This was beautifully written to the point of being lyrical at times. I loved the descriptions of wolves and how the protagonist Inti has made her life about helping the species. McConaghy clearly knows a lot o about the topic and it shines through in this beautifully told story. The narrator was excellent and the whole story had a nice flow to it.

Once There Were Wolves is one of those books that really shines in audio format. The story is so visual and immersive that I found myself closing my eyes to picture the woods of Scotland and BC while listening. McConaghy’s writing is so visceral and descriptive and works so well as an audio book. The narrator did an amazing job with the text and really brought the story to life. The book feels like part character study part love letter to the wild forests. As someone who grew up walking through forests with my father this books really touched me in a profound way and made me want to books a trip to see Pando.

I was immediately pulled in to Inti’s world and the lives of the wolves she studies. The flashbacks in time helped me understand Inti as a character and how she ended up where me met her at the beginning of the book. The slow unfolding of the story made an already intriguing story even more compelling. McConaghy’s story telling is impeccable and her writing is beautiful. I enjoyed this story from the first page to the last and will be recommending it often.

Thank you Net Galley for an audio ARC of Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy. I listened to the whole book but couldn't connect with the story. Others have rated it high, but it just didn't work for me. The narrator did a good job.

Once There Were Wolves is the story of Inti, who is helping reintroduce wolves in Scotland. Along for the journey with Inti, is her twin Aggie. Aggie is still recovering from indescribable acts of violence from her husband, with Inti being fiercely protective of her.
Facing great opposition from the local farmers, Inti struggles to gain the trust of the community. When one local ends up dead/missing, people are unsure of where the true threat lies.
Blurring the lines of nature/wilderness and humans, this is a beautiful story of the struggle of balancing nature and preservation with the livelihood of proud and/or struggling farmers.
There are many, many broken characters in this story. Each with their own unique struggles, which added to the story.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the ARC.

This review of of the audiobook, provided to me by MacMillan Audio.

Once There Were Wolves is the tale of two sisters, one of whom works with endangered wolves. Inti Flynn comes to Scotland, along with a team of wildlife biologists, to reintroduce gray wolves into the Scottish Highlands. She brings her twin sister Aggie, who has suffered horrible abuse, with her. Inti is met with anger and fear from the neighboring farmers who are afraid the wolves are going to attack their sheep. When a farmer is found dead, suspicion falls upon the wolves, and maybe Inti herself.

This is a beautiful book that gives us a peek into the lives of gray wolves, and the difficulties of introducing them back to their native habitats. Inti has a special and fascinating gift, which allows her to understand the wolves and her fellow humans on a very intimate level. Aggie's withdrawal into herself and Inti's ability to communicate with her twin is touching and real. The murder mystery is intricate and nuanced, with many twists and turns.

The narrator, Saskia Maareveld, did a wonderful job with all the characters, taking on different roles and accents with ease.

My review is voluntary and my opinions are my own.

A wonderful novel about nature and human relationships. This was a propulsive story that was hard to put down. The language and descriptions of nature and our relationship with animals are simply beautiful. I highly recommend this novel.

Charlotte McConaghy's books are extraordinary.

For me, reading her stories is a visceral experience. The writing is exquisite. The atmosphere jumps off the page. And the characters...the characters are the best part.

This book is about Inti's journey to reintroduce wolves into the remote Highlands. She is not welcomed by the locals. Her twin sister Aggie has experienced an indescribable trauma and doesn't speak. Inti herself has lived with mirror-touch synesthesia which causes her to feel the feelings of the people (and animals) she is watching.

There are many broken and scarred people in this book. There is so much grief and devastation. And yet there's also hope and faith. There's hope that the wolves will find a way to settle and make a home. Faith that the town will come to accept them. Faith that being here can heal Aggie. And Inti.

