#Santa Olivia

[nellasbookplanet]

Book recs: werewolves

Want your monsters a little hairier? Then this list is for you! Whether you prefer your werewolf books fantasy, horror, slice of life, or romance, this list has a something for everyone (especially if you want your werewolves queer!)

For more details on the books, continue under the readmore. Titles marked with * are my personal favorites. And as always, feel free to share your own recs in the notes!

If you want more book recs, check out my masterpost of rec lists!

Lobizona (Wolves of No World series) by Romina Garber

Young adult. As an undocumented immigrant, Manu has been told her existence is illegal. When her mother is arrested by ICE, Manu is left alone, and decides to seek out the only connection she has left: her dead father's criminal connections. Here she finds a secret underworld of Argentinian folklore, where a seventh daughter is a bruja and a seventh son is a lobizón - a werewolf. But as Manu understands more about who and what she is, she comes to realize her self is seen as forbidden in more ways than one, and that she will have to fight for her way to exist. Tackles heavy subjects in a more lighthearted magic school setting.

Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline

Horror. Nearly a year ago, Joan's husband Victor disappeared seemingly into thin air. That is, until Joan stumbles across a revival tent where the local Métis have gathered to listen to the charismatic preacher Eugene Wolff - a man with Victor's face. But when she faces him, he doesn't recognize her at all, claiming his mission is only to spread the word of Jesus. Only, that is far from all he's doing. Now Joan must find out the truth of what happened to her husband.

Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses by Kristen O'Neal*

Young adult. Priya had plans to go to Stanford, but is derailed when the fallout from lyme disease puts her back, making her question if she'll ever get back to normal. Luckily she has her discord support group with whom she can chat and vent about her illness. Even more - she has Brigid, online fandom friend and fellow chronic illness sufferer. But when Brigid disappears from the web without warning, Priya must drive to Pennsylvania to make sure her friend is okay - and finds that Brigid's condition is a bit hairier than she expected.

Santa Olivia (Santa Olivia duology) by Jacqueline Carey*

Is this werewolf fiction? Technically not. It's sci-fi more than fantasy or horror, with a plot reminiscent of superhero stories. It follows Loup Garron, a young girl growing up in Santa Olivia, an isolated town by the border between the US and Mexico, where the inhabitants aren't allowed to leave. Loup is the daughter of a "Wolf Man", a soldier enhanced with wolven traits which she have now inherited, allowing her to take a stand against the soldiers keeping her small home town oppressed. Also features a main f/f couple!

A Wolf Steps in Blood by Tamara Jerée*

Novella, lesbian soulmate romance. Red wolves went extinct in Alabama long ago - except for the ancestors of Yasmine's family, who were saved by witches putting a spell on them, allowing them to take human form to hide. Now, that spell is growing weaker, and Yasmine is struggling for control with her wolf. When a chance encounter with the exiled blood witch Kalta reveals the two to be not only fated mates but also the possible answer to the pack's struggles, Yasmine and Kalta both must work together to overcome the grief in their hearts and save their families.

Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones

Horror. A coming-of-age story following a boy and his aunt Libby and uncle Darren, living on the road and staying outside the law. They're all outsiders, but Libby and Darren are mongrels, mixedbloods, werewolves waiting to see if their nephew is like them or not. The boy, meanwhile, must decide if the wandering life of his family is for him, or if he belongs somewhere else.

How to Be a Werewolf by Shawn Lenore*

Graphic novel, available as printed or webcomic. Malaya was bitten by a wolf as a child, and ever since she has lived an isolated life with her family, working in their coffee shop and fearing she will lose control of her wolf side. Having never met another werewolf, Malaya knows little of what she is - until she meets a stranger claiming to be like her, and that she's far from alone. But the more she gets involved with other werewolves, the more she also gets dragged into the dangerous conflicts between packs.

Artie and the Wolf Moon by Olivia Stephens

Middle grade graphic novel. One night, young Artie witnesses something incredible - her own mother turning into a wolf. She finds out she's from a lineage of werewolves, and to help her awaken her abilities her mother invites family friends who are like them. A new world opens up for Artie, but so do dark secrets: werewolves have a deadly enemy, and it's coming back for them.

