First person narrative is tricky for an author to pull off, in my opinion. I typically prefer more than one point of view in a story; however, there are times when first person works well to convey the depth of emotion a character is feeling. But if the main character from whose point of view the story is told isn’t particularly likeable? Then the story is just painful to read.

The book opens with psychotherapist Kelsey Morningstone evaluating the Dante Clinic’s newest patient, a naked man who believes he is a werewolf. Damian has a case of amnesia after being rescued from a research laboratory where he was being held captive for scientific experimentation. The clinic’s owner Jarred Dante has brought Damian to the clinic for personal reasons. Damian is convinced Kelsey is his mate and so he bites her to stake his claim. This has the side “benefit” of infecting her with the lycanthropy virus. For reasons that were unclear to me, Jarred doesn’t want Kelsey to become a werewolf so he injects her with a serum to prevent the change for 30 days. At the end of that time, though, it is uncertain if Kelsey will survive the change.

Kelsey hatches a plan to spring Damian from the institution. While enacting this plan she encounters Damian’s brethren, who have plotted an abduction attempt. They free Damian and take Kelsey as well to the town of Broken Heart, Oklahoma, where Kelsey is forced to admit what she has been denying since meeting Damian: Werewolves are real. And she is indeed his mate.

Kelsey has more issues than a year’s worth of People magazine. Her mother is a world renowned psychotherapist and one of the most emotionally abusive characters I’ve encountered in a romance. Her treatment of Kelsey is nausea-inducing and I kept wondering why no one called her out on her abhorrent behavior. This is explained later in the story, but that made it no less distasteful to read about. These two characters are supposed to be mental health professionals, but neither one acts like it. It felt uncomfortably like the author was mocking psychology and those individuals who seek therapy.

The novel seems to strive for a humorous tone, but for me much of the humor fell flat. Kelsey comes across as emotionally stunted, which I didn’t find funny. Instead, I found it pathetic. Here is a sample of conversation between her and Damien:

”What is that barf you’re drinking?” He choked. It took him a full thirty seconds to get his breath back. “It’s not barf!” “Smells like it.” “It’s the werewolf version of an energy drink. It’s good.” “If by good, you mean barf. “Stop saying barf!”

Maybe someone somewhere finds this uproariously funny. I found it cringe-worthy.

The focus of the novel is on the relationship between Damien and Kelsey. Though I felt like Kelsey had the emotional maturity of a twelve-year-old, Damien reveres her. With apologies to LL Cool J, they spend a good portion of the book “doin’ it and doin’ it and doin’ it well.” I did like Damien quite a bit more than Kelsey. He is patient with her and helps her overcome much of the trauma caused by her mother.

In spite of how it sounds, I do like light and funny paranormals. This one just didn’t tickle my funny bone or make me want to dive into this world again. Though this is part of a series it works as a stand-alone and the romance ends with an HEA. Damien is one of a set of triplets, so I’m sure there will be future stories about his wolfy brothers. I won’t be sticking around to read them, though.