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cobaltbookshelf's review against another edition
2.0
There better be no romance between Derek and Julie because they have siblings chemistry. Ascanio is right there. 2 stars for Julie defending Hugh and calling him hot. She was so real for that.
emilyb_chicago's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyed the new branching of story lines. This was a short story, looking forward to reading a longer novel around Julie and Darrel.
magikspells's review against another edition
5.0
I love Derek. This novella was just great, I forgot how much I like these characters and this world.
kzimm2024's review
5.0
Original read May 2018, 5 stars and no review
Re-read Feb 2024, 4.5 stars. Its great to see Derek's POV and be reminded that Julie is only 16 to his 20. I guess my timeline of Julie's age in Kate's books puts her as older that I thought she would be at this point but oh well- rolling with the story :)
Derek has been tasked by Curran to look into a murdered family that supplies the Beast Lord with knives. Derek visits vengeance on the murderers and then heads back to figure out why. He comes across Julie and they join forces to conquer some pretty serious monsters.
I'd say my biggest take away was not that they like each other but that Julie is mature enough to pack food (for him I assume), monitor Derek for "wildness" and take steps to protect herself from him if needed. And tease him too.
All while meeting with Roland for training! Kate would blow a gasket if she knew...
“You’ve been talking to him again.”
She didn’t say anything, her gaze fixed on the street ahead. Damn it. “Why the hell do you keep talking to him?”
“Because Roland teaches me things.”
“What could he possibly teach you? How to be an immortal megalomaniac dickhead who kills his own kids? That’s some great lesson.”
“He teaches me magic.” She glared at him.
“Stay away from him. He is dangerous.”
She opened her eyes really wide and blinked at him. “Oh really? You think so? I had no idea.”
---------------
“I know!” She clapped her hands together. “Maybe we could all go into battle blindfolded.”
He had an urge to pull her off her horse and shake her until some sense appeared in her brain.
---------------
“There are things he can’t hide from me. Things that only I can see.” She leaned forward. “He’s teaching me, and that means I’m learning how he thinks. Someone has to talk to him, Derek. Kate isn’t going to. That leaves me.
I’m learning. I can make my own incantations now. I know how to build them and infuse them with power. That’s something Kate doesn’t know how to do.”
Derek: “Don’t you own any jeans?”
“I do.”
“You should wear them.”
“Why? Is the sight of my legs disturbing you, Derek?” She stopped Peanut and stuck her left leg out in front of him. “Is there something wrong with my legs?”
There was nothing wrong with her legs. They were pale and muscular, and men who should know better noticed them.
He was not going to notice them for a list of reasons a mile long, starting with the fact that she was sixteen, and he was twenty. He sidestepped her leg.
And this is priceless:
“If we find out why the Iveses died over that rock, I’ll make you all the bacon you want.”
He startled.
Julie shrugged and bit her jerky. “I can always tell when you’re thinking about food. You forget to be the Serious Wolf, and you get this dreamy look in your eyes.
You know, most people would think you were thinking about a girl. They have no idea that her name is bacon.”
-------------
He decided to yank her tail. “Delicious.”
“Seriously?”
“Mhm. Later on I’ll come back here and eat all of the deer babies. I’ll be big and fat.” No werewolf or human hunter would kill a pregnant doe or a doe with fawns. Do that often enough, and you risked your food supply. Then come winter, where would you be?
“If this is you trying to be funny, stop.”
He grinned at her. “You wanted jokes.”
“What kind of a joke is that?”
“Wolf kind.”
“You really need a girlfriend.”
Not that again.
And after conquering the monsters:
She had stayed with him. She hadn’t left and called for pickup; she’d just stayed here, where he’d fallen, and watched over him. Julie dug in the bag.
“I grabbed some food from the food cart passing by. It’s not deer babies, but you’ll just have to suffer through it.”
He reached out and touched her hand. She paused and looked at him, her eyes bottomless. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For staying with me.”
