A pack broken.A pup in danger.A submissive wolf who will fight with her last breath.Hayden Scott doesn’t know his stroll in the woods is going to start with a backpack full of watermelon and end with him the new alpha of the Ghost Mountain Pack. A very traumatized pack, and those are only the shifters he can see. Too many are missing, hiding in the woods or worse.His wolf doesn’t care. He has a … worse.
His wolf doesn’t care. He has a pack. One with maple-syrup-covered toddlers, a ten-year-old boy who smells like wolf right up until he shifts, and a brave woman with green eyes and serious trust problems who defended her pup with nothing more than a tree branch and sheer guts.
The walk ahead won’t be easy, but he has a list.
Burn down the den.
Deal with the evil still stalking the woods.
Call Mom.
more
This is NOT shifter romance. Just fantasy shifters. But there’s nothing “just” about this book.
There’s a hint of a slow burn, though. It’s hard to explain.
And that’s what makes it so amazing.
Audrey Faye has a gift for weaving communities together where people who feel alone find themselves enveloped by the solidarity of knowing that a group has your back. In the face of adversity, these tendrils of connection form strong bonds.
I can’t easily explain Hayden or Lissa or Kennedy or Moira or… you just have to read it.
I guess that’s the “just” here.
Just read it.
<3
This is one of the best werewolf books I’ve read in quite a while. Please look past the basic cover and the perhaps-not-as-hooky-as-it-might-be first chapter. By chapter two, I was deeply engrossed in this story of a wounded pack and the young alpha who resolves to fix them. And now I’m off to borrow book two from Kindle Unlimited!
I just found a new author to binge read!! So original and heartbreaking with romance!
Alpha-Hayden’s story-
Hayden Scott at 32 is a slightly immature alpha wolf. Son of a powerful alpha from a large muli shifter pack. He is a big hearted man, with a powerful and protective wolf. A camping trip to Ghost Mountain with his two best friends, leads him to something he has been preparing for since he was 10, and formed a baby pack made up of a retired special forces veteran struggling to acclimate back to pack life and a young sentinel he recruited to help. A pack of his own. When he challenges an alpha radiating evil to save he brave young submissive mama protecting her cub.
The Ghost Mountain Pack was destroyed 6 years ago by Samuel, a dominant wolf they welcomed along with his cousin and niece. He killed their Alpha in a challenge that came from nowhere. He and his cousin attacked the strong dominants killing or breaking them. The young dominants, he poisoned with his evil. The submissive they terrorized.
The Ghost Mountain Pack is in good hands. Strong Alpha hand. An alpha who knows the value of elders and that they and the submissive wolves are the heart of every pack. He will be their strength, protector, and soft place to land. His beta Kel, knows the trauma of war. A powerful submissive wolf, he will be their shield and empowerment. Rio, a rare sentinel, who knows how to heal broken wolves. His big black wolf offers safety and healing. They are backed by their home Pack, lead by the Alpha of Alphas, Adrianna Scott, Hayden’s mom.
The Whistler Pack is 800 strong mixed pack, lead by Adrianna Scott. Evil found it’s way into her territory slipped under her radar. She is determined to not allow that to happen again. Her pack has stepped up to offer their help. Donating items no longer needed, and trading others for cookies and jam. Adrianna’s her best friend and her mate, Hawk Alphas, are happy to stick their beaks in and offer their deliver service.
Hayden with the help of his mother brings justice to his pack. I comes in the form of a polar bear Alpha, whose roar shakes the ground. A roar that means safety to the pack and a promise that the evil will not go unpunished
Clean read, emotional and full of hope, if it was a movie I would rate it PG-13.
Very good introduction to an amazing new world and series, I finished this very quickly
Generic review, as I have so thoroughly enjoyed every book of hers I’ve read.
I’ve yet to read a book of hers that didn’t leave me feeling better about life, the universe, and everything.
Don’t think of them in terms of fantasy of sci fi (if that might put you off) — think of them in terms of books that are heartwarming, inspiring, comforting.
