What a funny book! Loved the humor and the crazy monster gore. Definitely have some questions and definitely need book 2 but looking forward to it, nonetheless.

Looking for a unique blend of humour, fantasy, and introspection, exploring the life of a character who is part man, part wolf, and part dog whilst on a road trip? Then Kane by Dick Wybrow was written just for you and for likeminded others. The novel is a rollercoaster of emotions, filled with witty dialogue, poignant moments, and a deep dive into the complexities of identity and relationships.


At its core, "Kane" is about the struggles and hilarities of being more than just human. Kane's journey is marked by his transformation between forms, each bringing its own set of challenges and humorous predicaments. The book is peppered with laugh-out-loud moments, such as Kane's observation, "It is very hard to get used to this pug body. And I constantly have the urge to lick my genitals. What foul creatures."


Kane's relationship with Emelda is a central part of the story. Emelda's background significantly impacts their dynamic, adding depth to their interactions. Her cautious approach to life, as seen in her reluctance to accept drinks from strangers, contrasts with Kane's more straightforward, often blunt manner. This dynamic creates a rich tapestry of dialogue and interaction that is both amusing and food for thought.

Themes and Highlights

1. **Identity and Belonging**: The novel delves into Kane's struggle with his identity, capturing the essence of being caught between worlds.

2. **Humour in Adversity**: Wybrow masterfully uses humour to lighten the narrative's more serious themes, such as when Kane humorously misunderstands names or when Emelda dryly contemplates her fate in an Applebee's. And can't forget about the interaction with the cat. Really need a spoiler to discuss that event!

3. **Wisdom and Insight**: The book is not just about laughs; it offers nuggets of wisdom, like Emelda's realization that "There’s nothing wrong with needing someone else. Trusting another will lift you up when you stumble is brave. It makes you stronger, not weaker.”

4. **Cultural References and Observations**: The novel is rich with cultural references and keen observations about life, adding layers to the narrative.

"Kane" by Dive Wybrow is a delightful read that successfully combines humour with a deep exploration of what it means to be human (or not quite human). It's a story that will resonate with anyone who has ever felt out of place or in between worlds. The novel's strength lies in its ability to make you laugh while simultaneously making you ponder the deeper aspects of life and relationships

Kane tells the story of Kane, a former wolf who has been bitten by an infected man and is forced to walk this earth as a human, who happens to turn into a dog.

Due to the fact that he cannot read or drive, he hires Emelda (or Sad Girl as Kane refers to her) to aid him in search of the man who infected him and forced him to live life as a human/dog (which he transforms into every full moon).

Unfortunately, I liked the premise of this book better than the content. I like books that subvert the normal premise of popular tropes and due to the description thought that this would be an enjoyable read.

It didn’t end up being that, and I found myself fatigued with the book and its narrative quite quickly.

I was immediately perplexed why the first three chapters revolve around differing points of view of the main character going into a shop and coming out with some pickled pigs trotters. I don’t know what purpose it served as then for the rest of the book we mainly stick with Emelda’s point of view.

However, this does give the story room to improve (marginally!), but I quickly found that I was not particularly gelling with the story and the constant attempts to be humorous. For instance, I found the constant trope of ‘he’s French Canadian’ to be grating rather than funny.

In addition to that, he is constantly getting into scrapes without any particular explanation as to why they have occurred. It seems that he lurches from one misstep to another in an attempt to move the plot forward without much real development.

The characters themselves didn’t feel particularly fleshed out, and all I really came away with was that Kane was six foot seven and that Emelda was shorter than him.

Furthermore, when I actually trudged my way to the end of the book, I had no real conclusion to the story. There were sub plots aplenty, but again, I didn’t feel like any answers were given to the main plot, which rather than getting me intrigued for the next book, made me resolute that I would be tapping out of the series.

Unfortunately, this is one series I will not be continuing with.

