A lot of these stories were really dark but non really scary but I enjoyed reading every one though some were better than others.

I enjoy werewolf books.
I was always team Jacob .

Women as werewolves was a really interesting team.

This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future.

This is an anthology of female-empowerment and experiences through the tales of werewolves. It is a mixture of short-stories and poems.

It is a dark read, full of emotions, rage, womanhood and blood. The writing is primal; you can feel the emotions the authors were putting stories and poems with each word. Nothing was left unturned, and the raw feelings of each story left a mark on me.

I thoroughly enjoyed the tales told in this book, my favourites being “Werewolf Girl Swallows the Moon”, “It's Only Natural”, and “Our Howls Like Dirges Our Eyes Like The Moon”.

With the subject matters, it may be a hard read for some, such as abortion and SA. However, if you know you can deal with these subjects, I recommend reading this.

Overall, all the stories reflect the horror of the real-world woman experience. Whether harm, sisterhood, or love, the stories and poems cover it all with grace, without exploiting or trivialising the experiences. They encapsulated the fear we as women experience day-to-day but gave the power to the women in the story to preserve and be the strong being we are.

It’s a collection that I loved reading, and I cannot wait to grab a physical copy upon release.

I absolutely LOVED this collection of short stories and poems, all of them with werewolves as the common denominator.
Please go read this!

#NetGalley

This anthology is a powerful tribute to the fierceness within women that’s called into action when the sisterhood is threatened. Include some horror and you have a perfect combination of strong, beautifully told stories. Some stories read like fables, others like poetry, and sheer beautiful prose. All have positive female leads you can't help but admire. The stories kept me focused and wanting more. I’d love to have this one in hardcover with sprayed edges. That would be the cherry on top!

This is a wonderful anthology.

All of the stories and poems are good. Some, like Silver Boots, are amazing.

These are lyric, dark, compelling, primal, and full of rage.

I did find myself reading it slowly - a story or two at a time. Otherwise, it becomes a little too much. I found savoring each to be a better strategy.

Definitely an anthology worth reading!

* ARC via Publisher

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book early in exchange for honest feedback.

Anyone who knows me or read other reviews of mine is aware nothing is dearer to my heart and closest to the top of my To Read pile than werewolf novels or stories. I consume those things like candy, relishing in the various approaches the authors take to lycanthropy, the settings where the tales spin out, or the backstories that lead the werewolf to front and center.' An opening volley in the form of a foreword by Rachel Harrison, another favorite, cinched my need to read this.

The book is broken into four bits (New Moon, Waxing, Full Moon, and Waning), with each thematically tied to the sort of story the author was presenting. Each section had multiple stories or poems in them. I found most of the poems fairly dry and not engaging, but I'll be the first to admit poetry isn't my preferred method of relaying images, or setting a mood, so grain of salt). The short stories were all well written, though storylines and worldbuilding ran the gamut. Overall, I think the majority of the tales made the book worth reading if you're a werewolf aficionado, and for sheer volume, it's a safe buy.

Some men may flinch (some women also) reading the foreword or some of the other bits/press about this being a book by women with a woman's perspective that this will be a man-hating agenda book. I know I was worried going in. Needless worry, though. This is simply a platform for some very skilled female writers to spin some fascinating tales of our favorite beasties of the night. Buy away! You'll enjoy this!

Before reading this collection, I had every intention of picking and choosing my "favorites" to talk about. And then I read it, and every single story is entirely too good for me to choose between. I'm not even slightly exaggerating when I say that this is one of the best anthologies I've read in a while.

Each story here is a well-written, fresh take. And, to be completely honest, I've never really cared for werewolf stories in the past until reading this: Howl is my exception.

This book is perfect for anthology fans, horror readers, and especially those who love reading pieces from women in the horror space.

((While the viewpoints shared are my own, I want to thank NetGalley & Xpresso Book Tours for this complimentary copy.))

Loved this one. Feminine rage, revenge, folk horror; you’ve got a bit of everything in this powerful book with some of my favorite female horror authors! All focused around the theme of the moon and power.

My favorites:

When He Could Have Me by Erika T Wurth
We’ve got an old 80’s 90’s video camera which shows some disturbing footage to two sisters trying to come to terms with their father’s death. I love some generational trauma and this also has so old school nostalgic vibes too.

It’s Only Natural by Delilah Dawson
A woman seems to have no way out from a situation she was forced into. Until she meets a kind woman in the park who has an answer. Best revenge tale without actually showing the revenge. You can use your imagination, very satisfying. “Now we hunt him.”

