I recently finished American Werewolves by Emily Jane, and I have to say, it was a wild ride from start to finish. The book takes a fresh spin on the werewolf genre, blending folklore with gritty realism. Set against the backdrop of modern-day America, the story follows several characters as they grapple with their transformations, and the struggles that come with living in a world that’s both fascinated and fearful of the supernatural.

What I loved most about this book was how Jane made the werewolf myth feel both familiar and new. The characters were complex, and their emotional struggles—dealing with the monster within, societal rejection, and personal guilt—were so well explored. There was an authenticity to their experiences that made the supernatural elements feel grounded in real human emotion.

The pacing of the book kept me on edge, with plenty of twists and turns that kept me hooked. I also really appreciated the world-building—Jane has created a rich, immersive environment where the existence of werewolves is an open secret, but their place in society is still very much up for debate.

Overall, American Werewolves was a fantastic read for anyone who enjoys a good supernatural thriller with depth. Jane’s writing pulled me in, and I found myself thinking about the characters long after I finished the book. If you're a fan of werewolves, urban fantasy, or stories with complex characters and themes, this one’s definitely worth picking up.

Q: What’s scarier than a werewolf?

A: A douchey, hyper-capitalist, sexist werewolf. Even worse, a firm full of them.

Fresh off the success of Here Beside the Rising Tide and 2023's On Earth as It Is on Television, Emily Jane returns with a bloodcurdling, but strangely human, tale of lycanthropy in Fog City.

A country club hostess is brutally murdered in Golden Gate Park, supposedly by an unidentified animal. Her roommate, Natasha, now living out of her car, takes the same job, partly to make rent, partly to find out what happened. Then, the vain but earnest Shane is attacked by a wolf-like creature at a party to celebrate his new partnership at a venture capitalist firm.

But he survives, and in the days to follow, he goes through a transformation: hair on his knuckles, speed in his legs, and a taste for small woodland creatures. And it seems everyone at Barrington has the same affliction. The plan is to keep doing what they’re doing: wrecking small companies, taking home the profit, and tearing the throats out of anyone in their way. Question is: how desperate is Shane to make that buck, to hold his place in the sun…er, moon?

There’s a subplot here of werewolfery (?) going back to the 1820s, in which a runt of a kid gains those powers, getting revenge on those who’d wronged him (and even those who hadn’t). He sees that his strengths get him what he wants: money, and lots of it. A bad combination, that: power and greed. And there’s a deep connection here with that modern-day Barrington firm.

Jane seems to be carving a new (at least to me) genre here: monsters among humans. Aliens in nuclear families, killer sea creatures living with divorcees, and now werewolves hanging out with San Franciscans. But here’s the twist: the monsters are often nice.

OK, in this one, there are some baddies, ripping off limbs and eating horse guts and whatnot. And they do what bad capitalists do: ripping off businesses and eating red meat and whatnot. Six of one, half dozen, I say! But Shane makes for a good MC: he’s more concerned about what happened to his friend, a workmate who didn’t make it through the initial werewolf attack. And he can’t bring himself to hurt Natasha. That’s an Emily Jane monster for you: not human but with good human instincts.

There’s quite a bit of world-building and character development at the onset, but once we get to the plot, it’s a good one. There’s a traditional bent, the group of ragtag, mismatched heroes out to stop a gang of some serious bad guys. From midpoint on, there’s nothing but action. Dashing around town, battling werewolves…and putting on the glitter. No spoilers!

The historical subplot at first felt like a separate novel. But eventually it connects with the firm in a way that makes a lot of sense. You’ll understand a “bit” more, again just around the midpoint, and it’s very satisfying. Also, Jane pocks the story with historical notes, delineating how Americans over the years have seen or interacted with werewolves. I wasn’t sure how necessary this was until the characters started acting out those spooky references. Pretty clever.

As for gore, look at the cover. You gotta expect some blood and guts, right? Well, it’s a departure of sorts from her prior work. Here, you’ll get some gruesome death, some nasty violence. But I didn’t think it was over the top or needless. It’s just what werewolves do. So, when someone gets his spleen chomped…just go with it.

Social and economic commentary delivered so brilliantly, right alongside terror and bloodshed: that’s good fun! Jane has a talent for bringing fantasy and fear, monsters and mayhem, directly into the lives of everyday schlubs like you and me. Another great effort from a creative, imaginative mind.

Thanks to Hyperion Avenue and NetGalley for this ARC of 'American Werewolves' by Emily Jane.

What a blast!

A twin timeline comic horror novel spanning a couple of hundred years during the course of which we're introduced to the first American werewolf and witness how the werewolf presence developed throughout the country, though spoilers prevent me from going too deeply into that but suffice it to say that it leads to the murder of a young French student in San Francisco which, in turn, unleashes a backlash that brings so many others into the story.

It's really hard to go into some of the key story points without spoiling things but there are werewolves (lots of werewolves), high finance bros, misogyny, racism, the arrogance of the 1%, the tyranny of social media, the spectre of homelessness, and the difficulty of admitting who and what you are. And if that sounds like a dark and serious novel, it could be but it's laced with some wonderful humour throughout.

Emily Jane shows a really fine touch when it comes to exposing the nasty side of the real world but leavening it with that sharp and satirical humour. I'd liken it a little to some of Stephen Graham Jones' novels in that sense = maybe 'I Was a Teenage Slasher' or 'Zombie Bake-Off' - lots of darkness, violence, and commentary on the world as it is but full of humour.

Really, really enjoyable.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC. I enjoyed the story. The story had a strong plot and great characters. I didn’t expect the twists which sometimes can be predictable but this felt original and engaging.

Let me begin by saying I absolutely loved Emily Jane’s debut, On Earth As It Is On Television, and I was equally enchanted with her follow up, Here Beside The Rising Tide. It’s always invigorating to discover an artist who’s doing something new, something no one else is doing. That’s Emily Jane.
Despite having high expectations already, I was completely blown away by this one. Not only are Emily Jane’s books unlike anything I’ve ever read, but they’re also not like each other.
American Werewolves is truly awesome! A bit darker than Here Beside The Rising Tide, and darker still than On Earth As It Is On Television, but imbued with the same absurdity, humor, and flat out weirdness as its predecessors.
Following multiple characters and timelines, Emily Jane weaves a seemingly simple series of events into a complex web of intrigue that climaxes in a fashion that’s so bombastic and thrilling that I couldn’t stop reading until I’d reached the end.
Emily Jane’s language and mastery of her craft results in a narrative that is at times as poetic as it is funny and thrilling. It defies genre expectations and categorizations in a way that is delightfully refreshing. You could call it horror, but you could also call it humor. There’s an element of historical fiction, but also satire. At times its pacing is reminiscent of a thriller but it’s far more contemplative than a typical thriller. Filled with well developed, lovable characters and loathsome villains, all of whom held my attention and left me craving more. In the immortal words of Duran Duran it left me feeling “hungry like the wolf.”
I absolutely cannot wait for the next book by Emily Jane, who is now my favorite author!

This book was not for me. It was well-written up to the point I stopped, but having the main character be a social media influencer, which I abhor, was too much. Perhaps it’s a great book, but it needs a better protagonist.