Friday, 23 October 2020

The Best Werewolf & Shifter Books #1


Ever since the underground scene in An American Werewolf In London, I've been fascinated and scared of werewolves! Fascination has led me to read a ton of books about werewolves and other shifters so here are some to enjoy!
 
Please remember that these are individual books that I enjoyed, either stand-alone or the first book in a series. I gave each 3 stars or above. I may have DNFed the series at some point or not finished/caught up with it for many resources. This list is to give an idea of what shifter books are out there to try.

1) Ilona Andrews-Magic Bites (Kate Daniels #1)
Atlanta would be a nice place to live, if it weren’t for magic… One moment magic dominates, and cars stall and guns fail. The next, technology takes over and the defensive spells no longer protect your house from monsters. Here skyscrapers topple under onslaught of magic; werebears and werehyenas prowl through the ruined streets; and the Masters of the Dead, necromancers driven by their thirst of knowledge and wealth, pilot blood-crazed vampires with their minds. In this world lives Kate Daniels. Kate likes her sword a little too much and has a hard time controlling her mouth. The magic in her blood makes her a target, and she spent most of her life hiding in plain sight. But when Kate’s guardian is murdered, she must choose to do nothing and remain safe or to pursue his preternatural killer.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38619.Magic_Bites 

2) Kelley Armstrong-Bitten (Women of the Otherworld #1)
Elena is the only female werewolf in the world, bitten by her lover Clay when she had no idea what he was, and her anger and resentment for him makes her leave the pack and try to live a normal life like she did before the bite. Then her pack leader calls to say that dead bodies are turning up near the Pack home, putting their existence in danger and Elena reluctantly goes back to help. Then it becomes clear that the rogue wolves want to kill every pack member and the Pack are not ready for the fight.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/910153.Bitten 


3) Keri Arthur-Full Moon Rising (Riley Jenson #1)
A rare hybrid of vampire and werewolf, Riley Jenson and her twin brother, Rhoan, work for Melbourne’s Directorate of Other Races, an organization created to police the supernatural races–and protect humans from their depredations. While Rhoan is an exalted guardian, a.k.a. assassin, Riley is merely an office worker–until her brother goes missing on one of his missions. The timing couldn’t be worse. More werewolf than vampire, Riley is vulnerable to the moon heat, the weeklong period before the full moon, when her need to mate becomes all-consuming.…
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/922114.Full_Moon_Rising 

4) DD Barant-Dying Bites (Bloodhound Files #1)
Jace Valchek is an FBI profiler with a proven track record for hunting psychopaths. When a possible mentally ill human starts killing supernatural beings in their world, vampire NSA head David Cassius takes Jace from her world to come to his and solve the case. If she fails, she may never see her own world again. But the human she seeks offers to be her ally instead-does she ally with a fellow human to overthrow the government who brought her here by force and cause humans to live in fear, or does she betray her rebelling species instead?
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6295913-dying-bites 


5) Annie Bellet-Justice Calling (The Twenty Sided Sorceress #1)
Jade has kept the full details of her magical ability secret from even her closest friends as she makes a new life for herself. Using her magic will alert her psycho, heart eating ex to her location and endanger everyone she loves. But shifters are vanishing in town and Jade might have to risk her safety to save lives.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22825711-justice-calling 

6) Patricia Briggs-Cry Wolf (Alpha & Omega #1)
Anna is afraid that her Pack will want revenge on her for what happened to their Alpha so she accepts the chance of a new life with the Montana Pack run by Bran, father of her rescuer Charles. Anna knows little about werewolves and is finding the learning process difficult, especially dealing with being an Omega wolf and a potential mate to Charles. However personal problems have to be put aside when a rogue werewolf is attacking people and must be tracked down and stopped. It sounds like a simple enough task but it is going to be a lot more dangerous than they think.
 
