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How to Run with a Naked Werewolf (Naked Werewolf #3)
Molly Harper
Published: Dec. 31, 2013 (Pocket)
Purchase: Book Depository or Amazon
Review source: copy provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review
Reviewed by: Jo
Rating (out of 5): 3 stars
Note: While this review will be spoiler free, it does make reference to previous books in the series. If you haven’t started yet, check out VBC’s review of book 1 How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf.
When Anna stumbles upon an altercation, leaving one man shot, she reluctantly intervenes. It’s not as dire as first thought however. His injuries are healing at a much more advanced rate than they should; there’s only one explanation, he’s a werewolf. Anna knows all about werewolves, having been the resident doctor of an Alaskan pack. Not a fact she is willing to let him know however, considering she essentially ran out on said pack.
Caleb is a bounty hunter of sorts, traveling all over Alaska, using his werewolf abilities to track people. He finds himself drawn to his rescuer and insists on giving her a lift to her destination of Anchorage. Keeping his furry nature a secret will be a challenge, but he’s unwilling to let her walk out of his life just yet. Anna reluctantly agrees and, as they travel across the state working cases along the way, she begins to feel safe for the first time in years. But her past is about to catch up with her, no matter how far she runs.
The mystery of just what Anna is running from is a huge driving force in How to Run with a Naked Werewolf with details being slowly revealed throughout. I really liked how this panned out as equal parts intriguing and foreboding. Told from her point of view, Anna was clearly terrified, exhausted and nearly burnout. She was also incredibly strong, savvy and capable of some brilliantly cutting one-liners. Unraveling her backstory and the mounting tension leading up to the conclusion is what had me turning the page, cheering as she begin to open up and take back some of what she had lost.
Unfortunately I never really connected with Caleb. Don’t get me wrong, I did like him and he had his swoony moments but perhaps if there had been chapters from his point of view I would have better understood his motivations; the passion or the conflict he felt. I wanted to explore his werewolf nature more and was left feeling vaguely frustrated by the amount of unnecessary secrets acting as a barrier.
Their relationship seemed to surge ahead with very little fanfare, making me go back and check if I had accidentally skipped parts. It wasn’t that it felt rushed, more that defining moments or big declarations were skated over, leaving me feeling very little heat (and slightly confused on more than one occasion). At times I wondered if Anna was falling in love with more the sense of home and safety Caleb represented than the actual man himself.
Even though certain situations and exchanges did have me laughing out loud, How to Run with a Naked Werewolf had a more serious undertone than I was expecting. While I really enjoyed delving into Anna’s character and rooting for her as she fought to her take back her life, I missed Grundy. I missed the fun mix of quirky characters and supernatural hijinks I loved in the first book, that didn’t really come in until the last quarter. A good, engaging read but not my favorite of the series so far.
Sexual content: sex, references to rape
I always love Molly Harper’s books. I’m interested when you say it was more serious. Something that originally drew me to the books in the first place was the humor. I’m equal parts interested to see how Molly Harper handles this and nervous about the change.