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Gloria is a 40-something woman who used to be in the army, and now runs a halfway house for lesbian werewolves. (It’s self-supporting as a B&B; they just don’t book guests on full moon nights.)
The chef, Nadine, is a refugee from a controlling/abusive pack, and has been there for six years while they both refrained from acting on their attraction for reasons that I have already forgotten even though I am writing this review literally hours after finished this novelette. Something to do with not being sure the other was into them and/or not wanting to disrupt their friendship, I think. This is the book where they get together – again, I have already forgotten exactly what sparked that. Meanwhile, there is an unexpected family visit or two, and a pack of sexist male wolves is moving in on them. But it all works out okay.
I ought to have loved this – the premise is great, and I enjoy stories about day-to-day life in a specific community – but I only mildly liked it. The rival wolves didn’t ever feel like a real threat, and the family drama was not very dramatic. There’s past trauma, but too lightly sketched in to give the book a deliciously iddy/angsty tone or to give the present healing an emotional punch.
That leaves what should have been the real draw, which was the depiction of the community. But the characters felt thin, and other than the delightful bit about them all having to lock themselves in the basement with a kiddie pool and chew toys when they wolf out, there weren’t enough specific details to bring the setting to life or make the day-to-day aspects compelling.
However, it has universally rave reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, and I’m sure some of you would absolutely love it. It has a female alpha who’s decisive and compassionate, most of the characters are female or queer or both, and it contains many elements that people often say they want in fiction, such as characters who articulate their feelings and communicate clearly with each other rather than having stupid misunderstandings or unnecessary conflict. Humanity For Beginners is extremely wholesome and full of good values—too much so, for my taste. Without being preachy, it still has a “good for you” atmosphere, with extremely valid issues phrased like the human relations section of Ask MeFi. Personally, I wanted more bite.
The chef, Nadine, is a refugee from a controlling/abusive pack, and has been there for six years while they both refrained from acting on their attraction for reasons that I have already forgotten even though I am writing this review literally hours after finished this novelette. Something to do with not being sure the other was into them and/or not wanting to disrupt their friendship, I think. This is the book where they get together – again, I have already forgotten exactly what sparked that. Meanwhile, there is an unexpected family visit or two, and a pack of sexist male wolves is moving in on them. But it all works out okay.
I ought to have loved this – the premise is great, and I enjoy stories about day-to-day life in a specific community – but I only mildly liked it. The rival wolves didn’t ever feel like a real threat, and the family drama was not very dramatic. There’s past trauma, but too lightly sketched in to give the book a deliciously iddy/angsty tone or to give the present healing an emotional punch.
That leaves what should have been the real draw, which was the depiction of the community. But the characters felt thin, and other than the delightful bit about them all having to lock themselves in the basement with a kiddie pool and chew toys when they wolf out, there weren’t enough specific details to bring the setting to life or make the day-to-day aspects compelling.
However, it has universally rave reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, and I’m sure some of you would absolutely love it. It has a female alpha who’s decisive and compassionate, most of the characters are female or queer or both, and it contains many elements that people often say they want in fiction, such as characters who articulate their feelings and communicate clearly with each other rather than having stupid misunderstandings or unnecessary conflict. Humanity For Beginners is extremely wholesome and full of good values—too much so, for my taste. Without being preachy, it still has a “good for you” atmosphere, with extremely valid issues phrased like the human relations section of Ask MeFi. Personally, I wanted more bite.
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