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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
What a wonderful way to rekindle my love of shifter stories! Great plot, incredible characters, (both the good and the bad), frustrating, infuriating, dramatic, romantic and sexy. Superb book!
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I found the plot much more interesting than the main romantic relationship, so the book felt pretty unbalanced. Simon was so much more invested than Paul and it didn't really change that much by the end where Paul essentially had no choice but to commit. Perhaps it will be explored in the later parts.
The world-building was really interesting, even though I was personally not a fan of impossibility of female werewolves. I understand it makes it easier in M/M romance to justify not writing female characters, but it felt like such a cop-out.
The world-building was really interesting, even though I was personally not a fan of impossibility of female werewolves. I understand it makes it easier in M/M romance to justify not writing female characters, but it felt like such a cop-out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Homophobia, Murder
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Child abuse, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Death of parent
Newer review/comments on newer edition...
-------original review April 2015---------
Though I am not a fan of the cover, at all, I picked this book up a few months ago because I've come to enjoy shifter novels and this author comes recommended. I enjoyed Unacceptable Risk quite a lot and look forward to reading the rest of the series.
In Ms. Harper's wolf shifter mythology, wolves are born, not made and they're always male. Also, because the packs have to be so secretive, the only time they are allowed to share their existence with humans is if the human is a bond mate to one of the wolf shifters. And since the bond is not easy to achieve, not many humans are aware of the shifters. One other thing to note about the packs is that they have a tendency to be extremely homophobic. As in death to any gay wolf.
Simon was given a stay of execution when he was discovered to be gay, but not everyone was a fan of that. In fact, the pack 'enforcer' is really against the idea. But, Simon is relatively safe as long as the current Alpha lives. Or, maybe not, since he was ambushed by several other wolves and injured badly and left to die in the middle of the road. That is where Paul finds him.
Paul is a local veterinarian who is trying to get his practice off the ground. He's busy busy busy, and had has a tendency to forget to eat and he works very long hours. He found himself attached to Wolf (what he called Simon's wolf when he brought him to the clinic to treat his injuries) and was heartbroken when Wolf escaped. Wolf was injured and Paul is afraid he will aggravate his injuries or get himself killed out in the cold winter.
And Simon is drawn to Paul as well. Both his wolf side and his human side are drawn to Paul (only the human side is sexually attracted to Paul, though (thank FSM!). Simon and Paul become involved, which, unfortunately brings Paul to the attention of Simon's enemies in the pack.
The mythology here is rich and the character development was pretty good. I really liked both Simon and Paul. Though their relationship developed fast, it didn't feel like insta-love. I liked the progression of their relationship. I would recommend this book to fans of M/M shifter novels.
-------original review April 2015---------
Though I am not a fan of the cover, at all, I picked this book up a few months ago because I've come to enjoy shifter novels and this author comes recommended. I enjoyed Unacceptable Risk quite a lot and look forward to reading the rest of the series.
In Ms. Harper's wolf shifter mythology, wolves are born, not made and they're always male. Also, because the packs have to be so secretive, the only time they are allowed to share their existence with humans is if the human is a bond mate to one of the wolf shifters. And since the bond is not easy to achieve, not many humans are aware of the shifters. One other thing to note about the packs is that they have a tendency to be extremely homophobic. As in death to any gay wolf.
Simon was given a stay of execution when he was discovered to be gay, but not everyone was a fan of that. In fact, the pack 'enforcer' is really against the idea. But, Simon is relatively safe as long as the current Alpha lives. Or, maybe not, since he was ambushed by several other wolves and injured badly and left to die in the middle of the road. That is where Paul finds him.
Paul is a local veterinarian who is trying to get his practice off the ground. He's busy busy busy, and had has a tendency to forget to eat and he works very long hours. He found himself attached to Wolf (what he called Simon's wolf when he brought him to the clinic to treat his injuries) and was heartbroken when Wolf escaped. Wolf was injured and Paul is afraid he will aggravate his injuries or get himself killed out in the cold winter.
