Title: I Wolf
Author: Matt Boyd
Genre: Supernatural, action 
Publisher: ABC Books
Publication Date: 1 June 2013 
Pages: 279
Rating: 2.5 stars

Synopsis (from goodreads):
Sixteen-year-old Romy suffers from a disease that will send him mad…and ultimately kill him. His last hope is to travel to an isolated castle in Austria, where a cure is promised. But the treatment is drastic. Romy is turned into a werewolf.

When Romy meets Antonia, beautiful, headstrong and a natural-born werewolf, he slowly starts to come to terms with life as a lycanthrope. But then a spate of grisly night-time murders are reported and wild animals are suspected. What has Romy become?

My Review:

Matt Boyd’s debut novel, I Wolf, is an exciting tale featuring one of my favourite supernatural creatures – werewolves! Romy (aka. Romulus) is a sixteen year old who has been facing a death sentence since before he could remember. He’s had a terminal illness hanging over his head and no sign of a cure… until now. Romy’s father has found a secretive, exclusive and somewhat mysterious program in Austria who might be able to save Romy. Not completely sure what the treatment entails, Romy and his family set off from Australia and travel to Europe in hopes that the program may save his sanity where everything else has failed before.

I Wolf features a fantastic breed of werewolves. The account of the shifters history and just what it means to be a wolf in this universe is strong. Romy’s feelings whilst running in his beast form was one of my favourite parts of the novel to read – it was rich with thoughts and feelings. The romance angle between Romy and Antonia felt a little off-putting and awkward – adding nothing to the overall plot as it didn’t feel natural for the characters. The secondary characters of Nat and Dimitri added a lot to the story and brought out Romy’s humanity – which I felt was a little lacking even before the treatment.

This story is a little raw in terms of emotion. I thought that Romy was an accurate narrator with regards to the werewolf lessons and action but he was a little lacking when it came to emotion and feeling. There are some rather terrible and dramatic things that happen to him after arriving in Austria but he doesn’t let the emotions rise to the surface and rather moves on with the next course of action.

I thought that the flow of this novel at a little disconcerting at times with there not being a solid direction of just what the characters were doing. But there were other times when I was there with Romy and his pack as they went on their adventures.

Overall, I found this book to be a great quick read and I loved how Matt Boyd created his particular breed of werewolves. I feel like this book would be devoured by younger readers as it lacked a little depth and emotion for me personally but I think I’d have loved this book back when I was 12 or so.

Thanks to HarperCollins and Netgalley for the digital review copy.

Purchase the novel from:

Amazon | Book Depository