Goldilox and the Three Weres: Blog Tour: Wolves & Monsters by Dyan Chick Review, Excerpt and Giveaway

Welcome to our stop on the Wolves & Monsters Blog Tour! The book is the first in a new Urban Fantasy series about a siren, a werewolf pack and a small town full of various supernatural surprises. Check out my review, along with an excerpt and a gift card giveaway!

Wolves & Monsters
(Siren Problems #1)
Dyan Chick
Release: May 27, 2019
Goodreads Amazon
ARC provided by Rock Star Book Tours

They call me a monster but I’m nothing compared to the other things that go bump in the night.

Sirens have a bad rep. I know that. They say we lure men to their deaths with our songs. But I promise you, I’ve never lured a man. They always come to me willingly. Is it my fault that once they spend the night with me they seem to have bad luck? They make the choice to be with me. At least that’s what I tell myself. If I let myself think about the bodies I seem to leave behind, I would start to feel guilty. And nobody has time for that.

The problem is, I accidentally lured the wrong man to his death. How was I supposed to know the mage who tragically died after having sex with me was the son of the most powerful mage in the supe community? How was I supposed to know that a casual hook up would result in them sending some of the really bad monsters after me?

I’ve only got one shot at staying alive and it’s going to involve finding the one that got away. The only guy I ever loved. The problem is, when I left, I broke his heart. And werewolves don’t take kindly to being dumped. I’m sure nothing about this plan is going to go wrong.

Review:

I've almost finished my Netflix rewatch of Lost Girl and when I saw the blurb for Wolves & Monsters, it felt like it might have the same vibe. Angie is a siren rather than a succubus, but her lack of knowledge about her powers and the supernatural world are similar to Bo's in the show. Other than that, it didn't exactly hit the same buttons since the book focuses on a much smaller group of characters and doesn't give much sense of the world outside the small town where it's set.

However, I feel like the Siren Problems series has a lot of potential. I liked the characters, especially the variety of paranormal creatures. I like the supernatural small town concept, though I'd like to see it developed more. I just felt like this story was too dark and heavy. Angie is so angsty it's hard for her personality to come through. I wanted more snark and light-hearted moments. But since I've enjoyed the rest of what I've read from Dyan Chick, I'll probably check out the next book in the series.

I recently read Chick's Dragon Mage and Dark Fae Mage series and really enjoyed them. There are sirens in those series, both set in the same city, but I'm not sure if Siren Problems is meant to be part of the same world. Neither of those deal with shifters much, so I'm curious about how this series set in the werewolf pack will go. I'm also excited to have discovered a new Urban Fantasy author.

Recommended for fans of: The Gemini series by Hailey Edwards, The Weird Girls series by Cecy Robson

3/5 stars

Excerpt

"I'm sorry," I said.

Jason walked around the puddle and closed the distance between us. He tucked the knife back into his belt and stood in front of me. His eyes searched mine, as if he were looking for answers from me. I wished I had some for him.

Without a word, Jason grabbed the bottom of my shirt and dragged me closer to him. I didn't resist.

His arms were around me and his lips were on mine before I had time to process what was happening. His shirt was damp with sweat but I didn't care. I pulled him closer to me, savoring the feel of his body against mine.

Every inch of my skin felt like it was on fire. This was how it was supposed to be. We were supposed to be together like this. Just the two of us.

While his lips moved in time with mine, it felt like nothing could touch me. Like there was some way all of this could turn out in our favor. I never wanted this moment to end.

"Little help here." Draven's voice broke the moment.

Hesitantly, I pulled away from the kiss and reality struck hard. We were in the middle of the woods. We'd just killed a demon. There was a captive vampire who needed saving and a dead mage still out there. We didn't have time to make out like teenagers.

Plus, there was that whole curse thing I had to deal with.

"How'd you get the gag off?" Jason asked.

I elbowed him in the side then jogged over to Draven. "Sorry. We sort of got caught up in the moment."

"I get it, but I'm losing feeling my feet," Draven said.

"You can feel your feet?" Jason asked.

Draven glared at him.

I quickly untied the vampire. "I'm glad you didn't get eaten."

"Me too. That thing was disgusting. It's not how I imagined I'd go at all." Draven brushed off his clothes. "So what are we going to do about your dead mage?"

I looked at Jason. "I don't need to cause any more trouble here. I can find somewhere else to dispose of it."

"Can't you just burn it like a normal heathen?" Draven asked.

"She burns it, they'll be able to track his death right to her," Jason said. "Only way to keep her from being linked to the death is to keep the body buried somewhere until it decomposes naturally. Well, I suppose it could be eaten, but I doubt we'll find takers for that."

"Now that we know the guy was cursed for sure, that's not happening," Draven said. "Even our new aswang friend can't help us with this one."

"Maybe she can," I said. "If we buried the body at the cemetery, would the other bodies help hide the scent?"

"Could be," Jason said. "You think they might be willing to help us?"

"It's worth checking," I said. "Maybe they can point us in the direction of some of the fresher real estate."

"This has to be the most morbid few days of my life," Jason said.

About the Author

My story is probably similar to a lot of other writers out there. As a kid, I was creative, imaginative, and loved to write. I’d write scripts for plays and make my sisters act them out. I got excited about the writing prompts for standardized tests in elementary school. I started writing my first (unfinished) novel in 5th grade. Then started another one in middle school. For a long time, I was a closet writer. I didn’t tell anybody that I had a hard drive full of abandoned stories. After years of not finishing anything, I finally took the plunge and started taking writing, and myself as a writer, seriously. My first novel, Heir of Illaria, published January 23, 2017. Book 2 is right around the corner. It’s gone from closet hobby to full on addiction. Thankfully, I have a wonderfully supportive husband who doesn’t look at me like I’m crazy when I talk about my characters as if they’re real.