If you haven't read the prequel story 'Alpha & Omega' I suggest you read that first or you are going to be a bit lost at the start of this novel! You can get it in the anthologies 'On the Prowl' or 'Shifting Shadows'.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6653693-cry-wolf 

7) AZ Green-Beasthood Hidden Blood #1)
What would you do if you discovered you weren't human? That you turned into a bloodthirsty monster against your will? What if your instincts, emotions and desires were torn between your own and the dark, dangerous animal lurking inside of you? If it could make you yearn for someone you shouldn't, make you say and act in ways you wouldn't and overwhelm your whole existence? If everything you'd ever known about your life was a lie? In a world where a deeply hidden community is swathed in mystery, deadly secrets, betrayal and murder, Jaz Barker struggles to fight against the dangerous Beast within her and the emotions and desires it thrusts her way. When tensions ride high and people she cares about are put in danger, she will have to decide how much of her newly awakened animal-side she's willing to let in.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17983273-beasthood 


8) Cynthia Hand-My Lady Jane
A comical, fantastical and witty re-imagining of the Tudor world, perfect for fans of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Lady Jane Grey, sixteen, is about to be married to a total stranger - and caught up in an insidious plot to rob her cousin, King Edward, of his throne. But that's the least of Jane's problems. She's about to become Queen of England. Like that could go wrong. 
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29856520-my-lady-jane 

9) Christine Johnson-Claire de Lune
It is Claire's 16th birthday and she is excited by the attention of Matthew, but the party breaks up suddenly when a werewolf is sighted nearby. It is then that her mother breaks the news to her that Claire is a werewolf like her mother, and their pack is trying to find the rogue wolf who is attacking people. It gets worse when she realises that Matthew's father is in charge of the werewolf hunt.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7787711-claire-de-lune 


10) Stephen King-Cycle Of The Werewolf
When the full moon shines, a paralyzing fear descends on the isolated Maine town of Tarker's Mills. No one knows who will be attacked next, but snarls that sound like human words can be heard and all around are the footprints of a monster whose hunger cannot be sated. 

14 comments:

  1. Ooh...I totally need to read King's Cycle of the Werewolf!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have the graphic novel and the artwork is gorgeous! A short read but very enjoyable!

      Delete
  2. I remember reading the first few books in the Riley Jensen series *years* ago but I wasn't a big fan. But, then again, I didn't really read (or understand) UF back then...

    Women of The Otherworld, I begun but didn't finish. :(

    Kate Daniels and Alpha and Omega I love!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was too much sex and not enough plot with Riley for me. The actual writing and story was fine but not enough of it in amongst her conquests! I so loved the Otherworld books other than the lst three or four. I love all the books with the wolves!

      Delete
  3. I'm always looking for a great werewolf book!! I can't wait to dive into some of these!!! Awesome list!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I thought I had a lot more-either I didn't add them to my shifter shelf on Goodreads or most are in long series.

      Delete
  4. Oh my gosh I should rewatch that movie! And I imagine Kelley Armstrong writes a pretty good werewolf yarn!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Armstrong's Otherworld series was great though I wasn't keen on the last three or four books. The ones with the wolves in it are great as are the novellas and short stories about them. I loved the book and film of the King variety!

      Delete
  5. I like werewolf books but I think mine are more romance and yours are more horror.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes romance has never been my thing! I much prefer the horror elements!

      Delete
  6. I was SO into shifter books years ago but now I rarely read paranormal at all.

    I loved the Otherworld series, Kate Daniels, of course.

    I read through all your Halloween themed book lists and great choices all around!

    Karen @ For What It's Worth

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I loved shifter books until I found myself deluged in tons of werewolf mating and sex plots! I don't like all that getting in the way of a good story.

      Delete
  7. I miss the worlds of Bitten and Kate Daniels so much. I really hope to read the "Jane" books next year. I'm glad to see one mentioned here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I thought I had a lot more shifter related books. I'll probably come across more as I plough through my Goodreads shelves!

      Delete