A review by ruth_miranda
Wolves of Duty by Charlotte Murphy

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.