Bored Gay Werewolf by Tony Santorella

Brian is a slacker, having dropped out from college, working as a waiter, and spending his nights drinking with his friends - except the nights when he turns into a werewolf, of course. But after having slipped and killed a jogger, Brian is noticed by fellow werewolf Tyler, who's working on a self-help startup for werewolves and offers to mentor Brian. At first Tyler's methods helps Brian get back on his feet, but the more he learns of Tyler's expansion plans, the more he realizes he might be bad news. A good read if you want a funny, goofy take down of toxic masculinity that doesn't take itself very seriously.

Such Sharp Teeth by Kim Harrison*

When her pregnant twin sister is left by her boyfriend, Rory decides to go back to her home town and stay with her for a time. But the town is also the home of old childhood trauma, and something wild is roaming the woods. When she gets attacked and mauled one night, Rory's successful life is changed forever. Lycanthropy used as a metaphor for female rage, trauma, and bad coping mechanisms.

What Big Teeth by Rose Szabo

Young adult horror. It's been years since Eleanor Zarrin last saw her family, having been sent away to boarding school when she was little. But after a bloody misstep, Eleanor must flee the school and return home to her family's manor. Here she's reminded of her family's darker side, and that she has never been able to run and hunt in the woods alongside them. But in a family of wolves Eleanor is something else - and even more dangerous.

Red Hood by Elana K. Arnold

Young adult horror. A take on the little red riding hood tale where the girl is both the victim of the wolf and the huntsman who slays it. After a particularly embarrassing incident, young Bisou flees into the woods, only to be faced with a predatory wolf. To her shock, their face-off ends with the wolf dead, not Bisou. Even more shocking: the dead wolf turns into a boy. Suddenly, Bisou finds herself a hunter and a protector, routing out the wolves who masquerade as boys. Visceral and bloody, but pretty feminism 101 in its portrayal.

Fear the Wolf by Stefanie Gilmour

Urban fantasy. Alex never wanted to be a werewolf, but when a latent gene was triggered by a traumatic event, causing her to shift, she had no choice but to accept her new reality. Now she stays under the radar, avoiding other werewolves as she tries to keep a job and keep her temper under control, fearing that she will be discovered or even hurt someone. The only person outside her family who knows her secret is Emma, a wizard and Alex's closest friend. But when Emma gets a new boyfriend and starts acting strangely at the same time as attacks and disappearances of supernatural citizens are on the rise, Alex might have no other choice but to get involved in the local werewolf community to fight back.

Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn

Urban fantasy. Kitty Norville is a midnight radio host and a werewolf, having been turned after a traumatic attack. Stuck in an abusive pack, Kitty needs an outlet, and decides to use her radio midnight hour to speak about the supernatural. Soon others like her are calling in, seeking advice, and Kitty's life is looking up - but in drawing attention to the supernatural, she has also put a target on her back, and someone wants to make her shut up, no matter what.

No Gods, No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull

When Laina's brother gets shot and killed, a video recording the incident reveals something shocking: a giant wolf which, when shot, turns into a naked man. The video gets leaked, and little by little monsters start coming out into the open. But there’s a reason monsters have decided to step put of hiding, something otherworldly and far more dangerous than them. Follows a large cast of characters, among them members of a werewolf pack.

Bonus AKA I haven't read these yet but they seem really cool

Rules for Werewolves by Kirk Lynn

A story told entirely in dialogue, Rules For Werewolves follows a group of young outsiders, drifting from place to place and squatting in empty suburban houses as they try to build a life in a world that has no room for them,

Howl by Shaun David Hutchinson

Young adult. New kid in town, Virgil Knox, has been attacked by a monster. Only, no one believes it was actually a monster, insisting it must've been a bear. But Virgil knows it was really a monster, and now he fears that it will come back for him - or that he will become one himself.

The Devourers by Indra Das

In Kolkata, India, college professor Alok encounters a mysterious stranger who tells him a story of a race of people at once man and beast, and a wanderer in 17th century Mughal who is torn between two worlds.

Thor by Wayne Smith

Thor the German Shepherd is devoted to his suburban family, and when Uncle Ted comes to live with his family, that devotion is put to the test. For Ted is no longer human, and Thor can sense that there is something dark and dangerous hiding inside him, something which he must keep his family safe from.

