How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf, 1 (Naked Werewolf, #1)

by Molly Harper

Northern Exposure

Even in Grundy, Alaska, it's unusual to find a naked guy with a bear trap clamped to his ankle on your porch. But when said guy turns into a wolf, recent southern transplant Mo Wenstein has no difficulty identifying the problem. Her surly neighbor Cooper Graham-who has been openly critical of Mo's ability to adapt to life in Alaska-has trouble of his own. Werewolf trouble.

For Cooper, an Alpha in self-imposed exile from his dysfunctional pack, it's love at first sniff when it comes to Mo. But Cooper has an even more pressing concern on his mind. Several people around Grundy have been the victims of wolf attacks, and since Cooper has no memory of what he gets up to while in werewolf form, he's worried that he might be the violent canine in question.

If a wolf cries wolf, it makes sense to listen, yet Mo is convinced that Cooper is not the culprit. Except if he's not responsible, then who is? And when a werewolf falls head over haunches in love with you, what are you supposed to do anyway? The rules of dating just got a whole lot more complicated. . . .

• ISBN10: 1439195862
• ISBN13: 9781439195864
• Publish Date: 22 February 2011
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Simon & Schuster
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[Melanie]

Review originally posted at RabidReads.com.

Part of a series review:

This is the first book in the Naked Werewolf series. The heroine, Mo, has decided to move as far away from her hippy parents as she can, which put her in Grundy, Alaska. As with many really small town, many outsiders didn’t take an instant liking to her. This is especially the case with Cooper, who was a outdoor, hiking and sometimes hunting guide. He believed she wouldn’t make it through her first winter. Boy, was he wrong.

“If God didn’t want us to eat the animals, He wouldn’t have made them so tasty.”

“There’s an inverse relationship between my temper and my ability to control my accent. If you hear me say ‘Fiddledeedee’, run for the hills, because I’m getting ready to take out bystanders.”

“Instead of celebrating with a cake (too full of poisonous refined sugars) and presents (too materialistic), my mother would come into my room at exactly 3:57 A.M. to tell me the story of my miraculous emergence into this world, as if it was some fairy tale. Although I supposed few fairy tales involved the words ‘vaginal flowering’.”

This is a really fun series and revisit for me. There is an individual storyline for each book, so you can read them in whatever order you want. However, new characters are introduced in each book, so you won’t know the nuances with each of them, but you will still get the story. This is a great series for people who love werewolves and especially humor. If you’ve read the Jane Jameson series or the Half Moon Hollow series by Molly Harper, this takes place in the same world and there are a few little Easter eggs for those readers. If you haven’t read those series, you will not be lost with this one. This was my first series with Molly Harper.

As you can see from the quotes that I picked from each book, the dialogue is the best part of this series (and all of Molly Harper’s books, in my opinion). She is a go-to author for me when I need a pick-me-up. She is always able to make me laugh.

Narration
Anything by Molly Harper is a must listen for me. I love Amanda Ronconi’s narration of Harper’s work. She really brings out the snark of all the characters. I love her use of different types of Southern voices and the Alaskan voices.

[Angie]

How to the Flirt with a Naked Werewolf has been on my radar for quite a long time. I had high hopes for it, since it looked super cute and fun. For the most part it was, but I was still a little disappointed. It didn't hold my attention that well in the beginning, but once the plot and the romance picked up, I really enjoyed it. However, the last few chapters almost completely lost my interest, since they follow my biggest romance pet peeve. Well, pet peeve isn't quite the right word, but I just hate when these things happen.

I did like Mo, our narrator. She's spunky, and has set out to Alaska to start her own life away from her parents. Her parents are the definition of overbearing, and they're 100% hippy. The stories from Mo's past involving her mother were hilarious and disturbing. There's no area of her life where her mother wasn't involved and trying to insert her own ideals. It's definitely understandable why Mo would want to get away, even if she has to go clear across the country to the middle of nowhere, Alaska.

The romance in How to the Flirt with a Naked Werewolf is the typical hate to love type, which I pretty much always enjoy. Cooper is a bit rough around the edges. Actually, he's about as prickly as a porcupine and immediately rubs Mo the wrong way. There's still a sexual attraction there, but Cooper doesn't make his move until another gentleman in town starts showing interest in her. I guess that's the alpha in him. Not that he's just an alpha-male, which he is, but he's also the alpha-wolf. Not that anyone in their small town knows this except for his cousin, and now Mo.

The plot was also pretty good. There's a string of wolf attacks in town, causing serious injuries and some disappearances. Cooper worries that it might be him since he can't always remember what he does while in wolf form. Of course, it's not. Someone sure is making him look suspicious though. I didn't figure out the true culprit, but I don't think there were many hints along the way. In true villain fashion, they give a several page epic speech about why they did what they did.

I did like How to the Flirt with a Naked Werewolf a lot. It just took awhile for me to get into, but once I did it was funny and sexy, and a bit suspenseful. I just didn't like the turn it took close to the end. If you've read most of my romance reviews you'll probably figure out what it is that bothered me. I didn't expect it, although I did notice a detail while reading that could lead to it. And then it did, and I got annoyed. It's not a bad way to end the book, but it's something I wish wasn't so common.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[Berls]

My Initial Reaction...

How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf was a lot of fun to read. It had likable characters, a good story line, and was hilarious (which I expected from a Harper-Ronconi book).

The Narration...

I have yet to be disappointed by Amanda Ronconi's narration. She always delivers an A+ performance. Not only does Ronconi use different, vividly distinct voices for all of the characters, but I think she breathes additional life into them. She's the perfect match for witty, snarky characters - which is exactly the kind of characters that Molly Harper seems to live writing. Definitely recommend this duo.

