Reviewed by Taylin

TITLE: Lone Wolf

SERIES: Strength of the Pack #6, The Man Love Collection

AUTHOR: Joy Lynn Fielding

PUBLISHER: Siren Publishing/ Siren BookStrand,

LENGTH: 154 Pages

RELEASE DATE: May 5, 2023

BLURB:

What happens in the wilderness stays in the wilderness. Until it doesn’t…

Blurb

When his alpha invites a bunch of cougar-shifters to visit, wolf-shifter Karl Griffin is not happy. All he wants is a quiet life protecting his pack and forgetting his past. Instead, the big cats arrive and disrupt everything.

Leon Fitzroy has never found anywhere he can belong. The only panther in a cougar pride, he’s fought to be accepted, but he doesn’t really fit in. And now he’s expected to spend time with a wolf pack. Wolf-shifters are infuriating. Even worse, the most annoying wolf is
also ridiculously hot.

When Leon ambushes a member of Karl’s pack to prove a point, tensions between them threaten to boil over. Sparks continue to fly as they’re forced to work together. But out in the wilderness, they find there are worse dangers than bossy wolves and smug cats. Survival depends on learning to trust one another—if they can.

REVIEW:

The discovery of an Argent (sacred) wolf threatens the stability of the shifter world. Wolves and cats decide to work together, but neither particularly likes the other. Leon and Karl’s first meetings are somewhat hostile. But a threat forces them to work together. Their situational proximity and professionalism opened their eyes to a few more attributes than expected.

Lone Wolf is book six in the Strength Of Pack series. As a newbie to the series, I can confirm that the story can be read as a standalone tale – and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The story is told in the third person from the viewpoints of Leon and Karl. Physical worldbuilding is mainly forest-based though plenty of emotional background influences actions. The packs have their place in the story, but once the focus is on Leon and Karl, the tale stays true to the boys and their encounters, which, from a writing perspective can be difficult – so, kudos to the author.

Within their packs, Leon and Karl are loners – and with good reasons that are tastefully written, in keeping with the protagonists’ personalities. Neither man go OTT with emotions, internalizing much. Their past experiences make them experts in their field. Yet, they need something that their packs partly provide but not wholly.

Traditionally cats and dogs don’t get on, so many preconceptions exist. As Leon and Karl work together, both adjust their views, learning tolerance, acceptance (with niggly bits), and eventually something else. Neither Karl nor Leon expected to find their missing pieces in the other. However, their packs’ safety is prime, and, to that end, they face drama, hurt, deception, suspicion, injury, comfort, and more.

Leon and Karl’s journey was a delight to read. However, given their backgrounds and what was at stake, I think the author could have been more daring with the dangers of the wilderness and the meaning of acceptance. Other than that, I found Lone Wolf to be a super read.

RATING:

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