Review: Accidentally Were Huntingdawn Series #1) by Anne Douglas

Paranormal romances can take the reader all over the place and can be pretty "out there" sometimes. This first in a two-book series about two best friends is kind of "sneaky" in that it really starts out just like a regular romance novel and then, once it gets going, has some really interesting aspects that are quite unexpected.

Pearl is a 31-year-old single gal who has been raised in the upper eschelons of society, who thinks manners and proper dress and fashion--appropriate to the occasion--are as much a part of a person as their thoughts or their voice. But just once in her life -- one fateful night--Pearl lets herself go, really gets plastered, goes home with a guy for a one-night-stand, and reappears at the doorstep of her best friend accompanied by every canine in her friend's neighborhood. She is also sporting several "love-bites" that seem to have the shape and form of canine bites. She is flustered, bedraggled, and really scared of all the dogs that seem to want to crawl all over her.

Pearl's best friend is Shaun, one of the community's Goth-kids and one who has been on a nearly life-long crusade to prove that werewolves, vampires, and ghosts really exist. She is delighted to see her starchy friend in the "after-glow" of a wild night out, but she is truly concerned about the angry bites that show on Pearl's neck, inspite of her attempt to cover them with a high-neck blouse. Shaun suggests that Pearl visit the clinic run by her next-door neighbor, Rex, a local veterinarian/General Practitioner in the hopes that he can diagnose the true nature of the bites.

Little did Pearl know that Dr. Rex will catch her scent, go nearly stark raving crazy in almost no time at all, close his clinic for the day, drag Pearl to a cabin in the woods, and declare that she is his "mate" -- the mate of a Were-bear.

From this point on, the story gets crazy and funny, and takes the reader in some very unexpected directions. You will meet members of the Huntingdawn Pack and its Alpha, Rob Dedriekson, you'll get a better insight into Shaun and what makes her tick, and you will watch as Pearl slowly but surely begins the changes that will make her life far more adventuresome, all with her consent.

Anne Douglas has written a winsome tale that is cute, full of sparkling dialogue, romping sex and the combined energy of a tornado and a hurricane all wrapped into one as you watch Pearl and Rex "work it out." For paranormal romance fans, this will be a delightful read. I give this story a 4.25 out of 5 rating.