4.5 stars. I loved this book! It has enough action to keep me interested and just enough detail about the world end to keep it intriguing. I can't wait for the next one!

A post-apocalyptic novel featuring a strong female character who shoots with a bow and fights to survive in the wilderness. No, this isn't the Hunger Games, but actually a much more believable scenario of what could happen when politics goes terribly wrong. This is especially resonant with the current state of world politics.
After one country decides to drop bombs on another, a chain reaction soon has the entire world enmeshed in nuclear war. The United States decides to wage biological war on Asia, unleashing a deadly virus. This backfires bigtime (go figure) and humanity is decimated. Survivors flee to uninhabited wilderness areas in the far North where the virus seems less rampant.
Lynn McBride is a young woman living in the Yukon with a few of her surviving family members. When a strange, gifted man and his dog arrives on the scene, Lynn begins to discover more about her past, and why she is so important to a government group that is searching for her.
A great, very readable debut, hopefully, there will be more installments of this story in the future.

This book kept my attention throughout. The characters are real and the story-line felt a touch too realistic as well. Lynn is a 23 year old woman living in the Yukon wilderness with her family and a few others. The weather and search for food is a constant challenge resulting in Lynn having wilderness skills that will help her survive. The back story of how they ended up in this place is openly shared from the beginning, involving war and a flu epidemic. When a stranger is invited into their settlement it ultimately leads to the arrival of others resulting in conflict, a fight for survival, death, and government conspiracies.. The tension between the current happenings and Lynns' memories of her father come to a conclusion that is satisfying yet leaves the potential for a sequel. The book is marketed as a mashup between 'Stations Eleven' and 'The Hunger Games' yet it felt unique and fresh on its own. It has an adult appeal but would also work for YA readers as the lead character at times 'feels' younger due to her isolated life. . I appreciated that the female lead was portrayed intelligently and competently, often books paint young women as damsels requiring saving which is frustrating in today's world.

Thanks to Simon and Schuster Canada, the author and NetGalley for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
“The Wolves of Winter” by Tyrell Johnson is a post-apocalyptic novel, where a young woman has the capacity to save the world. But don’t base whether you read it or not on that statement alone. Comparisons have been made to “Hunger Games” (Suzanne Collins) and this is accurate, however “Wolves” is an entirely novel, creative enterprise worth its own individual praise.
In “Winter”, Gwendolynn McBride and her family are living in a world that has been shattered by disease. After losing her scientist father to “the flu”, she moves with her brother, mother and uncle to the Yukon, hoping the cold will provide some protection from the airborne virus. Virtually isolated, Lynn and her family have found a way to survive. When a stranger comes to their camp and the McBride’s take a chance and shelter him, their life changes quickly. An agency named “Immunity” is on the hunt for their stranger (Jax) and soon Lynn is a target. Lynn begins to question- what does her mother know? What was her father studying? Why does Immunity know who she is and why is she in danger?
This story is not completely innovative- a strong, female protagonist with special skills/powers that could save the world alongside a rough, isolated young man who turns out to be different than expected, and a world torn apart by outside forces. There are some similarities to both “Divergent” (Veronica Roth), and “The Hunger Games”, as well as any of the other immeasurable YA-pocalypse stories out there. However, I can say, I am a huge fan of this genre and really enjoyed “Wolves of Winter”.
Lynn is a great character, with just the right amount of spunk and sass without being snotty or irritating. The cold, white, winter landscape of the Yukon sets the stage for the feelings of isolation that run through the McBride “household”. The story is also told in small chapters, which makes reading this novel a breeze.
Obviously, this novel will have a sequel (if not more), so based on that assumption, I will not evaluate the ending. Although no sequel was directly mentioned, it would be against the rules of this genre to not provide at least two more novels and make it into a series (and then eventually a movie, or perhaps a TV series, or maybe both). I am however, excited to follow Lynn’s journey through the cold Canadian north and see if she succeeds in her quest and if she continues her (predictable) relationship with Jax (but of course it’s predictable, considering he’s the only male she has come in contact with that isn’t her family or directly trying to kill her). This book surprised me and I was impressed tenfold. Please continue this series, oh Great Book Gods!

Very interesting book .Great for young adults and teens Keeps your interest throughout and leaves the door open for a follow up .

I very much enjoyed reading this novel. I am a sucker for post apocalyptic stories as long as they are written well and this one was definitely in that category. The thing that made this story stand out, for me, was the setting. Imagine trying to survive in a post apocalyptic world and then imagine trying to do it in the YUKON. The writing was good enough that I could almost feel the cold, the snow. I could picture a sky filled with stars and a frozen river.
I loved Lynn, the heroine of this novel. She is young, 23, and does some really juvenile things but she is actually a very brave woman. Jax is another great character and his story is given out in snippets. I liked the way Lynn would go back and give us glimpses of her former life, when things were normal and then not so normal. I really liked the way she adored her father, who had died and her attachment to her family.
There is a bit of mystery to this novel, enough to keep a reader interested and wanting to find out more. This book is a debut novel but you wouldn't know it. I came across no mistakes, or glaring plot holes and actually had a very easy time reading it. This is not always the case with debut novels.
I liked the ending and really hope that there is going to be a sequel. I would love to read more about Jax and Lynn and see what is next in their story because I have a feeling there could be more.