"So, when in Rome and all that.”
“This is Wisconsin.”
Kane is a horror comedy about a wolf bitten by a man who now turns into a dog under the moonlight. This started off well, but slowed down and became a drag about half way through until the end. I was really enjoying it, aside from the weirdness of the first three chapters narrating the exact same scene from three different perspectives - not sure why this was done. I liked Emelda, the mystery, the humour, but it seemed to lose its spark. The ending was SO disappointing. It didn't answer a single question, the original mystery didn't have much more information, and it felt like we'd spent waaaay too long on side quests. I know it wants to be a series, but this complete lack of answers ruined the book for me. I feel like you can't ask a reader to invest entirely in a series if the first book gives nothing. You need to give enough so that I _need_ to read the next one, yknow? I still had so so many questions (as did the characters) and nothing to show for it. It was a real shame.

Thank you to netgalley for the arc.

Clever and genuinely funny, a switchup on werewolves, or in this case, weremandog? Many LOL moments and a lot of wild adventure. This is what makes reading fun!

As the author notes in the afterword, there is an old journalism adage that says "Dog bites man is not news. Man bites dog is news". This novel is based on that adage.

Kane is a werewolf, of a sort - but instead of being a man who turns into a wolf, he is a wolf who turns into a man, a man who knows nothing about being a person. As a wolf who turns into a man, Kane is good at a great many things, but reading and driving are not among his skills. Emelda is a down and out, working at a job that doesn't quite pay her bills, when she encounters Kane by chance, and he offers her a job, helping him seek a man with a purple car, by doing the reading and driving for him, and explaining the human world along the way. As the two travel between car shows, seeking the purple car man, who bit Kane turned him from a wolf to a person, strange things happen around them, some apparently aimed at Kane and some seemingly random. Kane's quest becomes Emelda's as well, as the two seek, and find, not one monster, but several. Recommended for readers from high school to adult.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley.

This book has its ups and downs, but overall I really enjoyed it. At first, I thought this would simply be a silly book based on the premise but it has heart. The characters are unforgettable and the plot takes a great twists and turns. I was almost sad to let it go when it ended. The only reason it's not perfect is simply because it felt a bit stretched for this book. I just feel like all of the loose ends in this book could have been resolved in one book but it's being stretched simply to make a sequel. I'll give the benefit of the doubt to the author, but I still enjoyed it. Even chuckled a bit at some of the book. Overall, I recommend this book to those who love fantasy books with a twist.

This fun book takes a common trope (werewolves!) and turns it on its head. This would already have bumped it up for me, but the humor in this book is also top-notch and it was a blast from start to finish.

To start, you follow Kane, a wolf-turned-huge-French-Canadian and his driver/only human friend, Emelda – or “Sad Girl” – as they try to track down the man who turned Kane into his new were-human self. But while this is the main plot, the character development really steals the show, as both now-humans learn to live with each other and their own selves through their journey together. I won’t give anything away, but it’s pretty sweet and you’ll grow to love both characters for sure.

I’m not really sure that I can come up with a clear favorite and least favorite part of this book: everything was really cohesive and it’s really hard to isolate one component. For me, this is definitely a strength since I did end up liking most of the elements of the story and the writing, but I can imagine that if you didn’t that it might affect other parts of the reading experience, too.

Either way, I loved this book a lot. I would definitely recommend it if you are looking for a fun spooky season read that is both well-balanced and totally unlike anything you’ve (probably) ever read before.

I received a free copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and Dick Wybrow. All opinions are my own!

Solid, immediate 5 stars. I cackled out loud at several passages ("'Incorrect. I am wolf. I have a bit of man in me.' 'Been there, done that,' I said. 'Ain't nothing to get too excited about.'") and made my spouse listen to several more that made absolutely no sense out of context (heroism is now officially measured in casseroles). Besides being funny, I found Kane to be a thoroughly delightful read. The two protagonists, Emelda and Kane, both felt solid and decently fleshed out. Emelda I especially enjoyed as a kick-ass heroine without hitting the most irritating tropes such a character attracts. Kane felt like... well, what I would guess a sapient wolf-human would be like? His character certainly made sense, and was enjoyable when events were told from his perspective. There was also a complete lack of sexual chemistry between the protagonists, and in this case? I adored it. Absolutely huge recommend for fans of humorous science fiction/fantasy. For sensitive readers, there is a LOT of violence in gore in this book, so be advised.

