Spell of the Werewolf
By J.R. Loveless
Release Date: May 29, 2020
Moonrise will never be the same.
The Storyline: Spell of the Werewolf, action-packed gay romance
A werewolf with a death wish bargains with a hunter for salvation. Justin has spent several lifetimes atoning for the violent nature of his curse. A mindless angry beast several nights a month, he carries a burden of blood for past sins. Tired and lonely, he’s seeking an end to his torment.
Vincent bears the curse, though only by half. A hybrid, he hunts those of his brethren who let their monsters take over. And he’s hell-bent on destroying them all until he's forced to deal with one who’s begging for peace. Except deliverance wears many guises.
Their desire for redemption erupts in a fiery passion drawing them closer together.
What I Liked
This was an interesting and fast-moving book that combined revenge, enemy to lovers, and unrequited love into a gay romance novel. The romance built through the story and was not one of those love at first sight storylines, in fact, just the opposite…starts in a hunting situation. Thou with that said, there was something that made them both notice each other.
As with any relationship, not only in gay romantic ones, there is baggage. Baggage might be an understatment...there are real internal struggles with both Justin and Vincent. The story does have not one, but TWO unrequited love interests. While some might say that would be too much drama, it worked very well in this book. These situations added the perfect amount of tension that in some cases pushed Vincent and Justin forward.
Ms. Loveless built a world that I could see in my mind as I read the book. While it is set in the Toyko region which I have never been to, there were no issues envisioning some of the areas based on Ms. Loveless’ masterful descriptions: Vincent’s apartment, the rooftop, the cage, the alleyway, the secret passage…
What I did not Care for
While you do have to suspend belief a bit when you are reading books that contain magical creatures such as werewolves, I did struggle with the idea of the “30-year-old virgin” struggle that was included, albeit, it was not 30 years in this book! Now, in all fairness, Ms. Loveless did offer some brief explanation for this, and it was a meniscal piece of the book. Frankly, if this is the only thing the poked me wrong in a book…. then it is a great book. Oh, yeah…it is a great book!
My Recommendation
The premise of the book is known immediately, a werewolf and a werewolf hunter that will come together in a (hot) gay romance story. Despite this, Ms. Loveless did break some underwritten rules of gay romance books. It kept my interest and I was engaged. Don’t worry, despite being an enemy to lovers story, there was plenty of sexual desire built up to keep it going.
Spell of the Werewolf also has a number of minor “loose ends” that will make great continuations for the series. I am working hard to avoid spoilers in the review…but just a few: the scrolls, the hunter’s legion, the magic undertone, the swords, among others.
Let's talk about the book cover a moment. I found myself staring at it a couple of times in-despicably. While Justin is pretty hot on the cover, I found the whole thing mesmerizing. I feel it added to the hotness factor.
Here is a bit of good news (possibly an exclusive): BookGemz has been in contact with Ms. J.R. Loveless…she is already working up the storyline for the next book. Albeit, it is not set I stone yet, but as she told me “Already began plotting it out, so it will most likely make its way to the light!”
Check out my full reveiw, more about the author, and read "Coffee Talk" with J.R. Loveless.