Reviewed by Donna
TITLE: Unjustified Claims
SERIES: Hidden Wolves #3
AUTHOR: Kaje Harper
PUBLISHER: MLR Pres
LENGTH: 398 Pages
BLURB:
Brandt Davis loved being part of his Michigan werewolf pack, until they found his stash of gay porn. He escaped their anger, running in wolf-form into the wilderness, but he can’t live that way forever. And he can’t hide in fur like a coward when an injured man needs his help.
Ethan Sjulstad knows life is making him crazy when a solo hike into the Minnesota Boundary Waters seems reasonable. Then a bad fall leaves him seriously hurt and facing death. Delirious, he hallucinates being rescued by a big grey wolf and a naked woodland godling. For a man who has always loved fantasy, it’s worth surviving just to find out what the hell is going on.
REVIEW:
This is my very favourite werewolves series and when you consider some of the other awesome books out there, that’s a pretty big call. To be honest, I actually sat and contemplated if that statement was true before I typed it because shit, there’s also Kendall McKenna. But if you twisted my arm and said I absolutely, definitely had to pick a favourite, then it would have to be Hidden Wolves.
In this third installment (there’s a few freebies but that’s not counting those) we move beyond the Minneapolis West pack and meet werewolf Brandt who is wandering the forests alone after his old pack discovered some compromising pictures he rather stupidly saved on his computer. Brandt is bi sexual but his secret desires go rather beyond that and rather than face death or punishment at the hands of his homophobic pack, he chose instead to flee.
Which was lucky for human Ethan, because that meant when Ethan fell and grievously injured himself while out for a hike, Brandt was nearby to save his life. Ethan has also been dealing with his share of homophobic assholes, who are progressively getting more violent, so when Brandt offers to stick around and help Ethan get his family’s motel back up and running, the two men figure they’ll be helping out each other.
Ethan and Brandt are both interesting characters. Though Brandt is the only one who is homeless they’re both at a point of not really knowing what to do with their lives. Ethan feels guilty, and allows other people to blame him for the death of his brother, which was in no way his fault. I’m not usually a violent person but I really wanted to introduce his sister-in-law’s face to a brick. Ethan needs a champion to defend him when he’s feeling so guilty that he won’t defend himself. Luckily, he’s got Brandt now.
Conversely, Brandt also needs Ethan to help him with his problems. See Brandt has a rather delicious kink. He likes to wear lingerie but he can’t seem to keep it straight in his head that there’s nothing wrong with that. He needs constant reassurance from Ethan that it’s not freaky or disgusting. What I like best about his little fetish is the way his wolfy dominance seems to take a backseat to his need to be bent over and “taken” whenever he slips into anything lacy. Don’t take that the wrong way though. It’s in no way treated like Brandt’s in lace so he’s the “weak woman”. Kaje Harper is way too classy an author to make a mistake like that.
Now I know that this is just a personal thing, but I’m one of those readers that doesn’t like it when a series veers off from the characters I love. I was a little disappointed when I saw that this book wasn’t based in the same wolf pack as the first two books. So, for me, this story is kinda separated into two parts. There’s nothing at all wrong with the first part of the book. I loved Ethan and Brandt. I especially loved Brandt’s kink. But when the main characters from the first two books show up at the motel for a weekend away I was in heaven. From that point of the story there is always some of the Minneapolis West pack hanging about the motel and I have to admit, I enjoyed the book even more after their arrival.
Major events happen towards the end of this book that left me cheering and cursing and wailing BUT YOU CAN’T END NOW, WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!!! Having said that however, I wouldn’t call the ending a cliffhanger, but it is one big goddamn tease! And Aaron and Zach! Holy Shit! I knew I loved them best for a reason. Then the whole thing is wrapped up with a deliberately vague-ish epilogue that left me laughing in frustrated appreciation. Well played, Kaje Harper. Well played.
Now I just have to patiently wait for the next installment in the Hidden Wolves series. Actually…can we still call them hidden wolves?
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
I liked this book but not as much as the previous one. Aaron and Zach are my favorite. I would have preferred to read a whole book about them. I can’t wait for the next book.
Aaron and Zach are definitely my favourite too!