Author: E.J. Russell
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Rating: 4 stars
Type: Novel
Received from Publisher
Blurb: What do you do when you finally prove the existence of the otherworld, but the ghosts kick your ass?
Review: Trent Pielmeyer is done with the paranormal. He’s also done with his uncaring family. No one believes him. Yeah, he’s lying to them, but it’s more omission than anything else. If Trent is honest and says he spent the last seven years murdering a man then being hanged for it every night he’d never get out of a mental institution. Trent just wants someone who understands and can offer a little compassion. He decides to go to Portland and find his old roommate. Unfortunately that roommate is about to get married and doesn’t have time to pamper Trent. Christophe Clavret doesn’t enjoy being a werewolf. He also has no desire to be in control of his family business, in spite of the fact his father has his life all planned out for him. He’s going to attend his friend’s wedding before he has to return home and tell his father he won’t be living his father’s dreams, but his own. Trent and Christophe meet at a pre-wedding party. They hit it off quite well, and agree to spend a lot of time together. It’s fairly obvious to Christophe that Trent has a lot of problems. Trent finally finds someone to whom he can tell the truth, and he’s still accepted. Then Trent’s father cuts off his funds. Trent agrees to spend more time with Christophe. Trent then learns the whole furry truth about him. Unfortunately, Christophe also gets a very nasty surprise and needs all the help he can get.
I enjoyed this book much more than the first in the series. I had some issues with some of the prose in Stumptown Spirits that I did not have with Wolf’s Clothing. I’m really glad I decided to keep reading. I liked Trent and Christophe. I liked them together. I really enjoyed there was a lot of parity in their relationship. Neither guy had his life together. Both of them would be dealing with the ramifications of their respective paranormal experiences for the rest of their lives. They both had money.
Christophe’s wolf is described as difficult to keep at bay. The trappings of humanity are part of what keeps Christophe grounded as human. Quite literally, the clothes make the man. However, that’s not quite true for Trent. Trent is also the scion of a wealthy industrial family, he just happens to dress like an average guy. He blends in with the crowd. You see where I’m going with this, right? It’s the whole wolf in sheep’s clothing thing, and boy, did it sure surprise Anton.
More than anything, this book was fun. I was entertained. There were evil villains, horrible betrayals, rescues, and some mad-cap capers. I would definitely recommend this book to fans of the paranormal and shifters.
