Today I introduce something new here on the blog: Nell’s book reviews. I’m kind of bad at writing reviews, I don’t really know how to talk about a book without giving away spoilers because if I talk about it I want to talk about everything. I find it somewhat easier when it’s a book I don’t like (because ranting is easy, right?), but if it’s a favorite I don’t really know what to say. I get all love-struck and tongue-tied. But I’m an avid consumer of reviews so I thought it was time for me to give back to society. And it’s great practice. So here it goes.
How to Walk Like a Man (Howl at the Moon #2) by Eli Easton
First of all, let me start by saying that even if this is the second book in the series it’s no problem to read as a standalone.
Some books you know from the first page—or even the first sentence—that you’re going to love. How to Walk Like a Man was just like that. I got this warm fuzzy feeling when I started reading it and I just knew.
I’m picky when it comes to paranormal books. I like urban fantasy, but not high fantasy, and I’m fine with shifters or vampires in a contemporary setting. What I like most about this series is the very creative take on shifters, that it isn’t the regular old Alpha/Omega Wolf. It’s about dogs that “quicken”, i.e dogs that had such strong bonds to their human owners they somehow get the ability to shift into a human after the owner passes away.
It’s a completely original concept and very charming. Maybe dogs aren’t as sexy and dangerous as wolfs, but I really love the quirky factor. And I love that Easton gives the quickened dog-characteristics when in human form.
This book is about Roman who’s a quickened German Shepherd and Matt, a human DEA-agent. The characters are great, but I love Roman most of all. He’s so brilliantly written and adorable it’s impossible not to love him. He’s only been quickened for about two years, so there’s lots of aspects of being a human he’s unaware of, something that makes for many hilarious moments in the book.
Matt is also a nice character, but he pales somewhat in comparison to Roman. Their chemistry is believable and they start out as friends and work their way from there.
But…and here comes a big but. I have a big problem with multiple POV’s in romance novels. And I don’t mean the MC’s, the romantic partners, I’m perfectly fine with dual POV, or even triple if I read a threesome. But I really don’t like when the reader is suddenly thrown into the sheriff’s or even the villain’s head.
So while the good parts in this book is SO VERY GOOD, I’m pulled out of the story with the sudden POV-changes to other characters than Roman or Matt. For me it takes away from the flow of the story, and I found myself skimming those chapters, thinking they were unnecessary and sort of lazy.
I read the good parts and they made me laugh and cry and ache inside. I grumbled over the Goodreads five-star rating system because I wanted to give it ten stars…and then—BAM— a POV-change pulled me out of the story.
I really, really want to give this book five stars, but I can’t. I didn’t feel the other POVs were necessary and the book would have been tighter without them. But the majority of the book is told from Roman’s or Matt’s POV and there’s nothing I can say about it other than FABULOUS!
I end my first review with a passage from the book. I laughed so hard I disturbed my husband’s phone meeting 🙂 (The ex-dogs don’t get all human traits at once, the develop gradually. So this is the first time Roman gets an erection in his human form:)
Despite my complaints about the multiple POVs I highly recommend this book. I give it four-almost-five strong stars, out of five.
Nell Iris 