An American Werewolf In Hoboken (2004) - Plot & Excerpts
This is the first of Dakota Cassidy's books I have read and I loved it! It is also the first in her Wolf Mates series. From the moment Max bursts on the page and JC found him I loved this couple. They have a connection from the first time they met.This is a great quirky love story with line like "she thinks I'm her dog" and then explaining his doggy name to his mother. How can you not laugh? I will definitely want to read the next book in the series An American Werewolf in Hoboken was a breath of fresh air. After having read books that were more serious in tone as well as books that took themselves too seriously, I was more than ready for a light, fun read and this book certainly delivered. The synopsis of the book already made me smile. You have Max, a werewolf, who's on a journey to find his life mate based on a prophecy with a deadline, but runs into a glitch. While in wolf form, he's captured by Animal Control and then subsequently adopted by his life mate, JC, a hair dresser.After a string of bad relationships, all JC is interested in is finding a pet to combat some of the loneliness she was feeling after she caught her last boyfriend cheating on her. As a pet owner myself, I loved how JC, who has never owned a pet, really tried to research on what to do make sure that her dog would be taken care. Even if that meant giving Max the name of Fluffy, as a way to play down the fear other people may feel when encountering Max, in his large, scary looking wolf form.A lot of the humor comes from Max, trying to take direction as a dog, simply because he wants to get to know JC better. Tamping down his human side certainly wasn't easy. For example, on the first night home, Max simply was not interested in the dry lamb and rice dog food that supposedly was good for him, but half the steak (just half after all) that JC had grilled for herself was just the ticket. :) By the way, he also took offence to being called Fluffy. It's Mr. Werewolf, thank you very much.Once Max confirmed that JC was his life mate, the wooing had to commence. So while JC was at work, he moved in to the apartment right across the way from JC. Of course, he had hoped to leave Fluffy behind and continue as Max. That wasn't the case.When JC came home to find Fluffy missing, Max offered to help "find" Fluffy and in the process felt so bad about how upset JC was, he opted to be Fluffy while also periodically changing into Max. A little wary of Max, JC was half attracted, half wanting to run away because of all her past experiences. However, Max's charm won out and they ended up sleeping together that same night.What I liked though is that before they did the deed, Max made it very clear to JC that while they are giving in to their attraction, he did not consider her a one-night stand and that there was something more going on. What a nice guy and I mean that sincerely.For the next couple of weeks or so, Max goes back and forth to being Fluffy and back again. During that time, he and JC have a lot of great sex, but also spend time getting to know each other and soon feelings start to grow. . Also, more funny moments come about during a visit to the vet, with Max as Fluffy being territorial about his woman against the vet. Worries about going in to possibly get neutered plague his mind as well.However, the prophecy deadline, which states that Max must mate with his mate during a full moon or else he dies is looming. But there's also the fact that how do you tell your girlfriend that you are her dog, Fluffy and that Fluffy is her new boyfriend, Max, without completely freaking her out. That's quite a dilemma and makes for some amusing internal dialogue for Max as he tries to figure out what to do.JC is also struggling because she's wondering if Max is just too good to be true and that there's probably some kind of hidden flaw about him. She also senses that he's holding something back. Eventually, she decides to just go forward and one way of going forward was to go with Max to meet his family. Thankfully, a werewolf friend of Max's is able to take Max's place at the pet hotel so that JC doesn't suspect anything.JC really likes Max's family, home and the town he lives in and her feelings start to get stronger. Unfortunately, the way that it was revealed that Max and even his entire family were werewolves came about by accident and suffice to say that JC was stunned and had a hard time processing what she learned and what she saw and wanted to leave.Since Max didn't want to force JC to stay or have her stay out of pity because if she didn't say, he would die, opted to let her leave. Broken-hearted, he stood by his word to her that she could leave if she couldn't deal with his secret.So JC left, but felt really conflicted because she really did love Max, but wasn't sure how to process, deal, accept who and what Max is. It wasn't until an intervention from her best friend, that by the way, had its own twist, that made her want to go back to Max. This was even more urgent after her friend told her about the prophecy.Thankfully, she rushes back just in time to save Max and to have their happy ending.Normally, I tend to be wary of insta-love situations but this is a book about werewolves and life mates after all. :) Plus the fact that this story was well written and told with humor, sass with a sexy and sweet shifter, certainly made it a very enjoyable read and time well spent.
What do You think about An American Werewolf In Hoboken (2004)?
Hot sexy times, but I felt like it took FOREVER for Max to tell her he was a wolf.
—Hairan
