Tag Archives: paranormal

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Book Review: Wolf Untamed, by Alexis Calder

Wolf Untamed is book two of the Moon Cursed series, the first of which is called Wolf Marked. I read it as part of my Wolf Marked reading challenge.

I accepted a copy of Wolf Untamed from Amber at Lady Amber’s Reviews & PR at the same time that  I requested one of the Wolf Marked books for that reading challenge from her. Oddly enough, it wasn’t the Alexis Calder Wolf Marked that I went to Amber for, as I’d already bought a copy, it was the Harper A. Brooks one (because it wasn’t released yet). But when I told her I was going to do a Wolf Marked challenge, including Calder’s Wolf Marked, she mentioned that she had book two of the Moon Cursed series coming available soon. So, I accepted, though I didn’t receive it in time to read and review it and Wolf Marked at the same time. So, they’re getting separate posts.

If you want to see my review of Book one of the Moon Cursed series, Wolf Marked, it is here:

Book Review: Wolf Marked, by Alexis Calder

Man, it gets really confusing to talk about several books with the same title. And probably no one else is all that interested in the minutia. But I think it’s all the round aboutness of getting books with the same name, but from different series, from the same source really ironically funny. I accept it’s probably just me,


Wolf Untamed

You can only trust yourself.

They say it’s more dangerous being a lone wolf. I say having friends isn’t worth the pain. Everyone I’ve ever known has betrayed me. You’d think by now, I’d learn not to trust anyone.

My old pack wants me dead. My true mate wants to complete the bond. My inner wolf is a no-show. The decks are stacked against me and if I survive this, I have no idea where to go next.

I’m out of tricks and out of allies but there’s one path I haven’t tried: finding out about my father. My mom warned me against him but at this point, how can my life get any worse?

my review

I’m still interested in how this series progresses and ends. I still like Lola. In fact, I probably like her more as she’s starting to strengthen up. I like her found family. And the writing is quite readable (minus a few editing mishaps). But I’m kind of losing my patience with the serial nature of it all.

I went into the series knowing the books end on cliffhangers and are not stand alone. So, I can’t complain about that. But this book is only 156 pages long. The first was only 232. One can’t imagine the next (which I think is the last, though I’m not sure why I think that, so I could be wrong) being much longer. I just don’t see any reason for this story to be broken into 3 books. And you can really feel that here in book two. It feels like the middle of a book—not the middle of a series, the middle of a book.

And while book one was about werewolves, here we suddenly have goblins, and fae, and vampires, and witches thrown at us. Though all but the last are merely mentioned, not integral to the story. So, we get hints of a bigger world. But it feels random and out of place showing up in book two, without mention of any of it in book one.

Despite having said all that, I am still curious where it’ll go. So, I’ll be on the hook to read book three.

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edge of the woods

Book Review: Edge of the Woods, by Jules Kelley

I received a copy of Jules Kelley‘s Edge of the Woods through Netgalley.

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There’s something wrong in Pine Grove, Montana, and its bite is vicious.

Haley Fern has been the alpha of her local werewolf pack for less than a year when their law enforcement liaison retires, and Leland Sommers, a man who knows nothing about werewolves or their world, is hired in his place. What could be an awkward situation turns complicated when the man shows up his first day on the job with an injured teenage boy he found on the road–a boy Haley knows has just been bitten.

But discovering who bit the kid isn’t as easy as it seems, especially with Leland asking questions and looking at Haley the way he does.

Can the alpha figure out who is attacking innocent people on her wildlife preserve and protect her pack? Or will the new sheriff and her growing attraction to him put her entire world in danger?

my review

This was a squishy, feel good read. It’s chocked full of diversity, has two sweet cinnamon bun leads, and a mild background mystery. But it’s the fact that the mystery is in the background that leads me to have not loved it more than I did. (I liked it plenty though.) Haley and the deputy are both lovely and they are genuinely careful with each-other in a really heart-warming way. There is no toxicity here. But I’m afraid that’s just not enough to carry a werewolf novel on it’s own. I needed a little more action, a little more bite, so to speak. I do look forward to seeing where the series goes and would be more than happy to read book two

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Other Reviews:

Caitlyn Lynch Reviews

Edge of the Woods – Jules Kelley

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Book Review: Forty, Fabulous and…Fae?, by Melinda Chase

I borrowed an audio version of Melinda Chase‘s Forty, Fabulous and…Fae? through Hoopla.

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No one expects their happily-ever-after to end at forty—but here I am one Prince Charming short of a fairytale.

Living back at Mom’s place with her and Gram is not how this ex district attorney intended to start the next chapter of her life, but I shouldn’t be surprised it’s where I ended up.

You see, my family is cursed. Literally.

At least that’s what both Gram and Mom claim. I’ve never given much thought to their ridiculous superstitions, but when three local patrons from my mom’s occult shop end up dead, even I’m a bit unnerved.

So, I decide to dive right into the crazy headfirst. And what I thought would be the end of my journey…may only be the beginning.

my review

Meh, this wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t fabulous either. I think it just needed another 100 pages—taking it from a novella to a novel—to carry it off. As it is, everything feels a little sketched out, none of the characters feel particularly well-fleshed, and the plot barely starts before the book ends on a cliffhanger.

I liked Shanna well enough, but she’s the only character you get to know, and barely even her. And notably, since this is supposed to be PWF, nothing about her or her situation feels 40+ years old. She could have been 25 and the book would have felt exactly the same. Her being a DA is literally extraneous to the plot. What’s more, I think given the lack of age-defining characteristics, mid-twenties would have fit the plot better. (I always wonder in such scenarios if the author just aged the character up to catch the PWF wave, but of course I don’t actually know.) Everyone else is either just a name or a card-board cutout not worth mentioning.

The writing is quite readable, though, the narrative has an appreciable tone, and the audiobook narrator (Traci Odom) did a good job. But I’m still pretty meh on the whole thing. I don’t think I’d bother with the next book. I’m just not invested enough to really care what happens.

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Other reviews: