The Art of Seducing a Naked Werewolf (Naked Werewolf, #2)

by Molly Harper

[Berls]

My Initial Reaction…
When I started listening to The Art of Seducing a Naked Werewolf I was a bit disappointed. I had assumed that, like the Jane Jameson series, the Naked Werewolf series would all be told from the point of view of the first book’s MC – Mo. Yes, I’m perfectly aware that simply reading the synopsis would have adequately prepared me for this revelation, but I don’t read synopses of my favorite series. I just dive right in, because I like to be surprised. And despite my initial shock, this surprise turned out to be a good one too. I settled in and fell in love with my new MC - Maggie – and gobbled the book up in just a couple days.


The Narration…
At this point, I am a broken record when it comes to Amanda Ronconi. I adore her and absolutely everything she does. She’s the perfect match for the witty, snarky characters that she’s always paired with. And she infuses her various voices with so much personality, you can’t help but forget your listening to a book. I always feel like I’m eavesdropping on my favorite characters, rather than reading a book. She’s that good.


The Characters…
Although we’ve switched point of view, we still have many of the characters that I grew to love in book 1. Mo and Cooper are prominent parts of the story, but now we’re seeing them from Cooper’s sister’s point of view. As great as they already were, seeing them from Maggie’s point of view was as great, if not better. Maggie is just as snarky as Mo, but with a grumpy, violent streak. I guess that’s the werewolf side of her. Where Mo was into lingerie and cooking – so girly stuff – Maggie is focused on her job as the areas newest (and first female) alpha. I loved seeing her take care of the pack. She worried about their safety and cared for each member, from the littlest members (such as Mo and Cooper’s little girl Evie) to the eldest and sickest (her aunt, Billy). And I loved seeing her grow into her role and herself. Particularly as she struggled with falling in love for the first – and since werewolves mate for life, only – time.

Her main love interest is another really great character. Nick is an outsider to Grundy, visiting on a research trip. He’s a doctor of zoology and his current project is finding the truth about werewolves. So from the start, Maggie has her haunches up about him. He’s a threat to her pack. But he’s a truly gorgeous, fabulously nerdy, threat. One that she just can’t help but drool over. But that doesn’t keep her from being grumpy towards him and pretty rude, in a fabulous Maggie fashion. He seems to love this treatment – because Maggie is real. She’s beautiful but not obsessed with her beauty. She speaks her mind. I loved seeing him try to seduce her and her trying to resist. Because not only is he the enemy, but he’s not a wolf. And as Alpha, Maggie feels the responsible thing to do is marry another wolf, increasing the chances that she will have pups (rather than deadliners).

The rest of the characters were great too. As usual, Molly Harper creates such wonderful small town/family dynamics that I find myself wanting to pack up and move to Grundy, Alaska in search of this wonderful community (despite being a Texan who hates the cold). They all just feel so real and inviting, you want to be part of their world. Well I do, at least.


The Story…
The Art of Seducing a Naked Werewolf is another feel good story. I laughed my ass off, smiled a lot, and rolled my eyes a little. I love this series, but the plots are not earth shattering or even mystifying. The mystery in this book, which once again surrounds a series of weird, unexplained casualties, was not at all difficult to figure out. And I couldn’t help but yell at Maggie a couple of times for not realizing what was plainly in front of her face. That didn’t keep me from enjoying the book at all, it’s just not 5 star, left me a mess because it was over territory.


Concluding Sentiments…
The Naked Werewolf series is a series that I love for the great, vivid characters, laugh-your-ass-off moments and sweet romances. The Art of Seducing a Naked Werewolf didn’t disappoint on any of those fronts and I’m already diving into book 3.