True Wolf by Paige Tyler is riveting, suspenseful, and heart-pounding. It combines supernatural suspense, paranormal romance, and action-adventure in a thrilling novel that is the third book in the STAT: Special Threat Assessment Team series. It takes the reader on an international journey from Turkey to Croatia to Russia to Ukraine and then for a showdown in New York City. The reader is immediately plunged into the action and drawn into the story.

In this series, supernatural beings are known to a few, but not all humans. As with humans, some supernatural beings are criminals and the United States has put together a team of supernatural beings and humans to deal with these criminals domestically as well as internationally. Caleb Lynch is a werewolf and a member of STAT. His team is sent to Turkey where they’re led to vaults that have been broken into and terrorists have stolen dangerous weapons. Brielle Fontaine has a possible lead on the weapons and her missing brother and joins the STAT team as they travel the globe in search of both.

Both main characters have their flaws that made them seem more real. As an omega werewolf, Caleb can lose control and has to be slapped back to reality, but he can certainly fight. (Omegas are the result of going into a traumatic event with bad intentions and the werewolf gene gets tripped.) Brielle has always taken care of her younger brother and sacrificed other relationships for getting him out of continuous trouble. Add to that both are afraid of not being accepted by others as well as not accepting themselves for what they are. I felt like the characters were emotionally rich with an undercurrent of self-growth amidst the action, suspense, and developing romance.

Tyler does a great job of world-building. I was able to easily visualize the settings, especially the tunnels. There are several twists to the story as it deals with important themes of terrorism, trust, wanting a better world and what you’re willing to do to make it so. Family, concern for others, social awkwardness, friends, and romance also play into the tale. The opening is strong and intriguing and the connection between Caleb and Brielle is deftly handled. There are a couple of steamy scenes later in the book.

This story was a mix of investigation, planning, romance, and action that kept me turning the pages to find out what was going to happen next. I was kept fully invested in the mission becoming a success. My one quibble is that I did not believe the head criminal would do what he did in the final showdown.

Overall, this book was fast-paced, action-oriented, and entertaining. If you enjoy action thrillers with some romance that have both strong male and female characters set in a world where supernatural beings exist, then this may be the series for you. Since there are several recurring characters in the book, it helps to read the series in order. That way, a reader is not learning all of the secondary characters at once, but gradually over time. I can’t wait to find out what is next for the STAT team.

SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca and Paige Tyler provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. This is my honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way. Publication date is currently set for February 22, 2022. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.

Omega werewolf Caleb Lynch and the rest of his STAT team are on the hunt for stolen nuclear weapons, and whoever stole them. They are going to have to work with an outsider who has mysterious powers.
Brielle Fontaine is searching for her troublesome brother who has a tendency to get into serious trouble. This time she will need help and the price of that is working with others. She has always tried to hide the truth behind her powers.
This is an action packed, sexy, paranormal romantic suspense. The danger is almost non-stop. You will meet some very different supernaturals among the good and the bad guys. All the characters are exciting, our hero in particular. He is very unpredictable.
I loved every page. Great fun and excitement.

This is a great read. The "abilities" involved are often astounding. Brielle has one I would love to have! The flesh eating tunneling critters are the thing of nightmares. Fast.paced,.full of suspense and heat it was a hard to put down book.

I loved every single bit of this book. Reading a Paige Tyler book is sitting back on the sofa with a cup of coffee and letting yourself get swept away in the world of supernaturals. I really like everything werewolf and their instant attraction to someone and I devoured this one in one sitting.

Caleb is an omega wolf, part of the STAT team. He's a loner, has control and anger issues and knows that will hinder him in finding someone to share his life with. He couldn't be more wrong.

Brielle, whom we met in the previous book working for the bad guy, has also got powers, but up till now she had to use them to keep rescuing her brother Julien who always manages to get himself into trouble. At the end of the previous book she was able to get to go free after helping the STAT team.

When Caleb and Brielle meet up again it is because of Julien dissapearing again. His dissapearand seems to connect with the new case Caleb and his team are called on. Someone has stolen 20 nuclear bombs and they are summoned to find them and prevent a world war. For one or other reason Julien is right in the middle of this.

They team up and what we get is a fast paced story with lots of twists and turns, all new supernatural beings and a midst all of that a wonderfull love story between Caleb and Brielle. Both of them thought that were going to be alone for the rest of their lifes but it turns out they're each others soul mates.

I loved every single bit of this book and I'm soo looking forward to another one in the series.

Highly recommended.

I received this ARC by the author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

True Wolf: Sexy, Action-packed Paranormal Romantic Suspense (STAT Book 3) by Paige Tyler
Werewolf agent Caleb Lynch and Brielle Fontaine with her supernatural abilities are the main couple in this story. There are plenty of old friends and some new ones to make this story a page turner that kept me on the edge of my seat. There is plenty of violence, danger, angst, laughter, tears and some steam to get us to a HEA, and leave us wanting the next book in the series.
Reasons I enjoyed this book:
Wonderful characters Great word building Action-packed Funny Scary Happily Ever After Unpredictable Tear-jerker Page-turner Easy-to-read Entertaining Romantic Steamy

Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the chance to read an advanced copy of True wolf by Paige Tyler. I was looking for something light, and fun, and found it in Paige's 3rd book in her STAT series (offshoot of her werewolf SWAT series which I love!) She is definitely opening her world up to other supernaturals and we get a closer look at several new cast members in True wolf including Brielle Fontaine. I love the chemistry she has with omega werewolf Caleb as they find time for romance while saving the world!

