Coyote Blues by Karen F. Williams
- Publisher: Bold Strokes Books, 2020
- Genre: Fantasy, Thriller, Romance, LGBTQ+
- Format: Paperback (eARC)
- Page Count: 312 pages
- My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)
Riley E. Dawson and Fiona Bell were teenagers when they fell in love. And they had sex. But the post-sex excitement possibly triggered Riley’s first coywolf transformation, and witnessing their daughter turning into a beast, Riley’s adoptive parents cut ties with her and sent her away. She never saw Fiona again. Until twenty years later. As an experienced clinical social worker and psychotherapist, Riley found herself losing control the moment Fiona showed up in her therapist office.
CW: physical and psychological abuse, animal abuse
We all know that the justice system is seriously flawed. For those who are interested in reading this book, I suggest that you put aside your judgements based on the law and some morals. Otherwise, parts of the story might not sit well with you.
There are only two kinds of men: the righteous who think they are sinners and the sinners who think they are righteous.
Blaise Pascal
Also, because this story has close ties with Native Americans, I suggest reading this by Benny Wayne Sully from Insider and decide for yourself if some aspects of Coyote Blues are somewhat inappropriate. And as an East Asian who grew up in Taiwan, I cannot say if Asian Americans would find using “almond-shaped eyes” to describe features offensive. But somehow I think at least some would. Because of these, I cannot give a perfect 5-star rating no matter how perfect the overall plot is. But I will give this book the benefit of the doubt until someone within the communities declares it unreadable.
In terms of the storyline, Coyote Blues is extremely well-written. Every single event happened for a reason and some later ones would definitely prompt you to realize the connections. Williams is a great storyteller and it is clear that she took careful planning of all details.
Both Riley and Fiona had been through so much since their last encounter twenty years ago as teens. Riley had to cope with being a werecoywolf and abandoned by her adoptive parents. But with Peggy, Barbara, and Tom, they form the amazing family that Riley needs in her adulthood. It was also sweet to read about Riley’s friendship with her coyote pack. And Fiona lived through her parents’ reprimand of her sexuality and suffers extensively under Jim’s abuse. As for Fiona’s daughter Edy, she is an amazing girl. Though at times I felt her dialogue sounded younger than her eleven years, her mental maturity and intelligence definitely exceeded her age.
Surprisingly, I was also very intrigued by all the lectures Riley gave. It read oddly like TOEFL listening scripts, but I love how I get to learn a little more about personality disorders. Riley’s classes were light-hearted highlights for me.
Coyote Blues is an excellent work of fiction. I have not read a book that incited so many thoughts in a while. Highly suggest checking it out! [1 Jun 2020]
I received an e-ARC from Bold Strokes Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
