Camp H.O.W.L. by Bru Baker #LGBT #Review #ReleaseDay

Dana reviews Camp H.O.W.L. (Dreamspun Beyond #7) by Bru Baker (Published by Dreamspinner Press, November 1, 2017, 238 pages) A copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Blurb: Moonmates exist, but getting together is going to be a beast…. 

When Adrian Rothschild skipped his “werewolf puberty,” he assumed he was, somehow, human. But he was wrong, and he’s about to go through his Turn with a country between him and his Pack—scared, alone, and eight years late. 

Dr. Tate Lewis’s werewolf supremacist father made his Turn miserable, and now Tate works for Camp H.O.W.L. to ease the transition for young werewolves. He isn’t expecting to offer guidance to a grown man—or find his moonmate in Adrian. Tate doesn’t even believe in the legendary bond; after all, his polygamist father claimed five. But it’s clear Adrian needs him, and if Tate can let his guard down, he might discover he needs Adrian too. 

A moonmate is a wolf’s missing piece, and Tate is missing a lot of pieces. But is Adrian up to the challenge?

Buy links: Dreamspinner | Amazon | B&N || Add to Goodreads

This is only the second book I’ve read by Bru Baker and the first Dreamspun Beyond book (the series features paranormal characters in m/m romance), but I know after reading Camp H.O.W.L. I will be reading more in this imprint and from this author. Right away I was taken in by the Adrian and how he felt about not quite fitting in with his family. He was born to werewolf parents and his mom is a leader among their people. But Adrian is simply human and he feels the disappointment even if his mom tries not to show it.

That is until Adrian realizes that the change is coming just much later than it is supposed to. It’s not really explained why exactly he is a late bloomer. Possibly, it is because he is in the vicinity of his moonmate. Think soulmates for werewolves. The only problem was that neither Adrian or Tate believed in moonmates.

Tate was raised in an unorthodox tribe. His father, the pack leader, believed in werewolf supremacy and he made growing up in the pack more difficult than it needed to be. His disregard for the pain of the first turn and his lies about moonmates left Tate very disillusioned.

Though both Adrian and Tate lived completely different lives, they both have felt removed from the people in their packs for one reason or another. I enjoyed the two characters very much. I could see how eager they were for each other, but their romance proceeds very slowly. Between Adrian needing to work on control and Tate needing to let go of his past there is hesitation to start something. That’s not even considering the fact that they live halfway across the country from each other. I was nervous and excited to see if they could make it work.

They two work well together outside of their relationship, both men are caring individuals who like to make things better for others. The side characters are made up of other employees and fellow first time wolves at Camp H.O.W.L. I did like them all. I wish I could have felt the pull between the characters a little bit stronger, but I really loved the concept.

9/10 Pots of Gold (90% Recommended) – Compares to 4.5/5 Stars

Bru Baker got her first taste of life as a writer at the tender age of four when she started publishing a weekly newspaper for her family. What they called nosiness she called a nose for news, and no one was surprised when she ended up with degrees in journalism and political science and started a career in journalism.

Bru spent fifteen years writing for newspapers before making the jump to fiction. She now works in reference and readers’ advisory in a Midwestern library, though she still finds it hard to believe someone’s willing to pay her to talk about books all day.

Most evenings you can find her curled up with a mug of tea, some fuzzy socks, and a book or her laptop. Whether it’s creating her own characters or getting caught up in someone else’s, there’s no denying that Bru is happiest when she’s engrossed in a story.

She and her husband have two children, which means a lot of her books get written from the sidelines of various sports practices.