A Wolf Apart by Maria Vale is the second story in the author's paranormal romance series The Legend of All Wolves. It takes place shortly after the end of The Last Wolf. The general plot information from book one is revealed in book two so if you prefer to read series in order you'll definitely want to read book one first to avoid spoilers. I'm not a stickler for reading order so though I hadn't read The Last Wolf I found A Wolf Apart worked well as a standalone. It's a fascinating and unique romance about an alpha male who finds a woman who can handle his true self.

In this series there are three types of wolves that roam the earth. There are forever wolves who always exist in wolf form, shifter wolves who can change from wolf to human form at will, and werewolves who can exist in human or wolf form but have no choice but to change into wolf form for 3 days every month around the Iron (full) moon.

Elijah Sorensson is a werewolf, alpha of the 9th Echelon of the Great North Pack. The pack has recently suffered a great loss in a fight with shifters and humans that cost them their main gathering place, the Great Hall. It's being rebuilt, but it's a slow process and compounding that is their Pack's difficulty in successfully birthing live pups. For twenty three years Elijah has been Offland, away from his home, and working as a lawyer with a Pack run firm. Being in skin for so long with the exception of the three days when he must become his wolf form wears on any man, and Elijah is feeling a longing to be home. Seduction comes easy for him, but he is increasingly dissatisfied with easy sex from willing women who don't understand who he really is.

Elijah ends up taking a case for a woman, Thea Villalobos, who is an environmental conservation officer. She's being sued for springing body traps left on the ground by her neighbour, traps set for wolves. She's been caught on video trespassing on his land, but not actually setting off the traps. Elijah is drawn to Thea in a way he has never experienced and not just because she is protecting forever wolves. She's not taken in by his charm or easy lines, a strong self sufficient woman who lives in a remote cabin eschewing most of society's comforts. Helping her with her case is the first step to a relationship. But revealing his true self to her, a human, is forbidden, and the Pack's rules say if she discovers it she must be killed. Is there any way for them to get a happy ending?

I found this story enthralling from the start! The world building is really unique, and very different from any other paranormal romance I've read. Most of them have been shifter romances, and the distinction here with Elijah being unable to stop himself from entering his natural wolf form every month is quite marked. It's a much more visceral story too, detailing the life of a predator and not shying away from the more animal instincts that involves, including hunting and devouring of prey. Wolf form really is Elijah's natural state and unless there is a reason to stay in human form, he's ready to return home. Of course, that reason comes with meeting Thea.

Unlike many shifter romances there is no fated mate storyline here. Thea is not destined to be with Elijah, and feels no attraction to him at first, instead finding his persona as a smooth and charming alpha male unimpressive. The story is told all from Elijah's point of view and he realizes he must do something different to get Thea to be interested in him. He doesn't see her as his mate at the start but he does recognize that she is different from other human females. She lives a life that appeals to his wolf side, and when they eventually do have sex, it's not something he wants to forget, unlike with other women. Of course he makes mistakes, and has to pay for them by grovelling and proving to her that she means something to him. And to do this he must also reveal some of his vulnerabilities.

Eventually Thea does find out about Elijah's real nature and it leads to some dramatic scenes as Elijah is willing to risk all to protect her. Their happy ending is hard won but worth it. I definitely recommend this story if you're a fan of paranormal romances with unique world building. I'm excited to go back and read the first in the series, and hope the author has more planned for this world!

This review has been posted at Harlequin Junkie and feedback updated with the link. It has been posted at Amazon and goodreads.

A Wolf Apart by Maria Vale
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Vale has a unique take on werewolves in the series she started in The Last Wolf. I was lukewarm about that book but wanted to give the series a chance with book two. I found it a little to introspective for my taste. While the main character does generate some sympathy I never really got into the story. It just seemed to really drag on and on without the action I looked for. Check it out to see. Maybe you will like it much better than I did.

I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebook/Casablanca for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. I believe that this is the second book in a series. First time reading this author. I am not sure if I was in a bad mood or what, but I got frustrated by this book. It is very different than most paranormal books, as it wolves, shifters, and werewolves. I disliked all the foreign words and I found the book to be very slow. The main character seemed emotionless and cold. So I never really liked him, and he really dislikes everything human....so i found it quite ironic that Elijah falls in love with a human (Thea). I liked Thea but didn't understand her. Overall I would say this is first a fantasy with some romance. Not a true romance. It doesn't have a HEA ending but it does have a somewhat satisfying ending. I rate this book a 3.

The blurb, mentioning Thea Villabos first, might have you believing the books is just as much about her as it is about Elijah Sorensson. That would be wrong. Elijah is definitely the main character and it his viewpoint and struggle the comprises the bulk of A Wolf Apart.

Elijah is the Wolf Apart. He is assigned to life offland as a partner in the law firm of Halvors, Sorensson & Trianoff. Every day as he dresses for work he notes the style or designer of his clothing items. At first this was annoying. I did not not know the designer names, nor did I care. Eventually I learned this is Elijah’s way of reminding him of the role he must constantly play living among humans, alone, in the offland world. The pack’s alpha, Evie, asks Elijah to continue play the role, even though he wants to go home. Really wants to go home.

Then he meets Thea. Thea is about as uninterested in Elijah’s corporate world and making impressions as a person can get. And yet, they connect. I could see what Elijah saw in Thea. Living offland, Elijah constantly plays a role while Thea is who she is. I saw Elijah’s attraction to her attitude and her lifestyle, for reasons he could never explain to Thea because those reasons are one really big secret. How does Thea become attracted to Elijah? It’s hard to explain without giving up too much of the story, but Elijah will have to become vulnerable in order for it to happen.

Elijah and Thea’s romance seems to be doomed. A human and a wolf? There are so many things to keep them apart, not the least of which is pack law and dangerous secrets.

Maria Vale’s take on the wolves of the Great North Pack is unique among any books about shifters that I have read. The life of the pack, it’s society and laws and structure is a fascinating backdrop to the lives of the main characters in this series. Sadly, humans are mostly bad, so introducing a character like Thea into the Great North is the perfect twist for the Pack.

A Wolf Apart is really a pretty simple story of a wolf that has lived away from the pack for too long. One cannot help but sympathize with Elijah. The reader, watches Elijah go from corporate lawyer to wolf and back again several times, seeing Elijah make bad decisions and good decisions, trying so hard to reconcile all the parts of his life. It really is a captivating story, with just the right amount of romance mixed in with the wolf’s journey.

Through NetGalley, the publisher provided a copy of this book so that I could bring you this honest review.

❤️❤️❤️❤️ out of 5
I think I can honestly say I’ve never read a book like this before. I can also say straight up that this book isn’t for everyone either. It was so heavy and deep that I felt what the author was writing instead of just reading it (am I even making sense here). It’s a werewolf paranormal but not like anything I’ve read before and especially about how their world works.
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Elijah is what we would refer to as a werewolf although that is not what they call themselves. He lives a mostly human life away from his pack at their request to look after their interests in the human world. He is going through the motions of life without living or even a thought for living. He is surrounded by the fake and doesn’t know how to pull himself out. Thea seems to be the only piece of real he can see. She is not materialistic, she is straight and to the point and doesn’t bother with pretending to be anything she isn’t. One of the other characters refers to what he is going through as having his soul dying and I could actually feel it.
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As I said before this book isn’t for everyone and to me is probably the most unique book I’ve ever read for the point that it made me feel instead of read. The writing is heavy and blocky but somehow to me worked (even though it’s not close to anything I would normally enjoy and had to push through the first couple of chapters to get into the swing of it). I enjoyed this more as a book and less of a romance because although the element was there it wasn’t a central focus and not really much “development”, and also only told from one POV.

