Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Wolven Winter 
SERIES: Misunderstood
AUTHOR: Minerva Howe
PUBLISHER: Turtlehat Creatives
LENGTH: 175 pages
RELEASE DATE: December 14, 2021
BLURB:
Wolf shifter Niall is convinced his life is as good as it will ever get. While he’s been effectively banished from his pack as a stranger who lost a baby and was rejected by his mate, he still has a place with the pack shaman, who lives a hermit-like life up on the mountain. He has a warm home, a dear friend in the shaman, Adrienne, and a job to do. If he never gets more than that, he can live with it.
Loyal left the pack at a young age to live among humans, an experiment that made him feel banished and unnecessary. Now he’s back at the pack’s home in the Uintah mountains of Utah, and he’s been told that the shaman wants him to do a specific job for the pack: he’s meant to make peace with the dragons who live on the dragon peak.
What neither Niall or Loyal expect is to be thrown together, and to find a home together, where they can start their own pack, and give Niall a second chance at starting his own family. Can these two misunderstood wolves find what they need in each other?
REVIEW:
This is a sweet romance that kicks off a companion series to Howe’s Dragon Veil universe – specifically the Dragon Sanctuary series. If you’ve already read the first two books in that series, then you have met Loyal, one of the MCs of this story. However, this story takes place before most of the events in that series with one exception of a shared scene. As such, there are very minor spoilers for the first book of that series. Niall and Loyal are a bit standoffish at first – Niall because of his unfortunate past and Loyal because he’s spent so much of his life among humans and he’s not sure what is real and not real in the shifter world. When it becomes obvious that they are indeed mates, well all bets are off. They are encouraged by Adrienne, the shaman to whom Niall is apprenticed. Loyal’s love and support help Niall move on from the pain of his past and look forward to a new life in which he is loved and cherished and protected. They are very sweet and hot together. In the mix, we also have Loyal’s BFF LuAnn who is tired of being the odd wolf out as well. She is happy to throw her lot in with Niall and Loyal and Adrienne. Even though they are closer to the dragons and farther from the wolf village, they are all so much happier. Loyal comes into his own leading his group of sort of misfits. Together they make a good unit and a well-functioning family of sorts. Everyone in this story grows into their own which is fun to watch. Mostly it’s great to see Loyal feel useful and Niall feel whole again.
The crossover from the Dragon series includes Zeke, the head of the dragon family who reside on the top of the mountain, the Calhouns who are the human contacts that help the wolves and the dragons and of course Loyal and Arian, the Summer Princess who can move between the fae realm and the lands of the wolves and dragons. It will be interesting to see what comes next in the Misunderstood series – I really don’t have a clue whose story will come next there. If you like these type of story – fated mates, mpreg, instalove with fantasy elements, then I think you’ll enjoy this story and perhaps these series. I’ll be interested to see the crossover in the next Dragon Sanctuary book next month and to see what comes next in this series. I find these less angsty stories a nice palate cleanser between angsty reads and if you’re in that mood, this will fit the bill.
RATING: 
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