Reviews

Wolves of Duty by Charlotte Murphy

teyalauren's review

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Honestly fell in love with the characters and the storyline. This is 1,000,000% something I want to see on my screen. Perfect mix of romance, action, mystery, heartbreak, and so much more. 

middleburybooks's review

5.0

This is a fast-paced adult fantasy with great characters that you feel you really know, by the end. There are no scenes that drag on. The fantasy world is well described without feeling like an “info-dump.” Looking forward to the next book!

purpleramblings's review

5.0

SO GOOD!! So very good!!
Despite being a fantasist IRL, I’m not a fantasy reader. Wolves aren’t a topic I would readily choose - The Twilight movies and Jungle Book being my only real interaction with them. I read Wolves of Duty due to knowing and wanting to support the Author and my goodness am I glad I did! From the beginning to the end this an absolute page turner. Intriguing, gripping, steamy. The ease with which she brings this story to life is really beautiful. A love story tied up in betrayal, revenge, family dynamics and of course duty. I would love to see this screen as a Disney series. It is really amazingly written and I highly recommend it!

nite0wl29's review

4.0

None of them thought I was strong. None of them had any faith in me. I hated that somewhere, deep down, I agreed with them. I’d never had or taken any real responsibility for anything in my life. My almost twenty years had been an amalgamation of privilege and wealth and, most importantly, of ignorance. I saw that now. And it didn’t feel good.

Wow.

Just…WOW.

I haven’t read many werewolf romances, so I have nothing to compare it with. I devoured this story so fast and now I’m left feeling like I took a running leap off a cliff and swan dived into the Grand Canyon.

The love-triangle and its outcome is unlike anything I’ve read before. When I thought I had it all figured out—and I partially did—there was a twist that had me screaming “WHAAAT?!” I legit didn’t think the author would go there. And holy crap, I have no clue what to expect in the second half of this duology. Caius is still my favorite wolf. Just to throw that out there for the world.

vanessamariebooks's review

I had a lot of thoughts about this one. To find out more, check out the Diversity is Lit bookclub discussion: https://youtu.be/CCScbP2S6lI

Content Warnings: emotional and physical abuse, questionable consent, violence, sexual acts, and on-page and off page rape/SA scene.

ruth_miranda's review

3.0

I always admire an author who doesn't shy from presenting their protagonists as less than 'perfect, adorable, impossible not to swoon over' characters, and Charlotte Murphy has certainly delivered, on that. None of the three main characters falls under that trap, quite the contrary - they're all verging on the dislikeable. Sabre is a bully, cruel and mean for the sake of feeling a little better about himself, with some sort of control over his life - this is no wonder, given the way he's been raised and treated by his parents. In fact, were this character any different, I would find it very jarring, for these things leave deep marks and linger on. He has little to no self-esteem, and his confidence is simply unexisting. Unless he's being an absolute idiot, that is, who treats the woman he's supposed to love like absolute shite. Then there's Caius, who is just as bad, though presented in the guise of the martyr, the one who's willing to sacrifice everything for justice and the overall good of his world - or what he himself believes is the overall good. (I'm not saying he's wrong, just stating a fact, though there are always consequences that most would-be-heroes tend to never consider...) But Caius treats Aspen just as badly, and most of his reasons seem to be because she chose Sabre and because she's female? He's sullen and moody and most of the time reminds me of a kid throwing a tantrum. Again, this is unsurprising - and true to what I imagine the character would be, given his own upbringing and the truth of his origins. As for Aspen herself, having been raised to believe she's the most important female in her world, she's bound to be insufferable. Selfish, self-centred, entitled, petty, childish and extremely immature, Aspen considers nothing nor anyone, except herself and her wants and whims. The way she treats her friends is abhorring, the way she carries herself reminds me of all those 'mean girl characters' that are usually the villain in teen books, and it was quite refreshing to see this kind of character as a protagonist. I don't feel that she changes much throughout the novel, she remains the same person albeit life circumstances forcing her to regard a lot of things differently. And again, it's unsurprising that Aspen is this person, for once again, her upbringing and her mother's pressure, especially, have made her into this. She's a person living in an inner conflict and because she's been emotionally stunted by her role and her raising, she cannot handle that conflict. But even so, Aspen remains true to herself - she knows she's above the rest, and when she finally realises why, a flicker of the Aspen we met on the first pages returns to life, promising to change the course of history in her world.
Unfortunatelly, the writing style was just not my jam - we all have our preferences - and there were quite a few typos that often pulled me off the narrative. I would totally recommend this novel to fans of wolf shifter romance fantasies, though.

tenayamkd's review

5.0

SUCH A GOOD BOOK!
It kept me up literally all night!

writehollydavis's review

4.0

3.5/5, rounded to 4. Watch the Diversity is Lit book club discussion for all my thoughts on the book! https://youtu.be/CCScbP2S6lI

writicious's review

4.0

Wolves of Duty is the first in a duology. It’s about werewolves – or

charliauthor's review

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Wolves of Duty is a story so special to me because it is the book i have always wanted to write. It is by no means perfect but its perfect to me.
While featuring a black cast was important to me to do after my trilogy and prequel, it was more about featuring a narrative that was not based in trauma or oppression as so many black fiction books are prone to do. While there are many stories to tell in this setting, i did not want to add to it and Duty is my love letter to Black Excellence.
Its a book about self discovery, about love, about friendship and about betrayal. It might seem cliche but its not your 'typical' werewolf book because its so much more than that. Its not about dominating Alphas being in heat or helpless virgins waiting to be deflowered by a hunky wolf named Connor lol
Duty is about a young woman who has unconsciously being mentally abused and her fight to escape a world that would deny her the right to be free of her obligations and use her for their own nefarious aims. Duty is a fantasy snapshot of a world we are slowly regressing into and I hope that people take from it, the passion and depth that went into writing it.