Book Review: Denying Yourself by Silvia Violet

Title: Denying Yourself
Author: Silvia Violet
Genre: Paranormal Romance, M/M Romance
Sensuality Rating: Erotic
Source: review copy from publisher
Published: May 15, 2013 by Dreamspinner Press

Matt and Shane both have secrets. Matt never believed he was anything but straight, yet he’s increasingly attracted to his best friend. Shane is comfortable with being gay, but when he discovers he’s part werewolf, he hides that part of himself, fearing Matt’s reaction. Suffocated by his uptight parents and conservative hometown, Shane begs Matt to run away with him.

But starting over doesn’t help. Matt still denies his desires, and Shane abuses alcohol to dampen his wolfish urges. When Matt breaks down and kisses Shane, the pent-up passion proves too much for Shane’s self-control, and his wolf gets free. Horrified, Shane flees—into deeper trouble. Before they can hope to accept each other, Shane and Matt must accept themselves.

Reviewed By: J9

In a Nutshell: This is good MM shifter romance because of its complicated leads, allowance for character growth, and the gentle message of learn to love yourself before you can properly love someone else.

The Set Up: Shane and Matt are high school friends but both with secrets. Matt denies his attraction to Shane and Shane drowns his werewolf side in alcohol. As the men grow up they continue to be drawn to each other even though they hurt each other. Can these two men accept themselves in order to accept each other?

Why I Read this Book: The synopsis captured my attention.

What I Liked: This isn’t your average MM shifter romance. The book covers Matt and Shane from high school friends over the course of years as they’re drawn to each other but hurt each other. Long stretches of time pass as Shane especially learns who he is and what he needs as a werewolf shifter. Matt’s denial of being gay is so difficult to read at first as well. The pain these two men cause each other is cringe-worthy but the author doesn’t shy away from telling an emotionally intense romance and I love this. This novel has a stellar message that people need to accept themselves and find inner peace before making a good partner for someone. I loved watching the character growth over time and how it related to the romance development.

What I Also Liked: I loved the tortured characters here. Shane is on a path of self-destruction as he doesn’t know how to control his werewolf and he puts Matt in danger unwittingly. As a reader I could feel Shane’s frustration in the novel’s beginning as he tries to keep Matt in his life, even as a friend, and how nothing he does seems to work. I could feel his pain and hopelessness and a little hated Matt for denying his attraction to Shane.

Matt is more of a mystery because of Shane’s first person narration so his motivations aren’t as compelling but Shane loved him so much that I almost didn’t care. These two broken people hurt each other early in their relationship and had to grow as people toward a loving relationship and I enjoyed this angst-filled romance. Where the men finally end up is just where they both need to be and showcases why I love the romance genre.

What I Didn’t Like: The following may be considered a SPOILER so click the button and proceed reading at YOUR OWN RISK. And don't say I didn't warn you ;)

By the middle of the novel, Shane is a recovering alcoholic who has been adopted into a werewolf pack. Part of the shifter lore here is that werewolf packmates need sexual congress and engage in it orgy style. This is totally not my thing in a romance novel and I didn’t like it here at all. I didn’t want Shane to have a sexual relationship with anyone other than Matt, though the author does a great job of showing how he was still haunted by Matt even when he thought he’d never see him again. Still, this whole part of the story didn’t endear the secondary characters to me as they had more sexy times than Matt and Shane.

IMO: This is a good MM romance because of Shane’s character growth and the soul-mates-over-time romance between the leads.

J9’s Rating: