3.5 stars

Wildenstein's latest YA deals with patriarchy at supernatural levels when a young woman is forced back into the pack that kicked her out when the alpha suddenly dies and a new alpha must be found. Secrets, lies, and tradition put our heroine to the test when she fights to claim her rightful place and ends up in the middle of a love triangle that can only end badly.

A solid base with a strong female lead through the various other characters lacked similar development and I felt the plotlines were decidedly stronger than the story itself. Too many "what if" moments and not enough development to suss them out. Regardless, I will be on the lookout for book 2 as this story overall captured just enough of my attention to have me curious for what's to come.

I was expecting this to just be a fun and quick read, but I ended up absolutely loving it! It had everything a great read needs - action, girl power, a good love story, and a pack/family. Not only this, but it deals with issues of sexual trauma and the reverberating mental illnesses it can leave in its wake, yet Olivia Wildenstein was able to do this without making the book too dark. The emphasis was on healing, not only for herself but her entire pack. I don't know how intentional this was, but it was a great example of how toxic patriarchy hurts not only females but males as well. Her brave actions lead to the creation of a healthy family, especially her new chosen family.

I would highly recommend this book. As mentioned, there are references to sexual assault (not the main characters, but her deceased mother's) and it is woven throughout the book. There is also quite a bit of toxic masculinity, particularly in the beginning, that is quite threatening. A trigger warning for those with backgrounds that deal with male abuse of power and rape.

I'm really excited to see where she takes the Boulder Pack in future books!

I DEVOURED this book! I disco verde Olivia’s books from a Facebook ad a few weeks ago and read every single book of hers I could find. When I messaged her to fan-girl, she told me about her new book that is coming out and I JUMPED FOR JOY.

I am SO GLAD I got an ARC of this novel. A total of 2 hours later, if that, I had finished this book and was ready to beg for the next one.

If I thought I loved Olivia’s other novels? that I had no idea what I was in for. This novel was fantastic. I love shifter reads and this was such a twists on the normal we read.

I ADORED the characters and I love the age rage that was depicted. New generations reads are a huge this for me. I love the development and the new changes that these generation bring.

The dynamics in this book, on top of the strength that you see from he characters, leaves you absolutely in love with each and ever character. I not only want the main characters in this one to get more reads, but I was ALL OF THE NOVELLAS FOR ALL OF THE characters.

If NA shifters reads were a thing, this is the age range I would categorize it as.

So I have mixed opinions on this book. I liked it.

But I had a hard time with Ness. I adored the very first chapter and then things disintegrated. I had a hard time with her attitude about everything. Why does everything have to be a fight and everyone is out to get her. Drove me crazy after a little while. It also made it easy to pick up and put down the book. So it took me a couple weeks to finish it.

I liked the differences in the how werewolves are portrayed in this book. It's a bit different the usual and I liked it.

My Rating : 5🌟

Okayy.. What is with me and werewolves recently 😂 This book revolves around our main character Ness who comes back to the pack after her mother's death. How she deals with the acceptance, her guilt and attractions cover the main plot of the story.

First of all, Ness is a badass, straight forward, strong and confident character. Bu she is emotional and in dire need of affection. The contrast between how she wants to project herself and who she is internally is very interesting to read about. One moment, she is giving sassy comebacks to the arrogant male species, and the next moment, she just wants to be accepted and just be involved. The vulnerability is what make me love her character so much.

The second was how the writing was amazing! Through the characters, we get absolutely remarkable sassy and quirky comebacks, funny conversations while dealing with a slightly serious topic as well. I loved how the characters and the writing worked well with each other! This is the first time I have loved both the love interests and am really curious to who she will end up with! Both the characters have their own personalities, and even though you get to see the typical jealous/over protective/possessive side , you fall in love with them both! Omg I couldn't handle the tension between the characters at all! To add to the fact that this had the best romance without having any explicit/sex scenes at all. I was really surprised with that as well!

The only thing I felt was a little disappointing was that we don't get to learn about all the characters and their personalities. Since it's a trilogy, I am expecting that would be done in the future books! Overall, I really loved the writing, the characters were really relatable ( Apart from shifting into a werewolf) and the story flow was amazing! I read this book in a single sitting and am writing the review immediately after! If you are a fan of paranormal romances or just anything fantasy related, definitely check this book out. It has become one of my favorites of all time..

A Pack of Blood and Lies by Olivia Wildenstein is the first book of the new The Boulder Wolves series. This is the beginning of a young adult romantic paranormal fantasy series of which is probably obvious by the title and series names features Werewolves.

