review 1: I enjoy this author's voice so it's a pleasant read but I felt like I would have liked a bit more detail about some things. Not sure there will be sequels in this world or not but just some more info about Finn's family and the place where this nephew was held captive and if werewolves shunned gay people, then why was one of the most highest ranked werewolves in the world in a gay relationship? No one seemed to mind that. So that threw me off a bit, also if they needed the lockets to maintain their human mind, when it was removed they still were aware. Despite those I still enjoyed the read. Cas was adorable. review 2: I discovered Missy Welsh about a year ago when I read My Summer of Wes, which was wonderful. Whenever I’m impressed by a book, I will try to f... moreind out a little bit more about the author and check out their backlist. I noticed right away that Ms. Welsh is originally from Ohio and some of her books are based here. I live in Ohio so it jumped out at me, and she has been on my radar ever since. I was excited to see her name come up on the list of new releases, but I was even more intrigued when I saw Isherwood was a paranormal romance.Cas is a lone wolf. He was kicked out of his home pack for being gay. The loss of his pack hit him hard and he has been wandering about in search of a place he feels at home. After being run out of another pack’s territory, he stumbles into the town of Isherwood. Unbeknownst to Cas, a strange force inhabits Isherwood which forces all werewolves to shift against their will. Cas is confused, stuck in his wolf form, and in unfamiliar territory when he is struck by a vehicle.Finn is a born and raised resident of Isherwood. He comes upon what he thinks is an injured dog. He feels an instant connection with the hurt animal and takes it upon himself to rescue the poor creature. Cas, in his wolf form, also feels that connection. He knows it means Finn is his mate, but he’s still stuck in his wolf form. Cas has a big dilemma. He needs to find a way to shift back to human, concoct a way to meet Finn as a human, and then gently break the news of his being a werewolf.I’m feeling torn in two directions as I try to write a review for Isherwood. There were some things I really enjoyed, and some things I didn’t care for in this story. I enjoyed the romance between Cas and Finn. They were nicely developed characters on their own, and they had good chemistry together. I didn’t like the insta-love when they met in human form or how they jumped from introduction to lip-lock in less than a minute.The mystery of the dark force in Isherwood was interesting. The dynamics of the packs surrounding the town of Isherwood were also enjoyable. I loved seeing Cas find a welcoming pack after the hostile treatment he endured from other packs he encountered. I didn’t like how much was crammed into the plot. There is the mystery of the dark force, the romance of Cas and Finn, the past trauma of Finn’s nephew, the complicated inter-pack relations, and then a secondary romance. I think this book would have been better served by eliminating some of it, and/or putting the rest of it into a sequel. Having so many different layers disrupted the pace of the story. It felt mashed together and choppy at times.I did enjoy reading Isherwood even though I had some issues with it. How much did I enjoy it? While I liked this book, I doubt I would be reading a sequel if one was to be written. less