The Characters...

Mo is the rebellious daughter of two hippies. Which means that she seeks things like public education, meat, processed foods, and cellphones. In her boldest move of rebellion, Mo moves to Alaska while her way-too-involved parents are away at a protest rally so she can get some distance from them and find herself. The dynamic Mo has with her parents forms only a small, albeit hilarious, backdrop to the story. Where we really see Mo is as she establishes herself in the small town of Grundy; as a 29 year-old ad executive, she's pretty much doomed to stand out as an outsider. I loved seeing Mo get to know her neighbors and fall into the rhythm of her day-to-day life. She's one of those genuinely good people that you just love knowing. Combine that with a snarky attitude, a bit of naivete , and the craziness that comes when you find you're living among werewolves and you've got a great character.

When we meet Cooper, he's the aloof, rude, yet ridiculously hot character. So yeah, it's a little predictable, but in an enjoyable way. There's no doubting that he's obviously going to have a past that explains that behavior. And you know there's going to be some hot scenes with him. And you'd be right. But there's also some really funny moments and I enjoyed the way he and Mo interacted. And being rough around the edges really is part of his appeal. Ultimately, he's not the deepest of characters, but an enjoyable one to get to know and laugh along with (or at, as the case may be).

I really loved the wide range of quirky supporting characters. As I've come to expect from Harper, the supporting characters are developed enough for you to grow to know and like them. Their interactions with Mo, as she grows to know them on a closer level, are usually pretty funny. Sometimes they're also pretty heartwarming.

The Story...

The main story of How to Flirt with a Naked Werwolf centers on Mo, who's just been dumped by her fiancee and decided that it's time to change something. So she's left behind family in friends in the South and traveled by car to her new home in Alaska. She's come with some savings, no job, and really no plan. So a big part is just seeing how she'll make it work in the small town of Grundy. But to complicate things, she discovers that werewolves are real and one (maybe even some) of them is quite possibly killing hikers. And, since she's one of the few who knows about werewolves, she feels like she needs to do something. On top of all that, she has a really sweet Ranger and a not so sweet, but  very hot, werewolf interested in her. Normal, safe and sweet or scary, irritating, or hot? What's a girl to do? Duh!

For me this was a thoroughly enjoyable read from beginning to end. There wasn't a chapter that didn't have me laughing and I really enjoyed all the character's interactions. There were times where I wanted to shake Mo and make her see what was right in front of her, but there were plenty of times where I was just as surprised as she was, if not more so. The plot had some definite twists and turns to keep you on your toes and move the story forwards.

Concluding Sentiments...

If you're looking for a fun, sweet read with an enjoyable storyline, I recommend How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf. It's definitely a sweet, happily ever after kind of story - expect to smile and laugh out loud frequently.
Get it on Amazon

[EBookObsessed]

When Mo’s fiancé breaks off their engagement without even an attempt at an excuse, she knew she needed a change. Maybe going from Leeland, Mississippi to Grundy, Alaska seems like a long way to go just to get away from prying family members, but you haven’t met Mo’s hippie parents or sat through one of their lectures on the evils of processed sugar.

Grundy is like any other small town in the lower 48, just that it’s only one street long and summer means that you can strip down to only one layer.

She doesn’t even mind the black wolf with the striking blue/green eyes that is always hanging around her property, although she has no intentions to going out and petting him anytime soon.

Mo finds a job at The Blue Glacier Saloon, part restaurant/part bar/part general store and brings new life to the boring diner menu, earning her a place in many of the hearts of the Grundy residents. Especially the single men of Grundy, including very attractive U.S. Forestry Ranger, Alan Dahling.

In fact the only man Mo wants to avoid is that surly Cooper Graham. Even though her friend Evie says his good morning grunt is more conversation than Cooper has with most people, Mo is not interest in someone who sees her as only a temporary annoyance…if only she could get her hormones to agree. Stupid hormones!

Mo starts to wonder if she is suffering from a case of cabin fever when she starts to think that it’s more than coincidental that Cooper and her black wolf have the same blue/green eyes. That is until Cooper shows up on her doorstep quite naked, except for that bear trap on his ankle.

Everything is going well for Mo and her wolf, until hikers start disappearing and locals are being attacked by a wolf and Cooper admits that he can never remember what he does in wolf form. When the locals start pulling down their hunting rifles to go kill the wolf, Mo will do anything to protect her wolf, even from himself.

THOUGHTS:

Although I don’t think it tops her Jane Jameson series, it is still a great story and very funny. I do think that Cooper is so surly and such a loner that he should have been a werebear and not a werewolf.

Mo leaving Mississippi to get away from her hippie parents is hysterical and very clever when you think how true it is that all those 60's rebellious, free-love kids are now just your wacky parents with their weird ideals.

I am listening to this on audiobook. Molly Harper has such a great writing style and I get so into the story that I hate getting out of my car.

I would still say grab her Jane Jameson/Nice Girls series first but then start the Naked Werewolves series.

See more at http://ebookobsessed.com

[MurderByDeath]

Very entertaining book. The narrator in this audio version did a great job with the main character - she really brought her to life. Not so great with the male characters - they all tended to sound similar and all suffering from chronic laryngitis. Still, I thought the story was very well written, entertaining and at times funny. A light murder mystery keeps the plot going although I definitely wouldn't call it the driving force behind the story. The author does a great job creating the world of Grundy and it's inhabitants. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes a bit of supernatural chick-lit.