Wolf Tales...may contain spoilers

In the current At the Back Fence column, there's a small segment from me on how confused I am as to the labeling of books these days. This is a topic of significance for me, which is why I've been dismayed that it doesn't seem to be a problem for anyone else...I don't think there was one single comment about it on the ATBF Message Board.  Had there been, I probably would have posted there about Kate Douglas' Wolf Tales, but since it's not something that concerns AAR's readers, I'll talk about it over here instead.

Last week Kate Douglas commented on our Potpourri Message Board about her showing in our Top Ten Erotic Romances poll; there had been some confusion as to whether or not to call Wolf Tales an e-book because although it had started out as an e-book serialization, it was also the kick-off to Kensington's Aphrodisia imprint this January.  I made some adjustments in the text, and she and I exchanged a few emails, during which she offered to send me a copy of the book.  Because I am a book whore, I gave her my snail mail address, and a couple of days later received a package from her that included Wolf Tales, the Aphrodisia anthology Sexy Beast, in which one of her novellas is included, and an adorable plush wolf.  

I love the stuffed animal, but thought the child's toy was a bit incongruous given that Douglas' books are extremely erotic.  Nonetheless, it was a very sweet thing to do, and I settled in last night to read Wolf Tales. You'll notice that although I've been doing actual "reviews" of books on this blog lately, I've not set up Wolf Tales as a "review"...that's because I honestly don't know how to review it. What I do know how to do is talk about it in terms of labeling.

There's a warning on the back of the book - I think it appears on the back of all Aphrodisia titles - that announces: "This is a REALLY HOT book. (Sexually Explicit)" The book's spine reads: Erotic Romance.  The former is most assuredly true, but I'm not sure I would have labeled this an Erotic Romance.  To me it's Erotica.  This distinction has been my trouble all along. 

I'd like to give the author props for taking something that initially icked me out and made it work in the context of the story: she actually did that a few times, to my amazement.  Those "ick" moments were these (and they may include spoilers): 

Before one of the heroines realizes what she is, she has sex with a man who is caught between humanity and wolfdom - and he looks like it, muzzle and all.  The closest I've ever come to this level of kink was in Rhyannon Byrd's A Bite of Magic, which I talked about some time ago. I was able to accept it there more easily because the hero didn't appear like that to the heroine until well into the story.

There are two "couples" in Douglas' book, and as the story develops, none of them are human; they are members of a small race of beings called Chanku, who are not werewolves as we understand them to be (it has nothing to do with the moon or biting or silver bullets), but instead can morph between human and wolf form as a result of a biological differences in their brains that is "fed" by the ingestion of a certain diet. Once this all became clear to me it was easier to deal with things, because many a wolf story features "sharing" intimacy within a wolf den, but in this instance, the polyamorous nature of the Chanku was described in great detail, and to be honest, I guess reading about male on male and female on female sex doesn't really do it for me on a sexual level.  I was, though, intrigued enough that I stayed up until the wee hours to finish the story, which says something. 

So my dilemma has less to do with the first of the two "ick" factors than it does with the second: I can't bring myself to call a book featuring polyamorous lovin' a "romance".  It's true that within this foursome there were two distinct couples, but that they shared intimacy on a regular basis took the book out of the realm of Romance and straight into the sole realm of Erotica, at least for me.

Which is why I can't review the book in a normal sense.  It didn't fail as an overall book, even if it didn't meet my Romance litmus test.  The author created characters who were true to their nature and whose relationships made sense within the context of their world.  I found some of the sex scenes erotic on a personal level, but there was too much detail for me in terms of the same sex love scenes. Which means that as Erotica the book didn't necessarily work for me either.  That said, however, this wasn't a failed reading experience by a long shot - how could it be when the characters were empathetic, the world-building consistent, and the relationships understandable within the framework of the story?

My idea of a review is to let readers know whether or not I recommend they read the book being reviewed.  In this case I can't answer that question, but I hope I've given enough of my insights into the book so that you will know if it's something that might interest you.  I've revealed absolutely none of the plot in the book, so I'll leave you with the back cover blurb:

When Alexandria's car goes off the road in a terrible blizzard, she has no idea night will bring a powerful rescuer and the start of an ecstatic sexual awakening. The moment Xandi wakes in Stefan's muscular arms, feels the heat of his body pressing against hers, she feels no fear. Instead, she allows herself to be taken by one who is more than a man, whose primal nature is never far from him. As their connection grows, and as Xandi gradually loses her sensual inhibitions, experiencing pleasures she never dreamed possible, she is drawn deeper into Stefan's mysterious world, meeting the alluring beauty, Keisha, as well as the dominant and sometimes ruthlessly commanding Anton, who can have any man or woman he wants... in any way he wishes....

TTFN, Laurie Likes Books 

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