“You’re welcome, Wolf,” she said quietly.
--------------
Julie remembered finishing off Adams, seeing Derek fall as he turned human again, and then running too fast up Pillar Rock.
She’d dropped to her knees and put her head on his chest, and when she’d heard the strong, even heartbeat, she’d cried and then kissed his lips gently, because he was asleep and he would never know.
He’d scared her so much. Stupid wolf. Her stupid, stupid wolf.
GAH- excited about the potential of their relationship!
Re-read Feb 2024, 4.5 stars. Its great to see Derek's POV and be reminded that Julie is only 16 to his 20. I guess my timeline of Julie's age in Kate's books puts her as older that I thought she would be at this point but oh well- rolling with the story :)
Derek has been tasked by Curran to look into a murdered family that supplies the Beast Lord with knives. Derek visits vengeance on the murderers and then heads back to figure out why. He comes across Julie and they join forces to conquer some pretty serious monsters.
I'd say my biggest take away was not that they like each other but that Julie is mature enough to pack food (for him I assume), monitor Derek for "wildness" and take steps to protect herself from him if needed. And tease him too.
All while meeting with Roland for training! Kate would blow a gasket if she knew...
“You’ve been talking to him again.”
She didn’t say anything, her gaze fixed on the street ahead. Damn it. “Why the hell do you keep talking to him?”
“Because Roland teaches me things.”
“What could he possibly teach you? How to be an immortal megalomaniac dickhead who kills his own kids? That’s some great lesson.”
“He teaches me magic.” She glared at him.
“Stay away from him. He is dangerous.”
She opened her eyes really wide and blinked at him. “Oh really? You think so? I had no idea.”
---------------
“I know!” She clapped her hands together. “Maybe we could all go into battle blindfolded.”
He had an urge to pull her off her horse and shake her until some sense appeared in her brain.
---------------
“There are things he can’t hide from me. Things that only I can see.” She leaned forward. “He’s teaching me, and that means I’m learning how he thinks. Someone has to talk to him, Derek. Kate isn’t going to. That leaves me.
I’m learning. I can make my own incantations now. I know how to build them and infuse them with power. That’s something Kate doesn’t know how to do.”
Derek: “Don’t you own any jeans?”
“I do.”
“You should wear them.”
“Why? Is the sight of my legs disturbing you, Derek?” She stopped Peanut and stuck her left leg out in front of him. “Is there something wrong with my legs?”
There was nothing wrong with her legs. They were pale and muscular, and men who should know better noticed them.
He was not going to notice them for a list of reasons a mile long, starting with the fact that she was sixteen, and he was twenty. He sidestepped her leg.
And this is priceless:
“If we find out why the Iveses died over that rock, I’ll make you all the bacon you want.”
He startled.
Julie shrugged and bit her jerky. “I can always tell when you’re thinking about food. You forget to be the Serious Wolf, and you get this dreamy look in your eyes.
You know, most people would think you were thinking about a girl. They have no idea that her name is bacon.”
-------------
He decided to yank her tail. “Delicious.”
“Seriously?”
“Mhm. Later on I’ll come back here and eat all of the deer babies. I’ll be big and fat.” No werewolf or human hunter would kill a pregnant doe or a doe with fawns. Do that often enough, and you risked your food supply. Then come winter, where would you be?
“If this is you trying to be funny, stop.”
He grinned at her. “You wanted jokes.”
“What kind of a joke is that?”
“Wolf kind.”
“You really need a girlfriend.”
Not that again.
And after conquering the monsters:
She had stayed with him. She hadn’t left and called for pickup; she’d just stayed here, where he’d fallen, and watched over him. Julie dug in the bag.
“I grabbed some food from the food cart passing by. It’s not deer babies, but you’ll just have to suffer through it.”
He reached out and touched her hand. She paused and looked at him, her eyes bottomless. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For staying with me.”
