Female Werewolf Books to Howl About
There are several books on the market that include werewolves as either the central character or as supporting cast. What’s unusual is when the central werewolf character is a female.
I just recently stumbled upon books in this genre and I’m glad I did. Below are books that fit the bill for “female werewolf fantasy.”
The Kitty Norville Series by Carrie Vaughn
The female heroine, Kitty Norville, is a female werewolf that comes out of the closet in the first book in the series. She’s a late night DJ who gets bored simply playing music so she decides to open the phone lines and talk about creatures that only come out at night. To her surprise, some of them answer back!
Books in the Series
- Kitty and the Midnight Hour
- Kitty Goes to Washington
- Kitty Takes a Holiday
- Kitty and the Silver Bullet
The Women of the Otherworld Series by Kelley Armstrong
In this series we’re introduced to Elena Michaels, the only female werewolf in existence. It seems that other female humans that are bitten by werewolves always die. Not Elena, who was bitten by her boyfriend when she was younger. This fantasy series contains not only werewolves but witches, vampires, and one particularly plucky necromancer.
Books in the Series
- Bitten, Book 1
- Stolen, Book 2
- Broken, Book 6
Note: there are other books in the Women of the Otherworld series (all good by the way) but only the ones above contain Elena Michaels.
The Mercy Thompson Series by Patricia Briggs
Okay, I know Mercy Thompson isn’t technically a werewolf but she’s close enough. She’s a shifter that can take the form of a coyote. She’s not tied to any moon cycles like werewolves nor is she as strong as werewolves once she’s shifted, but she’s almost as deadly.
In this series Mercy works as a mechanic who’s friends with the local werewolf clan members and one of the local vampires. She’s loyal to her friends which sometimes gets her into trouble. Patricia Briggs has written a top notch fantasy series that I highly recommend.
Books in the Series
Know of any other fantasy books with female werewolf heroines? If so, list them in the comments section and I’ll include them in the post.
Hey, this list is a great idea! Please add more!
Here is a series by Yasmine Galenorn
Witchling
Changeling
Darkling
Dragon Wytch
Night Huntress
Meet the D’Artigo Sisters–three half human, half-Fae, wild and sexy members of the OIA–the Otherworld Intelligence Agency. Camille, a witch, Delilah, a werecat, and Menolly, an acrobat extraordinaire turned vampire, are sent Earthside to keep them out of trouble by their superiors, who consider the girls nothing but a bunch of bumbling half-breeds. But the girls soon find themselves smack in the middle of Demon-Central when Shadow Wing, the leader of the Subterranean Realms, decides to attempt a coup on both Earth and Otherworld.
Here’s a stand-alone book by Annette Curtis Klause.
It’s called Blood and Chocolate, and in my opinion, is the best female werewolf story I’ve read.
Tanya:
Thanks, I’ll check this out.
an amazing book! definately worth reading
This are also some books were the central character are a female werewolf.
Nocturne City serie by Caitlin Kittredge
Night Life
Pure blood
second skin
Tales of an Urban Werewolf serie by Karen Macinerney
Howling at the Moon
On The Prowl
Riley Jenson serie by Keri Arthur
Full Moon Rising
Kissing Sin
Tempting Evil
Dangerous Games
Embraced by Darkness
The Darkest Kiss
Ripple Creek serie by Keri Arthur
Beneath a Rising Moon
Beneath a Darkening Moon
The movie Ginger Snaps also has a female lead…
Kelley Armstrong “Women of the Otherworld” has a new book called Frostbitten. Again this series is definitely recommended. Mystery, suspense, romance, and the characters are very well developed.
Kel:
Thanks for the recommendation. Kelley Armstrong is one of my favorite writers. Just added Frostbitten to my Amazon cart.
The Better To Hold You and Moon Burn about Abra a vet has werewolves and other supernatural stuff. By Alisa Sheckley
Caitlin:
I’ll have to check out the Alisa Sheckley werewolf books.
Thanks for the recommendations!
Check Out the Crimson Moon Series by LA Banks.
Ashley:
I have and I love those books. L.A. Banks is a fantastic writer!
Thanks!
the lead female is not a were wolf but they have those in there and every other thing you can think of. i love these books and hopfuly you will to ! ! ! ! ( in order )
( Anita Blake – Novels ) ( Merry Gentry – Novels )
1.Guilty Pleasures 1.A Kiss of shadowsThe 2.Laughing Corpse 2.A Caress of Twilight
3.Circus of the Damned 3.Seduced by Moonlight 4. 4.A Stroke of Midnight
5. 5.Mistrals Kiss
6. 6.A Lick of Frost
7. Burnt Offerings 7.Swallowing Darkness
8. BlueMoon 8.
9. Obsidian Butterfly
10. Narcissus in Chains
11.
12. Incubus Dreams
13. Micah
14. Danse Macabre
15. The Harlequin
16. Blood Noir
Keri Auther
1.Full Moon Rising
2.Kissing Sin
3.Tempting Evil
4.Dangerous Games
5.Embraced by Darkness
6.
7.
8.Deadly Desire
these books are fantastic both series ‘ i highly recomend. if you’re into books about the otherworld these are the best i’ve ever read. i cant wait to wait a couple of years and reread them. they’re that good!
Patricia Briggs Alpha and Omega series.
Yes, the Alpha and Omega series by Patricia Briggs is awesome!
Thanks for mentioning it.
I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve read Hunting Ground.
I’m eagerly awaiting the next installment.
The Rachel Vincent series is not to be missed!
