Reviewed for MonsterLibrarian.com

Silver Kiss by Naomi Clark
Queered Fiction, 2010
ISBN: 978-1920441128
Available: New, print and digital

Some books wrap themselves up in the tropes of a genre like a comfortable blanket, and others seem to transcend genre and theme with their very nature. Silver Kiss is one of these. Labeled an “urban werewolf novel”, it’s the tale of Ayla, a werewolf, and Shannon, a human, trying to make a new life together as part of Ayla’s Pack and family while they deal with the recent murder of Ayla’s cousin Adam (which drew her back to the Pack in the first place) which may not be an isolated event. There’s also a new street drug that’s highly addictive to werewolves and triggers their animal instincts, making them rage-filled animals ready to fight. Sure enough, Shannon and Ayla get dragged in (and blackmailed), ending up way over their heads.
Silver Kiss is not an urban fantasy or paranormal romance. It is a werewolf mystery, with a strong overlying theme of community and family acceptance and how it relates to humans, werewolves, and lesbians. Ayla is a high-strung character whose nervous energy infects a book that otherwise has very much normalized the concept of werewolves and werewolf culture. Her emotionality does, at times, distract from the main plot, possibly the book’s only flaw, and her independent streak leads her to distrust the people around her, even family and friends.

Clark has created an interesting balance between the paranormal elements and the struggle for normalcy in what’s considered deviancy even in our supposedly modern and accepting culture. Highly recommended for library collections, with a good mystery and moments of surprising depth, Silver Kiss is the sort of stand out, inclusive fiction that more collections should have on their shelves.
Contains: sex, violence, cursing