I wanted this book to be a tad more fun that it ended up being (it's maybe a 3.5 for me). There is A LOT of Emelda and not much of Kane's perspective, who is ostensibly a cooler character, and the book started off ROUGH. However, I'm glad I stuck with it, because by the end I was rooting for this friendship and truly enjoying the ride (loved the Mall battle!)

I love paranormal stuff, dogs, and my last name is "Kane" so this was an instant "yes!" selection for me. The premise is delightful, and the character Kane is fascinating. Problem is, the book doesn't spend much time letting us get to know him, choosing instead to kick off directly in the action of Kane and his driver/friend Emelda (whom he calls "Sad Girl) in the search of a dangerous predator named Cal.

I did not love this narrative approach, as it made it difficult to get to know (and love) these characters. I'm so thankful I stuck with the story though, because the book continually improves and we have some moments of downtime in a small town in the midsection where we get some character development and get to know these people. I felt like that was the point where I started to connect with the story.

In future installments I would love way more Kane (what does it feel like for a werewolf to turn into a tiny dog?)--more of the vibe in the scene in the animal hospital. I also wouldn't mind these two making some more friends along the way for future books. There are cool side characters introduced in this story, but they don't stay around for long.

Lastly, the writing is a little clunky in spots. Emelda's story about her childhood sticks out like a sore thumb, full of tiny details (unlike the rest of the book which paints in broad strokes) so much so that it's pretty obvious we're being fed these facts to set up something later in the book. Thankfully these are isolated moments.

Despite these quibbles, this was a fun book. It felt like the author really found his groove as he went, which bodes well for future installments. Thank you to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Growing up with vampires and ghouls, I was excited to dive into a novel that puts a spin to the tale of the werewolf. Kane, a wolf transformed into a human, is on a desperate hunt for the man who turned him with a bite. “Sad Girl” (Emelda) is his trusty sidekick helping him navigate the nonsensical human world.

Kane did twist all of my expectations when it comes to the world of werewolves but the story was difficult to follow at times. It felt like a chore to push towards the end.

Despite my feelings on the writing style, I will admit Kane did what it promised: a challenge to lycanthropy as the world knows it. Mission accomplished, but I will not be signing up for the sequel.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and author for letting me have the ARC for this book. Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. I just couldn't get into it. I started to read it and kept picking it up multiple times. I didn't hate it, it just wasnt for me.

This must be the best book I read in 2023 so far!!

I was browsing on NetGalley, when this title and cover caught my attention. I have to admit I’ve never read anything from the author before, although now his books made it into my asap tbr.

So I read the synopsis to see what it was about, and:

Kane was a wolf until he was bitten by a man. He’s now a six-foot-seven French-Canadian searching for the guy who infected him, so he can return to his pack.

How was I supposed to resist? I loved the fact that the author thought of swapping the roles in the werewolf legend. As he put it at the end of the book, this is something that stuck with him from the aphorism in journalism: man bites a dog, a shortened version of “When a dog bites a man, that is not news, because it happens so often. But if a man bites a dog, that is news.”, a quote of uncertain origins.

So yeah, I was already invested in Kane and his quest to find his pack again.

Oh, but it gets better:

But nothing could have prepared Emelda Throne for what happens when Kane steps into the moonlight. Despite what the legends say, he doesn’t become some snarling werewolf. She’s only seen him turn into dogs. Usually tiny dogs.

