Book Description:
Welcome to a new reality. Shapeshifters live among us. The Sazi are wolves and bears, snakes, raptors and cats. With each full moon, their bodies sprout fur, or scales or even feathers. They are all races, all countries, all cultures, but are forced to hide from the human population - hide in plain sight. If anyone had proof of their existence, they would be captured for testing, or slaughtered en masse. Tony, a hitman for the Mafia, was brutally attacked during a hit gone wrong. He woke up furry, and now, with every full moon, he changes into a wolf. Months later, Tony has a bad feeling that the wolf-senses are encroaching on his human life. This is confirmed when he meets a new client, Sue, and feels an immediate attraction to her. But there's a bigger problem - she wants to hire him to kill her. As he's drawn further into her life and her problems, the wolf inside of him clamors to be let out - and he realizes he's not the only one around whose life is ruled by the moon ... But Tony and Sue's enemies aren't only those in the mob and aren't just furry. Sue's family has their own agenda, and Tony is definitely in the way. Come explore the complex world of Tony Giodone. Meet Mafia Boss Carmine Leone, and his lovely wife, Linda. Play poker with Joey the Snake, and run from a rival hit man, as well as the homicide detective who is obsessed with arresting Tony. Engulf your senses in a supernatural world where emotions are visible in the air like faded watercolors, and the scent of fear makes your stomach growl.

This is going to be a bookring

Participants:

Rianonne--->Austria/Europe
CheriePie--->USA/Int
BooksnBeer-->USA/Int
Luintaurien-->USA/Int
CandyDarling-->Finland/Int
C-A-M-->Australia/Australia
amberC-->Australia/Int

Good book but it definitely left me wanting to know more. Series.....they leave you hanging.

I am just waiting to hear from Rianonne to be sure she still wants the book.

Edit July 20: Sent by air July 18

Arrived safe and sound in Vienna yesterday!

I have a lot of Rings infront of this one but will do my best to read it as soon as possible.

A Werewolf in the Family - that is a nice idea :) The characters are all very realistic - confident, smart Tony and insecure Sue to her percocet popping, vodka drinking, scheming mother.

It was a good start for a series. But now I definitely want to know more about the Sazi and their world - it's a unique perspective at the organisation of the shapeshifter society!!
Hopefully NeedSun has the sequel handy ????!!!

This arrived today. Why does it seem like all my rings always come in at once. And here I just had a message about the first 4 books of the Dark Hunter series ready for me too. I assume since those 4 are coming together, they can be read over several months, or at least, don't have to be sent on together, but I'll deal with that separately in that thread when I get them to see what's what. That said, it might be a couple weeks at least before I'm able to start on this one. Thanks!

What a great start to what looks to be a wonderful series. Going in, I wasn't sure how I'd feel about the amount of romance in this book; it seemed as if it'd be a major part of the story line, which it is, however NOT at the expense of the rest of the story. I was really drawn into Tony's world. He was made into a werewolf a year ago and not having a pack or mentor to tutor him in the ways, has just been learning as he goes.

Tony is a hit man for the Family, another name for the Mafia in his world. And then he meets his new client Sue and the attraction between them just sizzles, literally. Sue wants to hire Tony to kill her, and Sue's family is making her life a living hell. In the meantime, Tony has vowed decided to become Sue's protector and bodyguard, to keep her safe in addition to the danger he always finds him in.

The only minor complaint I might have is that there were often a lot of new names introduced, like others in the Family for instance, whom I promptly forgot any details about. And then when they were brought up again later in the story, I'd already forgotten who they were or any significant details about them. This was one of those books where maybe I could've used a post-it on the inside back cover to keep track of the page numbers on which new characters are introduced and/or described. (I've done this frequently in other books, especially series ones from my PC.)

The story is definitely not short on action and it's only towards the end that Tony actually discovers he's part of a much larger race known as the Sazi, which includes shapeshifters of all kinds! This sets things up for what promises to be an interesting series, one I'm quite looking forward to.

This is reserved for BooksnBeer, whom I messaged the other day but haven't yet heard back from. I'll message her again in a few more days to make sure she got my last request. And will keep this entry updated with the status on where it heads to next.

UPDATE 15-NOV-2006: Shipped to BooksnBeer on 16-Nov-2006 via Media Mail.

Received this in today's mail. You know the old saying - When it rains it pours. I have three other bookrings in front of this one. But, I am a fast reader and will read this as soon as possible.

Sorry - I feel behind in my journaling. I have already read this book and sent it on to the next person in the list. I finished this and mailed it 12/20/06.

A O.K read. A little dark and the Author didn't make it easy for me to like the main character. But, that was probably on purpose. I didn't really like the female character either. But, I will reserve judgment and look for another book in this series. I think the writting will probably get better with later books, after she decides how and where this is going, and I really look forward to how she develops the Sazi.

Got it today. Thank you. Will read and pass on ASAP.

Sending on when I get the address