What do you think?
Rate this book
Ponderosa Valley Shifters
The Support Group
In every sense of the word, Brie Connors is a lone wolf. She's built her life from scratch by the sweat of her own brow, thank you very much. Coming out and transitioning? Handled. Building a freelance photography career? Nothing to it. Finding out that she's a werewolf? Not a problem. In fact, what could be better?
Sure, life isn't too fun. Sure, her transition hasn't gone super well, and she's definitely a little lonely, but she learned long ago that you can only rely on yourself. However, strong as she may be, Brie does have to admit that she doesn't know everything. So when she learns about a support group for queer werewolves in the town she just moved to, she decides that maybe it's worth swinging by. After all, you can never know too much, especially when you're a new werewolf.
Soon, Brie finds herself getting drawn into the support group, despite her best efforts to keep herself separate. Katy, a kindhearted fellow transgender girl and new werewolf, keeps ending up in conversation with Brie. To Brie's horror, it isn't long before she starts liking the bubbly blonde werewolf.
A sudden revelation about lycanthropy shows Brie that she may have a way out of her middling life and a dark problem that's haunted her since birth. Brie is easily drawn to taking her way out, but to do it, she'll have to leave behind her photography, the life she's built, and most importantly, Katy. Will Brie stick to her guns and prove she's strongest alone? Or will Ponderosa Valley's newest shifter resident decide to give people one more chance?
Sure, life isn't too fun. Sure, her transition hasn't gone super well, and she's definitely a little lonely, but she learned long ago that you can only rely on yourself. However, strong as she may be, Brie does have to admit that she doesn't know everything. So when she learns about a support group for queer werewolves in the town she just moved to, she decides that maybe it's worth swinging by. After all, you can never know too much, especially when you're a new werewolf.
Soon, Brie finds herself getting drawn into the support group, despite her best efforts to keep herself separate. Katy, a kindhearted fellow transgender girl and new werewolf, keeps ending up in conversation with Brie. To Brie's horror, it isn't long before she starts liking the bubbly blonde werewolf.
A sudden revelation about lycanthropy shows Brie that she may have a way out of her middling life and a dark problem that's haunted her since birth. Brie is easily drawn to taking her way out, but to do it, she'll have to leave behind her photography, the life she's built, and most importantly, Katy. Will Brie stick to her guns and prove she's strongest alone? Or will Ponderosa Valley's newest shifter resident decide to give people one more chance?
128 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 13, 2020
About the author
Carie Green
14 books3 followersHi, my name is Carie Green! I was born and raised in Upstate New York. I've been writing silly stories since I was in elementary school.
In recent years, I've started getting serious about writing feel good queer romances and stories. There will always be a happy ending!
In recent years, I've started getting serious about writing feel good queer romances and stories. There will always be a happy ending!
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 2, 2023
This Support Group is an urban fantasy novella about a transgender werewolf who starts attending a local LGBTQ group of supernaturals and slowly opens up to them. I would not call this a category romance since it would set the wrong expectations but there is a romantic subplot.
The story shines in how it explores the limits of (medical) transitioning and how shapeshifting can be both a blessing and a curse. The analogy is obvious but Green makes it work by not exactly comparing Brie's gender identity to her supernatural status but instead looking at her coping mechanisms for both situations and exploring the isolation that can come from it. It's an honest look at how Brie is still dealing with dysphoria and feeling uncomfortable in her body while truly enjoys exploring the world as a wolf. It shows her reluctantly connecting with the other members of the support group who are all great side characters.
And it shows how her acts of kindness towards Katy, who feels very different about her furry predicament, come back to her tenfold.
The story shines in how it explores the limits of (medical) transitioning and how shapeshifting can be both a blessing and a curse. The analogy is obvious but Green makes it work by not exactly comparing Brie's gender identity to her supernatural status but instead looking at her coping mechanisms for both situations and exploring the isolation that can come from it. It's an honest look at how Brie is still dealing with dysphoria and feeling uncomfortable in her body while truly enjoys exploring the world as a wolf. It shows her reluctantly connecting with the other members of the support group who are all great side characters.
And it shows how her acts of kindness towards Katy, who feels very different about her furry predicament, come back to her tenfold.
January 18, 2021
Overall a great story of acceptance. Brie finds a friend in Katy through a LGBTQ+ support group :) But what does the plus stand for in this instance? Read and find out!
The writing in this is very good! There are scenes, specifically in the mountain climbing section, that have stuck with me weeks after reading, and I read quite a few books!
Just a few small editing issues like her / here, an / and, closet / closest.
The writing in this is very good! There are scenes, specifically in the mountain climbing section, that have stuck with me weeks after reading, and I read quite a few books!
Just a few small editing issues like her / here, an / and, closet / closest.
June 7, 2021
Three stars for the writing and an extra star for the representation. It’s a novella that reads a bit like an after school special for young trans werewolfs.
January 11, 2021
This book was such a surprise read.