Right before her eighteenth birthday Ness has to return to Colorado and her pack which she had run from years before. The Boulder Wolves were an all-male pack with the exception of Ness. Being the only female born to the pack in years Ness was not exactly welcomed and really still wants nothing to do with those she left.

However, now that The Boulder Wolves need a new Alpha Ness sees this as her chance for a bit of revenge by challenging Liam Kolane for the title. Liam’s father had been the pack’s alpha for years and was as mean as they come so to keep the pack out from under another Kolane would be all he incentive Ness needs to win the challenges.

I have somewhat of a love/hate relationship with werewolf books but having read other series by Olivia Wildenstein and enjoying them I had to give this one a try. Thankfully I was right and this was a much better wolf story than the adult versions of “your my mate let’s hop into bed”. A Pack of Blood and Lies centers around pack politics and the mysteries of previous deaths in the pack along with the secrets and lies being uncovered within the pack. While I wouldn’t say it’s overly original in content it was a fun read and I’d be interested in seeing what the next book brings.

I have always been interested in werewolf books. This book is a little bit of a slow burn as you learn all of the back stories but in the end it was an enjoyable read. It left with a few questions and made me curious to pick up the next book when it comes out. I don't really have a lot to say about this book, it was an average werewolf book but it was a good start to a series that could potenially get better as each book comes out.

A Pack of Blood and Lies is an interesting book about werewolves, with surprising plot twists! It was full of adventures. I loved the characters and relationships between them. I especially liked Ness, she is strong and determined. Although, the romantic part of the story was a bit predictable, I still liked seeing Ness and Liam together.

I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

“A Pack of Blood and Lies” by Olivia Wildenstein is a YA story of a teen who never quiet fitted in anywhere. My one-line description certainly describes most coming of age Young Adult story… {continue reading!}

6 Years have gone by and Ness Clark, just shy of 18 years, is a lone wolf. Literally and figuratively. After her father was murdered the all-male Boulder Wolves pack (specifically the Alpha – Heath Kolane) outcast-ed both her mother and herself.

Middle school was no better.

…but kids found me odd and kept away. I remembered wondering if they could somehow sense what I was, smell what I was the same way I could smell their acne serums and tinted lip balms.

On discovery that her mother passed away and Ness still being considered a minor, her uncle and aunt insist on her coming back to Boulder, Colorado. Ness refuses, unless Evelyn – a upstairs neighbour that helped both of them since their arrival – come with.

In spite of her determination to not stay in Boulder any longer than necessary, Ness throws her name into the “Next Alpha” hat. One to prove that she was indeed part of the pack, and two the other candidate was the son of the late Alpha, Liam.

The three tasks set out for the candidates creates friendship to form, feelings between Liam and Ness, and a longing to be a part of the pack.

A well designed shifter story that kept me entertained and to thoroughly enjoyed the story. Ness is a spanky rough at the edges chick who shows her worth to be part of her pack.

** I received a copy of “A Pack of Blood and Lies” by Olivia Wildenstein via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

#Apobal #NetGalley

First I would like to thank NetGally and Twig Publishing for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A Pack of Blood and Lies gave me major Twilight vibes, just instead of vampires, it was all werewolves. And now, with the fact that I can sense a love triangle coming on, I'm definitely having flashbacks to Twilight!

This book was written very well. I was seamlessly introduced to this world by Olivia Wildensten, and I didn't have any issues with her writing style. Because of this I am definitely going to check out her other books and see if they appeal to me.

I prefer in-depth characters and it's hard for me to relate to a book if I'm not meshing well with them. While we did get a lot of depth into some of the characters, the only one I even remotely liked was the MC. I HATED her love interest and was disgusted at the way he behaved sometimes. This book had a lot of anti-sexism themes, which I definitely liked, but I felt like the love interest was sexist at times, and the MC either didn't care, or got over it very quickly. For that reason, I really didn't like him and I do not currently ship him with Ness.

I was surprised by the twists, so that was good! It took me a long time to read this book because it isn't my usual type of read. I also got into a mini slump halfway through, though I'm not sure if that has anything to do with the book itself or not. I think I will still read the sequel sometime, but it's not necessarily a priority for me. I do really like how the summary of the sequel sounds though, so we'll see!

Unfortunately not the book for me. The writing style is quite good, and the blurb certainly piqued my interest, but unfortunately the story just wasn’t to my taste, that being said I can see how others would love it!

A feministic take on a shifter romance.

Ness was an amazing character and a great fighter . Her fight for alpha and against the misogyny is inspiring.

Thanks for giving me an opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Werewolves! Teenage me starting dancing the moment I found out because those are and always will be one of my weaknesses in books - that and vampires because doh. In any case, the werewolves weren't overly present but they didn't have to be. I loved the way they were there and part of the plot without being all-important.

