Review: Wolf at the Door

Title: Wolf at the Door
Author: Christine Warren
Page Count: 336 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's
Genre: paranormal romance

50 words or less: Sullivan Quinn, werewolf, is in town to propose the supernatural Others come out of the closet and present themselves to the world, before it happens on its own. Cassidy Poe is a Foxwoman and an anthropologist who also happens to be Quinn's mate. What happens when a wolf and a fox get together?

Wolf at the Door is the first installment in what seems to be a really fun, steamy, and interesting series. The characters are interesting, the narrative is funny, and although there's certainly nothing here that hasn't been done before, sometimes tried and true is a good thing.

Quinn comes to New York from Ireland for what amounts to a business trip in the werewolf world. The general consensus in Europe is that the Others should reveal themselves to the rest of the world as soon as possible, so they can control the way in which that information is released and be ready for the inevitable fallout. This side of the pond isn't so open to the idea, so the revelation that a group of fanatics who want to wipe out the Others are hoping to expose them first and create pandemonium isn't really sitting will with anyone. Then a high-level assistant to one of the most powerful Others in Europe is kidnapped by these fanatics, and their fear, that someone will torture enough information out of her to make this group's plan a reality, is confirmed.

While that storyline certainly is familiar, it does serve as a good backdrop to the developing relationship between Quinn and Cassidy, who he meets at a cocktail party and chases all over a rooftop. Quinn recognizes instantly that Cassidy is his mate, which is a surprise to him, since a) she's not Irish, and b) she's not a wolf, both of which he'd figured were standard issue in whoever his mate would be. That doesn't stop him from pursuing her, though, and watching these two as their relationship develops is one of the best parts of the book. I loved the snark and the sass in the dialogue and narration of the story and how these two genuinely came to care for each other by the end of the story.

This book is a great summer read- there isn't anything here that hasn't been done before in the world of PNR (or since, as the book came out in 2006,) but it's a fun book with likeable characters, adventure, and enough steamy bits to definitely make this a book for grownups, but not quite a Scandalous Book. This would be a great book to take to the beach.

Overall Grade: A-