What I liked:
Susan Shay has potential. In her bio she stresses her
imagination, and she is right, it is a powerful force and
probably provides the best of MAKE ME HOWL with her unusual
take on werewolves fitting into society. I also liked a few
of the characters, especially those involved with the zoo.
Parts of the world Shay attempts to build are intriguing,
also.
What I found a detriment to the story:
Having two couples fall in love muddies the waters quite a
bit. It is clear Jazzy and Chase are the main focus, but
Bella and Spence have large enough roles to detract from the
main story line.
Jazzy's attitude and arrogance reminded me strongly of high
school cliques, always putting down anyone who does not meet
her high standards. Jazzy mentally calls the woman who was
organizing a benefit dinner 'stupid' and compares her to a
dancing chicken striking a cruel and immature note, leaving
me not caring in the slightest if Jazzy ever gets her man.
There were a few instances where a lack of continuity jarred
me violently from the story, particularly a confusion as to
exactly when Bella and Spence first make love, and if it
wasn't Spence, then who was with Bella that night? Another
minor point is the misspelling more than once of the name
of a famous shoe designer by a character whose business is
fashion. These should have been caught by an editor.
A deeper flaw is in the construction of plot. Some of the
elements that could have been used to provide underpinnings
to the world of werewolves she was trying to create
(specifically the rankings of wolves and some of the magic
specific to the wolves) was just kind of hung out there as a
plot device late in the book rather than being integrated
from the beginning. The story, like the author has quite a
bit of potential, but perhaps Shay should consider hiring a
professional editing service to tighten up future tales, and
highlight the inconsistencies that made this a very poor
read, in my opinion.
When Chase Holliday's gaze first met mine, something tingled
on my end. He was hot. Dark blue eyes, a square jaw, hair
that was just a little too long, and he had this way of
focusing that made me wonder if I should attack or run.
And I never run.
Together we'd make a pair anyone would sit up and notice. At
least that's what I thought before I learned that he planned
to wipe werewolves from the face of the planet. And since I
was born with an active werewolf gene, well, let's just say
our twain could never meet. Then a Blood Moon occurred while
I was in heat and all my hard earned control went slamming
out the window with me right behind it. That's when I
learned that, like wolves in nature, werewolves mate for life.