Review: I highly recommend this book and look forward to the rest of the series!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 10, 2014
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.Blurb:Max needs to find his mate now or face deadly consequences.  Being caught while in full shift by Animal Control was embarrassing enough, but matters only get more complicated when he's adopted by JC.  A human.  A human destined to be his mate.While Max gets to know JC's heart and body as a man at night, he endures all the indignities of pretending to be Fluffy-the-gigantic-rescued-dog during the day. He's falling fast for the sweet, big-hearted woman.  All he can hope is that JC is falling just as fast, and that her heart and mind can be open to the possibilities of a very long future together. Or Max's future is going to be cut very, very short.Quote:Right. I'm not really Fluffy your dog, pretty lady. I'm really Fluffy-slash-Max, your forever hook-up.  I stayed disguised this way because if I knocked on your door, flowers in hand, and demanded you be my werewolf woman so I won't die, I had the distinct impression you might have hesitations.Dakota Cassidy is most well known for her Accidental series.  An American Werewolf in Hoboken is the first of a  newly re-released series that the author has reworked.  The previous iteration of the series is difficult to find, and I've not read any of them prior to this.The paranormal universe is obviously a second home to Cassidy.  While she keeps the agreed upon  framework laws of the realm, she does add her own touches.  It's these touches that help the world-building develop and stand out to an avid para reader.The author's voice is a bit more muted her than in her newer books.  There is still the humor and emotion that display her chops as a writer, but it's not quite as sharp.JC's character is consistent throughout the story, even when coming to terms with the truth about Max and his family. However, she's still a little less defined than the characters in other series.  She's sweet, and gently funny, but through much of the middle of the story, it feels as though she's just along for the ride. She does have moments of clarity and sparkle, but they were mostly prevalent when she was interacting with Max as Fluffy.Max is more clearly portrayed, and if you read the story more from his point of view than JC's, her character's blurred edges make more sense. After all, when you're falling in love with someone, you're still getting to know them, right?  His masculine affront over being caught by Animal Control, humorous self-deprecation, and the predicament of having to pretend to be his life-mate's dog, balances out his almost perfect hero tendencies. That balance makes his character believable.The peripheral characters are also a bit less defined than Cassidy's other works.  They are usually the charming glue that makes her plots stand out, and showcases the true depths of her abilities as an author.  While the characters in An American Werewolf in Hoboken don't all run together, they lack a certain something that makes them starkly memorable.The story moves along well.  There's passionate sex, amusing banter, a little fear and some danger.  And a very clever and unexpected twist that caught me completely off-guard.While I find the Accidental series and her more recent Plum Orchard series to shine brighter, the Wolf Mates Series still promises to be leaps and bounds better than a great many of the other para series on offer by other authors.  No matter what world she's weaving around a reader, Dakota Cassidy's talent for story telling is always evident.