abernathy and Hanna. Mostly we see Abernathy lusting after her or being frustrated or amused by her antics--and they *are* antics.
Also, Hanna, our heroine, is so dumb for books 2 and 3. She has moments of smart, and since her dumb is primarily in reading people and anticipating socio political ANYTHING I suppose it could be a character trait. It was difficult at times to know why two men were in love with her.
I felt like the writing improved as the series went on, though at times waxed too lyrical to convey what was actually happening. But, this is definitely more what I was looking for when I first started looking for books with werewolves. I just also thought the quality of Hanna and Abernathy's relationship would improve as the series went on, and it really didn't. Apparently there is a book 4, and from the reviews it continues in the same vein. The plot of each book is driven by Hanna and Abernathy's inability to have a conversation and Hanna spends an inordinate amount of time pining for the guy she didn't choose (Spoiler? In case anyone thought there was any way this series wasn't going to have a werewolf as endgame)--I mean I get it, Morrison rocks. But you made your choice. I don't think I'll keep reading. Everyone is safe enough and happy enough, and I think if I keep reading I'll just have a harder time swallowing the Hanna/Abernathy thing.
And yet. 4 stars because I read the whole trilogy in three days and had a good time. It was genuinely funny (on purpose, even). Maybe 5, because I'm sure I've given 5 to books with bigger problems and this one just triggered a higher standard clause.
🌶🌶🌶🌶
Spoilers for sure:
I'm pretty upset on Morrison's behalf, honestly. He's such a good guy, somewhat inconsistently written and far better off financially than is typical for a real detective (which, I thought would be a plot point...but no). But for someone who loves food and art like he does, to be turned into a frikken vampire is being done dirty. It was purely for plot, and it would've been so much better if he a) hadn't been turned, or b) was turned into a werewolf, with whom he has so much in common already. This poor guy. He gets left for a carnie, then left for an emotionally unavailable dogman, and THEN on top of everything else he can no longer taste food? Poor Morrison. Maybe only 3 stars.