Reviews with content warning for Murder - Thrown to the Wolves

In book three of this contemporary shifter romance/suspense series, it’s time for Dayton to meet Park’s ex-pack/family. Park’s grandfather has passed away, and he invites Dayton along to attend the memorial service. However, Park’s closed lips on his identity and history leaves Dayton at a complete loss when he’s thrown amongst the wolves. On top of that, when it becomes clear that Joe Park’s death was almost certainly foul play, Dayton seems to be the only one who wants an investigation.

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: 3.75 / 5⭐

While I did enjoy reading this third installment of the series, compared to the first two I am left far less satisfied with the mystery we’re presented, the clues we’re given along the way, and the entire big reveal. The last two stories peppered in enough hints and red herrings throughout to keep me guessing, lead me delightfully astray, and surprise me in the end. This time around, I guess the clues were certainly there, but I felt like their connection to the crime was entirely esoteric. The reveal came completely out of left field for me, and I just felt... bummed out about it, instead of invigorated.

One thing that has delighted me about this series so far is how, even though werewolves exist in this world, their existence has been rather tertiary to the plot and the romance. Well, this third book is The Werewolf One. We are now getting into the rules of their world and learning what it is they can and cannot do. I’m not upset that we got here; I’d just found it refreshing to have a werewolf series that wasn’t necessarily about werewolves up until now.

Dayton and Park’s relationship continues to suffer for the lies and the secrets between them. Where book two was Dayton’s turn to make strides in his trust and his emotional availability, this time around it’s Park’s. Boogie also gets a chance to shine!

TECHNICAL / PRODUCTION: 3.75 / 5⭐

So I just feel like, this time around, the plot is a little less accessible for the reasons I’ve already pointed out. In the past two books, I felt like nearly every character held a purpose, moreso in book one than two. Everyone held a piece of the puzzle, and everyone played an important part in solving the crime. Here, it felt more like we’ve been shown a vast cast of characters, and any number of them might or might not be involved at all. There were also a couple of time-jumps where Dayton is given information that we are not, giving us even less of a shot at figuring things out on our own.

I simply thought it wasn’t as well-crafted. That’s not to say it was poorly written or somehow worse than the previous books, but for me, it just wasn’t as engaging. Maybe another reader prefers this kind of out-of-nowhere plot twist/reveal; it’s completely fine if you do! Adhara definitely put the work into making it work. For me, it just hit differently.

FINAL THOUGHTS - OVERALL: 3.75 / 5⭐

If you’ve been following this series thus far and have been asking, “Okay, but what about the werewolves??” then this is the one you’ve been waiting for! As far as the suspense and the mystery and the romance go, those are also here.

This work has representation for gay and bi sexualities. A good number of characters are not white, and our MC comes from a Jewish family (although this is not mentioned in this third book). The author identifies as genderfluid.

The following elaborates on my content warnings. These may be interpreted as spoilers, but I do not go into deep detail.

This book contains: strained family relations; use of tasers; light references to the main character’s old injury (disembowelment) and the physical trauma resulting from it; themes of racism between human- and werewolf-kind; a non-fatal single-car accident; murder, attempted murder; tranquilizers in unsafe doses; gun violence resulting in an injury; a possibly-alcoholic character; an agent who shoots first and asks questions later; and, various injuries involving head trauma, cuts, and bruises.

Content Warnings

ticktock's review

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious medium-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? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

ofbooksandechos's review

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emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

Content Warnings

wanderingtales's review

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

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