Early Review: The Werewolf Meets His Match by Kristen Painter (Nocturne Falls #2)

The Werewolf Meets His Match (Nocturne Falls #2)
Kristen Painter
Published: July 1, 2015
Purchase: Amazon
Review source: copy provided by author in exchange for an honest review

Reviewed by: Margaret

Rating (out of 5): 4 stars

If it were a real place, I could just go to Nocturne Falls for the Zombie Prom. But since it’s not, I’m going to have to take some drastic action. I’m officially campaigning to make “Halloween in June” a thing. (You’ll all sign my petition, right?) We already have Christmas in July, so why not?

I’m seriously in love with this town where it’s Halloween all year long, and with this series. The second book, The Werewolf Meets His Match, features the town sheriff Hank Merrow, who agrees to an arranged marriage in order to cement a truce between his werewolf pack and its long-time rival. Ivy Kincaid looks like a bad girl with her tattoos and her Harley. And her family’s unsavory reputation certainly supports that assumption. But what Hank discovers is a good person in a bad situation, as if being forced to marry a stranger weren’t bad enough. He resolves to help her and their relationship develops quickly from there.

I didn’t connect with these characters quite as much as the ones in the first book, The Vampire’s Mail Order Bride. (That could just be my pro-vampire bias showing, though.) I really did love Hank and his family—when I move to Nocturne Falls, I’m getting his Aunt Birdie to adopt me. I enjoyed learning more about his sister Bridget, who owns the town hangout, Howlers. I have a feeling she has her own book coming. And his brother Titus, the fire chief, is still something of a mystery that I hope gets explored later in the series.

I felt like this story was a little darker than the first one, with Ivy’s abusive father and his misogynistic pack. And the fact that there was a child involved made it even more serious. This book also had a lot more action, which I liked. But I felt like the Big Bad’s defeat sort of came out of nowhere, so the story ended more abruptly than I would have preferred.

It’s not really necessary to read The Vampire’s Mail Order Bride before starting The Werewolf Meets His Match. The stories are set about a year apart and both stand alone quite well. Book two does contain a few references to characters from the first book, but I don’t think there are any major spoilers.

What I’m enjoying most about the Nocturne Falls series is finding out more about this quirky little town with each new installment. I’m also really excited about the gargoyle hero coming in book three!

Sexual content: kissing