The secret skill of Brielle Fontaine comes out in full force for the latest book in the STAT series. I am starting to warm up to this series. The characters are growing on me. I like seeing the wolves that aren't alpha and some of the other supernaturals in this world. Caleb is also an adorable berserker which tickles my fancy.

This is a fated mate tale which can be read as a standalone. Caleb is on a secret government team working on special cases. This latest one is a doozy. Ms. Tyler brings in a theme that always intrigues me. Specifically we are seeing a League of Shadows à la Batman style. This concept and group intrigues me the older I get and the more jaded I become. Their goal and the way they want to make the world a better place does kind of hold merit. Yes, there is a lot of collateral damage which is anathema to Americans and many 1st world Western thinking. Not everyone thinks this way. There are many cultures who believe sacrifice for the good of many.

This plot captures my attention whilst it beautifully blends in Caleb and Brielle's whirlwind courtship. I like Caleb because he isn't he OCD in control alpha. He's strong; he's smart. When he rages, he really rages and that is kind of arousing. I find it interesting how different the omegas are in this world compared to Ms. Brigg's world. They are almost completely opposite. With Caleb and his berserker fugue state, it takes a special kind of person to handle them and not be intimidated. Enter in Brielle who possesses some pretty awesome powers. When she first showed up as a secondary character in a previous book, I knew she would be coming back as a love interest. I just didn't realize it would be quite so soon. I like her and I understand her. The characters in this book are flawed and mostly anti-heroes. I like this about them and I like how they can still perform acts of good with great courage. It shows a depth in character.

There are a couple of threads in this story that I felt were left loose. I am not sure if it was intentional or accidental. I will be reading the following books in the series to see if anything ever comes of it and because I enjoy the direction this series is heading. This paranormal suspense is recommended to romance lovers who enjoy fated mate themes and bad boys with hearts of gold.

I do sometimes think that the further I delve into Paige Tyler's Werewolf/STAT universe, the more confused I get with her ever-expanding cast of supernaturals that go beyond the werewolves. But it is this very element of her series that is now propelling the plot and its momentum forward, even as the core romance and pairing principle stays the same.

Each book breaks down Tyler's supernatural verse into facets that I loved learning about and 'True Wolf', in similar fashion, has a lot of things going on as Tyler reaches further into the James Bondesque-type save-the-world-type plots where only a select few work to prevent a disaster with everyone being none the wiser. It's a fine line to tread, really, keeping the readers's suspension of disbelief up while making it plausibly believable as each werewolf falls inexplicably hard for his one true soulmate (a.k.a. instalove, werewolf-style).

Caleb/Brielle wasn't a pairing I particularly liked or disliked and my neutrality perhaps, went a ways in leading me to put the book down and take it up many times over the past month--the busy holiday period notwithstanding. Yet these books are very much team-based as well, and the sheer number of characters coming through felt very much like a distraction at best and my inability to keep up with the whole crew--despite having read their books in the past few years--did make it less enjoyable than I thought it would be.

In all, it felt like a mixed bag here: 'True Wolf's pacing was good, but a more focused (and slightly more pared-down?) story would have perhaps smoothened the whole read.

I'm really enjoying Paige Tyler's STAT series which is an offshoot of her SWAT series. I liked the character Caleb, in the previous books, and knew he would have a rich backstory. The author always dives deep into her characters and it's one reason her books are so good. For example, I thought Brielle was a bad guy in her last book but it turns out she is a tragic heroine perfect for Caleb.

At first True Wolf was hard for me to get into, I struggled the first few chapters but the story of Caleb and Brielles started to intrigue me. Two people we were introduced to in prior stories that could easily be considered bad guys but in reality their was so much more about their back story. I’m thrilled I kept reading because I really enjoyed this story and happy that Brielle and Caleb received their own story because they were great to read about and they deserve a happy ending.

Caleb is a omega wolf shifter on the STAT team. When he shifts, he can barely control his wolf. A bunch of nuclear weapons have been stolen and the trail leads to a sister-brother team. Brielle can touch someone and get their abilities for an hour or so. Her brother has gotten in trouble again and she makes a deal with STAT that she’ll help them if they’ll help her. Caleb knows the first time he met Brielle that she is his THE ONE. They don’t trust each other at first but when a fanatic thinks he can save the world by blowing it up, the team rushes to stop him. The attraction goes nuclear before they know it and if they want to make it work, they’ve got to save the world.

Excellent story with characters you can love. Suspense. Sex. A story you can lose yourself in.

* Voluntarily read and reviewed this for NetGalley *

Brielle is asked to work with a special team to locate missing nuclear missiles. Caleb is instantly drawn to her but fights acknowledging she is his true mate. Brielle has spent her life raising her brother and getting him out of trouble. She is a strong and intelligent character. There's a lot of intrigue and suspense in this book but there is also passion and friendship.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks/Casablanca for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. This book is part of a series, I have not read them all. It reads I think okay as a stand alone. It might be overwhelming as alot of people are introduced at once. Overall for me, this was a fun, action packed adventure with romance to boot. Caleb is an Omega werewolf and Brielle is a unique supernatural, they have good chemistry. Brielle's brother Julian is always getting in trouble and she bails him out. I think she should cut those strings and let him grow up. A book you won't want to put down. 4 stars