Reviewed by PizzyGirl
TITLE: Camp H.O.W.L.
SERIES: Dreamspun Beyond #7
AUTHOR: Bru Baker
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 238 pages
RELEASE DATE: November 1, 2017
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?
REVIEW:
I struggled to write this review. Mostly because I really enjoyed this story. I just felt like some parts were not as well fleshed out as they could have been and had a few questions that were never answered.
I loved this world. The shifters and the “Turn” were well established and really interesting. The concept of the camps to learn to control shifts was creative and unique.
I also LOVED Tate. I felt he was a great character and his history was heartbreaking. He was well developed and I could really feel his growth. His struggle was easy to identify with and I felt like it was woven into his personality and into his actions very well. I needed to see him heal and get his happy. I needed to see him overcome all his demons. He was a broken man and stole my heart.
But on the other hand, I felt like Adrian wasn’t as well fleshed out. I connected with him easily at the start of the story and followed his struggles to shift. But the author kept telling me about his family struggles and how he didn’t feel connected to his pack, but yet he still wanted to be with that pack. Because I never got to experience Adrian’s interactions with his family, I never felt I understood why he wouldn’t just leave and form his own pack with Tate. For me, it was all words and the author never really convinced me they were more than that.
I also felt like the romance itself was shortchanged. Yes, it was fate and all that, but the majority of the book was devoted to Tate’s struggles and other camp issues that I never really felt the bond the author told me was there. Oh granted I knew the men were attracted to each other and they worked well together, but again, it was told to me. And when the big sex scene FINALLY arrived, the heat didn’t match the buildup. I was told mated sex was off the charts emotionally charged, but I didn’t FEEL it myself.
I loved the concept of this story and really liked the characters. I enjoyed the story and recommend it because it was a good tale. I just felt like this needed a bit MORE to be really great.
RATING: 
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