Tag Archives: urban fantasy

wolf marked x3

Wrapping up the Wolf Marked reading challenge

I had a lot of fun with the Wolf Marked reading challenge. As a reminder, three different books titled Wolf Marked were promoed on Sadie’s Spotlight fairly close together and I joked on Twitter that I should just read and review them all. Well, what started as a joke soon became reality and I decided to see if I could get hold of all of them. The last was a challenge since it wasn’t released yet. But I managed it and the battle of the wolf marked was on.

I set out to read Veronica DouglasWolf Marked, Alexis Calder’s Wolf Marked, and Harper Brooks’ Wolf Marked. I’ve accomplished it and it’s time to wrap the challenge up and call it done.

Being only three books long, I don’t know that it really needs a wrap-up post. But I think I do. It’s not until I write such a post that my mind stops going, “Oh, there’s another Wolf Marked (or whatever the challenge is), maybe I can add it in.” For example, I stumbled across Isabeau CrossWolf Marked book, and undoubtedly would have added it to the challenge if it was actually available now instead of next April.

So, to put a period on this challenge and call it truly finished, I’m bringing all three Wolf Marked reviews together.

Book Review: Wolf Marked, by Veronica Douglas

Book Review: Wolf Marked, by Alexis Calder

Book Review: Wolf Marked, by Harper A. Brooks

I’m reluctant to declare a winner. I didn’t love or hate any of them. If I was truly forced to rank them it would probably go Calder, Douglas, Brooks. But they’re all pretty neck-to-neck honestly. They did have a lot in common though. All the heroines were pretty close in age, there were a disproportionate number of red-heads with freckles, and (of course) they’re all destined to love werewolves (though not all did by the end of the book).

All in all, I’d call the whole endeavor a success.

 

wolf untamed banner

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.

edge of the woods jules kelley

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