Nevermind the vampires, here come the werewolves

I grew up in a household that was a little obsessed with Halloween. And who could blame my stepfather? He was born on the day where (supposedly) the veil between the world of the living and the dead disappear. So I was brought up with Dracula. And even Rockula. My mother made me read Bram Stoker's Dracula before I went to see the movie. Ditto for Interview with the Vampire. So when the latest vampire craze came around, I had already read Twilight and Undead and Unappreciated as well as some of Laurell K. Hamilton's earlier books. But recently I've turned my attentions to werewolves. There are plenty of werewolves in vampire stories, including Sookie Stackhouse and the Undead and Unwed series (Mary Janice Davidson has written some stand alone werewolve stories elsewhere), but stories that are chiefly about werewolves are more id than superego, more animalistic than unnatural, and I like that sort of unformed sentimentality.

Patricia Briggs is my new favorite author, starting with Moon Called. The series female lead is Mercedes Thompson, VW Mechanic and Shapechanger. She is not the werewolf, but she grew up with them. She lives next door to the local packs leader, Adam. She also used to have romantic entanglements with Samuel, another dominant werewolf. Sparks fly. There are three other books in the series as well as a spin off series about Samuel's brother and his mate. Other books in this milieu include:

• Magic Bites is the magic version of the Evanovich series on Stephanie Plum. Strong woman. Check. Gorgeous men. Check. Mystery. Check. Add werewolves and magic and they are definitely good books.
• Wolfsbane and Mistletoe is a collection of short stories that have two things in common: werewolves and Christmas. It has a range of authors, from Charlaine Harris to Donna Andrews.
• Blood and Chocolate is a young adult novel by Annette Curtis Klause. It is about a girl who wants to be like a normal teenager, but the once a month changes and the pack get in the way. Her other problem? Her human boyfriend doesn't know what she is. Will he still love her when he finds out? Intended for teens, this book has themes that resonate with adults.