STRAY
ROGUE
PRIDE
PREY
SHIFT
I can’t recommend Fool Moon, the second book of The Dresden Files, enough to werewolf fans. It has a variety of types of werewolves, everything *except* the “get bitten and turn into a wolf during full moon” type. The werewolves come in both genders, but their leader, Tera, is so mysterious and inhuman no matter *what* form she’s in… you won’t soon forget her, that’s a promise. (Other books do the same with vampires and fae. Books and movies and legends have a nugget of truth but it’s more complicated than any one version lets on. It’s awesome on *so* many levels, but since we’re just talking about werewolves here, book two is what’s relevant. And you don’t have to have read book one to understand book two.)
I didn’t even know that all these werewolf books were out there! so glad i found this site. Blood and Chocolate was great, anyone know if there will be another? Tales of an Urban Werewolf is freaking UNBELIEVABLE as well. i hope there are more to come. i can’t wait to check out the other books that i saw posted here. THANKS ALL!
ReyIra:
Isn’t Tales of an Urban Werewolf a great book? I predict that we’ll see more and more werewolf books this year. And did you hear that there’s a new TV series in the works that will feature werewolves? Can’t wait!
[...] werewolves are underrepresented in popular media. A number of blogs have commented on this fact, compiling lists of all the media appearances by female werewolves. [...]
I just want to say thank you to everyone who has posted book titles on here for everyone to check out. I haven’t read too many werewolf books, but I have recently read a YA novel called Raised By Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. The main character is a female, although she is not a werewolf (yet!), but she does have a lot of the same characteristics. Please check this book out because it really is a good book and Barnes is a newer author with a lot of good books.
the book is perfect!!!!!you must read it
Ok i am currently reading raised by wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes and i love it! It has the vibe of romance but none that is obvious so far and the werewolves are kinda like shifters but you still get your daily dose of werewolf awsomeness. It is about a human girl raised by werewolves (who would have guessed lol) but i truly recommend it, it is a good read.
I saw someone mentioned this already but it was so good I wanted to post it again—I just read Rachel Vincent’s Shifters Series and I loved every bit of it!!!
Stray, Rogue, Prey, Pride and Shift
And Alpha is coming out Oct 1st!
Definately read this one!! I could not put it down
I can recomend the novel Silver. I’ve copied the blurb for you
‘My friends, soon the Inquisition will rule the world’ Centuries ago, the Inquisition, a shadowy organisation claiming to be protectors of humanity, captured one of the gods of ancient Greece. Apparently, whoever drank the god’s blood increased their strength and lifespan, didn’t need food or drink, and in fact became partly immortal. Now in the 21st Century, the lost gods are back, but humankind is in trouble! The Inquisition specialises in killing anyone or anything deemed to be a threat – werewolves, vampires and so on – Enter Silver, ex-inquisitor and part-time werewolf – can she and the motley assortment of gods stop the Inquisition’s latest deadly threat – Code X? Silver has a few secrets and aces to play – no one meddles with Silver. Compelling reading – and you just might discover the closely guarded secret of turning someone into a vampire – Hollywood’s claims aren’t always right!
Silver will be availible as an E-Book in the next few weeks
Read your book utter garbage. No wonder you had to self publish
hay be nice also the shiver serse is are good books
i love reading where fiction but the problem is, is that there is so little that isn’t the really had horror monster stuff. i just actually started reading on a regular basis about three years ago and, along with reading many other books, i have already read all of the series mentioned. Laurell K. Hamilton was the one that started it all for me. then L.A. Banks and Keri Arthur simultaneously right after that along with being a full time student. does anyone know of a good newer series that looks like it will last for a while?
You should really read Kelly Armstrong’s Women of the otherworld series it really is great. Armstrong also has a YA triology that kept me hooked!
I’ve read the Women of the Otherworld series and agree that it’s REALLY well written.
Thanks for the new recommendations!
lori handeland the “moon” series. its an excellent series. If you love werewolf books these are the ones for you. all the books are tied together. make sure you read them in order. i promise she’ll become a new favorite author for you!
Thanks for the recommendation!
I ordered the first of her werewolf books, blue moon…and you were right
excellent! finished it in a day…and immidiately ordered the rest of them!
hi I think a series written by a man called Martin miller is quite new it’s about werewolfs,
The first book is. Lonely werewolf girl.
Second is. Curse of the werewolf girl
A series of books with all the supernaturals in that is brilliant is written by Suzanne McLeod
First book, the sweet scent of blood
Second, cold kiss of death
The third in this series is out feb 2011
You could also try Dying bites and death blows by d.d.barrant both have werewolfs
Patsy:
I just got Curse of the Werewolf Girl and hope to read it soon. Thanks for submitting these recommendations! Keep them coming!
What about the female werewolf in the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett:
Men at Arms
Feet of Clay
Jingo
Fifth Elephant
Thud!
From Thomas Emson:
- Maneater
- Maneater 2: Prey
sooooooo good!! best werewolf books I ever read!!
just finched this book its called nightshade and its by andrea cremer its a very new series so far there are only two books out that i now of the second one is called wolfsbane, Heres the summary: Calla and Ren have been raised knowing that it is their desting to be mates with one another and rule over their shape-shifting wolf pack, but when a young human boy arrives and vies calla’s heart, she is faced with a decisition that could change her whole world. hope you like the series.
Patricia:
Thanks for the recommendation! Sounds like an interesting YA fantasy book.
Full disclosure: I am the author of the following book but it fit your list so I thought I would share. The book is called Tamed. The story follows Christine Alt, a ff/paramedic, as she becomes infected by a werewolf that is being kept as a pet. Her infection and subsequent transformation threatens the WereHouse’s business model of selling werewolves as pets and they go on the hunt to silence her. You can take a look at Tamed at online stores or my publisher, Rhemalda’s site, by searching Tamed by Douglas Brown. I hope you don’t find this as spam as I am trying to add to the conversation.