How to Howl at the Moon

Howl at the Moon, Book 1

By: Eli Easton

Narrated by: Matthew Shaw

Length: 5 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

Sheriff Lance Beaufort is not going to let trouble into his town, no sir. Tucked away in the California mountains, Mad Creek has secrets to keep, like the fact that half the town consists of "quickened" - dogs who have gained the ability to become human. Descended on both sides from Border Collies, Lance is as alert a guardian as they come.

Tim Weston is looking for a safe haven. After learning that his boss patented all of Tim's work on vegetable hybrids in his own name, Tim quit his old job. A client offers him use of her cabin in Mad Creek, and Tim sees a chance for a new start. But the shy gardener has a way of fumbling and sounding like a liar around strangers, particularly gorgeous alpha men like Sheriff Beaufort.

Lance's hackles are definitely raised by the lanky young stranger. He's concerned about marijuana growers moving into Mad Creek, and he's not satisfied with the boy's story. Lance decides a bit of undercover work is called for. When Tim hits a beautiful black collie with his car and adopts the dog, its love at first sight for both Tim and Lance's inner dog. Pretending to be a pet is about to get Sheriff Beaufort in very hot water.

©2015 Jane Jensen Holmes (P)2015 Jane Jensen Holmes

Cute, warm and a little bit silly at times

I generally like stories with shifters, werebeasts and all other sorts of part human part animal characters, I also do like classical top/bottom or seme/uke relationships being a gay man who loves big strong masculine guys myself.

So How to Howl at the Moon really did not disappoint, it has nice parts with the animal sides of the characters (and not overdone in my opinion either despite going for certain dog breed stereotypes), Lance makes a nice top who manages to be both likeable and ending up making some mistakes and Tim is, well, just cute in a awkward, dorky way.

There are also a couple of likeable side characters in the mix who feel fleshed out enough to complement the leads. I especially liked Lance's mother with her meddling and antics and the fact that, well, in a way, she managed exactly that kind of being flawed but likeable that I do not see too often with mother characters, who tend to be more often either saintly or smothering.

The sex scenes also were okay, perhaps not steaming hot, but neither awkward, nor too drawn out and definitely nice to listen to.

I also found the bad guys to have a bit more depth than many m/m romances manage.
I could especially recognize the type of Marshall, the weak bully trying desperately to keep someone else down.
It is usually very easy to make a "monster", a mad man, someone utterly alien in hiss evil ways, but just some little words and observations can instead create a bad human being who seems much more real.

Also, I think the narrator did a very nice job and he has a pleasant voice to listen to, I hope to hear more of him in the future.

It is a cute and a bit silly m/m romance, but it is a very nice one at that for sure.

2nd time through---a great Audio

The story is light,sexy and funny. The howling is the best part...and the story. I think I need to listen one more
Time!!!

Wonderful story, poor recording

Any additional comments?

Really, really adorable. Usually I run the other direction when I hear a declaration like this. And in the future, I'm sure I'll continue to run. But this was recommended by several dear friends as something light and guaranteed to make me smile. Well I did smile, a lot. But I cried, too! Dog shifters? Truly not my thing, I like wild predatory shifters, but the characters in Easton's story were so wonderful...I couldn't help myself.

The narrator was above average, I loved the character's voices, but the recording was rather poor. Constant changes in volume and one could detect a lot of stops and starts.

Overall, if you like a sweet shifter story, I'm fairly certain this will be your cuppa.

Magical Combination: Eli + Shifters!

Lance is a fourth generation “quickened” shifter, hailing from a long line of Border Collie shifters and the Sherriff of Mad Creek. A “quickened” shifter is a dog (born a dog) who was so beloved by his or her master that they receive the “gift” of turning human at will. That ability is then transferred to their off-spring and thus a shifter is born.

Tim is a horticulturist whose hybrid plant ideas were ripped off by his ex-boss. He’s currently living on the last of his money and hopes to build back his business with the help of a friend.

Tim also is very nervous in front of alpha-males and Lance is ALL alpha.

At first, Lance thinks Tim is growing an illegal crop and stoops to using his shifted form to spy on Tim. But the lonely and sad and socially inept Tim cracks through Lance’s tough shell until both the dog and the man can’t get enough of Tim.

However, how is Lance going to break it to Tim that the dog he loves is really the man he fears? And… is Tim’s boss going to make trouble for Tim in his new home? And someone really is growing illegal drugs near Mad Creek and they don’t like competition.

**

Through a combination of amazingly astute observations on the various dog breeds and imagining them to be humans, Eli has managed the unbelievable – a unique shifter story! Sure, there are some common threads, but by and large this is a truly unique look at shifter lore.

Because they were dogs first the transition to being human is both touching at times (Roman’s devotion to his past master) and hilarious (the friendly and chatty Mr. Beagle).

You know that since it’s Eli Easton, the writing is impeccable. The sex is hot. The emotion is deep and abiding. And the humor is sharp and witty.

If I could describe a perfect book it would be this: Eli Easton writing a shifter book. And yet, it gets even better because it’s going to be an entire SERIES! It’s true – there is a heaven!

The slow burn between Tim and Lance is delicious and when Lance finally “comes out” to Tim it is both hysterical and touching.

I loved the meddling mother and the “vindictive” vet scene. Superb!