Strong characters who learn and grow, and who find and support connections with others and the world around them.
I eagerly await each new book!
I don’t really know how to convey what I loved about this story other than that the characters were so wonderfully written. There has to be a better way to say this, but I can’t think of one offhand. I picked up this book based on a recommendation from another book group and loved the depth of the characters. I felt like I was sitting with them throughout the story. The story is good, not constant heart-pounding action, but so engaging that I hated to put the book down. I’ve already downloaded the next book in the series and will be checking to see if this author has written any other books.
A wonderful book with great characters, and some really poignant scenes. A great start to a (hopefully long) series!
New subject matter for me. Good character building. Hooked me pretty quickly.
Got me from the first page, read in basically one sitting. Now I’m on pincushion waiting for next in series ‘Heart’. This is a great read with hints of romance
This isn’t at all a typical shifter PNR or even a typical dramatic UF depiction of good vs. evil.
It starts with a fierce action scene, but the rest is about slowly, subtly mending wounded souls and (re)building a pack. Kind-hearted young alpha Hayden matures into his new responsibility, while he and his two companions (also not the arrogant alphas all-too-common in shifter fiction) exercise gentle perceptiveness and clever machinations, balancing their just anger at what his new pack has had to endure.
There are many sweet and sometimes heart-wrenching moments with wary (but not necessarily submissive) females, and especially with lovable young pups (in both their human and furred forms, including one massive juvenile bear).
The very slow-burn romance will take more than one book to reach a happy ending. Among other issues, both have bigger priorities: the remaining danger from the other male dominant wolves who were led into abusive behaviour (Lissa and her beloved son remain prime targets for reprisals), and the challenges of providing the vulnerable group’s long-neglected necessities. Hayden’s mother’s highly-successful pack taught gender equality, inclusive acceptance, and giving every pack member a sense of belonging, safety, and well-suited purpose, but Hayden has to prove himself and those brighter possibilities here before Lissa even commits to staying.
I appreciate that the separate or shared human and animal instincts of dominant and submissive shifters are presented with depth, complexity, and individuality, where “submissive” doesn’t mean you can’t be tough, brave, or a leader.
Physical confrontation with those cast out of their spoiled position of power is presented as a last resort, while saving the redeemable ones is the ultimate hope. Until they’re all dealt with one way or another, though, the hidden pack members won’t be willing to risk rejoining the den.
I found this book touching and original, and am eager to read more from this new-to-me author… despite her use of my un-favorite PRESENT TENSE. The proofreading was thorough, too.
However, I did have to knock off one star because all the major plot threads are still in progress at this story’s end. There were some satisfying developments, and a warm, hopeful ending, but not yet much that’s conclusive. Furthermore, many readers will be disappointed by the lack of more action like in the sample. Even I could have done with a bit more.
N.b., if this review is too wordy (Sorry), try reading just the first line or two of each paragraph.
Love this start to a new series.
Read through kindle unlimited then purchased. Have read several times already and definitely recommend.
Like many of Audrey’s stories, this defies easy classification. Shifters of many kinds but no romance and definitely no sex. Anticipate that any romance will be gradual and spread over the series. Many of the characters have to heal before they can grow.
A new alpha trying to figure out how to help his inherited pack that has been broken by the previous alpha and his dominants. A coming of age story for the hero. A novel of struggle and rebirth, of forming family bonds new and old. Where to start, how to prioritize the needs and who can be healed or redeemed becomes the focus of this part of the story.
An ensemble cast with events progressing mainly through the point of view of the hero Hayden and the heroine Lissa. A few others sneak in toward the end. Quite a few scene stealers.
Triggers? Nothing depicted. Definitely mention of a lot of psychological and physical abuse by the late alpha. No talk of rape but many characters have not told their stories yet.
I love the author’s Fixers of Karma Corp series and, even though this is only book one, the potential for Ghost Mountain Shifters to rival or surpass Fixers is high.
Eagerly checking my email for notification of the release of book two.
cross posted good reads, amazon, book bub