Inti is strong, resilient, flawed, loving, generous and scarred. She is determined. In fact, each of the characters is memorable and complex in his or her own way. I loved every single minute I spent with this book even though some of those moments were incredibly hard to take in. This is not a light and breezy book. It's gritty and hard to read. A lot of animal violence and a lot of human violence.

McConaghy is a magnificent writer and I cannot wait to read more of her books.

with gratitude to netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced audio in exchange for an honest review

I was fortunate to get an early listen to the audiobook thanks to NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

I didn’t read the authors first and wildly popular book Migrations, but this book didn’t disappoint
It starts with a line that leaves you gasping, questioning, reeling for me information and details. Is the main character a human? An animal?
You quickly learn about her condition causing her to quite literally feel the pain of others

The story takes you along with the main character (a strong woman) and her identical twin sister as she works to reintegrate a wolf population into the rural Scotland forest.

The characters have the perfect balance of depth, mystery, and flaw to draw you in ans keep you wanting more

I found myself needing to know more about the wolves. Feeling connected to them and their progress

This was a great book from start to finish with way more depth and mystery than I’m including here as to not spoil the story.
Highly recommend

This had more violence against women, animal death and murder than I usually like, but I could not stop listening. Despite the dark topics, I found it more hopeful than Migrations. Also Saskia Maarleveld can narrate anything!

A mystery thriller audiobook narrated by Saskia Maarleveld. She did a good job. The story takes place In Scotland and the whole town was mysterious. They are trying to bring wolves back to the wild from near extinction and many things happen. It appears that no one really wanted this. Inti and Aggie are twins and they’re also a mystery. The author took a special interest in abusive men and I really didn’t understand why.
I feel like I’m in the minority here but this didn’t work for me. I was confused most of the time and the story didn’t flow well for me. The protagonist was to wishy-washy. I wanted to see her stand for something. And I just couldn’t tell what she wanted. Maybe that was the point.
Thanks Macmillan Audio via Netgalley.

Once There Were Wolves is an homage to nature. McConaghy’s lush descriptions of the forests and wildlife were magical. I was quickly drawn into this atmospheric story.
The book details an effort to bring back wolves to the Scottish Highlands. Needless to say, the local farmers are not in favor. A wolf is quickly killed. Battle lines are drawn and Inti makes a decision to protect her wolves which might entail allowing someone to get away with murder.
Inti Flynn is one of the most unique main characters I’ve ever met. She has a condition called mirror touch synesthesia, which means she literally feels what others experience. If you cut yourself, she would feel your pain. And her parents were so different and imparted such different lessons to her, it’s amazing she doesn’t have a split personality.
The story flips back and forth between present day and Inti’s earlier life. Inti’s twin sister Aggie suffered from some event that has left her damaged and unable to speak. Often I find these split stories have a stronger half and a weaker half. Not here. I was equally engaged by both.
I enjoyed McConaghy’s prior book, Migrations, but I loved this one. I found this a much tauter, more suspenseful story. Once again, she tackles climate change and the damage man has done to the planet. But she brings it down to a very individual level; one small effort to repair that damage. Her writing is lush, it was easy to see every scene play out.
Saskia Maarleveld is the narrator and I was very impressed with her emotions and her ability to distinguish between the various accents.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for gifting me with an audio ARC of Charlotte McConaghy’s newest novel, Once There Were Wolves. In exchange I offer my unbiased review.

Having read and loved Migrations earlier this year, I was beyond thrilled to be offered a chance to review this book. And it did not disappoint!!! Similar to Migrations in that the landscape, this time the Scottish Highlands, are themselves a character, and instead of a mysterious female scientist tracking bird patterns, we have a mysterious conservationist tracking wolves. I think once I found my rhythm with this story, I was even more engaged and riveted than I was with Migrations.