When We Run, We Are Free by Christina Henry
Another fantastic revenge tale, A seemingly innocuous meeting between a clerk and a customer in a gas station, leads the clerk to feel protective. She gets drawn into the heinous abuse the poor customer is suffering at her husband’s hands. “She ran, and she was free.”

I really loved all of the stories. Not a bad one in the bunch. Trigger warnings for sexual assault, domestic assault.

Well I loved this !! Really fantastic book that I didn't want to put down

I'll be recommending this to everyone I know who knew werewolves would make me emotional

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review this book

*Howl* is a fierce, feral celebration of feminine horror—raw, unapologetic, and howling with rage, beauty, grief, and power. From the very first story, I knew this wasn’t just another anthology. This was a reclamation, a chorus of voices refusing to be tamed.

Lindy Ryan has curated something truly special here. Each piece feels like its own kind of spell—some sharp and biting, others quiet and aching, all of them pulsing with truth. The collection explores every facet of the feminine monstrous, from the literal to the metaphorical, and it never shies away from the darkness women are so often asked to repress or sanitize. Instead, it leans all the way in.

What struck me most was the range. There are stories soaked in folklore, others grounded in brutal reality, and some that blur the line so thoroughly I had to sit with them afterward just to process what they awakened in me. The writing is consistently stunning—lyrical, guttural, and packed with imagery that lingers like claw marks.

*Howl* doesn’t ask for permission. It bares its teeth and dares you to look away. This is horror that’s deeply personal, emotionally intelligent, and unflinchingly honest. If you’ve ever felt like there’s something wild just beneath your skin—something ancient and angry and powerful—this anthology will speak to you. Or rather, it will howl.

I received this in exchange for a honest review from Netgalley, and to be honest, I was so excited to read this, Women authors writing about werewolves? Sign me up.

This was a fantastic read, and a great line up of stories, it was so hard to choose a favorite.

Some of my top picks were
All the Men Who Cried Wolf
A Town with To Many Girl
Hunger
We Women Speak of Wolves

These all were horrifying tales of terror, but so emotionally written, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get emotional a few times reading this.

Every single story resonated a deep part of me, that clings to the one thing I cannot forget, no matter how bad things are, no matter how dark it looks, and the odds, maybe not so great, some how you have, and you will survive. Sometimes that means doing it all yourself, and most of the time, lets be honest but out there there are those women who also helps the rest of us and avenge those that can’t get seek it for themselves and to get justice and help .
But not every story is all rage and burn the ground, like all things there’s a sadness and joy that really rounded this entire thing out, to being something so unexpected.

I teared up a little writing this review, this book, it hit so many different emotions, horror, rage, and sadness, for these women, and for myself and all the women I know in real life and my online ones as well.

This needs to be read by everyone I think, so check it out when it releases.
Being strong and finding that inside you is important, doesn’t matter if you are a werewolf fighting that rage or being a human and fighting that rage around you, you wont be any good to yourself, or others unless you decide to reach deep inside and really take a look at your inner wolf and what you are truly capable of.

The horror isn’t in a transforming beast the human mind cannot seem to comprehend, the horror is behind the masks of things and people we deal with everyday and the ones that are supposed to be our friends and family are some times the most horrifying of them all.

This is a stunning anthology of werewolf lore with a femine twist. Rage, revenge, redemption, and hope are included in these stories by some of the best horror authors out there.

Beginning with an introduction by Rachel Harrison which perfectly sums up the themes in the stories, how women and werewolves are more alike than you might think, this book then throws the reader into the horrors of werewolves. Not necessarily as an antagonist though. In fact, most of these tales deliver the viscious nature of werewolves but from the perspective of a protagonist. These women have been brutalized, beaten, suppressed, and assaulted in various ways. Seeing the comeuppance for those evils is cathartic.

And some stories are emotionally charged. They'll give you shivers as teeth and claws render flesh and bone but there's a heart behind the carnage. It's a collection full of blood and gore but not for the sake of exploitation. These authors write from a deeper place which I can honestly say the menfolk might not completely understand (nor should we). But these are stories which will inspire hope through violence for anyone who's ever been considered "less than".

All of the deeper introspection aside, I freaking love werewolves and this anthology kicks ass! Highly recommend.

I was kindly granted an ARC of this book on Netgalley. It will be published on 11/4/2025.