Speaking of plot.. There was a lot going on! Several sub-plots mixing with the general one to the point of me losing track of everything at some point. Although I have to say.. I quite liked that? It made things more unpredictable than they would've been otherwise. There was also a vague-ish love-triangle like thing going on but.. I still don't really get what that was all about. So of course that makes me overly curious and I need the sequel already, haha.

Definitely a shout-out to our main character, Ness, coming up for female rights. As the sole female werewolf in her pack-but-not-pack, she fights to officially join. Seeing how she puts that much effort in, while most male members are against it, is truly admirable. So, yup, a splurge of feminism right there!

There are only two small things I'd love to see differently. One is the more action-packed scenes feeling a bit all over the place at times. Although I can admit that might be me and my mom-brain, I do think you should be able to picture those scenes in your head without them not feeling right, you know?
The second one is how I didn't really like the main character, Ness. I connected with her at first, but at some point I lost that connection due to her somewhat losing her.. motivations for doing certain things? I don't know. Felt to me like she started making decisions based off of nothing which was weird. It's hard to explain, really..

That doesn't mean I didn't thoroughly enjoyed it though, because I did! Proof? I'm rating this 4.5 out of 5!

This story has lots of trigger warnings (mentioned or attempted) I will mention only biggest one:
Suicide attempt, rape, abuse, misogynist behavior
Sounds hard? That's how this pack worked under its Alpha for quite some time. Now that he died a whole pack must gather and there has to raise new alpha. Who will it be? Here our MC decided that she would join trials for the Alpha position. Smart? Well not really.
Ness is an almost eighteen-year-old girl that was brought back to her birth town by her aunt and uncle after being cast away from that place. She has strong will she uses everything she can in her trials and wants to stand her ground in an all-male environment! For sure not an easy task.
Liam is a son of previous alpha. Is he like his father or he's different? I couldn't tell for most of the book (such a gray shaded character)
The twists - I hadn't expected any of those! At first, it was like HOW! No, it can't be I had it sorted before. Yet after thinking nothing would work better there!

Shifter romance misogyny!

I haven't read any shifter romances for eons. I've become somewhat fatigued by the "same old same old." I went into reading A Pack of Blood and Lies hoping it would give a fresh take on a well loved, but sadly tired, theme.
And I have to say I really quite enjoyed this story with the determined wolf shifter Ness, who with her mother had fled the Boulder Pack and its messiness (cruelty) six years prior. Ness was a female shifter in an all male pack. That was a source of trouble, and still is. Times haven't changed that much. The Boulder Pack crew did not have female shifters. They were an anathema to the pack. Any "accidents" didn't survive.
The other problem is Liam Kolane, son of the dictatorial, brutal alpha leader, Heath.
When Heath dies it's time for a new leader to rise. No-one challenges Liam--except Ness. She throws her hat into the ring. That action acts as a burning brand thrown into the whole misogynist mess, setting it alight for good--or bad!
I must say I found the language a bit strong at times, but then I suppose that forms part of the genre, giving atmosphere for some writers.
The story left off with some questions for future times.
So all's good, and I didn't resent my foray back into the shifter romance world.

A NetGalley ARC

A Pack of Blood & Lies is a surprisingly compelling young adult/teen fantasy novel about fierce, unrelenting she-wolf Ness who challenges the alpha males in a pack she was once part of, vying for the top spot despite this traditionally always being a male role. This makes it a timely and topical tale and one that, I must admit, had me taken back in that it was more profound than I had imagined books such as this to be in the sense that it challenged gender stereotypes and even toxic masculinity to a certain extent.

This is refreshing and inspiring to see in a novel marketed towards the younger sector of the market. Much more than merely a lighthearted yarn about the supernatural there is a maturity to it which was unexpected. Hence, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with wonderful Ness. I hope this as the series opener is a sign of things to come. Many thanks to Kelpies for an ARC.

This is a fast-paced YA fantasy. Very quick read.

Ness is a rare female werewolf. Because she is a female, she was never allowed into the pack. Ness and her mother were exiled from the pack years ago after her father was killed. They left Colorado and never looked back.
When her mother dies, her relatives come to take her back to Colorado. She has no choice because she is seventeen. She will only have to deal with them for a few months and she can leave on her birthday.
But, when she gets to Colorado, she finds out that Liam Kolane will be the next Alpha unless someone goes against him and wins. She has very good reasons to hate the Kolane's. She just might have to stay here and fight him.

I enjoyed this book. It has great characters. Ness is my favorite. Gotta love a female that will fight just because everyone says she'll fail. Lots of pack politics and drama going on as well. Very quick read. If you like YA fantasy, give this one a try.