Elijah has been living apart from his pack for far too long now. He’s been trapped, so to speak, in his human skin for to transform away from his pack lands is strictly forbidden. Aside from the three days each month when he returns home and can allow his wolf free reign, he’s pretty much stuck in his high maintenance job and lifestyle as the pack’s lawyer in the big city. He is slowly dying inside from not allowing his wolf spirit to be where he wants to be… home. Elijah has a job to do, and he’ll do it even if it kills him – just like the separation killed the last pack’s lawyer. He’s fighting an internal battle that he cannot win, for his wolf is taking charge and he will not be held back any longer. He is Alpha, and he will return home… somehow.

On the surface Elijah and Thea should never work. He’s a stuffy lawyer, full of his own importance and Thea is a healer of the wild things, living in her cabin in the woods where she can be close to nature. As a nature conservationist, it’s both her job and her love to be one with nature. So there is no way this fancy pants, arrogant man is ever going to convince her they should get together… no way. Yet, there’s something about the man that calls to her. It makes no sense, but he often reminds her of a caged, wounded wolf… but that’s impossible.

A Wolf Apart takes us back to the wold of the Great North Pack and into the world of The Legend Of Al Wolves once again. Told from Elijah’s POV, it’s the story of a man who on the surface has it all, yet his wolf is dying in this environment and is reasserting control of their lives. I hurt for Elijah and easily got caught up in his story. Thea, on the other hand, I had a more difficult time of relating to her. I wished we had her POV as well, because if I had a better idea of what she was thinking I could have warmed up to her a bit faster… but that’s beside the point really.

The world building has been done for us in The Last Wolf, for the most part anyway. I enjoyed this story. There are a lot of things that I might have “wished” for, but listing them makes no sense – I got the story that was given. Thea and Elijah eventually did fit into each other’s worlds, and their romance was flirty, steamy and with just enough sass to make it interesting. While, perhaps, not totally necessary I would recommend reading The Last Wolf for the world building, and a better understanding of this unique world. I would recommend this one for anyone who enjoys Paranormal Romance or Shifter Romance.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

Maria Vale’s new series, The Legend of All Wolves, is some of the best werewolf fiction I’ve read in years. It’s right up there with Anne Bishop’s Others series, and I love Vale’s stories for much the same reason: they both explore what it might actually be like to be a werewolf, and the expression of werewolf psychology is fascinating--especially so in A Wolf Apart.

In this latest installment of Vale’s series, the psyche at issue is Elijah Sorensson’s, and it’s under serious pressure. Werewolves shouldn’t live away from their packs at all–and they definitely shouldn’t live in New York City. But Elijah is nothing if not loyal to his pack, so he follows the rules. Mostly. . .

Right up until he meets Thea Villalobos, a human woman different from the ones who usually inhabit Elijah’s world.

What follows is a human-werewolf love story different from any others on the market today–and brilliant in its execution. I continue to be fascinated by the wolves of the Great North Pack and I can’t wait to read more!

This was a very unusual take on the paranormal. Instead of the wolfs we usually see these wolf really see themselves as animals. Three days a month when there is a full moon they will turn whether they want to or not. The wolfs that can change when they want are called shifters their enemies as well as humans. There is a romance and its dynamics are also completely different from what we usually see. So this is a compelling read you can not put it down because it is so original.

Alpha of the 9th Echelon, Elijah Sorenson has been living the life of a human for a long time but it's time for him to go home to his pack now. Only problem is he's falling for a human and she has no idea that he's a shifter.

Thea is different from the women that Elijah is used to sleeping with but there's something about her that's different and unique. I liked her, she's a loner, quiet and goes after things she believes in. She was quite different from what I thought she would be but that made me like her even more.

This book starts off a little slow, a few interesting things happen throughout the book but the pace throughout stayed very slow.

While there is a bit of a romance, it's not the main story of this book. This book is mainly about Elijah, how he hates having to stay away from his pack, act like the human he isn't and then gets caught up in a murder. I wanted to like Elijah but he fell flat for me. I couldn't connect with this character at all. His story and what he was going through should have been interesting but I was bored with him and his pack. I read pretty fast and would normally be able to get through a book this size in a few hours but this one took me three days because I kept putting the book down but I did finally finish it and although I thought the ending was a good one and a nice way to wrap this story up, I was glad to see this story come to an end.