This will be one of my favorite books of this year, easily. It's a collection of stories of werewolves written by women. While some were stronger than others, I would confidently give this book a 5 star rating. Several stories made me cry, laugh, even whoop with joy. I love stories of female rage, and this book delivered some EXCELLENT stories, but there were softer stories and sad stories. It felt so balanced. I took the time to give each story a rating and if I had any specific thoughts while reading them.

1. Wolf Bite: 3 stars
2. The Devil Has No Dogs: 4 stars, hell yeah girl, rip him to shreds.
3. Silver Boots: HELL YES GIRL RIP THEM TO SHREDS!!!!!! This is my favorite story in the anthology. I would've read 400 more pages about her. My favorite line was "She made confetti of their flesh." COME ON, sheer perfection.
4. All the Men Who Cried Wolf: 3.5 stars, the way she described being a wolf was beautiful but it was so hard to read how her father and then her partner treated her.
5. We Women Speak of Wolves: 5 stars, why would you make me cry like this?! I really hope she is able top find a life and sisterhood like her mom had. I loved this take on "werewolf", not violence but second life.
6.When He Could Have Me: 3.5 stars, a little scattered and the ending felt rushed. I wish there had been more information on the camcorder and why/how the girls turned into wolves. In the end, sibling rivalry and werewolves are a bad combination.
7. Origin Story: 3 stars, kids, am i right?
8. Werewolf Girl Swallows the Moon: 4.5 stars, peer pressure but make it werewolves and vampires.
9. A Town With Too Many Girls: 3 stars, magical taxidermy.
10. Our Howls Like Dirges, Our Eyes Like the Moon: 4.5 stars, the moon will never do you dirty. Again I would've read hundreds more pages of this.
11. Waxing Moon: 3 stars, I just don't think poetry is for me.
12. Vestigial: 5 stars, WTAF. This one was so weird and I LOVED it. Just a little gross, just enough. When the twist happened right at the end, my jaw was on the floor.
13. Hunger: 3.75 stars, a cautionary tinder tale. It seemed like she was going to get caught at one point but nothing came of that. Still, a fun story.
14. When We Run We Are Free: 4.5 stars, women protecting women. I love a bad guy falling to his death in a snowy ravine. I wish she could have turn the girl she saved and started her own little pack but it was still a nice ending.
15. The Clearing: 3.5 stars, I like how this one ended but getting there was hard. I hated how these women were treated.
16. Bone Marrow: 3.5 stars, I love Moon Mother. The connection of menstruation and the werewolf cycle was well done.
17. Dark Justice: 5 stars, Hell. Yeah. Werewolf vigilante justice? Sign me up. I do not want more of this story, I NEED it. Please....I'm begging.
18. Wolf Like Me: 4 stars, who put these tears in my eyes?!!!
19. The Wolf Line: 3.5 stars
20. It's Only Natural: 5 stars, loved it, I love weird hippie lady. This was another softer one that came with a surprise "hell yeah girls, rip him to shreds" ending. Would've love to read said ripping, but I'm greedy like that.
21. Super Moon: 4 stars, men are the worst. "Can't Fight the Moonlight" on repeat.
22. 13 Times I Swallowed a Full Moon: 3.5 stars
Mad Woman: 3 stars, like I said, poetry is not my thing. I wish it hadn't ended the anthology on a poem, but that is me.

My favorite stories were Silver Boots, We Women Speak of Wolves, and Dark Justice.

As a whole, this anthology was AMAZING. I will be getting myself a copy when it is published and then forcing all my friends to read it.

Howl: An Anthology of Werewolves from Women-in-Horror by Lindy Ryan and Stephanie Wytovich, published by Black Spot Books,/ Xpresso Books, is a collection of short stories from multiple authors.
An emotional read, fascinating, eye-opening, literally unputdownable.
I recommend the book, 5 stars.

While I liked this collection, not all of the stories resonated with me. A couple hit a little too close to home given current events.

"Howl: An Anthology of Werewolves From Women in Horror" is a stunning, unsettling, and visceral short story collection edited by Lindy Ryan and Stephanie Wytovich! Some of the authors include Cynthia Pelayo, Delilah S. Dawson, Gwendolyn Kiste, Christina Henry, and Ai Jiang.

I was completely enthralled by the collection and I think the stories in the collection put a unique spin on werewolf folklore.

My favorite stories included:
1. "The Devil Has No Dogs" by Kailey
Tedesa
2. "We Women Speak of Wolves" by Cynthia Pelayo.
3. It's Only Natural by Delilah S. Dawson

"The Devil Has No Dogs" is about two women who become witches and make a deal with the devil. After they make a deal with the devil they can transform into dogs and cause chaos in their village. The imagery in this story is beautifully haunting and grotesque. This story feels like a horrifying fever dream.

