Werewolf Nights Review

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Werewolf nights is an interesting spin on the werewolf lore. The story takes place in Wereville, a town entrenched in their belief of the supposed existence of werewolves and hunters. This is apparent in how the townsfolk go about debating and celebrating their history, going as far as to trace their family trees to see whether their ancestors were werewolves or hunters. The pride and joy of this town would be amassed in the town’s annual ‘Festival of The Wolf’, where citizens came together to commemorate their legacy. It is also a time where bipartite groups come together in their support of hunters or werewolves. Some citizens are fanatic enough in their belief that they go to extreme lengths to prepare measures to protect themselves. Their belief may stem from the fact that the town has a history of mysterious deaths and a healthy population of wolves as well.

Our protagonist is Catherine Mercy, the town baker. Catherine has been suspected of being a werewolf mainly due to her past two relationships. Both of which ended in the men disappearing. The first was her high school sweetheart Jimmy who left after graduation to try his luck in acting and promised Catherine that he would return to her but never came back. This resulted in rumors spreading as he went completely off the map, not even a phone call to ensure that he was alive.

This disappearance resulted in Catherine settling for the next best thing, despite still being hung up over Jimmy. She marries her other best friend, Frank who always chased after her but always came second to her affections due to Jimmy. Frank was continually referred to as obsessive and controlling in his behavior to her. He didn’t just exercise power over her but also showed remorseless want for money and gambling, so much so that he spent almost all of Catherine’s grandmother’s money, that was left to her, in useless pursuits. Until one fateful day, he went fishing and never returned. It is left unclear whether he is alive. This leads to Catherine opening a bakery in order to try and clear all the debts Frank had accumulated over the years.

This sets the stage as we discover the ghosts that haunt Catherine’s past and come to understand her distraught nature as she struggles to maintain relationships and a steady social life. Despite being a well-liked persona in the community, she is constantly conscious and undermining her own abilities and talents. This could be a result of the oppressive nature of her married life with Frank that led to consequences so gravely set in their ways within Catherine.

The turning point is when a movie is set to be produced in their town. Acclaimed actor Greg Byron who plays the werewolf and is the male lead also arrives to film in Wereville. When his female co-star leaves the role, the female citizens are given the chance to audition for the part. Catherine manages to procure the role, mainly due to how similar she looks to the actual person the film is based on. This also helps kickstart a whirlwind romance with Greg. For some reason, Greg develops a fixation on her, wanting to get as close to her as possible despite his history of only having a string of one-night stands. Catherine struggles with her feelings over him and this is made even more complicated when Greg is bitten by a werewolf, thus becoming one.

The setting and history put in this book are well thought out and fleshed together. My only criticism is that the dialogue is sometimes clunky and the scenes are rushed. I think that this book could be better portrayed as a graphic novel so the dialogue comes together in a more well-rounded way. It would be nice if the storyline was expanded upon more but overall this was well done for the author’s first novel.