I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

I give this book 2 out of 5 stars.

Can a human truly make room in her heart for the Wild?
Thea Villalobos has long since given up trying to be what others expect of her. So in Elijah Sorensson she can see through the man of the world to a man who is passionate to the point of heartbreak. But something inside him is dying...

Elijah Sorensson has all kinds of outward success: bespoke suits, designer New York City apartment, women clamoring for his attention. Except Elijah despises the human life he's forced to endure. He's Alpha of his generation of the Great North Pack, and the wolf inside him will no longer be restrained...

She sizes me up quickly with eyes the color of ironwood and just as unyielding.
"Thea Villalobos," she says, and it takes me a moment to get my breath back.
Thea Villalobos. Goddess of the City of Wolves.

Review:

This is an instance because the world building is so intricate that even though you could probably read this as a stand alone, I would not recommend it. Besides, that there is the storyline running through the two books that make reading them more enjoyable if read in order.

This is definitely a character piece with the story being centered around Elijah. The story is very dense when it comes to him and how being out in the world is starting to affect him. He meets Thea and he kind of is renewed, even though she is human and there is not supposed to be a relationship between wolves and humans. This couple kind of breaks all those rules. My one wish for the book would have been to have more of Thea. Not saying there was not a lot, but I just did not feel like I got a good sense of her like I did Elijah. The Author is a very descriptive writer and really makes you feel like you are in the story. There is a lot of action and drama, but this is not a typical romance, if that is what you are looking for. If you have read the previous book, you will be happy to read about some familiar wolves.

Still a unique and interesting series.

3.5Stars
*I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this book provided by the publisher.*

As a contemporary fantasy book, this would have been a 4 star read but as a romance, I couldn't give it more than 2. I’m curious about the world the author created and loved the magic and lore that she layered so perfectly over the course of the book. The whole forever wolves, shifters and Pack differences were amazingly well thought out and described. I loved the deeply respected traditions and practices that are so rich in emotion that the Pack embodies. It was different than what I normally read but I still found myself captivated by the raw and pure wildness that is the Great North Pack.

The romance is where it fell flat for me. Elijah and Thea don’t actually interact much and as it’s told strictly through Elijah’s 1st person POV, it leaves a lot of what is going on with her, unanswered. As for Elijah, he is a very complex being but also comes off as very cold and emotionless for a large part of the story. He was very disconnected from the human world and his interactions with OW was not something I enjoyed reading about.

The plot and characters were solid and I found myself hooked on every word this author weaved together. But again, as a love story, it was lacking heat, emotion and chemistry. Overall I liked the fantasy aspect of the story and the world this author has created is intriguing. As a love story it needs more romance, more of an emotional connection that’s felt, not just explained away in a few short paragraphs.

