SheWolf Challenge With VVB32!

Awesome idea! VVB32 is hosting a SheWolf Challenge/Werewolf  weekend April 23-25.  Below is information directly from VVB32's blog.  Following the information about the challenge you will find my contribution. 



Show your werewolf love...
Join in vvb32's Werewolf Weekend
and be eligible to win a...
Werewolf Box-o-goodies
(includes two books from the books featured list)

Open to all.
Offer ends: April 25, 2010

TO DO:
1. Create a Werewolf post on your blog or site.
It should include the Werewolf Weekend picture above and link to: http://vvb32reads.blogspot.com/
2. Comment below with your email and link to your werewolf post.

Ok where to start.....mmmmmmm I am gonna start off by doing a few recommendations of my favorite books about werewolves.

The Lunatic Cafe & Blue Moon

By: Laurell K Hamilton

Adult 

Laurell K Hamilton is my favorite author in the Urban Fantasy genre.  In her novels you will read a veritable cornucopia of yummy shape-shifter goodness featured in her Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series.  I have been reading this series for a good ten years so my memory of each novel is a little foggy.  Maybe I should take part in Book Chick City's Anita Blake Challenge 2010!  With that said two books within this series stand out in my foggy memory as being werewolf focused.  One of my favorite things about Laurell K Hamilton's writing is how well she explains the mythology behind each species or magical being within her novels.  When it comes to describing the mythology and flawlessly weaving it into a well written, well thought out, entertaining, and sexually charged story no one does it better then Laurell.

Title: The Lunatic Cafe
Author: Laurell K Hamilton
Publisher: Berkly Trade
First Published: January 1996
Format: Hardcover ($34.00 CDN)
Read the first two chapters here.

 From the Publisher: 
Anita Blake has fallen for the leader of a local pack of werewolves. She''s survived a lot, but this love affair may kill her yet.

Title: Blue Moon
Author: Laurell K Hamilton
Publisher: Berkly Trade
First Published: November 1998
Format: Hardcover ($28.99CDN)
Read the first two chapters here. 
From the Publisher: 
"Richard was an alpha werewolf. It was his only serious flaw. We'd broken up after I''d seen him eat somebody."

Bitten, Stolen, Broken & Frostbitten

By: Kelley Armstrong

Adult

Title: Bitten, Stolen, Broken & Frostbitten
Series: Otherworld
Author: Kelley Armstrong

 The four books mentioned are part of the Otherworld series of books of which there are ten novels.  The four have been chosen because they are my favorite and because they are about female werewolf Elena Michaels and werewolf Clayton "tasty" Danvers.  Next to Laurell K Hamilton, Kelley Armstrong is my favorite Urban Fantasy author.  The story line of Elena and Clay is by far my favorite of the Otherworld series.  Kelley Armstrong is a very talented writer and storyteller and you can expect each novel in this series to be well thought out, suspenseful, mysterious, filled with genuine characters and uber sexy manly men.  If by chance you haven't read this novel then I recommend this be your next purchase!

Synopsis of Bitten to get your reader buds salivating:

Living in Toronto for a year, Elena is leading the normal life she has always dreamed of, including a stable job as a journalist and a nice apartment shared with her boyfriend. As the lone female werewolf in existence, only her secret midnight prowls and her occasional inhuman cravings set her apart. Just one year ago, life was very different. Adopted by the Pack when bitten, Elena had spent years struggling with her resentment at having her life stolen away. Torn between two worlds, and overwhelmed by the new passions coursing through her body, her only option for control was to deny her awakening needs and escape.

But now the Pack has called Elena home to help them fight an alliance of renegade werewolves who are bent on exposing and annihilating the Pack. And although Elena is obliged to rejoin her "family," she vows not to be swept up in Pack life again, no matter how natural it might feel. She has made her choice. Trouble is, she's increasingly uncertain if it's the right one.

An erotically charged thriller, Bitten will awaken the voracious appetite of every reader, as the age-old battle between man and beast, between human and inhuman forces, comes to a head in one small town and within one woman's body.

Shiver 

By : Maggie Stiefvater

Young Adult

Title: Shiver

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Publisher: Scholastic INC

Published: August 1, 2009

Format: Hardcover ($22.99 CDN)

From the Publisher:

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf - her wolf - is a haunting presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human -- until the cold makes him shift back again. Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears and the temperature drops, Sam must fight to stay human or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever. 

The story if Grace and Sam is such a refreshing young love story and is one of the most well written, unique, and entertaining young adult novels that has been released in the Fantasy genre.  Maggie Stiefvater's take on the mythology behind werewolves was able to capture my attention and felt "believable."  This story had so many themes that drew me in including young love, loneliness, warmth, passion, and loss.  Throughout the story Maggie Stiefvater descriptive writing style had me "falling" into the book rather then just reading words on a page. Many of you have already read this novel but if you haven't it would be an excellent choice to add to your TBR pile. 

Blood & Chocolate

 By: Annette Curtis Klause

Title: Blood & Chocolate
Author: Annette Curtis Klause 
Published:September 1, 1999
Publisher:Rebound by Sagebrush
Format:Hardcover ($18.95 CDN)

Synopsis:

Vivian Gandillon relishes the change, the sweet, fierce ache that carries her from girl to wolf. At sixteen, she is beautiful and strong, and all the young wolves are on her tail. But Vivian still grieves for her dead father; her pack remains leaderless and in disarray, and she feels lost in the suburbs of Maryland.

She longs for a normal life. But what is normal for a werewolf?
Then Vivian falls in love with a human, a meat-boy. Aiden is kind and gentle, a welcome relief from the squabbling pack. He's fascinated by magic, and Vivian longs to reveal herself to him. Surely he would understand her and delight in the wonder of her dual nature, not fear her as an ordinary human would. 

Vivian's divided loyalties are strained further when a brutal murder threatens to expose the pack. Moving between two worlds, she does not seem to belong in either. What is she really--human or beast? Which tastes sweeter--blood or chocolate?

The Book was significantly better then the movie however it was still fairly entertaining.  See below for the trailer!

For a list of werewolf books please check out The Big List of Werewolf Books!

Moving onto my favorite movie choices for the werewolf challenge!

Wolf 

Starring Jack Nicholson and Michelle Pheiffer

1994

An American Werewolf In Paris 

Starring Julie Delpy and Tom Everett Scott

1997

Underworld

Starring Kate Beckinsale

And last but not least the BRAND NEW ECLIPSE TRAILER!  This is much better then the first trailer.



My new favorite TV show is a British show called, Being Human.  Although it is not an exclusively werewolf show it does include a main character who is one.



Fun Stuff:

• Are you a werewolf quiz?
• For werewolf lore, books, and more click here.
• For The Book Guru's Big List of Werewolf Books click here.
• Don't forget to check out other entries which you can find at VVB32's blog!

Have a happy and howwling good weekend!