Baby, I’m Howling for You

Warren (Hard Breaker) phones it in for the opener to her shape-shifter Alphaville series, telling a story with a cardboard cutout villain and few surprises after the initial setup. Red wolf shape-shifter and librarian Renny Landry is on the run from nasty coyote shifter Geoffrey Hilliard and his gang. When Renny is injured on alpha wolf Mick Fischer’s property and he takes her in, both of them feel the unmistakable pull of being Goddess-given mates, but emotions surrounding the death of Mick’s previous mate make him reticent to open his heart, even after he makes his claim. Though the gender and dominance polarities make the intense feral sex unquestionably hot, Warren promotes the worst of gender stereotyping. She substitutes jealous possessive posturing and controlling protectiveness for male expressions of love, while giving Renny and her girlfriends all of the compassion along with strong interests in home decoration and talking about relationships. She also fails to develop the Washington refuge town and its residents. Even die-hard shifter fans will be disappointed. Agent: Ethan Ellenberg, Ethan Ellenberg Agency. (Feb.)