The Howling Heart by April Bostic
Publication date: August 8th 2013
Genres: Adult, Paranormal Romance
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SYNOPSISPaige Donovan is an ambitious college graduate who aspires to reach the top of the corporate ladder. She’s climbing fast when given the promotion of a lifetime at a prestigious fashion magazine in New York City. Her bright future comes to an unexpected halt after news of her father’s death. She inherits his old cabin in the Colorado Rockies, and just when she thinks her luck couldn’t get any worse, she has a car accident in the mountains and awakens in the small, remote community of Black River.Soon, she’s engulfed in the mystical world of Varulv—wolves descended from 13th century Scandinavia and blessed by Norse gods with the ability to appear human. Paige is desperate to return home, but never expects to fall for her rescuer, Riley Gray, a charming young werewolf from England who offers her an alternate future with his pack.
Now, she must choose between the career she’s always wanted and the love she’s always dreamed.
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Book Review ~ ‘The Howling Heart’ by April Bostic ~ 4 Stars!
I’m ashamed to say I’m always a little sceptical when entering the fictional world of werewolves. Maybe it’s my disdain for Jacob Black in Twilight and everything he represents, or maybe I just don’t find them realistic enough. Nevertheless, I figured it was past time I experimented a little and gave reading a werewolf romance a go.
I loved ‘The Howling Heart’ and knew from the word go that this would be a very different kind of werewolf story. I loved Paige from the start, loving the independent life she had made for herself, despite the glimpses we saw of her slightly dysfunctional childhood in the prologue. I loved the devotion she had to her job and how willing she was to make her own way in the world, not being afraid of the hard work she’d have to do to get there.
The death of her father was heartbreaking, and as we saw a little of his character in the prologue, it made his death all that more poignant for the reader. His death was handled brilliantly, and I understood Paige’s need to go to her father’s cabin despite her mother’s disapproval. The way her mother was scornful of Paige’s inheritance was almost humourous yet April Bostic beautifully contrasted this side of Paige’s mother with the fear and bad memories that were associated with their last holiday at the cabin. The prologue in which this was all shown was hauntingly written.
I adored the way that werewolves were explained in this novel. It have their abilities to shift into wolf forms a more realistic explanation, particularly when it was explained that they were born as wolves, and not as humans, meaning that their genetic makeup is actually that of a wolf but whom had been blessed with the ability to shift into human form. It was a brilliant twist on the traditional humans-become-wolves storyline, and I was intrigued with the idea of genetics being key in the werewolves evolution.
Paige and Riley’s relationship was beautifully written and paced brilliantly, especially when Paige is sceptical at starting a serious relationship, making constant reminders that she has a life she will have to return to. Her independence really inspired me and made me admire her all the more.
The only reason that this book didn’t quite reach five stars for me was Paige’s reluctant agreement to one day have sex with Riley when he is in wolf form. I felt really quite cheesed off with Riley at this point and felt like screaming at him that she was human and had made a ridiculous number of sacrifices to be with him, and it was about time he made some sacrifices too. The thought put me off a little, and made mewhich is why I gave it 4 rather than 5 stars, but I do commend the author for raising this issue, especially in the context of the types of werew0lves this story dealt with.
The action scenes were paced perfectly, and had me on tenterhooks throughout. I wanted to hit the other members of the pack, who wouldn’t even consider changing their ways every so slightly to accomodate Paige. I really felt for her as she was doing everything she was so that Riley would be happy, even if it meant she herself was not as happy.
Overall this was a fantastic, exciting read and I look forward to seeing more from this author.
4 Stars!
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April Bostic
April Bostic is a New Jersey-based, Adult Romance author who enjoys unleashing her creativity and letting her imagination run wild. Her love of romance books inspired her to become not just a reader, but also a writer. In December 2008, she self-published her first novel, a contemporary romance with a supernatural twist entitled “A Rose to the Fallen”.Her first short story, “Right Here, Right Now”, released in January 2012, is an erotic romance with a dash of S&M. The following year, she released two more short stories: a romantic urban fantasy inspired by the Greek myth of Eros and Psyche entitled “Eros, My Love”, and a sexy romantic comedy entitled “Love Addiction”.
After five years, she released her second novel, “The Howling Heart” in August 2013, a paranormal romance that delves into the mystical world of werewolves and Norse gods. To end her busiest year in publishing, April will release her fourth short story in December 2013, a historical paranormal romance entitled “A Dark Scandal”.
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OldVictorianQuill 
Thanks for reviewing my book. I’m glad you enjoyed it.