Wild by Meghan O'Brien

Selene leads a lonely life, avoiding forming close relationships to keep herself and others safe as she turns into a remorseless wolf creature every full moon. Eve is a forensic pathologist who has sworn off romantic relationships after having had an ex cheat on her, focusing instead on catching murderers. But when a masked man attacks Eve and Selene comes to her rescue, the two become unavoidably intertwined as a monster even more dangerous than Selene stalks the streets.

Wolfsong by T.J. Klune

Ox Matheson's neighbors, the Bennett family, aren't ordinary people: they're shapeshifters, able to turn into wolves. Intrigued by their lifestyle, Ox becomes close to the youngest son, Joe. But when murder comes to town, Joe ends up leaving, and won't return until years later. Now adults, the feelings between them can't be denied any longer.

[wizardsvslesbians]

We're fixing our update schedule by giving you an off-week mainline episode! These books ask the question: what if a secret chinese breeding program created a race of supermen, and then what if one of them had a cool lesbian daughter and she grew up on the Mexican border? And what if there were two border walls, and a few little towns got sandwiched between them? And then what if in the second book she and her girlfriend became sexy comedy spies?

[haveyoureadthisscifibook]

vote yes if you have finished the entire book.

vote no if you have not finished the entire book.

(faq · submit a book)

[kvothbloodless]

Ive got a whole (in progress) list of such stories that I enjoyed enough to recommend. Not all of them fit this description exactly, and a few are romances that heavily focus on that, so I wont post the full list here, but here are the ones that i think fit well enough:

The Gods are Bastards (very much this, but unfortunately this subplot happens in books 11 and 16, so its a Lot (of an excellent series) to read through before you get to it))

Starless- Not exactly this, since its about a person (minor spoilers) afab, but raised as a boy by a temple of warrior monks, and so its more abouth him figuring out what his gender identity is, rather than a transition. Alao extremely good.

The Story of Silence- Almost exactly the same as Starless (reading this was very much a two nickles situation for me)

Burke Misadventures- This is almost exactly what OP described. Its an important but relatively minor subplot about one od the two MCs towards the end of book 1, and by book 2 shes mostly fully transitioned

Dreadnought (The Nemesis series)- I wouldnt really say this counts, because she starts out knowing shes trans, and gets a (spoilers) surprise magic transition in the first chapter, and id say its about 50/50 between focusing on her coming out/socially transitioning and on her superhero activities. But im including it anyways because its just genuinely phenomenal.

Same thing OP described, but for women realizing theyre sapphic, rather than someone realizing theyre trans:

Santa Olivia- Yea, definitely not the focus or even a Major plot point, but thats mostly just because it doesnt take all that long for the character to get past it and start dating the MC. Mostly. Definitely worth reading though.

The One Who Eats Monsters- Ive plugged this enough on my blog i assume anyone seeing this is already tired of hearing me talk about it. Insanely fun plot, excellent romance, extremely well written subplot about a girl realizing shes queer.

Longshadow- Faerie tale mystery with a sapphic romance subplot that invovled the MC learning that being queer is A Thing, and then does that. Other than the ending (which was okay), extremely well written

The Midnight Lie- Pretty similar to Longshadow in terms of "MC realizes she can be gay. Bes gay." The romance is definitely a major plot point here, but not quite 50/50 i think.

Wild and Wicked Things- Great Gatsby retelling sort of, same as the previous two. Not an Incredible story, but its fun and interesting and gay.

I want stories to have characters that like. Realize they're trans and do transition stuff, like name changes and trying new looks, partway through the narrative. I want it to be a major point for their personal arc, but not the be-all end-all of their/the story's existence. Like, imagine we get a full season of a show with a particular cast, right? We get to know them decently well as characters, get kinda settled with them. Then, at some point in the next season, one of the characters realizes he's a girl, and it's a huge step for her personal development, but ultimately the main problem on everyone's minds, our newly cracked egg included, is the dark sorcerer who has bewitched the city council, or whatever else the current major conflict might be. IDK, I just wanna see more trans characters in general, of course, and I also wanna see some of them get to figure shit out bc that's such an interesting space to explore, but I also want some of those arcs to just be part of the tapestry of the lives of people with other things going on in their world. Any kind of person can be trans, and the realization can come at any point in life, and it'd be cool to see that reflected in more stuff.

[valentinovamp]

Olivia de Havilland (1940)

[unusedandfinished]

hemmed and hawed about my picks all month. then, it all came to me on the very last day.