Twenty three years ago Elijah had started at Helvois and Trainoff. Elijah was a lawyer but also a werewolf. Aldrich had given Elijah a pair of cufflinks the day he had started. Elijah was a werewolf. Their Alpha - Nils had just died when both he and his mate had been shot. Then another bullet took out his successor John. Elijah was alpha of the ninth Echelon. But Elijah had not given up his pack name or position as Apha and he had fought many wolves to maintain said position. Elijah had controlled the ninth Echelon since they had made the transition to adulthood. Elijah stepped up to Evie who had been John’s mate and was now the new Alpha and tells her the ninth Echelon needs him and he wants to go back home. He has been offland for thirty years now and his wolf was slowly dying inside him. Evie said she needed him protecting their interests, Evie added the pack is vulnerable now and none knows better than you how to protect them from the human world. Evie decided it was time for Elijah to step down as Alpha and let go but Elijah doesn’t want to he really needs and wants to go home. What Evie doesn’t understand is Elijah was blind in a maze with only this thread to hold on to. If he lets go Elijah will never find his way out again. Evie refused Elijah’s request and Evie is immensely powerful, nut female Elijah has spent ten thousand days in skin, ten thousand days without the earth of home under his paws. Elijah wondered if this was how Aldrich ahd felt toward the end. Had he felt a little sicker with every breath that came from the HVAC system, with every drink that tasted of chlorine.With every meal of denatured things from half a world away, where every cab that stinks of human. Elijah’s spirit is dying from his insincere lifestyle. Then Elijah meets Thea who is human but he feels alive again. Thea doesn’t put up with fools. She has little time for slick wealthy men like Elijah. The way Elijah tries to pick Thea just alienated her. Thea lives in the woods and her job is to find the lost and the hurt using her many outdoor skills. Thea is attracted to Elijah. But Elijah won’t let Thea go, she calms him and his beast. There is a sense of belonging and comfort with Thea. But Thea being human it is forbidden for Elijah to be with her.
I had mixed feelings about his book. I did like that this showed Elijah’s POV., the trouble he was having in the human world and all he wanted was to go home. I thought Evie was not a good Alpha to let Elijah return home and see he was having problems being in the human world so long every Alpha is suppose to sense turmoil in her /his wolves yet evie doesn’t even ask Elijah why he wants so bad to return home especially after Aldrich’s death and how he died. There should have been some looking into that as far as I am concerned as something had obviously been wrong. This tended to drag for me. I didn’t really care for the plot once I got reading. I couldn’t connect with Thea really as a character Maybe if Thea’s POV had been shown it would have been easier for me to connect with her. Thea was the one light left in Elijah’s world since he was Offland and she was forbidden because she was human but could/would Elijah give her up? I didn’t like that Elijah was an awful but wasn’t in contact with his pack just isn’t the way an ALpha is suppose to be when he has a pack. I am sure others will love this. I did like seeing Elijah in his home environment . As You can see I had mixed feelings.

I looked forward to this series being a paranormal fantasy. I struggled a bit with the earlier book but ended up guardedly optimistic. This book I had a much harder time and finally ended up not finishing it.

I did feel a lot of sympathy for the lone wolf stranded in the city trying to fulfill his pack duty while his cub mates continue life without him. Unfortunately I found the story moving too slow and I quit before any romance element appeared.


I am sure the story will appeal to the right audience but it just isn't for me.

We are introduced to a very bored with his human life werewolf Elijah. Then for way to long we follow him around his life which he now feels is monotonous and tedious. The problem was he is bored, which made me bored. He was annoyed, so I was annoyed. He finally met Thea, but nothing much in his life changed. It took about half the book before something happened, and then still not much. Finally some conflict, but the tone of the story remained the same. So there wasn’t much urgency. Another story that had an interesting idea, but didn’t do it for me.

Also the “love” story bothered me for two very important reasons. One, Elijah is sick of humans and wants to go home. Thea is a bit odd and a recluse, but very human. What’s so different about her? She likes the country and animals. I get that he lived in NYC, but he also has been in the human world for over 30 years. I just had a hard time believing she was so different than any other woman he’s ever met. There are other reasons why I don’t see why he would ignore the fact that they are different species, but those could be considered spoilers so I’ll leave them out. But the story, the pace, and the logistics of their biology and relationship did not work for me. I won’t be continuing with this series.

I am such a fan of Maria Vale’s writing and her wolf world-building is seriously incomparable to anything I’ve ever read before. Although I liked her new characters, I didn’t love them as much as I’d loved Tiberius and Silver. (Their cameos in the story were among my favorite parts.) It is still a wonderful story, but book 1 holds a special place in my heart.

DNF'd at 16%. I thought the first book in this series was dense but interesting. This was just dense. I've noticed lately that I have a low tolerance for stories told from the hero POV. In this case, multiple chapters of the hero thinking about little except fucking, the brands of every piece of clothing and furniture he owns, and how bored and dissatisfied he is with every single aspect of his life was more than I could bear. Relentless misery is not my jam. I couldn't even hang in long enough for the couple to get together.

4.5 stars

I’ve had a thing for werewolves since Joe Manganiello in True Blood. (How many of you could also say the same? The broad shoulders. The speed. The protective nature. The tank tops.)