And Simon is drawn to Paul as well. Both his wolf side and his human side are drawn to Paul (only the human side is sexually attracted to Paul, though (thank FSM!). Simon and Paul become involved, which, unfortunately brings Paul to the attention of Simon's enemies in the pack.
The mythology here is rich and the character development was pretty good. I really liked both Simon and Paul. Though their relationship developed fast, it didn't feel like insta-love. I liked the progression of their relationship. I would recommend this book to fans of M/M shifter novels.
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
3.5
I'm afraid this one never quite got me going.
Paul and Simon were a nice couple and I loved Simons protectiveness. But as for the rest of the story, I found it dragging. The climax did pick it up a little and I found myself enjoying the ending more than the rest. Although I really was hoping for a slightly different outcome, oh well. I did enjoy the way these werewolves were portrayed. I especially loved how there was NO smell Mine Mate Sex fest lol.
Overall a good story, just not one I really fell into.
I'm afraid this one never quite got me going.
Paul and Simon were a nice couple and I loved Simons protectiveness. But as for the rest of the story, I found it dragging. The climax did pick it up a little and I found myself enjoying the ending more than the rest. Although I really was hoping for a slightly different outcome,
Spoiler
are there any books where the Alpha actually lives up to his status. I just get tired of always seeing the bad guy take out the Alpha before getting his comeuppance. I was really hoping this Alpha would prove to be a little tougher than expected.Overall a good story, just not one I really fell into.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
One of my favourite series. I love Simon and Pal! Ms Harper tackles tough topics with believable characters in a supernatural world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Homophobia, Sexual content, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Child abuse
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Kaje Harper does slow burners really well and this book is no exception.
There was an interesting mix of new and familiar werewolf romance lore which created a unique shifter romance experience for the reader. I loved that the lust-at-first-sight aka the insta-mate bond trope was completely thrown out.
Eventhough the story reads like a slow burner, the relationship between Simon and Paul developed quite quickly by real world standards. They got together in less than a month! Even so, it felt like the relationship had time to develop but there were some nods acknowledging the quickness of their bond.
Overall, an enjoyable and somewhat unique shifter romance.
There was an interesting mix of new and familiar werewolf romance lore which created a unique shifter romance experience for the reader. I loved that the lust-at-first-sight aka the insta-mate bond trope was completely thrown out.
Eventhough the story reads like a slow burner, the relationship between Simon and Paul developed quite quickly by real world standards. They got together in less than a month! Even so, it felt like the relationship had time to develop but there were some nods acknowledging the quickness of their bond.
Overall, an enjoyable and somewhat unique shifter romance.
Rating: 4.0 out of 5
This book is a reminder that even if you can predict how everything will play out, if the writing is good enough you can still really enjoy the story. This is a story of relationship and pack politics. While it is successful on both fronts, the former is far more enjoyable than the latter. The courtship between Simon and Paul is so sweet, and the push and pull between attraction, fear, and doubt makes for a fascinating dynamic. Paul's concerns and hesitation especially struck a chord for me. Harper has done a great job in building these characters and their personalities, and indeed constructing a believable niche for werewolves in modern society as well. (Side note: props for either having good knowledge of the day-to-day life and concerns of a veterinarian or doing some really excellent research!)
The pack politics part was the weaker part of the story for me. I was mildly annoyed at the HUGE cast of background characters, all with single short first names that were easy to get confused. This was a minor nitpick since really there are only a few principals that you need to remember. I especially liked Aaron and I look forward to reading more about him later in this series.
As for predictability, about two-thirds through the book I guessed how the critical issues would be resolved. While I was mostly right, there were just enough twists in there to keep things interesting. This was a very entertaining and extremely sexy read! No shyness here, but given the relationship concerns addressed even the intimate moments helped further the plot.
On a side note, I would urge any reader to download the free short story, [b:Unsettled Interlude|17792791|Unsettled Interlude (Hidden Wolves, #1.5)|Kaje Harper|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1365743944s/17792791.jpg|24887287], that immediately follows the action in the book. It really is more of an epilogue, and actually speaks to a lot of the unresolved concerns I had at the end of the book. That epilogue makes the whole story better. Overall, I really liked this book and will continue to read through the series!
