Series: -
Volume: 1/1Publisher: NineStar Press
Genre/s: YA Dark Fantasy LGBT
Length: 49 000 words
Read in: English
Review copy format: epub
Rate:✮✮✮✮✬✰
Incredible and hard to believe stories about an old, crumbling house at 44 Lowre Few Lane have circulated around the city for many years. Although they were dormant for a while, they come to live again. Especially now, when the twin brothers disappeared inside the house from which some disturbing noises are heard.
Teenage Colton Ryan and his best friend Jade decide to investigate a case of the haunted house on their own. When two friends, wandering around Lowre Few Lane, meet Dylan, an exchange student on whom Colton has a crush, everything is slowly starting to gain momentum. It turns out that the young American hides a secret, as incredible as that of the old house, and its discovery will test the newly built friendship and courage of this group of teenagers.
Teenage Colton Ryan and his best friend Jade decide to investigate a case of the haunted house on their own. When two friends, wandering around Lowre Few Lane, meet Dylan, an exchange student on whom Colton has a crush, everything is slowly starting to gain momentum. It turns out that the young American hides a secret, as incredible as that of the old house, and its discovery will test the newly built friendship and courage of this group of teenagers.
At the beginning of this review, I would like to point out that "The Werewolf on Lowre Few Lane" is a novel undoubtedly written for young, teenage readers, as we see it, for instance, in case of the main characters' age, as they are from 12 to 14 years old. I think that they might be considered as one of the advantages of this book, as they are characterized by diversity worthy of our attention. Although the action of the novel takes place in Ireland among others, apart from the characters of purely Irish nationality, we will also find here an American and, most importantly, a half-Asian playing a leading role and being a narrator of this story. What's more, the group of friends presented here consists of people of different sexes, diverse talents, character traits and even intelligence levels. Moreover, the lead character is gay which in my opinion is a huge advantage. The more so that his closest friends, who know about his sexual orientation or at least guess it, fully accept him and even support him in their own way. Therefore, Bryce Bentley-Tales made sure that his characters not only are but they also represent something important.
I think it's very interesting how the author used language differences, and in one case also cultural, between characters living in Ireland and Dylan who grew up in the United States. Using the colloquial language spoken in their country, the characters sometimes need to explain the meaning of their words to one another. I admit that for me, as a person for whom English is not a mother tongue, it was very fascinating. I also had the impression that the author tried to make his characters use an age-appropriate speech. In this case, I can't judge whether he really succeeded, however, I can honestly admit that in this respect "The Werewolf on Lowre Few Lane" was an interesting reading. Furthermore, I must point out that through the language differences, Bryce Bentley-Tales in a funny and witty way emphasized the strength of friendship born between the characters. In fact, they differ from one another more than it might seem. And yet Colton and his pack are on Dylan's side even when their lives are at stake. Thus, the author presented friendship stronger than any differences.
Another unquestionable advantage of "The Werewolf on Lowre Few Lane" is the action. The author filled the novel to the brim with it and made sure that the reader would not be bored even for a moment. Interesting events occur one after the other and it seems that something fascinating happens on every single page. At this point it is worth noting that although there are no detailed, long descriptions, each of the scenes of which the action of this book consists is presented so comprehensively as to please the reader but at the same time not to break the fast pace. The only problem might be the fact that the fascinating adventure of our protagonists ends rather quickly and innocently. So we can't really expect anything big, some great dramas or difficult choices but undoubtedly reading this story is a great fun.
However, I must admit that feelings and emotions got lost somewhere in this abundance of amazing events and fast action. And here the problem arises because the truth is that the reader expects a little more from Colton especially when there is so much going on around him and most of the events have a paranormal background, which should make a bigger impression on him. Meanwhile, Colton and his friends seem to absorb everything like a sponge and accept it without asking any questions. Also in the case when people close to our characters are at risk, we do not see the reaction we expect from them. I admit, however, that it may sound a little bit worse than it is. Well, at the end being at the age of 12-14 certain facts are undoubtedly easier to acknowledge and accept.
In conclusion, I consider the story presented in "The Werewolf on Lowre Few Lane" worth young audience's attention. This book, filled with action and fantasy, undoubtedly will appeal to many teenage readers who put the adventure and diversity of characters first and for whom the romantic theme is just an addition, not the most important part of the plot.
Headcanon: Every time Dylan can't meet with Colton as punishment, they sneak out of their houses to go on a night date, during which Dylan remains in his wolf form.
Fanfiction idea: Ronan spends several days in Ireland and he falls in love with a woman he meets during this time.
AU idea: Colton, Jade and Thomas are working at the ZOO. One day a new employee is hired, Dylan - great wolves lover.
Here's some more about:
A haunted house. A portal that lies inside. Four friends must enter both to save their world.
