Real Men Howl

Real Men Shift Series, Book 1

By: Celia Kyle, Marina Maddix

Narrated by: Kendall Taylor

Length: 5 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's Summary

Mason's inner wolf will go crazy without her. Lucy thinks he's already crazy. Werewolves aren't real. Right?  

Lucy Morgan left Ashtown, Georgia, 10 years ago and planned to never return. Unfortunately, life didn't get that memo. She's back and now painful memories follow her everywhere. Until she meets him. Mason Blackwood is over six feet of sinfully gorgeous man who - for some reason - wants her. He also thinks he's a werewolf so...yeah. He's crazypants. But when he wants to have his wicked way with her, his sanity doesn't seem all that important anymore.  

Mason isn't sure how much longer he can remain Alpha over the Blackwood pack. Without a mate to balance him, his wolf snatches more control every day. It won't be long before he loses himself to the animal entirely. Then he meets Lucy - a sassy, curvaceous beauty who calms his beast with a smile. One sniff is enough to tell him she's his mate, and nothing will keep them apart.  

Not even the pack's deadliest enemy, who's determined to kill Lucy before Mason can claim her.  

Contains mature themes.

©2018 Celia Kyle and Marina Maddix (P)2018 Tantor

Very underwhelming......

I just wasn’t invested in the character’s, they were very shallow and poorly developed. Somehow the ‘insta-mate’ thing just missed the mark with this book, it really just came across as really creepy and controlling rather than a way for the two leads to connect.

The heroine was in pain, was sick and unless she was really stupid, would have realised that going to a hospital was desperately required after she was bitten by a 6 year old werewolf. Instead she allowed a strange man to break into her house (he was hot so of course she would be safe), he then takes her out into the woods (not to the hospital), and she is fine with this because, wait for it, his hotness makes her feel safe. A vet attends her wounds - but that’s fine, the hot guy said so.

Even her attempt to phone the police, who assured her it was okay for a strange man to break into her house, just causes mild frustration, because after all the guy is hot.

The hero is not really depicted in any type of positive way - there is no real depth. He wants, therefor it’s fine to turn the heroine into a werewolf, its not like her life is important, except how it affects him.
Overall this is a story of how a guy manages to pester a woman to agree to his wants and needs and give up everything for him, mostly just because ‘he is hot’.

Wow

I was so nervous that this audio book was just a female narrator but holy moly she did it so well. This book is one of my favourites so I was so happy to see it in audiobook form so I can listen while doing the housework and it didn’t disappoint. Well worth the credit.

loved it

I am finally happy to find an audio book I like. I thoroughly enjoyed this.

Exciting

This is a different take on the werewolves legend. I enjoyed it and certainly enjoyed the pups and Charlie especially. The back story was woven in seamlessly and moved the story along. The narrator was very good and only once or twice got the voices mixed up. Overall I enjoyed the story. The Alpha mate was a bad cookie she killed that dude with a garden hoe. How cool is that. But mostly she killed him with her anger about how he allowed his mate to kill her parents.

ok, but too tame for me

There is a lot of "movie hat" moments as I like to call it - just go with the silliness for the sake of the simple romance. In general, I expected more sex and maybe even some sort of knotting, but everything was pretty vanilla.

If you are looking for more erotic fair, then look elsewhere because this book is very tame.

Rushed

The story was very rushed. The whole thing takes place over a week and there just isn’t any real bonding between the couple.

What a book!

Kindle unlimited purchase/audio.
By Celia Kyle
Mason is losing it, and the only thing that will save him is if he finds his mate.
Lucy hasn't been back to her small town since the death of her parents. Walking around town she sees a young boy in the middle of the road when she noticed that SUV was about to hit him she does what anybody would do she runs in grabs him. And in the process changes her life.
This was a fast-paced story. I loved Lucy. Coming home for the first time, in years, after her parent's death, I thought she was going to be whiny and annoying. She was far from that she was everything an Alpha's mate should be. Mason was caring and loving he took his time, he was a strong Alpha but he showed his soft side. You could feel them "falling in love". Some shifter books miss that. It's all your my mate and bam. This book was romantic. Lucy is going to be a great alpha mate just what Mason and his pack needs.

Cute Shifter Romance

Cutesy, sexy shifter romance. Lucy is bitten by a panicky 6yr old Charlie and almost dies from the bite. Luckily, Mason realizes she is his mate and his bite is the antidote - but with a guarantee of turning her into a shifter. Lucy is also saving Mason from turning feral due to lack of a mate.
My favorite part is the crack! and thwap! of Lucy using her garden hoe on the evil shifter who set fire to her house, and was there when her parents were killed. Go Lucy!
Taylor does a decent job of narration.

Repetitive

There is a lot of repetition in this story. The heroine spends most of it saying she can't be the alpha mate, and the hero says she can. Okay but also a little dull.

I wish there was more bonding time

I really wish the book would have been longer. I feel like things were shortened up so much in our getting to know and bond with the characters. It would have been great to have a bit of a mystery going, maybe more backstory for the characters, etc. Overall, it wasn't a bad book, I was just left feeling like it may be forgettable since nothing really stood out to help me bond to the story.

Another good book

Celia Kyle write another good story, can't wait for the next in series - going to kindle for it now

Great start to the series

a great start to the series I enjoyed listening to this book for the second time as the narrator made it easy to listen to and follow.
I am looking forward to listening to the next book again.

Epic narration.

A traditional shifter romance. Well written, nothing obvious missing and only two obvious flaws. The story is a bit of a bla and the alpha male bordering on creepy. The narration though! Kendall Taylor is so good she can read the phone book and make it feel epic. She and James Marsters. Just wow. In actuality it is unfair to have Kendall narrate this story, my brain totally skipped the flaws while listening. It wasn´t till after finishing the book I started wondering about why the story failed to grip me. Even the bla sounded epic with that voice.

Utterly Fabulous Story

Real Alpha Men going after their mates. Wrongs righted ,heart healed from past traumas. Love wins over all. Lucy all alone until she saves a young boy and her life changes for the better. she becomes part of a unknown family. And learns to feel loved again. looking forward to the next Installment of these book. I love this Author's writing so she never disappoints me when buying her books. Shifter Romance fans won't be disappointed with these.

Excellent!

What a start to a new series. There were no downsides, I absolutely loved it!