Book Review: I Kissed a Dog by Carol Van Atta

Genre: Adult Fiction (Paranormal/Urban Fantasy Romance)
Date Published: October 20, 2012
Publisher: Charles River Press

The Blurb:

Chloe Carpenter isn't like other women. She can communicate with animals. A gift she unwrapped following one of her frequent dances with death. In her otherwise wacky life, she's finally found a semblance of sanity working at the Plum Beach Wildlife Park, where her unique talents can make life or death differences for the animals in her care. That semblance is shattered when a new veterinarian roars into the park in his spiffed up sports car and sets his golden gaze on her. If she had her way, he'd roar right back out. Problem: He's her new coworker and he's saved her life twice - in the past twenty-four hours.

Zane Marshall, Enforcer for the Pacific Pack of purebred werewolves, has a job to do - figure out who or what is mutilating the young men of Plum Beach.

With orders to find the woman who talks to animals, he accepts a position working alongside the fiery Chloe Carpenter, a female who ignites his interest far more than he ever expected. Remarkably, she's the one elusive female with potential to bring meaning and passion to his empty existence. Problem: She despises him.

Together, they're forced to unravel a mystery of supernatural proportions, a murderous mystery with eternal implications for everyone. In the process, they discover opposites really do attract. Major Problem: Zane is pledged to another woman, and she'll do anything to keep him from Chloe.

My Review:

I Kissed a Dog by Carol Van Atta is book one in the Werewolves of the West series. There is so much going on in this story that I don't even know where to begin. Mysterious murders, mysterious beings, werewolves, mutants, vampires!! Oh my! A romance full of anticipation! OH MY! I'll start with the title, which I thought was completely fitting because of Chloe's attitude from the beginning. Actually, their interactions were pretty entertaining in the beginning as a whole. Zane is hard to ignore though. He commands presence. Even when he's not in a scene, you wish he was. I enjoyed both of these characters immensely. I'll admit though, they both made me mad a time or two through with all the lies. There were many supporting characters. Some will surprise you. One thing I've noticed about some books is when you have a long list of characters, it's hard to keep them all straight. That is not the case with this book, they are introduced sporadically and in such ways that it's easy to remember who was who and why they are significant. I LOVE that animals are such a huge theme through the book, and I think it would be an amazing gift to be able to communicate with them like Chloe does. I've added animal mind reading to my list of super powers I want now. There was always something happening in I Kissed a Dog. I was thoroughly entertained from beginning to end!

I Kissed a Dog by Carol Van Atta was provided to me by the Bewitching Book Tours for review. The opinions are my own.

About the Author:
Like most authors, Carol Van Atta is no stranger to the written word. She penned a short novel at age 12 (somewhat frightening illustrations included) and had a creative writing piece published in her high school newspaper.

Devouring books from numerous genres, she developed a deep thirst for more reading materials, and could almost always be found with her nose in a book.

CAROL has contributed to several popular anthologies and devotional books, her first novel, Slaying the Shadows, a spiritual thriller, was selected as one of Christian Women Today’s Top Summer Reads 2005.

She lives in the rainy wetlands of Oregon with her terrifying teens and a small zoo of animals. She is taking an undetermined hiatus away from inspirational writing to delve into her darker side. It’s been rumored this genre-jumping occurred after Carol discovered two suspicious red marks on her neck.

As a result of this genre-jumping, she has completed, and is awaiting publication for I Kissed a Dog, Book One in the Werewolves of the West Series.

In summary: Carol is a cross genre author with a wide ranging style for a wide range of readers.

Be sure to check out my interview with Carol Van Atta!

To learn more about Carol Van Atta and her books, visit her website & blog.You can also find her on Facebook.