Twin sisters, Inti and Aggie Flynn are raised by their unconventional parents to embrace nature and be weary of mankind. Inti suffers from a rare condition called Mirror-Touch Synesthesia which causes her to experience a similar sensation in the same part or opposite part of the body that another person feels. This makes Inti and her sister even more connected as twins. When Inti is given the opportunity to release wolves back into the Scottish Highlands, she is met with fierce resistance from the local farmers and residents. They fear the wolves will hunt their sheep, endanger their families and destroy their livelihood. When the unthinkable happens, it’s up to the local detective to determine who exactly is the predator; wolf or man?

Moving between the past and the present, we discover what Inti and her sister are hiding as well as Duncan, the handsome detective. Atmospheric and deeply engaging a thoughtful examination of risk verses reward, boundaries, expectations, experienced traumas and the balance of power between predator and prey.

I enjoyed the audio narration very much, but it did take a little while to become comfortable with the accent.

Beautifully written novel with a little bit of mystery and a little bit of romance. Would definitely recommend.

To thoroughly enjoy this book, one must like wolves, the preservation of the species in their natural habitat, and have an appreciation for "slow burn" and lots of backstory.

The story's main protagonist is Inti, and it follows her as she and her team of scientists are trying to reintroduce Wolves into the Scottish Highlands in an attempt to put them in their natural habitat. But many of the locals don't like the idea, and the farmers have made up their minds that this will only lead to danger with their livestock either being threatened or killed.

In the midst of the story, a farmer is found mauled, and the locals insist it was by a wolf. Inti has her hands full with the emotions of the whole town and the sheriff as she continues taking care of and tracking the wolves. She also takes care of her twin sister, and together they wrestle with a haunting past that keeps coming to the fore.

There really wasn't much to the "mystery" part of the book, and in that, I was disappointed., I was also not a fan of the liberal use of the f*bomb throughout.There was however, much in the way of wolf characteristics discussed and environmental issues. I also appreciated the care and close relationship that the sisters had.

The narrator, Saskla Maarteveld, did a fantastic job of telling the story. Her accent and enthusiasm was a compliment to the narration.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced audio version to listen to in exchange for my honest opinion.

Loved this!! A biologist’s tale of reintroducing wolves to the Scottish highlands… but the wolves may be harming the livestock and even humans. This was beautifully written and Saskia Maarleveld was amazing as ever as narrator. Inti’s story was interwoven with the past as we learn the story of why her twin sister doesn’t speak. Wolves, science, love, and family.

This book blew me away. I was a big fan of Migrations, and was ecstatic about the opportunity to read an early copy of McConaghy's newest book. I was completely enthralled in this story from the very beginning and was in awe of McConaghy's ability to, once again, beautifully capture the complicated nature and relationship between humans and the environment.

With the re-introduction of the wolves to the Scottish Highlands, Inti, the main character, and her team of scientists are confronted with anger, fear, and frustration from the local folks. Many of the farmers are concerned about their livestock, and the people are afraid for their own lives. There is a constant push and pull nature between the scientists, the wolves, and the locals. With Inti's ability to feel intimately feel what others are experiencing through her mirror-touch synesthesia, you really gain an insight into all of these different perspectives.

McConaghy is brilliant at developing characters, and you really get to know them so well throughout the story. At times, I was rooting for some and utterly disgusted by others. The range of emotions I felt throuhgout this one made it a memorable one.

I loved the multi-lateral description of emotions, thoughts, and flashbacks that was woven within this story. I really can't wait to see what the author has in store next! I know I will definitely be reading it. I also wanted to note that the narration for this audiobook was fantastic too! I flipped back and forth between the physical, e-copy, and audiobook.

Thank you to Flatiron Books for an advanced reader's copy. All opinions are my own.

I really loved Migrations, but this book may have surpassed it. I feel like it has a stronger story that melds better with the nature elements. Speaking of which, I really hope this isn't just a two-book diversion for the author. She's extremely talented at telling stories about women and nature in a way that I really love. I think wolves are amazing, and she brought them to life - warts and all - in this along with the human characters. I can't wait to see what McConaghy comes out with next.

