Loyal Wolf by Julie K. Cohen

3 Stars

This novel was cleanly written and edited, with no typos or incorrectly constructed sentences that I caught in the ARC version of this manuscript. The world building was competent, if briefly sketched out. The characterization of the hero was good, but I kind of could not stand the heroine. She never made any effort to maim or kill her abuser, or make him pay dearly, which made me feel like she was not a very sympathetic character. She played the helpless damsel A LOT. The development of the romantic relationship between the hero and heroine was natural and organic, and I believed in the strength of their relationship at the end of the book. The plot and pacing flew by quickly, with me turning the pages quickly to find out what was going to happen next, even with this terrible heroine. This novel had high angst and high stakes, but I enjoyed the high stakes while not particularly enjoying the heroine's whining. This novel uses the Mating Bond trope, which is a variation on the Fated Mates trope. It also used the Star-Crossed Lovers trope. The world building was three stars. The plot and pacing was four stars. However, none of the bad guys in this novel came to a bad end, which I did not particularly like. The characterization was three stars, for the hero, and two stars, because of the unsympathetic heroine. The development of the romantic relationship was four stars. This novel ends on a Happy Ever After ending instead of a cliffhanger, so that is a big plus for this novel. I recommend this story to readers who enjoy wolf-shifter paranormal romances and don't mind weak, damsel in distress heroines. I do not plan to buy myself a keeper copy of this novel. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Book Link