“You’re welcome, Wolf,” she said quietly.
--------------
Julie remembered finishing off Adams, seeing Derek fall as he turned human again, and then running too fast up Pillar Rock.
She’d dropped to her knees and put her head on his chest, and when she’d heard the strong, even heartbeat, she’d cried and then kissed his lips gently, because he was asleep and he would never know.
He’d scared her so much. Stupid wolf. Her stupid, stupid wolf.
GAH- excited about the potential of their relationship!
rebeccazh's review
5.0
EDIT Jan 2021: so I obviously had to reread this after reading Blood Heir. I love that book but there was just way too little Derek and Julie interaction. This is so good, still. I love their dynamic, and I love the view into Derek's perspective. Hoping for a book two for Blood Heir at some point, and more Derek...
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this review is just pure fangirling, don't expect anything coherent.
reread this because i've been rereading their KD stuff and i'm so excited for the new IA book
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this review is just pure fangirling, don't expect anything coherent.
reread this because i've been rereading their KD stuff and i'm so excited for the new IA book
caitybell's review
5.0
Not sure I like where Julie’s character is going...but we shall see, I have full faith in IA and this series!
is_book_loring's review
4.0
A pretty standard story, but I adore Derek enormously, so the stars are super and helplessly subjective. Smooth writing, splendid cover. Still not a fan of sewing Julie out of Kate's blueprint, a survivor-went-through-hell street kid surely can have more than one way to go.
katyanaish's review
4.0
I love Derek, so I was pretty excited for this book, and in that respect, it didn't disappoint at all. Particularly great to see this from his POV.
I do not love Julie. She's okay, I guess. But I just... she's a character that I honestly find annoying. This is probably because I find teenagers annoying, most of the time. *laugh* But the primary reason that I don't read much YA is because the most overused trope is this:
I, the brilliant teen, am going to do the thing everyone is telling me not to do, because adults are dumb and I know so much more than everyone else does about everything. So I will do this thing, and I will save the day, and then everyone will finally have to acknowledge my awesomeness.
*eyeroll*
I dislike that this seems to be the direction for Julie. I love the Andrews team - they are far and away my favorite current writers - and so I'm not overly worried. And I can't even say this is out of character, because this has been very much Julie's character all along (which is probably why I do not love her). It's disappointing to see her moving into TSTL territory, but I do have faith that Kate's story will remain Kate's to ultimately solve, without the teenaged wonderkid coming in like a champ to show everyone how much smarter and more powerful she is than all of them, and save the day. Instead, I expect that Julie is being used, and this is setting up a world of hurt for the characters that I do love. And so yet again, I'd like to strangle Julie. She's TSTL to not see that she's being played. And ominious comments implying she'll "handle" the situation with Kate if she needs to honestly just proves it.
*sigh*
I enjoyed the story. I loved the hell out of getting the peek inside Derek's head. And my frustration with Julie isn't really a criticism of the story. It's more just general unhappiness that she's, yet again, going to be the source of heartache for Kate. But I suppose that the moment Kate decided not to let her die, this was inevitable.
Re-read April 2018
Ugh. Re-reading this after reading book 9 makes me like it less, because I like Julie less (and even Derek was kind of a twat in book 9). I just ... ugh. Julie is The Worst. She's full of herself, in the worst possible way. Why does she think that she needs to talk to Roland? Because, she says, she's information gathering. Okay, asshole. Firstly, Kate has been studying Roland for literally her entire life, and she was taught by Roland's right-hand guy. She's got down how he thinks - we've seen it multiple times. You, on the other hand, are only going to see what he wants you to see, and learn what he chooses to teach you.
He's talking to Julie for two reasons, and she's so stupid that she can't see them.