Maria Vale takes on the wolf in her haunting A Wolf Apart, part of her The Legend of All Wolves series and the sequel to The Last Wolf. Wolf Elijah Sorensson has the broad shoulders, the speed, and the protectiveness, but he also lives Offland in a suit, separated from the rest of his pack so that he can protect their interests in an outside society that is for the large part unaware of their existence. Living Offland means wearing the clothes, eating the food, and seducing the women that a very wealthy human man would wear/eat/and seduce. It also means performing a role and living apart from his wolf in way that makes him feel like he’s dying.

He meets Thea Villalobos, an environmental conservation officer, and she speaks to his wolf because she’s nothing like the posturing world he lives in. She dresses, eats, and lives for herself; she craves her solitude and independence; she refuses to compromise who she is.

He’s drawn to her in a way that he’s never been before, but she’s human, and their relationship is forbidden by the pack that’s been part of him since birth.

Who will he choose? Himself—the man who lives in a city that’s killing him so that he can protect his fellow wolves, the man who loves someone who would be killed by the pack if their love was discovered—or the pack that’s been part of him and that he is?

There are no easy answers in Vale’s book. In this dynamic world that she’s created, wolves are secret, known only to the wolves and their shifter enemies, and they’ll do anything to protect themselves. This isn’t a lighthearted paranormal romance. It’s a darker romance that takes on the heavy work—what happens to someone who is forced to perform in order to protect, and how love—that beautiful, terrifying force—can change someone and make living a lie no longer possible.

I loved Elijah’s transformation throughout A Wolf Apart and how it was brought about by his relationship with Thea, even while I hoped for more of the romance between the two. The love between Elijah and Thea is critical to the plot even while at times the romance itself seemed underrepresented.

With A Wolf Apart, Maria Vale offers more proof that she’s a mesmerizing, thoughtful writer. Her characters are fully fleshed; you can tell that she knows every part of them and the world that they inhabit. This world that she’s beautifully and tenderly rendered is oftentimes grim, but it’s also one where loyalty, community, and above all, love are possible. They’re more than possible. They’re necessary, and they’re life-changing.

Pssst! If You Like This Book, Try: Nalini Singh's Psy-Changelings series.

**I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley, but all opinions provided are my own.

So, what did I like about it?
Maria Vale was a début author in 2017 and I have been impressed with her writing style; it feels graceful, powerful and very easy to read. I find her stories intelligent and well researched and I enjoy her prose; the way she weaves known wolf behaviours, Norse mythology and archaic languages into her books is inspiring. A Wolf Apart lived up to my expectations.

I am enjoying the different perspective that this werewolf series is coming from; beings that are born wolf cubs and have to learn how to wear a human “skin” and fit in with the human world rather than humans who have an animal beast within themselves, or animal spirit, a voice/presence in their head and a second being that they morph into that they resist and/or fight. Book 1 - The Last Wolf - focused on life of the Great North Pack and its home territories through the eyes of Quicksilver Nilsdottir, the runt who was struggling to make a life for herself at the bottom of the hierarchy. A Wolf Apart shows us what life is like for Elijah Sorensson, Silver’s complete opposite; an Alpha of his age group, who does not live in Homelands but in New York City as an Offlander who is tasked with serving the Pack’s interests in the human world.

A Wolf Apart (like the previous book, The Last Wolf) is unlike any book I've read before; it is told from first person point of view by our main male lead, Elijah Sorensson, Alpha of the 9th Echelon (the age group to which he was born) and ruthless New York lawyer. I wasn’t sure whether I would like Elijah at first, he seemed to be everything I detest in a man – domineering, slick and ruthless - but as the story unfurled I quickly understood why Ms Vale chose him. Elijah Sorensson became captivating, I enjoyed seeing the world through his eyes and I loved his inner dialogue; my heart ached, I shed a tear or two, I chuckled out loud and growled with frustration at some of his thoughts and actions. I loved how his journey evolved and how he grew during this book.

