Werewolf at the Zoo was chosen for me as my December’s 2012 Dusty Bookshelf Challenge over at the Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy Fanatics group.

Rainy a wolf shifter and his pack have been searching for his brother, Cliff for two days. Finally tracking Cliff down, Rainy finds him caged at the local zoo, sold there by poachers. Rainy can’t help but laugh at his older brother’s predicament. Rainy begins to leave after talking to Lisa, one of the zoo wardens, when he catches an intoxicating scent. Rainy turns to spot Travis the zoo’s vet and Lisa’s older brother and walks towards him. Travis quickly hurries away to avoid Rainy. Now Rainy must convince Travis that he’s Rainy mate, but Travis is so deep in the closet that it will take chains to pull him out. And to top it off, how will Rainy explain the fact that he’s a wolf shifter? It also turns out that Lisa is Cliff’s mate and may be harder to convince about shifters than Travis.



I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It’s a typical shifter story with a typical plot line that hit all my happy spots. It had the Claiming, the “Mine!” and the Shifting, which is always a fun part of the story and it's got some really hot interaction going on between Rainy and Travis. What I also enjoyed were the characters and the fact that the author sucked me into the character’s personalities right from the start. The wolf shifters were part of a pack headed by Declan a very large African-Irish wolf shifter. Declan moved the shifters from Ireland to America many years ago in search of a new home. Rainy is mischievous while Cliff is the more serious of the two brothers. No one in Travis’ family knows he’s gay, not even Lisa. Travis knows his father is a homophobe and that telling his family would mean losing them. So he has denied himself male companionship. There is a side character, Lark, who is a friend of Rainy’s and Cliff’s and who just so happens to work with Travis’ father. Lark will show up more in the second book in this series.

This story is told from the alternating viewpoints of Rainy and Travis. Cliff and Lisa are the second couple but we aren’t introduced to their viewpoints. The author did well in switching the viewpoints around so I wasn’t confused when the povs changed. I did however have trouble with the time and location changes. Most of the time, the author did a good job of identifying with either a marker or a lead in sentence in a following paragraph that the time or place had changed. But sometimes this wasn’t the case and I was left wondering, “When did they get to the zoo?” or “When did they get to the house?” I would have to stop and go back a few paragraphs and would realize that the location or time change wasn’t clearly written out and that’s why I was lost.

Werewolf at the Zoo was a quick, fun, romantic read. Because of its predictable plotline it’s not a unique read, other than the fact that if you want a feel good story that will make you happy, this does that very well. I have already started reading the second book in the series because I enjoyed this book so much. I’d recommend this book to anyone who likes a shifter story that isn't a heavy read. I give this book 4 stars and would read this again.


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The idea of meeting your mate at the zoo, while in werewolf form, is funny. Well, for someone it isn't happening to, at least. The story that follows is entertaining and a fun read. Travis, the vet, pairs up with Rainy, the werewolf. His sister, Liz, is Rainy's brother's mate. Each pair has their unique obstacles to overcome, but the focus is on Travis and Rainy.

There isn't too much 'woolfy' stuff going on, but the pack structure clearly influences how these werewolves live as humans, sometimes dangerously so. I mean, if I were a werewolf trying to hide my existence, I'd make damn sure I didn't speak of my family as 'pack'. Or address my boss as 'alpha'. I mean, really! Way to give things away.

If you like uncomplicated stories with characters who deal with the things life throws at them without too much of a fuss, you will probably like this book. ( )

3.5 stars ( )

Hated the written accents. It really threw me out of the story. ( )

Hated the written accents. It really threw me out of the story. ( )