While a little slow in the middle, this book did a great job balancing horror and heart. I would have liked a bit more character and relationship development between Naughton and Delia as I didn't find myself as invested as the author intended. However, I was really impressed with the writing and plot skill. I would definitely read more from the author.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC in audiobook format.

Brian Asman's "Good Dogs" offers a delightful mix of humor, heart, and a touch of the supernatural, all brought to life by the vibrant performances of narrators Alex Picard, Erin deWard, and Joe Hempel. This audiobook is a memorable journey that explores the bond between humans and their canine companions through a uniquely whimsical lens.

This story revolves around a group of dogs who find themselves in an unusual predicament: they've become ghosts. Determined to protect their human families from a malevolent force, these spectral canines embark on a mission filled with adventure and unexpected challenges. Set in a quaint suburban neighborhood, the novel's setting adds a charming, familiar backdrop to the extraordinary events that unfold.

The narration is a stellar feature of this audiobook. Alex Picard, Erin deWard, and Joe Hempel each bring their distinct styles to the characters, making the story vibrant and engaging. Picard's dynamic voice captures the playful spirit of the canine protagonists, while deWard's warmth adds depth to the emotional moments. Hempel's versatility shines through in his portrayal of various characters, keeping listeners hooked from start to finish.

"Good Dogs" explores themes of loyalty, bravery, and the unbreakable bond between pets and their owners. Asman's writing is infused with wit and charm, creating a narrative that is both entertaining and touching. The dialogue is snappy and humorous, with plenty of moments that will make listeners smile and even laugh out loud. The blend of lightheartedness and suspense is well-balanced, making the story accessible and enjoyable for a wide audience.

"Good Dogs" is an audiobook that will resonate with pet lovers and fans of whimsical adventures alike. The combination of Asman's engaging storytelling and the exceptional narration by Picard, deWard, and Hempel makes for an immersive listening experience.

Whether you're looking for a feel-good story or a unique take on the supernatural, this audiobook is a delightful choice.

I really enjoyed this book. The narration of the audiobook was fantastic as well. The perspective was a refreshing take on werewolf lore, and the ending kept me guessing who would or wouldn't survive. After finishing the audiobook I picked up a hard copy so I can loan it to friends!

Good Dogs now definitely ranks among Those Across the River by Christopher Beuhlman in terms of excellent wolf content! Asman balances an emotional cast of characters perfectly with the intrigue of the story. The sharp and tight writing of the scenes of violence and gore make them so effective. Brian Asman is definitely an auto-buy author for me at this point, and I can’t wait to see what comes next!!

This is a step up in every way from Man, Fuck This House (still a very fun book). Interesting take on a werewolf mythology, good characters, and a cool secondary monster. Narrators were great!

Thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone for an audiobook review copy.

A wonderfully different werewolf novel that focuses on the need for pack and family. The main character, Delia, has somehow become the alpha she-wolf of her pack. Six lost souls have found each other and are trying to carve out a way to survive, spurned by their families, hiding their secrets, struggling to control their violent needs as they turn into beasts every month.

But when a shocking mistake is made one night, they are forced to flee their safe haven and seek out an abandoned mining town far from their nearest neighbors. They soon learn they are not the top predator in the desert.

Asman creates compelling characters, builds sensibly on the werewolf mythology and takes the reader on a harrowing, bloody and frantic ride. I read this book quickly and could not wait for my next opportunity to read it, going back and forth between my hard copy and the audiobook.

The narrators were on point. Erin deWard captures the characters frustration and despair so well that I was gasping.

It's extremely difficult to read a book about werewolves without comparing it to others. This story lagged a bit throughout until things got really violent toward the end. The author did a great job of making each and every character sympathetic and interesting. There was a bit of humor sprinkled throughout, to my surprise, and it adds to my curiosity about what dogs are communicating. A coworker kept asking as I read it if I considered it horror, and if not, what? I kept saying the beginning was dark and disturbing, but for a long time after that it was about found family and humanity. And the end clinched it as horror. So if you like violence and tension, but not much in the way of scary or haunting, this might be a good fit. It's an interesting interesting interpretation of this particular folklore, but it would have been more interesting to me if the werewolves were less human and less compelled to hide all their werewolvishness.

This is a rather grim take on werewolf lore, with a lot of all-to-real elements thrown in. Part of me enjoyed the revisions, even though they were harsh, bleak, and even nasty. Another part felt disengaged. I can't quite pinpoint why. The audio narration was excellent, but I found my mind drifting ... I'd hazard this one's for general horror fans and those who've outgrown Twilight.

Author: Brian Asman
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Originally published: October 1, 2024
Narrator(s): Alex Picard (Narrator), Erin DeWard (Narrator), Joe Hempel (Narrator)
Audio listening length: 9 hrs. 6 min.
Reviewed by Michael Juvinall

Wolves by nature are not solitary creatures, they run in packs. Werewolves can be the same way. Delia is the unofficial den mother to a pack of werewolves in San Diego. This pack of wolves has had trauma early on in life that involves their secret. A secret they must keep from humans is the fact that several times a year, they are confronted with the change from sundown to sunrise. They are not evil by nature, but during the nights of the change, they become animals, and animals have a certain temperament. They hunt, they kill, they eat.

A group of werewolves have found their way over time to live together as a family, a pack. This family group is the only ones who can understand the cost of being werewolves in modern society. This family of six, Hirsch, Delia, Naughton, Linnae, Joey, and Emily (Baby Girl) have made an existence for themselves where they can hunt on the nights of the change without hurting humans, and has been good for each of them. But eventually, accidents happen.