Matthew Shaw did a fantastic job of narrating Eli Easton’s this. From interviews, I know Matthew voiced some of Eli’s games in the past and so he’s a new narrator to the m/m genre. He did great! He was funny and easy to listen to. His voice is rich and flowing, with the right amount of emotion and “acting”. I really enjoyed listening to this story and will be listening to it again and again!

Exactly what I expect from Eli Easton and More!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this to anyone and everyone. Not only was it a hilarious tale, but it had a sweet romance, great main and secondary characters, and even a little drama thrown in.

What was one of the most memorable moments of How to Howl at the Moon?

Oh geez, how can I narrow it down? The vet telling Tim to give Chance a bath made me laugh so hard I cried. Their thoughts when they were having sex were so funny! Lance acted like such dog, going after that scent.

Have you listened to any of Matthew Shaw’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I don't believe I have. I liked his voice and the way he did the characters voices. I just wish he would either get a new mic or get something to put in front of the mic that would cut down on his sharp S's and how loud his breathing was.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Where man's best friend is his dog...and his dog's mother, friends, and all around quickened family.

Any additional comments?

I loved this book. Laughed through most of it and know I will re-listen to it quite often. Another fantastic book by Eli Easton.

Equal parts sweet, romantic & hilarious

This was the perfect blend of comedy and sweet romance. I was laughing out loud at a lot of what the characters were saying, thinking, and doing. Especially Lily, Lance's mom. God, I loved her.

And a town filled with dog shifters... Gah. I want to move there. Small town hijinks and lovely townspeople. What's not to love? And if that isn't enough, the Sheriff's a bisexual Border Collie shifter with black fur and blue eyes. And having gay-for-you thrown in was just icing on top of the puppy pile.

Lance and Tim were really cute with their awkwardness. I was worried over the potential drama Lance's deception could cause, but while there was angst when it finally came to a head, it didn't suffocate the story.

Matthew Shaw was a pleasant surprise, as well. Pleasant voice and he did well with the comedic parts. There was noticeable breathing, though, and some fluctuations in volume. It didn't really bother me because I was enjoying the story so much.

Looks like this is part of a series, but it's a complete story and the next book is about a different character. Can't wait for the next one. This was so much fun.

Howling With Laughter

I love stories by Ms. Easton and this book was no exception. Her take on shifters is quite refreshing. So many hilarious moments. I am glad that Tim and Lance (Chance) figured things out and got together. I'm also happy that Marshall got his comeuppance. I certainly hope that we get more stories about this town, narrated by Matthew (hint, hint Roman's) - he's wonderful.

Good book, but ends abruptly.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Yes, I liked it a lot. The concept was a little different but it was done believably. And it was cute. There relationship was done pretty well. They were cute together-in both Lance's form. I really liked both characters. They were both a little awkward in a good way. I liked the side characters as well. The investigation scenes towards the end of the book seemed out of place to me. They didn't really fit into the rest of the book that was fairly lighthearted. I really liked the book but it did wrap everything up really quickly. I would have liked more time with the characters, but it didn't bother me as much as it did in Easton's other book "The Trouble with Tony"

Matthew Shaw is Brilliant

Even if you aren't a shifter story fan, even if you aren't an Eli Easton fan, which, frankly, are both excellent reasons to read this, you should get this because of Matthew Shaw's narration.

He's absolutely brilliant.

Fell In Love!!!!

Actually this is my 2nd time reading HTHM.
But Gosh do I love Lance and Tim.
I could understand Lance's pain and desperation near the end.
Tim too.

I loved it all. Except the goo goo talk. God that must have been embarrassing. Lol
Fun. Alive and Sexy as hell.

Good listen, just wish it was longer

Really good story, pleasant and engaging. Just wish it was a little longer as would have given more room for character back story and so on

Wonderful!

So many 'aww' moments in this story. It made me laugh and cry. I loved it.
Great narration from Matthew. The only thing I'd say is the continuity was off at times. There were occasions when the volume fluctuated and I could hear when the recording stopped and started again. Overall, it was a fabulous story and the narrator characterized Tim and Lance/Chance superbly.

Thoroughly enjoyable story.

Totally binge worthy. I finished it in two sittings. Such a fun story. I'm really looking forward to the rest in the serries. Gentle enough to relax too with a building sexual lustful undertone.

good story but ....

the story was really good but the quality of the recording was poor. lots of background noise and the volume faded out constantly.

Nice but nothing special

Simple romance story situated in April in California. So why the cover shows snow is a mystery.
With my 'overall' rating I mean technical quality. The narration was good but often I heard something stumble in te background. The noice cancelation was horrible, sometimes working sometimes not.

Terrible recording quality for a nice story

This was a fun, light-hearted story that had good narration. sadly it was ruined by the terrible quality of the recording. it sounded like the narrator was on a boat at sea - the volume going up and down from ch 7 onward. this book was produced in 2015 and other listeners have complained yet in 2018 still audible has not told the producer to remaster the recording. its such a shame.

Better for me than reading the story....

This was so much better than reading the story, and the only reason I'm knocking half a star off is that the quality of the audio wasn't that good. As for Matthew Shaw's narration, well it was just as good as the second story in the series How to Walk Like a Man. I loved Lance's howls as Chance, and I laughed out loud every time but Lily still irritated the hell out of me, and Lance still needed several good smacks upside the head for the way he treated Tim. 4.5 stars from me, and waiting impatiently for the audio version of How to Wish Upon a Star to complete the set.

great story

I love this book so much and story is great. I recommend this book to anyone!