Camp H.O.W.L.

This was a great book. Lighthearted, sweet and funny. I have read many shifter stories, but Bru Baker managed to write one with a new and fresh take on the well-known tales.
Tate is a counselor at Camp H.O.W.L. to guide teenagers who are at the point of shifting. Shifting is a life-altering experience, and the teenagers need all the help they can get. He never expected to meet his moonmate. Yes, there is the mate trope, but it really is different from other shifter stories.
Adrian always believed himself human as he has never shifted. But then, at 27, he suddenly has all the symptoms of a Turn coming. He is ushered to the Camp where he has this immediate attraction towards Tate. That is the amazing thing and at the same time the difficulty in their relationship. Troubled by his past, Tate never believed in moonmates. Bondmates is one thing, but moonmates is one step too far. However, he can’t deny the chemistry between him and Adrian. Surprisingly enough there is only one sex scene in this book, but still, the sexual tension is high.
Tate and Adrian are lovely and well-developed characters. The writing is wonderful. Witty banter, sweet nothings, and some angst make this book a joy to read.
If you want to read a shifter story that is just a little bit different, then you definitely should pick this one up.

This was a very interesting take on werewolf shifters.
This was written in third person POV and alternated between Adrian and Nate's perspectives.

Adrian is a very successful businessman for his family's company. He's the only member of his family who, upon reaching 18, didn't go through his change. He believes he is, somehow, human. Nobody knows why, and he feels very much like an outsider even though his family is loving and supportive, and so takes on business trips as an excuse to get away for small periods of time.
Tate comes from a very dark and shady background. His home life was very traumatic and sheltered. His upbringing causes him a lot of hangups with relationships in his life.

The idea of a camp for teen wolves having to learn how to control their shift in order not to expose their existence to the world is a new take on the werewolf universe. I found it really interesting. There was actual plot with the romance so it was an enjoyable read.
Adrian is honestly wonderful, he's patient and super understanding. He would rather suffer alone than burden Nate.
Nate has some really great friends at the camp, they provide the essential butt kicking for him to get out of his comfort zone and into the real world to live his life instead of watching it go by.

This was a really good read and I would recommend it :)
Happy reading!

Adrian is having a real "shift" in his life and it's years too late. Tate is a bit conflicted by his own reactions to meeting Adrian. While these two men come from very different places and backgrounds both need to overcome issues from their past to build a strong future.

I continue to be super excited about Dreamspinner Press’s latest house line ‘Dreamspun Beyond’ which are stories of a paranormal bent in the old-school Harlequin and Silhouette models. The description for ‘Camp H.O.W.L.’ pulled me right in - I loved the idea of werewolves going to camp to learn to control their shifts to prevent accidentally outing themselves to humans - and since Bru Baker is a new-to-me author I was more than ready to jump into the worldbuilding.

In this world, wolflings turn the first time on the full moon following their nineteenth birthday. All of them do. Always. Except Adrian. He didn’t shift when he was supposed to and after consulting four doctors it was determined to be some kind of quirk of his genetics. So, in essence, Adrian is human, regardless that his mother is alpha of the Pacific Northwest’s werewolves and head of the West Coast Werewolf Tribunal. All of his siblings shift, it’s just Adrian who is different, and he carries that weight on his shoulders every single day. So, imagine Adrian’s surprise when the day after his twenty-seventh birthday, while he’s in Indianapolis on business, out of the blue he begins the Turn, or a werewolf second puberty, which prepares their body to shift for the first time. Luckily for him, Camp H.O.W.L. is close enough that they can send two counselors to get him before his first full shift occurs.

Tate has been a counselor at the camp for almost ten years and is a packless wolf, a relatively rare occurrence in their world, but once I knew everything he had endured at his old pack with his father as alpha, I could certainly understand why he chose to break ties with them. It also explains his fear of commitment and roots, plus the many issues he keeps hidden away. Tate and Adrian are attracted to one another immediately, and Adrian forms a bondmate relationship with Tate. A bondmate usually occurs between two campers and more often than not, is a friendship versus a sexual relationship, although those are not discouraged. It is a way for each wolfling to feel safe and secure with another during their full moon shifts.

“You can talk about rules and distance all you want, but the fact of the matter is you two share a deeper connection than a simple Turn bond can account for. For your bond to be this intense without consummation….” She trailed off and offered him a small, apologetic smile. “It’s something out of a fairy tale.”

I was absolutely gobsmacked by the fabulous - and completely realistic - way the author wrote, not only the entire story, but specifically the burgeoning romance between Tate and Adrian. There was obvious insta-attraction on both sides and their Turn bond certainly was stronger and had all of the obvious hallmarks of a moonmate, but they didn’t jump straight into sex. Tate has a number of issues from childhood and having a relationship, of any kind, but particularly one this strong, is terrifying for him. He and Adrian are so very different in many ways. Adrian had a happy, loving, wonderful childhood, and Tate’s was a horror story. Even after leaving his pack and severing his ties, there were so many things he had to learn to do, because his misogynistic alpha father believed in men’s work versus women’s work. A lot of Tate’s issues and concerns stem from learned ideologies that he continues to struggle with.

I really enjoyed the worldbuilding the author did and I was fascinated by many aspects of it. I thought the relationship was done beautifully and all of the characters were interesting and complex. Where she lost me, just a tad, was Tate’s “big reveal” of his secret about his father’s pack that was, in my opinion, not that big of a reveal. The storyline fell a little flat for me right there, although this is only my opinion. There were also some parts of the ending that didn’t ring true for me but, again, this romance is in line with the genre created by Harlequin all those years ago, so I can’t complain. Plus, in my opinion, ‘Camp H.O.W.L.’ has some of the best worldbuilding I’ve seen in quite a while. The story and the writing don’t disappoint.

NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews

Adrian is the son of a prestigious Alpha but in his mid-twenties he has never shifted. He always dreamed of being a werewolf and finding his mate but knew it wasn’t in his future.

Tate had grown up with an abusive father and didn’t believe in moonmates or any kind of true bond. He left his pack years ago without looking back. Now faced with a bond with a young man he tries his best to ignore the signs but can he?

C.A.M.P Howl is a cute sweet story about finding a mate when least expected. The characters are well done and the story keeps you engrossed to the end. It’s fun with no on-page sex but a great romance.

If your looking for a new paranormal romance with little to no sex this is a great one!