"We Women Speak of Wolves" is about a wild hearted woman remembering the stories her mother told her about the coven of women she used to live with. Her mother called the coven her 'sisters under the moon' and they lived out in nature and danced under the moon.

The woman was entranced with the stories about her mother's 'sisters under the moon' when she was a child.

Years after her mother's death, the woman goes on a journey to find woman named La Loba, who gave her mother a wolf skull when she was part of the coven and before the woman was born.

This story is magical, heartbreaking, and beautifully written. I always enjoy reading short stories by Cynthia Pelayo!

"It's Only Natural" is about a woman who was raped and became pregnant. Abortions have been outlawed in her state and if she travels out of state to get an abortion she can be arrested.

A co-worker gives her a telephone number that can give her an abortion in secret. The story is about the emotional journey she goes through to get an abortion and how the woman who gives her an abortion gives her her power back. This story is heartbreaking, dark, and empowering.

"Howl: An Anthology of Werewolves From Women in Horror" is a strong collection about womanhood and women taking back their power. Overall, I loved all of the stories even though some were stronger than others. I highly recommend this collection, especially if you love stories about werewolves!

Thank you NetGalley and Black Spot Books for sending me an ARC of this wonderful anthology!

"Howl: An Anthology of Werewolves From Women in Horror" comes out 11/04/2025!

This anthology is amazing, period. Every story, poem, the introduction, are all fantastic.

Rachel Harrison’s introduction is note perfect and makes you feel like you could break through a brick wall and the stories that follow are so diverse and brilliant. It’s pretty much a showcase for how wonderful horror really is right now.

I’ll get to my favorites in a minute, but I wanted to say that this collection, written entirely by women shows to me exactly why women write such great horror, and why horror has always been a genre dominated by readers and watchers that are women.

Horror reflects the things that happen in the real world, investigates them, holds a microscope or mirror up to it and says look at this, look at what is going on here. And the fact is that historically, being a woman has been scary, and the fact is that this is the case because of the way men, especially men in power, have treated them.

The werewolf is a perfect way to explore this, to subvert and switch the power structures and that’s exactly what these stories do so well.

My favorite story in the collection was “Our Howls Like Dirges Our Eyes Like The Moon” by Gwendolyn Kiste. This apocalyptic tale examines friendships and the drudgery of modern life and it’s also scary as hell and just so awesome I could barely handle it.

“It’s Only Natural” by Delilah S. Dawson, is a sad, infuriating, and ultimately triumphant scream of pain and anguish, and “Vestigial” by Kristi DeMeester is absolutely fascinating, strange , and disturbing.

Finally, “A Town With Too Many Girls” by Jessica McHugh is so original and takes so many turns in such a short story, I’m definitely going to seek out more of her work immediately.

This will definitely be in the running for best anthology of the year for me and I highly recommend picking it up this November.

Got this for review on Netgally.

Such an emotional and gut punching collection of short stories and pomes. They all had a lot to say and did it well even if they where short. Some hit more the others and it was a mixed back from 3 stars and up. None in the collection was l9wer then 3 stars but there where some I liked more.

A detailed list if what I rated each book.
Wolf bite: 3 stars

The devil has no dog: 3 stars
Silver boots 3 stars
All the men who cried wolf: 5 stars
We women speak of wolves: 4 stars
Origin story: 3 stars
Werewolf girl swallows the moon: 3 stars
A town with to many girls: 4 stars
Our howls like digres, our eyes like the moon: 3 stars.
Waxing moon: 4 stas
Vestigal: 5 stars
Hunger: 4 stars
When we run we are free: 5 stars
The clearing: 3 stars
Bone marrow: 3 stars
Dark justice: 4 stars
Wolf like me: 4 stars
The wolf line: 3 stars
Its only natural: 5 stars
Super moon: 3 stars
13 times I swallowed a full moon: 4 stars
Mad woman: 4 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC. 

This was a really great short story collection. All short story collections, especially the ones written by many different authors have their ups and downs, but overall this was really great. 

I never really thought about the connections between womenhood and lycanthropy before and that was very interesting. I also loved seeing so many interesting and wildly different takes on werewolves. 

I think Silver Boots is my favorite story from the collection right now, but that might change as I think about some of the stories more. 

My favorite thing about collections like this is that they introduce me to so many great new authors. I also learned that there are two more collections centered around different themes. Lots of good reading to look forward to.