Tyree Campbell

JoSelle Vanderhooft

Catherine Lundhoff

The full of the moon is a time of transformation for the characters in this collection of four novellas, in more ways than one. Becca discovers menopause is more than just a question of hormones. Gretchen's life, which she views with shame and horror, may not be the worst that can happen. Paulina just wanted a place to sleep, but fate has other plans. And are there really vegan werewolves? Terror and joy, love and death, fear and courage: all facets of the human, and inhuman, condition evolve when you're Bitten by Moonlight

Bitten by Moonlight

Megan Cooper

Bitten by Moonlight is a collection of werewolf novellas focusing on female protaganists. One of my favourite short story collections is Women Who Run With the Werewolves: Tales of Blood, Lust and Metamorphosis so I couldn't resist this one. Werewolf stories focus on transformation and the struggle to accept the one's more primal (less civilized?) self, which, for me, can provide interesting and often thought provoking plots. 

Overall, this is a strong collection of stories that are significantly distinctive from one another in their mythos and message so that the stories stand out from one another. I enjoyed all four on their own merits. The difficulty with short stories is that they are ... short, and the development of characters and plot have to be tight and focused. The novella gives the author a bit more space to play in and spin a more complex story. Two of the four beg for more, while the second and last story are self-contained.

Summaries of the four stories are below in the spoiler.

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Silver Moon (Catherine Lundoff) - A wonderful (and slyly humourous) twist on the werewolf tradition where the transformation to wolf is linked with menopause. It's always nice to see stories focusing on *ahem* more seasoned characters, especially as I become more seasoned myself. :) Living in Wolf's Point, Becca, a middle-aged divorcee, begins to go through The Change with some rather peculiar side effects, including a rising interest in a neighbour and a mysterious invitation to join a secret women's group in town. Becca's tranformation to wolf isn't linked to a violent attack, but a manifestation of The Change and she has her own internal changes to accept as she reconciles her own life and her acceptance of those changes. There's a bit of suspense and some wolfie justice to add to the story. The novella ends satisfactorily - no major cliffhangers, but it left me wanting more about Becca and Erin as well as the rest of Wolf's Point. I have it on good authority (the author) that this is the first part of a novel and I'm eagerly awaiting it's release.

Inside Out (Erzebet Yellowboy) - This story has the feel of a modern day fairy tale. Three sisters live in a isolated house, the eldest and youngest caring for the middle sister who is cursed. The story focuses on Gretchen, the middle sister, and her struggle to accept the wolf within. In her wolf form, she comes across an old hunting shack where another wolf/woman is held captive. Gretchen struggles for the month between the full moons to accept what she saw and determine how to rescue the wolf and accept the wolf within herself. I enjoyed the story, but it could have been pared down to a short story and still had the same impact.

Sanquali (Racheline Maltese) - This story is more traditional fantasy than urban fantasy. There's some good world-building in this one with an interesting take on how (and why) werewolves are made. The story has three women's POV - a wolf guard, a young woman of the nobility and a thief. With the combination of three POV, I felt it was a bit too disjointed for a short/novella - and the end was less resolved than any of the other stories. I'm hoping that this is the first part of a full length novel as it is something I would pick up. 

 The Dime in the Penny Well (Tyree Campbell) - A more traditional werewolf story, but one that focuses on the woman who encounters the werewolf rather than the werewolf herself. Working the late shift at a convenience store, Lybbie startles a werewolf in the dairy aisle who is devouring all the tofu. Although Lybbie isn't bitten she goes through her own internal transformation as a result of the encounter in the store and her subsequent encounter with Claire. Out of the four stories, this has the most obvious lesbian and romance content - the others give some hints or passing comments. I'm hard pressed as to whether this or Silver Moon was my favourite in the book. There's a couple of things that were a bit too pat and convenient, but I really enjoyed this author's narrative style as well as the characters. The story is self-contained, ending satisfactorily.  (hide spoiler)]

Bitten by Moonlight

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