Kane, not knowing how to drive and read properly, will receive help from Emelda, or Sad Girl as he calls her, a girl with a difficult past. I should point out that this book has more than one trigger warning: suicide and animal abuse being the main ones, but… well, if you don’t like gory horror, maybe skip some paragraphs. If you do like it, you’re in for a treat.

This book was so unusual, and not just because Dick Wybrow played and messed around with the Lycan trope (pun not intended). That was actually so refreshing! No – I’m also talking about the style in which it is written.

I’m glad I gave this book a fair shot, because it took me some pages before getting used to it. The style didn’t convince me, and I was really afraid I had to give up and mark as a DNF, while still burning with curiosity. Luckily it was easy to slip into the author’s narrative, and even easier to love it from the first chapters (yes, style included!).

The story is fast paced, so even if there is no info-dumping, we’re thrown right in the middle of it.

It starts at a gas station: first the story is told from a third perspective, then from Emelda’s point of view, revealing also something from her past, and finally from Kane’s. What a way to introduce the uniqueness of Kane! Already then I started to fall in love with him, but by the end of the book, I was absolutely smitten. That wouldn’t surprise him one bit, but he would remind me that he already has a wolf wife.

That being said, it’s not the only character with which you’ll form a bond – Dick Wybrow has a charismatic way of describing and outlining not just the main characters, but sidekicks too. The characters come to life, and you really wish they could.

Final Thoughts
Between mystery, creepy creatures lurking in the shadows, and a mix of witty and naive humor, the pages are fast turned. Kane was a great discovery, one of those very few books, which I can count on the fingers of one hand, that made me want to start reading it all over again before I even put it down after the last page. I know it’s supposed to be an sci-fi/horror book, but… the relationship between Kane and Sad Girl! I got watery eyes, and I’m completely invested in this story. Usually I prefer to read series all at once without having to wait years, so I was taken aback when I discovered Kane was the first book of the series Wolfwere (brilliant!). Now I couldn’t be happier, being this a book worth the wait, and of which I wouldn’t be able to get enough of.

“You and me are doing this,” I said. “You have lost your pack for now. I get that. But I’m the one helping you get back to them. So for now, we are a pack.”
Under his thick brow, Kane’s eyes widened.
“We are a pack, you and me,” I said. “We do this together.”

Kane
by Dick Wybrow
Mystery Paranormal
NetGalley ARC
16+

Kane a six-foot-seven French-Canadian is actually a wolf who was bitten by a man, and now with help from Emelda he is searching for the man who bit him, but he must avoid the moon because it will turn him into a dog, not a wolf.

But Kane isn't the only one looking for the man that bit him, a paramilitary group is also looking for this man.

This is one of those books I had a hard time rating. It was good, but not great, there were funnies that I giggled-snorted, but I wasn't laughing, so I'll round it up to the next star.

The plot and idea of the story were a great change up, but it wasn't executed the best. I love the idea of what would happen if a dog/wolf was bitten by a man; what chaos that could cause. Yeah, not as much as one would think. The reasoning was sound, but at the same time, it's not that believable. A dog yes, a wolf no. There's too much 'acceptance' from the 'human' characters. To be believable there should've been more of, 'holy crap, holy crap, I can't believe this is happening... I'm dreaming, no I'm not!.. Holy s**t' Yeah, stuff like that...

The characters, Kane especially, were creative but were also lacking descriptions. I have no idea what they look like other than Kane was tall and good-looking, and Emelda was shorter than him... I have no idea of eye/hair color, though I think one had black hair? If those were mentioned, it was only a few times, as were skin complexions, facial tics, scars, or other imperfections. I also feel that there was way too much of Emelda's thoughts. She had a whiny(ness) to her and tended to babble. When it came to her internal thoughts I found myself skipping. Kane was more interesting, him being a wolf and all.

And now for a new pet peeve! Please stop adding genre shouts! If it's not the book's title on the book cover, don't include it on the book's page as part of its title. Example: A Humorous Supernatural Thriller... These are so irritating. It's an unnecessary gimmick, and while it is supposed to draw attention, sometimes these genre shouts deter me from even reading the blurb, thus not buying the book. (And this book wasn't that humorous nor a thriller. And it's not horror either!)

