The Art of Seducing a Naked Werewolf – Naked Werewolf Series, book 2

"Insert awkward pause in which I stare at Nick as if he's whistling 'Oh, Canada' out of one nostril."

Books:  
1.   How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf  (February 22, 2011)        – 4 out of 5 

2.   The Art of Seducing a Naked Werewolf  (March 29, 2011)       – 4.5 out of 5

Author:  Molly Harper

Narrator:   Amanda Roncini - 4 out of 5

Length: 8:04, purchased on audible

Summary:  

At the end of How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf, Maggie Graham, a young female werewolf, has finally received the recognition she so richly deserved after dispatching the conniving Alpha-apparent, Eli, and after her older bigger brother, Cooper, settled down with a thoroughly human Mo to have a human family in Grundy, Alaska.  Now, Maggie is the pack alpha of the Crescent Valley werewolves – the sheriff of this-here town.  Unfortunately, too many of the more traditional wolves are waiting for Maggie to find a big bad wolf for a mate to take over that sheriff role.  With furry suitors knocking down Maggie’s door, the last thing she needs is Nick Thatcher, a sexy zoological anthropologist who’s convinced that werewolves exist, and what’s more, that they exist in Grundy. Maggie tries to make Nick go away.  Instead, she gets closer to him than she ever meant to.  Even worse, after Nick arrives, it appears that someone is trying to kill Maggie and attack her packmates.  Can she carry on a romance with a human, protect her pack, and still maintain her alphahood?

True Comedic Pack Mysteries:

It’s no secret that I love Molly Harper, as noted by the short interview posted here. Her writing is snarky, funny, witty, and a joy to sit back and listen to.  I was a bit worried about the book being from Maggie’s point of view as Maggie comes off as a rather flat hard-ass character in How to Flirt, but fifteen minutes into the audiobook, I knew I was not going to be disappointed.  

This book paces better than How to Flirt. We understand the main conflict immediately, and Nick enters Maggie's life almost from the first part of the audiobook.  And then there’s Nick himself – a tall, sexy, educated, blond-haired, blue-eyed, bearded Viking look alike (mentally, I pictured Jax Teller from Sons of Anarchy, but with glasses).** A multimillionaire, self-hating Trekkie with family issues of his own, and a passion for werewolves. I would never think someone like that would appeal to someone like Maggie, but then again, who would imagine Mo and Cooper hitting it off so well in the prior book? 

Another thing this book had on How to Flirt is a few good mysteries, which is not something I expect from this author – she’s hilarious, so I read for the comedy (and there’s plenty) but not for the twists and turns.  This audiobook contains at least two “Oh!” moments.  That’s when the audiobook presents enough suspects with enough motives that you don’t see it coming, but there is also enough foreshadowing specific to the perpetrator that you kind of should have.  The result is that when the book lets the cat out of the bag, you actually, audibly, say “Oh!” 

"Never underestimate the excitement of sex with the crazy," Sampson said, wincing when Mo smacked the back of his head. "It's like a tilt-a-whirl and a scary movie all in one."

On Narration:

All of Molly Harper’s audiobooks, including this one, are narrated by Amanda Roncini.  Her voice is perfect for the part.  It’s bratty, snarky, and bit tom-boyish even. It should reminds me of Amanda Roncini’s reading of Mo, in How to Flirt with a Werewolf, which I reviewed here, but I think I didn’t give her enough credit.  It’s not just that she reads the story with great snark.  She knows how to read comedy, how to carry punch lines so they hit home.

**  UPDATE:  Thanks to Twitter, Molly Harper informed me that Charlie Hunnam, the actor who plays Jax Teller on Sons of Anarchy, is actually who she based Nick's physical description on!