The Wolf Gift

Giving the author another chance to match or exceed her “Vampire Lestat” series, but I was left unsatisfied. I was pulled into the story pretty quick and relished the descriptive flow of action and character that Anne Rice is known for, but about 3/4 of the way through the book, I felt like I was reading a draft of something that could be much better. It felt like I was reading a draft outline of what she was planning on revealing through action and story, but she decided to tell it by having one or two characters discuss their backgrounds. Disappointing to me, but she obviously is setting the reader up for a new series with the man-wolf society.

Probably a good read for those who like paranormal stories in a more literary style, but not someone searching for one of the Lestat novels that you keep thinking about years later.

Werewolves are my favorite monster, and the language is lovely and lyrical, so I really enjoyed it, and I will continue with the series eventually (looks like there's only a second one). I only scored it three stars out of five because of the bestiality. It was gratuitous and strange. The mani characters only had sex when he was a werewolf; they never consumated their relationship as two humans, only as a human female and a male werewolf. And it was graphic. Graphic and hairy and slobbery. It was so pretty, and frightening, with these amazing ideas about the nature of good and evil, and then that would happen. I'm no prude, but I don't like when my horror makes me uncomfortable around my dogs.