When they awaken one morning after the change, they find a human leg in their yard. This can threaten their very existence and safety. This leads the pack to leave town, their home abandoned. The group heads to a Western ghost town in the middle of nowhere that Hirsch has purchased for just such a contingency. Here, the pack can run free and be true to their nature on nights of the change without hurting anyone.

In the ghost town of Talbot, Delia and her pack run into a problem, they are not the apex predators anymore. Here, there is something living that is evil and more bloodthirsty than the werewolves could even imagine.

Good Dogs is a delightful book. It is not what I was expecting. When reading a book about werewolves, one expects said werewolves to be the evil or bad guys of the story, not so here. Good Dogs is a werewolf tale where the werewolves are not the villains of the story, hence the title of the book.

Author Brian Asman has good character development for this book. As a reader, you end up caring for each character in the novel. There is no throwaway character in this book. There are some heart-wrenching moments here that you will not expect, that serve to elevate the story to something other than mere horror.

On the downside, I really am a fan of werewolves and if you are expecting scenes of werewolf horror, you are not going to find it much in Good Dogs. That is not what this book is about. With that being said, it is still a great horror novel that fans will enjoy.

3 ½ Out Of 5 Pentagrams!

I found this book really boring. It took wag to long to get going especially for a horror book. There was no real suspense as it was literally all or nothing with this. The concept wasn't even new or done in a unique way. Overall this was really disappointing.

This was a good debut novel, as in it was written quite well. The characters were well rounded and the pace never let you get bored. I do have to say I didn't find it particularly scary as someone who gets scared easily, but that may be my comfort with body horror. I liked the hunting aspect and the continuity of it.

11-23 updated with TikTok link below
Good Dogs gets off to a fast start. A group of misfits found a home with an older man of their kind. They’ve learned to protect themselves and their neighbors when they change. Personality clashes and pack dynamics intensify the suspense as mistakes put them all at risk.

Asman brings a lot of originality to the werewolves. The settings and lore work well. I liked the moody, atmospheric, and kinetic feel of the tale. The story within a story added another dimension as a chilling frame. There are moving moments and great action scenes throughout the novel.

For me, some of the characters were gratingly immature, and it would have been helpful if so much character information hadn’t been withheld until late in the book.

Once the novel and characters gained greater depth, I became more invested in the outcome. The book hits a wide range of emotional notes and there’s growth, gore, shocks, and surprises. It was a gratifying experience.

Bravo to the trio of talented narrators. They dramatized Good Dogs beautifully. The excellent vocal performances raised my rating to four stars.

Recommended for non-squeamish horror readers–including people who aren't usually interested in werewolves. Good Dogs goes to unexpected places and has a strange magic to it.

Thank you, Blackstone Publishing for the ALC via NetGalley for consideration. These opinions are solely my own.

Thank you NetGalley, Blackstone Publishing and the author for this ALC in exchange for an honest review


The reading experience was fantastic and a nice entry into the lore of werewolves. The pacing was great and took time to flesh out the familial ties and understand what brings them together. 

The narrators Alex Picard, Erin deWard and Joe Hempel did a good job at making the characters feel real

I had very little expectations for this book, simply because I didn't know the author, didn't hear anything about it, and skimmed the summery. I am so glad that I did otherwise it would have been more bland, just because I tend to try to guess the ending.

The characters are believable and anyone could likely imagine someone you personally know who is similar to the main characters. I am glad this was also in multiple POVs for it helps the reader learn and understand a bit more about each characters psyche. If it wasn't like that, it would have been bland.

Plus its nice and short for anyone who doesn't want to commit to a long series.

It is a very refreshing spin on the werewolf folklore.
It has a lot of original ideas and I loved the execution. The interludes and multiple point of views give a good rhythm to the story and make the characters more interesting.

The horror and suspense are great, and mix very well with the more unexpected tale of self acceptance and found family.

I listened to the audiobook version and I really liked the narration.
I had a great time and would definitely recommend this book to any horror fan.

Thank you Blackstone Publishing!

This was an unexpected delight! Werewolves and another being go toe to toe in this amazing horror novel. I enjoyed that there were multiple POVs as well as multiple timelines (interludes) that helped to explain the history of these beings. While the history is sad, the story is truly fantastic. Present day we follow a pack of werewolves in their human forms. They are forced out of their home and into a new, remote area that is steeped in lore of an unusual being. This is a must-read for those who love horror, especially creatures and werewolves!

This book started out so strong for me and had me hooked from the get go, but I found unfortunately that it was a bit too slow for me. I started to lose interest a little bit after about the halfway point and I really had to focus to get through it.

I did finish it, but I wouldn’t say it’s one of the best books I’ve read.

It was definitely not terrible, and if you like a book about werewolves and a lot of lore revolving that, found family that kind of thing, you might enjoy this one.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read this

This book was such a fresh and exciting take on werewolves. Asman does such a great job making you care about this family of lycanthropes before breaking your heart with the events of the second half of the book. Making it more of a genetic condition that comes out around puberty, Asman’s werewolves are extremely believable and all too human. This is a dark, intense ride that I definitely recommend.

Good Dogs is definitely a heartwarmingly bittersweet story of found family and survival. There aren't enough books about werewolves and this definitely scratches that itch. It is definitely for fans of creature stories with a supernatural twist. Asman has a great take on pack dynamics throughout the book too.

Family. An amazing story. When the pack has to leave San Diego because of an incident, part of the pack stays behind to take care of some unfinished business. The rest of the pack heads to an abandoned town that was bought by a pack elder. When they arrive in Talbot, they are greeted by the only neighbor within many many miles. He warns them to go away but the group defies the his warnings. He tells them the town has been abandoned for many years and there is evil living there. The history of the area is told thru flashbacks. The backstory is woven expertly throughout the story.  This is ultimately a story about love and family and what each person does to protect the pack and survive.