[papyjr13]

Merry Christmas everyone !!

Here is some doodles I made for the occasion with a canon version and my headcanon version, specially for the Calamity Trio.

The holidays aren't finished yet. I have another surprise.

[incorrectcabensonquotes]

(Alex was alone with Noah on Christmas Eve while Olivia was working)

Olivia: Alex, what was the last thing you and Noah did before you went to bed Christmas Eve?

Alex: *rolls her eyes* We shared a bowl of sugar, did some shots of brown liquor, played with shot guns, field-dressed a cat, looked for women…

Olivia: *glares at her*

Alex: I read him a book!

Olivia: What book?

Alex: Uh, "Hollywood Wives.”

Olivia: …

Alex: "The Night Before Christmas," Liv, come on!

[rocketonthemoon]

ask meme 21, 26, 37!

What book needs to be a movie: Actually you know what? I would really like to see Mexican Gothic as a movie. I think that could be a lot of fun. Small cast, big haunted house and some potential fun CGI stuff at the end. Call up Mr. Del Toro I think I've got a story for him.

Give a recommendation: Jay, my friend, my comrade, I really want you specifically to read Santa Olivia by Jacqueline Carey because I feel like you probably would really like it but I could be totally projecting here. But anyways, mildly supernatural coming of age boxing story but it's so much more than boxing??? I dunno how to describe it other than that. And then the second book is just "but what if they were body guards" and it's even more fun and silly but you just gotta read Santa Olivia if you haven't already.

Oh and The Wager by David Grann if you haven't! Non-fiction that reads like fiction about a shipwreck. I did the audiobook for that one too and it was absolutely fantastic. I hear the physical book reads really well too!

[agaypanic]

agaypanic's Bernard the Elf Playlist

TSC Masterlist | Main Masterlist

if you want something to listen to while you read my bernard fics, here you go! if yall have any suggestions for what to add on this playlist, lmk in the comments!!

Spotify Link

Mary On A Cross - Ghost

All I Want for Christmas Is You - Mariah Carey

Home - Cavetown

Young And Beautiful - Lana Del Rey

Line Without a Hook - Ricky Montgomery

Mr. Loverman - Ricky Montgomery

santa doesn't know you like i do - Sabrina Carpenter

Back To December - Taylor Swift

ballad of a homeschooled girl - Olivia Rodrigo

[haveyoureadthisscifibook]

vote yes if you have finished the entire book.

vote no if you have not finished the entire book.

(faq · submit a book)

[cursed-mistake]

gal pals for a valentine's day art trade @demoarty's olivia and my elona

[newtness532]

i love digital books bc i can discretely read during family gatherings and ignore the FuN conversations they are having

[storywriter12]

The 5th of December

Olivia Benson

I feel should love the holidays she will put up a big tree in her front room singing as she does so

I feel like she will bake and be very good at it she will bake cookies and cakes and takw them to the squad room she will get comments saying her cookies are very good but I feel that people will fight and you do need to get to the cookies fast because I feel like fin and Rafael would eat them all

Christmas shopping

I feel like she wouldn't panic she actually like to shop alot she likes to go out at Christmas and see all the Decorations

I feel like she would definitely decorate the squad room and get everyone to join In they all have a little sing alone when they do the tree

She would have everyone around for dinner and she would cook after that they will all sit around and tell each other what they will do for the holidays while they exchange gifts because I feel like Olivia will do Secret santa

Coming the the day

Olivia is up bright and early cook breakfast for her son when he comes though to the kitchen she tells him that santa has been but santa has said that you need to have breakfast first before opening presents which always works she cooks pancakes and then he opens his gifts after that she goes and cooks dinner she tells the squad that they can come. Over for dinner of they like which they do because who wouldn't want to spend Christmas with Olivia Benson

After dinner

I feel they will all sit around and talk about what they got for Christmas they will all laugh and drink trying to not get to drunk

Then after the holidays they will go back to work and I feel like Olivia would leave a gift and a card on each of there desks

[uglyandtraveling]

Toronto's Santa Claus Parade: 120 Years of Magic and an Uncertain Future

Discover the magic of Toronto's 120th Santa Claus Parade, a cherished tradition since 1905. Learn about its future, challenges, and watch the festive celebration in 4K!