Review: The Accidental Werewolf by Dakota Cassidy

Title: The Accidental Werewolf
Author: Dakota Cassidy
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Grade: B-
Reason for Reading: Dakota was the first ever ebook author I read. Her stories for Changeling Press were sexy and funny, and so I was excited for her when I heard she had a novel published with Berkeley. In the interest of full disclosure, I should also mention that I emailed Dakota and begged for an ARC and told her I’d offer up some free publicity. Because I’m good like that. Dakota, bless her heart, sent me said ARC, and so, here we are.

Synopsis:

When Marty Andrews gets bitten by a mangy mutt while walking her teacup poodle, her blond hair darkens, the hair on her legs starts growing at an alarming rate, and her mood swings put her dream job as a sales rep for Bobbie-Sue Cosmetics in serious jeopardy. Then a drool-worthy man shows up at her door claiming that he accidentally bit Marty. And since he’s a werewolf, she is now, too. Thinking Keegan Flaherty is clearly insane, Marty refuses to believe a word until a kidnapping makes her realize there’s more at stake than just her highlights. And she must put her out-of-control life in the hands of the man who makes her blood run wild in more ways than one…

My Thoughts: A number of things work for me about this book. First of all, I have mentioned before that I wish people in paranormal romances wouldn’t drop the ball with regard to the paranormal stuff that goes on. If this had been another book, Keegan would have approached Marty, said, “Hey, babe, you’re a werewolf now.” and she’d have been like, “Cool.” Thank God this isn’t another book. Marty reacts the way I imagine most people would to finding out she’s a werewolf–she denies it, then she freaks the hell out. And it’s not that she freaks out primarily because her life’s changing irrevocably. Mostly she’s irritated because she’s kind of vain and shallow and now she has to shave her legs twice a day.

I really liked Marty. She’s not the sort of heroine I personally can relate to, (she’s a cosmetics consultant, and I’ve always wondered if some of those people might not be aliens from another planet in disguise. I mean, really, who can be that perky?) But so many of her reactions rang true for the sort of woman that she was. At times, she got on my nerves and I really wanted to tell her to shut up and think about the fact that she was being a nitwit, but it’s a testament to the fact that Dakota does something right in that I wasn’t really all that tempted to smack her. Much.

Keegan doesn’t quite work so well for me. He’s hot, but we’ve met him in so many other books before, and so it took me a while to really warm up to him. Then again, I am pretty hard on my romance heroes, and I did like that, like the rest of the characters in the book, he talked like a normal person and had normal relationships with other people in his life. I especially loved the interactions we got to see between Keegan and his siblings.

The secondary characters are also great, from Nina and Wanda, Marty’s fellow cosmetics consultants, to the other members of Keegan’s pack. There’s a bit of setup for the second book in the series, but I don’t think I would have even noticed it had I not asked Dakota what else she had in store, which is definitely a plus in my book. I really liked getting to know Nina and Wanda, and watching Marty realize that these women were indeed good friend material was a lot of fun.

As for the romance, for me it didn’t entirely work, and not because there was anything wrong with the characters. I think that this book had a few pacing problems that are no doubt caused by an abrupt shift from novella length ebooks to full-length single title novels. And it was the romance that really suffered because of this. The sexual tension starts a bit later than it should have, and it goes on for too long before they finally consumate their relationship. The one thing that does work for me with regard to the romance is the fact that, though the concept of fated mates is introduced, it’s really not that much of a big deal, and even though I got the sense that Marty and Keegan were fated to be mates, they still go through normal courtship things, and that plot device isn’t simply a lazy shortcut. I also found the epilogue really satisfying, as it definitely conveys the HEA without their being a picket fence and 2.5 kids on the way.

The humor in this book also works for me. I know funny is totally subjective, but what I like about Dakota’s writing is that a lot of the laughs that I got came from wry observations the characters made. It felt very natural to me, and nothing slipped over that line between funny and just plain wacky.

I do have a few quibbles though. I mentioned the pacing, but I think that a lot of that will get ironed out as Dakota writes more full-length single-title novels. I also thought that the overall villain was kind of cheesy, and there is a psychotic other woman, which isn’t my favorite plot device. Then again, that’s something that is hardly new in this genre, so I can forgive it.

Overall, I’m glad that I read this book and I will be curious to see what else Dakota has in store.