How to Walk like a Man by Eli Easton

Deputy Roman Charsguard survived Afghanistan where he lost his best friend—his K-9 handler James. Roman was a military dog until two years ago when he developed the ability to shift into a human. It’s not easy to learn how to be a man. He found a place to live in Mad Creek, a haven for the secret world of dog shifters. Finding a reason to live has been harder. That is, until a certain human walks into the Mad Creek Sheriff’s office and starts making trouble.

Matt Barclay has the worst luck. First he was shot in a SWAT drug raid, then he was sent as DEA investigator to Mad Creek, a little town in the California mountains. Matt’s job is to keep a lookout for illegal drug farms, but nobody in the town wants him there. And then there’s Roman, Matt’s erstwhile baby-sitter. He’s the hottest guy Matt’s ever seen, even if he is a bit peculiar. If the town doesn’t kill him, sexual frustration just might.

The town is counting on Roman to prevent Matt from learning about dog shifters, Matt’s counting on Roman to be his work partner and tell him the truth, and Roman’s trying to navigate love, sex, and a whole lot of messy human emotions. Who knew it was so complicated to walk like a man?

Book 2
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~  Also Available with KindleUnlimited  ~

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Sarah – ☆☆☆
If the first book in this series didn’t sit easily with me, this second story actually made me squirm. Roman, our protagonist, has only been human for the past two years. Prior to being quickened, he was a decorated military K9 dog. This book starts with Roman only starting to develop human qualities like humour and a sex drive. As much as Roman is strong, brave, and handsome, it was impossible for me to separate the newly formed man from the German shepherd and more impossible for me to invest in a romance between the man/dog and Matt, a newly arrived DEA agent.

The dog/man thing made it really difficult for me to engage fully with Roman. He admittedly is gradually gaining human skills and abilities but the character we meet feels very robotic and quite childlike. His complete naivety about sex, especially when combined with a vocabulary that includes the idea of ‘mounting’ or ‘being mounted’ made for scenes that I found a little bit off-putting. The story might have worked a bit better if Matt were the main narrative voice but most of the story is told from Roman’s perspective.

The action element of this book is more exciting than the first one and I enjoyed the haphazardous way the Mad Creek townsfolk attempt to welcome Matt while keeping their shifter secrets. Like the first book, this story feels more simply drawn than some of the author’s recent work and the characters remain sketches and caricatures rather than fully fleshed people. The action is entertaining but sillier than the DEA/drug lord plot suggests.

There are a few too many unfinished plot strands in this story. I want to know what happens with Matt and his dad and I want to know how Roman makes peace with Matt’s dad. And I want to know about Luci, her family and her future.

Also Available in the Howl at the Moon Series

Book 1
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
~  Available with KindleUnlimited  ~

For reviews & more info, check out our How to Howl at the Moon post.

Having been, at various times and under different names, a minister’s daughter, a computer programmer, a game designer, the author of paranormal mysteries, a fan fiction writer, and organic farmer, Eli has been a m/m romance author since 2013. She has over 30 books published.

Eli has loved romance since her teens and she particularly admires writers who can combine literary merit, genuine humor, melting hotness, and eye-dabbing sweetness into one story. She promises to strive to achieve most of that most of the time. She currently lives on a farm in Pennsylvania with her husband, bulldogs, cows, a cat, and lots of groundhogs.

In romance, Eli is best known for her Christmas stories because she’s a total Christmas sap. These include Blame it on the Mistletoe, Unwrapping Hank and Merry Christmas, Mr. Miggles. Her Howl at the Moon series of paranormal romances featuring the town of Mad Creek and its dog shifters has been popular with readers. And her series of Amish-themed romances, Men of Lancaster County, has won genre awards.

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ARC Provided by

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of How to Walk like a Man (Howl at the Moon #2) by Eli Easton to read and review.