This could be a series, but I doubt I'll be reading the next book.
Rounding up to...

3 Stars

I was drawn to this NetGalley selection for two reasons: the fun cover and the unique twist on a werewolf story. It delivered on my expectations. This is a fun and exciting thriller with lots of action, plot twists, some gore, and a dose of poignancy. Kane and Emelda are the unlikely duo in pursuit of Cal Davis, a man who may or may not be able to turn wolves into people. The book alternates between Emelda and Kane's point of view but does so effectively. I could see this as a film and I look forward to the next installment in the series.

Thank you NetGalley and Dick Wybrow for the chance of reading 'Kane' as an advance reader's copy. I really enjoyed the journey!

Normally 'Kane' is not a book I would've picked out at the store and hold it in my hand to read, but the back-flap, the cover and description of the book really got me excited to read it. In 'Kane' we follow a wolf, bitten by a man, and his friendly human companion in a search against time. What is terrorizing the neighborhood? What is happening?

This book is a fast paced journey about an unexpected friendship, some detective work by our favorite pairings and damn it... it was really funny! There was humor in every paragraph and that made this book so darn fast to read. I can't say too much without spoilers, but binding a wolf in another dog's body... brilliant.

The concept of this book is brilliantly thought and as the writer says in the acknowledgements, it is the man who bites the dog that gets the attention from the news. It's unique, new and refreshing inside a novel.

In the beginning of the book we get to see two different POV's. Sometimes the difference of POV's were a bit confusing to who was talking when and which POV i was following at the time. But later on the book, it became more clear that I was following Kane and his humorous partner. Other than the small confusion, Kane seems to know a bit too much about the human world like words used, talking, etc. Even for a fantasy/mystery/paranormal thriller it would've been fun to see it happening from the start. I think if the author started with Kane and what was happening to him, until the point where he meets the other MC, it would've been a bit easier to follow and explain a bit more. But having said that, I think this easily worked for the kind of book the author was writing. It wasn't bothersome and rather funny at times when Kane thought he knew something, but proved to be slightly wrong.

I wished there was a bit more involvement around the characters and their development. Sometimes the characters were a little flat.

I really enjoyed the humor, the mystery and the plot of the book. If you enjoy these kind of books, definitely give 'Kane' and this author a shot if you're in for something funny, fast paced and a bit chilling!

So much fun! Interesting twists on the werewolf genre and complex, engaging characters. Hope to see a sequel!

Wow!! What a great ride this book was. Kane has it all, edge of your seat action, funny antics, friendship and found family, gore and blood, and a 6’7 French Canadian who you’ll most def fall in love with ! Be warned tho, Kane…he hates cats!! It’s his only downfall (lol). Can’t wait to read more from this adventure!!

***** I received this as a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

The story of Kane is a supernatural twist with action. Kane, one of the main characters is a wolf that has been bitten by a man and it has changed him into a human. However, when the moonlight hits him he continues to “change”. There are thugs out to capture those who have changed to try use this as a weapon. It wasn’t super clear on all that.

Esmelda and Kane are very likable characters. The humor was great at the start of the book. It struggled a bit more throughout.

The book ends without being resolved. I am guessing there will be a continuation. It was a fun read overall.

3.8 rounded up.
pros: I thought the concept was so creative and fun.
The "wolf" was funny at times.
I liked the partnership between the wolf and the girl.
I felt the character of the wolf was done well
Reads easy with good mystery set up.
cons: I did not like some of the repeativeness.
I felt sometimes they made the man like a wolf in how he talked and other times things he said
did not fit how they were having him speak before that.
I wanted more character development of the women
I wanted more animals or things happening along the adventure of finding the man who bite
him.
Was a fun adventure and good set up and this is why I wanted even more from it.