Before my review there are several content warnings in this book so please check those if you are sensitive to any subjects.

This atmospheric, beautifully written, emotional story follows Inti as she and her team are trying to reintroduce Wolves into the Scottish Highlands in an attempt to re-wild the area. The farmers are none to pleased and are ready to go toe to toe with the team and take down any Wolves that threaten their livestock.

Inti is not only struggling with the locals, she is also struggling with her and her sister's past demons. We see their story unfold through flashbacks intertwined throughout.

This book had a touch of romance and plenty of mystery and intrigue. It kept me engaged and on my toes to find out how it would all play out.

This is an unpopular opinion but unlike what others are feeling about this book I didn’t find it to be that amazing. That isn’t to say it wasn’t a good book that combines the right amount of family drama and murder. It was well written providing us a good backstory that is slowly revealed as well as a strong female lead character.

Animal lovers will love this book as the is all about wolves. The book does really well at building the story not only around the human's lives but also the wolves. We follow the wolves and the good and bad they go through in the story as well. It comes to a point where certain wolves feel like separate characters themselves. We follow them as they adapt to being back in the wilderness and the tragic situation they find themselves in. We have invested in the wolves' lives as much as the humans.

There were also other things that I enjoyed in this book. I liked having not only the mystery of the murder but the mystery of how Indi’s twin sister became the way she did. We get a few flashbacks to both of their pasts which slowly build a picture for us of why they left Alaska. I always find these minor personal history backgrounds so interesting and this one wasn’t an exception. The tragic past they had adds a lot to the book.

One of the unique elements in this book that was very interesting was that Indi feels other's pain, both animals and humans. This creates a whole new time of both internal and external conflict. It added a whole new depth to the book. I did find some fault with this though because I noticed some times she didn’t feel the pain when other times she did. It felt like a writing flaw that the author forgot to add. Most of the time she does feel what she sees others feel but again I did find a few slip-ups in this.

But I did have a few problems with the book. Indi’s romantic relationships are very forced in this book and in my opinion, made the book worse than if it had just been left out. Their relationship wasn’t developed at all and was very forced and unnatural.

I do have to say this book is less of a mystery and more of an environmental book for people who love wolves. Yes, someone does die and yes, they do try to figure out who or what killed him but I didn’t find this to be much of a thriller or mystery. We do get to see a little bit of the investigation but I found this to be a very week spot in the book. The author did a lot better with the animal and environmental aspects of the book compared to the detective mystery in the book. I didn’t see the ending coming but it also wasn’t surprising. I also feel like they didn’t have to work for the truth. The truth eventually just falls right into Inti’s hands. Then when it is revealed it is very anticlimactic. We simply find out the truth from what Indi explains in her mind. There wasn’t some grand reveal. The truth is told to us months after Inti knows the truth and so it is her looking back at the truth which makes it less of a shock.

I listened to the audio version of this book and the only special thing in the audio is that the accent of the narrator fits the characters. There aren’t any special effects and I think the same impact can be met with both the physical book or audiobook. The narrator does do good at instilling in her voice the strength and confidence that Indi has and the narrator does well at reading with a variety of volume pace and pitch to keep the reading lively and not mundane.

I thought the book was good, not great, nor horrible. There were some really strong points as well as many weak ones. And in the end, it comes down to my overall enjoyment of the book and it was pretty neutral.

Twins Inti and Aggie arrive in Scotland to help reintroduce grey wolves to the Highlands. Both women are changed because of the events they witnessed in Alaska. Inti has seen the worst that humans can do to the natural world but dares to hope when the wolves she’s released begin to thrive. Then a local is mauled to death, Inti doesn’t believe a wolf is responsible, but knows that residents will feel differently. Willing to do anything to protect her wolves, Inti knows she has to prove that the farmer was killed by a human not her wolves. This is a passionate, beautiful story about the natural world and the lengths people will go to preserve or destroy it