I love werwolfes, but most of the werwolf stuff out there, is featering Alpha/Beta/Omega stuff, and I really don't like that trope. I know it's popular, but it's not my thing at all. I was afraid that this book would also have this kind of stuff in it. And well, it didn't, so thank you.
But not only that, it managed to surprise me even more. I don't know what I expected, but I didn't expect to have such a good time. I picked this up on a whim. Thinking "why not" and at the end, I finished this alsmost in one setting.
We are following our MC into a support group meeting for LGBT+ people. At first I thought the + was talking about maybe minor groups, like poly-, ace or demi but no. The + is for werwolf. I love how the book is totally aware of how lol this is and starts joking about this as well. In the group, we meet the people that are going to follow us around. Some more, some less.
We didn't get a full biography of a bunch of them, but that didn't mean, that I thought they were bad characters. Although I do think, that it would have been cool, if we could have spend some more time with some of them. Like ... how dare you not tell me, if my ship is canon or not? xD
Anyways, Katy is such an amazing character and I loved her till the very end. I also loved our MC and her struggle.
Which leads me to the next point. The struggle, the conflict of the story, the plot. This is not really a love story. The love story is an important sub plot, but if it weren't for the sex at the end - which was not needed and way to rushed thank you very much - their relationship could almost have been descripted as platonic. I'm not trying to say that you need sex for a relationship to work - I'm ace lol, I'd be the last person to say that. I just felt like, maybe it would have done the story better, if it were Just a friendship. Because friendship is really important too and friendship can fullfill us just as much. Especially since the story isn't that long and we don't have time to concentrate on the love sub plot too much. Therefore it feels kinda a little rushed. Which is why I would have prefered just friends OR a just a kiss or an "Soooo, do you wanna, maybe go grab a coffee sometimes? - "You know we already did that, right?" - "Soooo is that a yes?"
If we had gotten something like that, I would have probably given it 5 stars.
The conflict in itself might be too spoiler terretory to talk about. Let me just say, that I don't think, that I've ever read a trans story, that was written this well. I'm not trans, but this story helped me a great lot in understanding, how it must feel like to be. Great job.
I still think, that the problem might have solved itself too quickly. It's not like it was bad, no no, it's just ... I think it could have been done a little better. Give the ending about 50 more pages and I'm sure the author would have nailed it.
Let's quickly talk about the worldbuilding. 2 words: Loved it. We don't know much, but if you think about it, that is exactly how it should be. It fits. It just does. The information we get is totally enough.
So yeah, I loved it.
I love werwolfes, but most of the werwolf stuff out there, is featering Alpha/Beta/Omega stuff, and I really don't like that trope. I know it's popular, but it's not my thing at all. I was afraid that this book would also have this kind of stuff in it. And well, it didn't, so thank you.
But not only that, it managed to surprise me even more. I don't know what I expected, but I didn't expect to have such a good time. I picked this up on a whim. Thinking "why not" and at the end, I finished this alsmost in one setting.
We are following our MC into a support group meeting for LGBT+ people. At first I thought the + was talking about maybe minor groups, like poly-, ace or demi but no. The + is for werwolf. I love how the book is totally aware of how lol this is and starts joking about this as well. In the group, we meet the people that are going to follow us around. Some more, some less.
We didn't get a full biography of a bunch of them, but that didn't mean, that I thought they were bad characters. Although I do think, that it would have been cool, if we could have spend some more time with some of them. Like ... how dare you not tell me, if my ship is canon or not? xD
Anyways, Katy is such an amazing character and I loved her till the very end. I also loved our MC and her struggle.
Which leads me to the next point. The struggle, the conflict of the story, the plot. This is not really a love story. The love story is an important sub plot, but if it weren't for the sex at the end - which was not needed and way to rushed thank you very much - their relationship could almost have been descripted as platonic. I'm not trying to say that you need sex for a relationship to work - I'm ace lol, I'd be the last person to say that. I just felt like, maybe it would have done the story better, if it were Just a friendship. Because friendship is really important too and friendship can fullfill us just as much. Especially since the story isn't that long and we don't have time to concentrate on the love sub plot too much. Therefore it feels kinda a little rushed. Which is why I would have prefered just friends OR a just a kiss or an "Soooo, do you wanna, maybe go grab a coffee sometimes? - "You know we already did that, right?" - "Soooo is that a yes?"
If we had gotten something like that, I would have probably given it 5 stars.
The conflict in itself might be too spoiler terretory to talk about. Let me just say, that I don't think, that I've ever read a trans story, that was written this well. I'm not trans, but this story helped me a great lot in understanding, how it must feel like to be. Great job.
I still think, that the problem might have solved itself too quickly. It's not like it was bad, no no, it's just ... I think it could have been done a little better. Give the ending about 50 more pages and I'm sure the author would have nailed it.
Let's quickly talk about the worldbuilding. 2 words: Loved it. We don't know much, but if you think about it, that is exactly how it should be. It fits. It just does. The information we get is totally enough.
So yeah, I loved it.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews