Customer Reviews

Naked Brunch: A howlingly funny novel of love run wild

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I finished reading "NAKED BRUNCH" a few days ago, and enjoyed the way the author tied in the stories of the main characters (e.g., Annie Engel, Jim, Dr. Marco, Sam), thus making for a harmonious whole. It's a refreshing morality tale and provides an interesting departure from the usual werewolf fare. Annie Engel, both as a woman and as a werewolf, has a big heart and soul. She is representative of those of us who are sickened by the rich and powerful, who, time and again, place profit and personal gain over the best interests of humanity. Consequently, we feel frustrated by our relative powerlessness as individuals to do anything to stop the amoral robber barons and 'merchants of death' in today's world. At least, when Annie becomes a Wolf, she can sniff out these amoral powerbrokers and hunt them down. She's a righteous Wolf!

WHEN WILL THERE BE A SEQUEL???

Mz. Hayter writes well! Her 'Robin Hudson' books are amazing good fun! "Tart Noir" at it's best!

This "Naked Brunch" is a whole new animal! This book is gonna be a socio-political classic! It sincerely puts her into the Vonnegut, Orwell, Oates realm of literature! A view of our current political world through the eyes of folks who can't help ripping out the throats of those who would destroy in the name of profit! Not only is this book hilarious, horrific and deeply thought provoking, it's intelligently sexy! Leave out those oddball "Anne Rice meets Kafka meets Dorothy Parker" comparisons, and just accept that Sparkle Hayter is the best damn writer this world has going! HA! How's THAT?

I picked up this novel, a departure from the Robin Hudson series, and wanted to love it. 20 pages in, I decided that Hayter had failed me terribly and tossed the book aside. Months passed and without a new Hudson book to appease me, I again picked up Naked Brunch. Still hated it. I read and re-read the reviews here at Amazon time and again and thought about how everyone must be reading some chapters that were left out of my copy. How could these people love this book so much? The one negative review I read still failed to execute the horrible justice that I felt Naked Brunch deserved.

Again months passed and STILL no new Hudson novel. So, on the third try I discovered something. I hadnt seperated myself from the series that I felt so protective of. Hayter had betrayed Robin Hudson and this new Annie Engle person was weak and pathetic, werewolves are a ridiculous choice of topic, and who did this Dear Tweets person think he was?

On that third try, and almost a year after reading anything about Robin Hudson, Tomayo, Mrs. R and the gang, I realized that Hayter had actually written a beautiful book and I had wasted months bashing it because I was expecting someone else to be in its pages. I wonder now if I should seek therapy for my charachter attatchments, but first, this:

This is not a Robin Hudson book and it doesnt pretend to be. Theres no need to re-tell the plot as several have already done so. What you should know is the book is quick paced, funny, but not in a hilarious way, and not chick-litesque at all. The charachters are brilliant and stick with you long after the book ends and all have a fascinating story to tell.

The truth is I want to live in Hayters world. As with the Hudson books, Sparkle Hayter makes our city a more magical place. And while reading her, and for a long time after, you notice things differently, and wonder if the guy next to you on the bus could be smuggling a dangerous chemical agent in that brown bagged bottle or may even be a werewolf.

I'm almost done with my Sparkle Hayter read-a-thon... This one is Naked Brunch. This is not one of her Robin Hudson stories, and despite the back cover description is more serious than her other stuff. You'd think you're about to read a zany story of love and werewolves, but the zany part was pretty subdued. But don't get me wrong. I actually really liked it.

A legal secretary finds out she has Lycanthropic Metamorphic Disorder (LMT) when she morphs into a wolf and kills someone during a full moon. She's not really sure it all happened until the same thing happens the following month, and she finds another wolf in the same condition. Meanwhile, the city is in turmoil over the "Mad Dog" killings, and a private clinic (run by someone who also has LMT) tries to find her and bring her under control. A power struggle arises between the head of the clinic and the other wolf, who had been a clinic patient but faked a suicide when he was accused of killing another female wolf while staying there. Since the doctor can't assure himself that he can bring the situation under control, he decides to kill both of them.

Playing out at the same time is a secondary plot of a newscaster who is about to be fired as he doesn't have a clue as to how to report, but he picks up this story and starts to run with it. His wife, another media personality, is cheating on him and is outed in a gossip column, but he's oblivious to all the talk. The news station wants to keep him that way so that he can follow the story, and steps are taken to make sure that whole "affair" is controlled so that he isn't hurt in the process.

While the cluelessness of the reporter and the gossip column material is funny, the core story of the wolves is pretty serious and involves a lot of death and destruction (although the people who get killed deserve it). The basic plot could be really good Dean Koontz material. Definitely a different style of story for Hayter, but one I really liked.

I admit I was disappointed at first that this wasn't a Robin Hudson novel, but once I got into the story and the characters, I couldn't stop reading. I love the way Hayter followed the characters' stories and tied them together in the end. A great read for the beach or that long plane trip!

I've read several Sparkle Hayter books, and this one must mark a new turn in her career. It is so unique and beautifully written, with charm and wit. I liked her Robin Hudson books just fine, but I loved this book. I've never read anything like it! Werewolves: A Love Story. Buy this book!!!!!

This is the first book by Sparkle Hayter that i've read.

The heroine of the novel, Annie, is a milquetoast legal secretary who turns into a werewolf during the full moon. She has a special instinct, and only kills those people with a stinking soul. Her story develops alongside the psychiatrist-werewolf who is bent into controlling all those with lycanthropic disorder, a washed-up news anchor who breaks the story, his awful wife, plus an array of picturesque characters. As there were so many, pages and pages will go without a mention of them. For example, Sam, the news anchor, is absent from a good portion of the center pages, and he is a crucial figure. The same thing happened with other minor characters, like Razz, Liz, Henry, etc.

I did not understand the title pun, as this doesn't really have much to do with Naked Lunch. The novel was entertaining, easy to read, not very profound despite the good moral message. Still, a good book to read right before going to bed.

Annie Engel works as a secretary in a large multi-national corporation. She's a nice girl. Recently she's been waking up naked, with strange dreams and wierd stains. There are stories of men having their throats ripped out and she's possibly the cause.

When she finds other werewolves and a possible solution she tries to work out what's best for her and for people around her. Is it wrong or right to thin the herd of the evildoers?

Nice, entertaining read with a creative plot. I wouldn't call it "howlingly funny" but it was cute. Great for chapter reading when relaxing before bedtime or on the beach. Easy to put down and easy to pick back up.

I've done the whole "Bitten" route. Read all of Laurel K. Hamilton's stuff. This book definitely is a better read. Hayter takes the familiar werewolve plot line and makes it both fun and interesting.

I'd also recommend her other works as well.