A review by jassmine
How to Marry a Werewolf by Gail Carriger

2.0

It was sublimely aggravating. Like being desired by a very large mosquito.

I though the premise of this book sounded fun and [a:Talia Hibbert|17088554|Talia Hibbert|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1544037896p2/17088554.jpg] gave it five stars, so... even when I realised I already read a book [a:Gail Carriger|2891665|Gail Carriger|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1476925456p2/2891665.jpg] - [b:Etiquette & Espionage|10874177|Etiquette & Espionage (Finishing School, #1)|Gail Carriger|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1331952557l/10874177._SX50_.jpg|15789500], which I... hated honestly, I still decided to give it a try. And what can I say, me and Gail Carriger just don't suit one another.
To be completely honest, I can't pin point why I was so irritated with this book. It just didn't have the right feel to it. The historical era was kind of all over the place (I don't have evidence, it just didn't feel right!) and sure this is sort of steam-punk, but still... And I also didn't like the magical worldbuilding, it felt kind of ridiculous. In that, it reminded me [b:Others series|15711341|Written in Red (The Others, #1)|Anne Bishop|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1411439502l/15711341._SY75_.jpg|21378102] but that one is just completely ridiculous, which paradoxically makes it better, this was just... I wasn't feeling it. It also has the trope of immortal/very old male love interest with young woman, which... is generally disgusting if it isn't handled well and it wasn't addressed here at all, which I consider lazy. There is also this mention of women having much slimer chance of surviving the Change, which... I also don't love, especially when it isn't explained. (Yes, I know this makes me a hypocrite since I love [b:Mercedes Thompson series|71811|Moon Called (Mercy Thompson, #1)|Patricia Briggs|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1272070347l/71811._SY75_.jpg|69530], but I don't care!)
It was funny in places, I leave it that. But I wasn't that interested in either of the protagonists and therefore the romance left me mostly cold. There is one poorly written passage that could be read as anti-abortion (aka pro-life) and the backstories felt a little over the top. (Or is that just me?) I also don't like the "evil parent" trope when it doesn't have some context - it was very black and white here without any explanation. The book also does the thing I came to hate (I don't think this is a spoiler?) it ends on a sex scene!