Those of you who have read my reviews before will know that I enjoy a story more if the lead female character is intelligent, resilient and independent. I wasn’t disappointed here; I really liked Thea Villalobos, she earned my respect very quickly. Although we never hear her inner dialogue, her actions confirm that she doesn’t suffer fools, has a cool wit, is loyal, has a big heart and has plenty of spirit - in short, she’s got gumption!

I was so gripped that I couldn't stop reading last night; midnight came and went! I enjoyed the twists and turns that Ms Vale sprinkled throughout her tale and liked the fact I wasn’t ever really sure how, or if, she would resolve things; I couldn’t help turning the page to find out to find out what would happen next. I am happy to confirm that there is no life or death situation type cliffhanger at the end of this book woop!woop! (‘cause you all know how I feel a about cliffhangers) and I’m looking forward to finding out where Ms Vale takes us – and the Great North Pack - in book 3.

...So, ummm, was there anything I disliked about it?
No. I wouldn’t change a thing; even the more harsh aspects of this story that are harder to read, played an important role to the overall appreciation.

...So, basically what I’m saying is...
I really loved this book. A Wolf Apart has everything that I look for in a 5 star book; adventure, some mystery, action, great characters, a little humour and even a sprinkling of romance.

Due to the sexual content and violence, I’d recommend this book to adults who are not offended by content of this nature who enjoy urban fantasy adventures centred on relationships – both family and romantic – with some darker themes. This series is a unique spin on werewolf tales and feels so much more believable than the majority of paranormal romances, I am completely invested in the Great North Pack and the characters I've met so far. The Legend of all Wolves series is an unexpected find and I can’t recommend the books enough.

A Wolf Apart is book two in The Legend Of The Wolves Series. I dived into this without reading book one and I didn't feel like I missed anything. We are given all the background through Elijah's musings. He spends a lot of time in his own head so we had plenty of time to get the history of the series alongside the current plot.

This was a super fun, easy read. I flew through it and I enjoyed the shit out of it. I love a good paranormal romance. It was quite funny.

Elijah is the Alpha of his generation, forced to live away from his land to ensure the packs interests are being looked after in the outside world. Only coming home for 3 days a month to run with his pack. He is just going through the motions, unable to see passed his own misery. As the story is told from his point of view, we really get that sense of despair. He is jaded.

There was a lot of character growth. Elijah was very wrapped up in his own pain, so to watch him move beyond his own head and his own needs was great. Also full points to the author for having a self-assured female lead who was willing to compromise for the right person, but not willing to change who she was for anyone.

The writing was good, the story was a little slow in places and the amount of times Elijah's clothing was talked about, did my head in. I kind of get why it was done that way, I guess to really emphasise that he is putting on a disguise, a mask if you will, hiding behind the clothes. I was just really over it by the 50th time it happened.
Overall it was a fun romance.

(Full review up on my blog on the 8th August 2018)

Welcome back to the refreshing world where beasts truly roam and there’s no escaping the will of the moon. Such a daring ,rich tapestry and so far removed from the standard shifter romance books to the point that I feel the author is sticking a finger up at all the conventional and mundane paranormal fare.
This book is told from the point of view of Elijah and from the start he’s an unpleasant character and definitely not the typical hero. Elijah has no respect for the humans whose world he walks tall in, despises those around him and freely uses whoever he chooses and all in order to help protect the Pack. This wolf wants nothing more then to go home and will do whatever it takes.
Enter Thea who is far removed from everything we usually read about in paranormal romance. Thea is a woman apart, she walks to the beat of her own drum and yet strangely perhaps because she is unconventional males find her attractive. Thea unknowingly presents Elijah with the one thing a predator cannot resist and that my fellow reader is a hunt !
I refuse to rehash the plot but will say categorically that no matter what your feelings for these characters initially by the end you will understand and perhaps even cheer for them. Elijah learns what it means to sacrifice and Thea helps to bring about that which is inevitable and that in my opinion is change. So I freely admit I still don’t particularly understand all of Theas motivation and unfortunately I didn’t really connect with her I did find this fascinating and well worth reading.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair