Tuesday's Treasure: Werewolf in Manhattan by Vicki Lewis Thompson

Werewolf in Manhattan ~ Vicki Lewis Thompson
Penguin Group: Signet (Eclipse) ~ Mass Market Paperback
RELEASE DATE: January 4, 2011


Reviewed for The Season. Click on hyperlink to visit the The Season blog for a chance to win a free copy.

Gold Coin Rating: 3.75
Heat: BONFIRE


“Wanting her was dangerous. She was not of his kind, and if she learned what he was, she could put the pack at risk. Yet desire waylaid him each time he caught her scent.”~ book excerpt

Emma Gavin writes about werewolves. Her novels are so close to the truth that they’ve garnered the attention of Aidan Wallace, werewolf extraordinaire. When a renegade werewolf sends suggestive messages with an underlying hint of violence, Aidan acts as Emma’s bodyguard to send a warning to the errant wolf with ties to Aidan’s family.

Things go awry when Emma incites Aidan’s mating urge. Aidan is betrothed to another by means of a treaty between packs. He can’t risk breaking the engagement for a joining with a human without jeopardizing the peace. Besides, Emma doesn’t know that he’s exactly what she’s been writing about.

Aidan captured my heart with his fierce loyalty, torn between his obligation to his pack and loving the woman who should be his mate, but cannot be. He’s indulgent and protective of Emma and clearly makes some decisions based on emotion rather than logic.

As for Emma, I didn’t fall in love with her character because she was a bit stereotypical-- an introverted writer with a love for chocolate and coffee, and not as dimensional or multifaceted as Aidan. However, Emma is spunky, quirky. Not much else in the way of personality, except for her sincere compassion for Aidan’s predicament.

A Werewolf in Manhattan is definitely Aidan’s story. His character is the one who grows and matures. There wasn’t much development in Emma. Her character remained static as the story progressed. I realize that generally only one character undergoes considerable change, but I would like to have seen Emma experience some transformation in her journey. After all, I would imagine that finding out werewolves are “real” would inspire some sort of character change since it challenges a belief system.

Despite my initial reservations about a romance writer heroine, this story was engaging enough that I forgot about my initial prejudices. And all though I longed for something more substantial from Emma, A Werewolf in Manhattan was an enjoyable, sometimes laugh out loud, comedic read.
I went through it in one sitting and was smiling when I reached The End.

NYT bestselling author, Vicki Lewis Thompson kicks off her new Wild About You series with A Werewolf in Manhattan’s debut. A snippet of what’s to come in the second installment was included in the ARC and of course I couldn’t resist the teaser. I’m happy to say that the series definitely appears promising.