Thirteen year-old Colton has a crush on the new foreign exchange student, Dylan, but soon discovers his new American friend is not your average kid – he’s a werewolf. Their friendship has no time to blossom when Colton and his two close friends accompany Dylan to a haunted house, where they must search inside for a portal that will take them to another world where Dylan’s aunt is captive.
Book Title: The Werewolf on Lowre Few Lane
Author: Bryce Bentley-Tales
Cover Artist: Natasha Snow
Release Date: October 29, 2018
It is a standalone book.
Blurb
A haunted house. A portal that lies inside. Four friends must enter both to save their world.
Thirteen year-old Colton has a crush on the new foreign exchange student, Dylan, but soon discovers his new American friend is not your average kid – he’s a werewolf. Their friendship has no time to blossom when Colton and his two close friends accompany Dylan to a haunted house, where they must search inside for a portal that will take them to another world where Dylan’s aunt is captive.
Excerpt
A loud clanging echoed across the yard, and we both cowered behind the stone fence post. Adjacent to the old post, a crumbling stone wall shielded us from anyone standing by the house. When I poked my head around the ledge, nothing but the motionless tall weeds could be seen in the yard and the same gloomy look the house had had before. It was dead quiet. Jade put her hands on my shoulders, her mouth next to my ear. “S-see, I told you. You believe me now? It’s haunted.” I tried to speak, but my mouth was dry. I brought my binoculars up, gripping them hard with both hands. “Probably just varmint inside,” I said.
“Aye. And maybe you and your butterfingers could be captain of the rugby team.”
“Har-har. You think the Kennedy twins really disappeared inside?”
“I told you. I saw them at the house when I was with Erin two nights ago. They said they were going inside.”
“Maybe they’re hanging out at the local pub downtown?”
“Colton, no one has seen those fellas since that night. They went inside and never came out, sure of it.”
I swiveled the binoculars around, peering at the large, arched front doorway, which had a wolf face door knocker. Jade whispered close to my ear, “You see anything?”
“Shhh, I can’t focus with your tongue in my ear.”
“My tongue isn’t in your ear,” Jade said, her voice irritated. After a few seconds, she pushed on my shoulder. “By the way, you find out the new foreign-exchange fella’s story? You didn’t take your eyes off him in class. I missed a lot while I was away.” She giggled. “You fancy him, don’t you?”
I cringed, lowered the binoculars, and spoke in a hushed voice over my shoulder. “Don’t say that out loud.”
“And who’s going to blimey hear us? Just us and the ghouls at 44 Lowre Few Lane.”
________________
Lunchtime came, and I headed to the cafeteria. I scanned the room, searching for Dylan. My heart beat fast. I didn’t see him. Nor did I see anyone I wanted to sit with, or someone, for that matter, who would want me to sit next to them. Ms. Griffin was standing close to several teachers, and I picked up bits and pieces of the gossip. You could count on Ms. Griffin for gathering the latest scandal regarding students, teachers, and anything else, and sometimes she would let things slip to students. Especially if she liked them. She was talking about Brian and the fact that he and his brother had been at that house. I assumed she meant 44 Lower Few Lane. Boys’ laughter reached my ears and I turned. On the far side of the room sat a row of rugby players. My heart plummeted to depths of glumness. Dylan was sitting with them, his back to me. Several of the boys were laughing at whatever story Dylan was telling them. I got my lunch, my head hung down, and I clomped down the hall to go outside. A few boys were forming up teams for rugby and asking for players.A round-faced boy pointed toward me and asked, “What about him?”
I froze in place. A skinny, spindly-legged boy cawed in laughter and slapped the oval-face lad on the back. “Don’t be a muppet. He’s only good at running numbers in his head.”
The two boys faced away from me and continued their search for players.
Always singled out as the smart kid. The brainy one. Tears threatened to sell, but I kept control and headed to my favorite oak tree. I had no chance of winning over Dylan.
About the Authors
Bryce was raised by his mother and father in the countryside near Wichita, Kansas and learned to become an avid reader from his mother and maternal grandfather who carries the last name of Bentley. Stephen King novels still stack his two shelves in his old bedroom at home. After graduating from his high school with a class size of 69, he completed college where he had never came out gay, then took a winding journey over his entire 20s. This took him to Indiana, then to the San Francisco Bay Area where he still did not come out but obtained a master’s degree. He traveled to Bangkok, Thailand during his late 20s to teach English for a year and he met his first boyfriend. Five years later, he completed his doctorate degree in psychology, which was inspired by a youth and young adulthood of feeling internally bewildered. Bryce started dabbling in writing in 2011 or in his mid-thirties. He self-published several works under his name over the last few years, but it was in 2016 he felt like he was finally getting the hang of this writing thing. The Werewolf on Lowre Few Lane is his first work under his pen name of Bryce Bentley-Tales. His next YA novel with a working title of Orion: The PreRobo Era Boy, is a work he is finishing up currently. Bryce currently lives in Dallas, Texas.
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