This book is a reminder that even if you can predict how everything will play out, if the writing is good enough you can still really enjoy the story. This is a story of relationship and pack politics. While it is successful on both fronts, the former is far more enjoyable than the latter. The courtship between Simon and Paul is so sweet, and the push and pull between attraction, fear, and doubt makes for a fascinating dynamic. Paul's concerns and hesitation especially struck a chord for me. Harper has done a great job in building these characters and their personalities, and indeed constructing a believable niche for werewolves in modern society as well. (Side note: props for either having good knowledge of the day-to-day life and concerns of a veterinarian or doing some really excellent research!)
The pack politics part was the weaker part of the story for me. I was mildly annoyed at the HUGE cast of background characters, all with single short first names that were easy to get confused. This was a minor nitpick since really there are only a few principals that you need to remember. I especially liked Aaron and I look forward to reading more about him later in this series.
As for predictability, about two-thirds through the book I guessed how the critical issues would be resolved. While I was mostly right, there were just enough twists in there to keep things interesting. This was a very entertaining and extremely sexy read! No shyness here, but given the relationship concerns addressed even the intimate moments helped further the plot.
On a side note, I would urge any reader to download the free short story, [b:Unsettled Interlude|17792791|Unsettled Interlude (Hidden Wolves, #1.5)|Kaje Harper|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1365743944s/17792791.jpg|24887287], that immediately follows the action in the book. It really is more of an epilogue, and actually speaks to a lot of the unresolved concerns I had at the end of the book. That epilogue makes the whole story better. Overall, I really liked this book and will continue to read through the series!
I enjoyed this very much - which surprised me, and that's not a comment on the author. I've loved all of the books I've read by Kaje Harper (Tracefinder is one of my favourite trilogies). However, I'm not wild about shifter stories and so I usually avoid reading them, but for various reasons, I gave this one a try, and I'm glad I did.
From the beginning of this first instalment in the Hidden Wolves series, there's a clear sense of it being much more than a human/shifter gay romance, and no mention of Omegas (thank goodness). Politics, discrimination, power struggles and insurgence arise as themes early in the story, playing out around and through Simon and Paul's growing romantic connection.
I loved Simon from the moment we see the world through his eyes. Paul is a little harder to get to know, and I'm still ambivalent about his journey of self-discovery, largely because I'm not a fan of the trope rather than how it fits into the narrative in this instance. That aside, I was hooked quickly by their relationship and fairly raced through the last third of the book, confident the author would deliver a happy ending but unsure how many casualties there would be on the way there.
I went straight on to read [b:Unsettled Interlude|17792791|Unsettled Interlude (Hidden Wolves, #1.5)|Kaje Harper|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1365743944l/17792791._SX50_.jpg|24887287] and already have [b:Unexpected Demands|13420202|Unexpected Demands (Hidden Wolves, #2)|Kaje Harper|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327181985l/13420202._SY75_.jpg|18818259] lined up. I think that says it all.
From the beginning of this first instalment in the Hidden Wolves series, there's a clear sense of it being much more than a human/shifter gay romance, and no mention of Omegas (thank goodness). Politics, discrimination, power struggles and insurgence arise as themes early in the story, playing out around and through Simon and Paul's growing romantic connection.
I loved Simon from the moment we see the world through his eyes. Paul is a little harder to get to know, and I'm still ambivalent about his journey of self-discovery, largely because I'm not a fan of the trope rather than how it fits into the narrative in this instance. That aside, I was hooked quickly by their relationship and fairly raced through the last third of the book, confident the author would deliver a happy ending but unsure how many casualties there would be on the way there.
I went straight on to read [b:Unsettled Interlude|17792791|Unsettled Interlude (Hidden Wolves, #1.5)|Kaje Harper|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1365743944l/17792791._SX50_.jpg|24887287] and already have [b:Unexpected Demands|13420202|Unexpected Demands (Hidden Wolves, #2)|Kaje Harper|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327181985l/13420202._SY75_.jpg|18818259] lined up. I think that says it all.