1 - Unlike Kate, Roland didn't have a source from Kate's inner circle, from which to learn about her. Let's please remember that - as we saw in book 8 - Roland vastly underestimates her. He basically thinks she and Curran are thugs - they pummel things into submission. And this allows them to outmaneuver Roland. The less he knows about Kate, the better for them. And he knows that, which is why it is to his advantage to form a relationship with Julie. So thanks for that, asshole.
2 - Julie will make a fabulous hostage, to use against Kate... because as Roland knows, Kate will bend over backwards to protect those she loves. I wouldn't be surprised if, frankly, Roland's best-case scenario is one that is similar to Voron's - send the child against her. If the child kills Kate, great... and if not, it will hurt Kate terribly to have to kill the child, and Roland would find that amusing. A lesson, even.
But Julie is so fucking self-absorbed, she doesn't see any of this. She thinks she's some super-badass teen, who is the only one that can save the day! Go her!
Frankly, I hope she dies. Soon.
I do not love Julie. She's okay, I guess. But I just... she's a character that I honestly find annoying. This is probably because I find teenagers annoying, most of the time. *laugh* But the primary reason that I don't read much YA is because the most overused trope is this:
I, the brilliant teen, am going to do the thing everyone is telling me not to do, because adults are dumb and I know so much more than everyone else does about everything. So I will do this thing, and I will save the day, and then everyone will finally have to acknowledge my awesomeness.
*eyeroll*
I dislike that this seems to be the direction for Julie. I love the Andrews team - they are far and away my favorite current writers - and so I'm not overly worried. And I can't even say this is out of character, because this has been very much Julie's character all along (which is probably why I do not love her). It's disappointing to see her moving into TSTL territory, but I do have faith that Kate's story will remain Kate's to ultimately solve, without the teenaged wonderkid coming in like a champ to show everyone how much smarter and more powerful she is than all of them, and save the day. Instead, I expect that Julie is being used, and this is setting up a world of hurt for the characters that I do love. And so yet again, I'd like to strangle Julie. She's TSTL to not see that she's being played. And ominious comments implying she'll "handle" the situation with Kate if she needs to honestly just proves it.
*sigh*
I enjoyed the story. I loved the hell out of getting the peek inside Derek's head. And my frustration with Julie isn't really a criticism of the story. It's more just general unhappiness that she's, yet again, going to be the source of heartache for Kate. But I suppose that the moment Kate decided not to let her die, this was inevitable.
Re-read April 2018
Ugh. Re-reading this after reading book 9 makes me like it less, because I like Julie less (and even Derek was kind of a twat in book 9). I just ... ugh. Julie is The Worst. She's full of herself, in the worst possible way. Why does she think that she needs to talk to Roland? Because, she says, she's information gathering. Okay, asshole. Firstly, Kate has been studying Roland for literally her entire life, and she was taught by Roland's right-hand guy. She's got down how he thinks - we've seen it multiple times. You, on the other hand, are only going to see what he wants you to see, and learn what he chooses to teach you.
He's talking to Julie for two reasons, and she's so stupid that she can't see them.
1 - Unlike Kate, Roland didn't have a source from Kate's inner circle, from which to learn about her. Let's please remember that - as we saw in book 8 - Roland vastly underestimates her. He basically thinks she and Curran are thugs - they pummel things into submission. And this allows them to outmaneuver Roland. The less he knows about Kate, the better for them. And he knows that, which is why it is to his advantage to form a relationship with Julie. So thanks for that, asshole.
2 - Julie will make a fabulous hostage, to use against Kate... because as Roland knows, Kate will bend over backwards to protect those she loves. I wouldn't be surprised if, frankly, Roland's best-case scenario is one that is similar to Voron's - send the child against her. If the child kills Kate, great... and if not, it will hurt Kate terribly to have to kill the child, and Roland would find that amusing. A lesson, even.
But Julie is so fucking self-absorbed, she doesn't see any of this. She thinks she's some super-badass teen, who is the only one that can save the day! Go her!
Frankly, I hope she dies. Soon.
annagy's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0