Ness recognized a lot of the men in the inn but they didn’t recognize her. Than she heard Liam Kolane’s voice- one of the men who had opposed her plea to join the pack the day her father was shot. Liam asked if they had met and she said not in this lifetime. After that she went down the hall and than to her room. Ness thought she was safe Liam didn’t recognize her, her cousin Everest overheard Liam saying he ran into a hot blonde housekeeper. Than he added he thought she was going to stay in her room while the pack was at the inn. Than he also said Liam was cut from the same cloth as his father Heath who was a cruel man and raped women. Than August came up to her and when she recognized him she gave him a big smile. He had been her favorite person in Colorado after her parents.it had been six years. Ness and August went outside to talk than she heard LIam say” I believe we met in this lifetime Ness Clark” . Ness was a wolf shifter but hadn’t changed in six years. Ness decided she would try to be Alpha then she found out two of the guys had also challenged Liam but she figured they’d drop out and Liam would become Alpha anyway so she didn’t withdraw. She started to change into her wolf in her room she prayed to stop the change and she stopped but she passed out. Evelyn who had been there for her in LA had come with Ness to Colorado with Ness. When ness asked Everest to show what what they were Evelyn passed out and hadn’t spoken to Ness except to tell her what to do as they worked together in the kitchen to make breakfast for the pack. As time went on ness found Liam was different that she had originally thought.
I read this book in one setting. I gave up some sleep but it was very worth it and it was also a weekend. I loved Liam and ness together I did know Liam liked Ness before she did. That was easy to see. But She also didn’t have many interactions with people and he had stood against her when she asked to be trained and join the pack. I loved how much Evelyn loved Ness at least she had someone in her corner. I loved seeing how protective liam was of ness. I enjoyed the mystery, drama, and paranormal aspect of the book a lot. I loved the plot and pace of this book. I didn’t want to out this down, it caught my attention and held it from beginning to end I loved the characters and the ins and out if this book and I recommend it

THIS BOOK MADE ME REALIZE THAT I WILL NEVER TIRE OF WEREWOLVES TROPE.
 

Reading this book has been a wild fun journey in a night. Yes, I finished this book in one sitting so it’s safe for me to say that everything I’M HOOKED with everything in this book. If you thought that book with werewolves in it is old and out of time then you should try to read this book.
 

The writing gripped me so hard from the first page, it was magical and flowed flawlessly. I couldn’t stop flipping the page and always found surprises around the corner. Some things were so good and unexpected, I had to stop to marvel at how good this book was written. Everything was in great portion; from the cool action to the fluttery romance. The words turned into a vivid and amazing world inside my head with the perfect amount of tension.
 

Now let’s get to know the characters. The characters were so fun to read. I didn’t really like the main character but I think Ness was pretty good. She could be a little annoying but she also a strong and brave girl. Liam was all you can expect from a son of an Alpha. I'm not really interested in him but he seemed like a great and domineering guy. Lucas; blunt and a pain in the back of my head. Was he really that horrible? Yes. But I don’t know why I’m drawn to him. I think that there is more about him than he let on. I wish to get more of him in the next book. August was a sweet and kind guy. Too bad I only had a glimpse of him in this book. But I’m sure he will make a lot of appearances in the sequels.
 

Though this book was a fun and great read, the conflict was too predictable. I guessed it right away and even though I still liked this book, it reduced some of the tension. And even though I’m happy with how this book ended, some things in this book didn’t sit well with me. I just think that everything was too easy. But hey, I think those things helped make this book more enjoyable.


Overall, I loved A Pack of Blood and Lies. It was so good, the romance made me all smiley and the characters were interesting. Once I’m on the last page, I know I’m super excited and can’t wait for A Pack of Vows and Tears. I signed up to be on the list to get an e-ARC, I hope I’m lucky! If you love werewolves, sweet romance, easy and awesome read, I suggest to check out this book.

Ness is a girl who has been hardened by difficult life experiences which cause a few trust issues. She is fiercely loyal with conviction and is a bit of an emotional hot head. She is forced to return to the Pack that kicked her out as a young girl. A girl who is now 6 years older and looking for retribution for having been denied an opportunity at revenge. In a dangerous competition for Alpha, she will see if her traitorous heart will be her undoing or her salvation. Ness isn’t the only one in this story who has some baggage. Each character was brought to life on those pages, full of rich details and strong emotions. I cheered, I cried, I cringed, and I smiled. It was amazing to read on as the story twisted and turned. Definitely more of an older Young Adult novel due to language and subject matter. I cannot wait for the next installment as I am sure it will be another great roller coaster of a read!