Sunday, May 28, 2017

#BookReview - The Amazing Wolf Boy by Roxanne Smolen

Title:  The Amazing Wolf Boy
Author:  Roxanne Smolen
Narrator:  Danny Randerson
Genre:  Science Fiction, Fantasy
Release Date:  May 21, 2014

About the Book:

A nerd-turned-werewolf must call upon his untried superpowers to save his almost-girlfriend from a pack of crazed, bloodthirsty lycanthropes.

Cody Forester plans to become a doctor. Instead, he becomes a werewolf. The first time Cody shows fang and fur, his parents ship him off to podunkville to live with his black sheep uncle. His revised career choice is a social hermit. As the new kid, he makes more enemies than friends. His high school teachers label him a troublemaker. The whole town hates him.

Except for Brittany. She's beautiful, with her eyes painted black and her lips dark purple. When Brittany discovers his secret, she tries to cure him using crystals, candles, and magic potions. Cody falls head-over-tails in love, but he can never tell her. Girls like her aren't for him. He's the amazing wolf boy. Astound your family and mystify your friends.

While Cody moons over Brittany, a murderous pack of lycanthropes howls into town. They want Cody to join them. When he refuses, they kidnap Brittany and threaten to kill her at moonrise. Cody must master his untried superpowers or the girl he loves dies. Can he defeat the pack and save both their lives?


Buy Links: Amazon 
My Review:

I'm generally not a big fan of "shifter" type books, but I have to admit that I truly enjoyed this one.  I listened to the Audible version and it was excellent.  Danny Randerson did a great job changing his voice for each character.

Cody, a nerdy 16-year-old boy, has no idea that he comes from a long line of werewolves.  So when his family is celebrating the holidays in Paris he is shocked at what was happening to him when he suddenly changed into a wolf.  This part bothered me a bit.  I couldn't quite understand why his mother never told him about his heritage when all the signs were there.  And why would his parents take a chance on taking him out in public during a full moon?  And I didn't understand why they didn't explain why they were sending him to live with Uncle Bob in Florida.  AND why an intelligent boy like Cody didn't immediately figure out what the deal was with Uncle  Bob (the reader figured it out immediately).  But I will put all of that aside because Roxanne Smolen wrote an exciting, beautifully written, entertaining tale that included so many of the elements I love in a novel.  There was even a bit of young romance... all clean and sweet, so that this book will do well for young adults.

The characters were well developed and likeable.  Very likeable.  The story was exciting and entertaining with the whole good vs. evil (even though you generally think of werewolves as being evil).  And there were quite a few laugh-out-loud moments, like when grandpa starting shooting his pellet gun at the nudists.. er, I mean "naturalists".  I would have liked to have learned more about Howard, but perhaps he will be addressed further in the other books in this series.  The Indian folklore was fascinating.

Yes, Roxanne Smolen is an author I will watch, and I'm sure I will be picking up Book #2 in this series.

Disclosure:  A complimentary copy of the Audible version of this book was provided by the author.  Although a review was not required, I was compelled to provide one.  All thoughts, opinions and ratings are my own.

My Rating:

About the Author:
Roxanne Smolen is a leading professional in the writing industry. She’s a sought-after writing instructor and editor whose tireless efforts help other authors reach their dreams of publication. She co-founded the Coral Springs Writers’ Group and has been a contributor there for over twenty years. She is a prolific writer with twelve published novels. She also writes a line of children’s books with her granddaughters and a series of writing how-to books with her fellow members of the Coral Springs Writers' Group. Roxanne has been married to her high school sweetheart, Gregory, for 40+ years and has two children. You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.

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