PENNED CON Winner of Best Audio Book 2019.“Is it too soon to say that this beautiful book is my favourite book I’ve read in 2019? I’m in love with everything about it.”- NinaBookishTHE PRIMAL RULE OF WINNING: DON’T FALL IN LOVE WITH THE CONTENDER.Three months shy of her eighteenth birthday, Ness is forced to return to Colorado. Even though it’s been six years, and the wolves of her all-male pack … to Colorado. Even though it’s been six years, and the wolves of her all-male pack don’t recognize her, she recognizes them. People who shun others because of their gender are hard to forget.
Especially Liam Kolane—son of Heath, the crudest and cruelest Alpha to have ruled the Boulder Pack. Liam is as handsome as he is infuriating, as kind as he is punishing, and he makes Ness’s traitorous heart race, which isn’t good. After all, he’s a Kolane. Like father like son, right?
When Heath dies, Liam vies to become the new Alpha and no one dares challenge him.
Except Ness.
Thus begins a treacherous game.
The rules: winner takes all…including loser’s life.
Fans of Kelley Armstrong and Kresley Cole will devour A PACK OF BLOOD AND LIES.
* Contains Alpha males.
* Not suitable for children under 15.more
One of my favorite reads of 2019!
This was the first book I read by Wildenstein. I had no idea what to expect or that her words would grab me by the teeth and yank me in. The more I read, I deeper I fell down the rabbit hole. All the secrets and lies had me by the throat to get to the bottom of the truth. I absolutely loved the emotional cyclone of sexism, survival, secrets, trials, and attraction. The love/hate relationships hooked me all the way through. Ness and Liam reminded me of Veronica and Logan in Veronica Mars . . . which is to say I LOVED their dynamic so hard!
I like my fiction raw and a bit dark, triggers and all. I was thrilled that Wildenstein didn’t shy away from the ugly. Plus, the writing was superb!
Bring on book two!
This should be a mandatory book for everyone who likes a fast paced shifter story. Perfect settings, wonderful plot, and amazing characters. This serie grips you from the very star and deserves to be on your to read list.
A great story. Plenty of tension but neither too much. Ness experienced a lot of harrowing events. The story is full of mysteries to be unraveled which only became clear at the end through excellent storytelling skills. One of the auxiliary characters, Sarah, is fascinating. I’d love to see more of her story. The story ends well but doesn’t include a happily-ever-after.
I received a review copy of this book from a third party. This is my honest review.
Haunting and Intriguing …. just who can you trust?
About the only shifter books I like are ‘Weres’ and this one did not disappoint.. It was unique in that it was unlike most of the werewolf storylines I’ve read. Oh yes, the cunning was there as was the deception that’s found in so many stories; however, this book took on a different approach.
While turning the pages I kept trying to second guess what was happening and just who really was a hero and who was a villain. I kept thinking they were not who or what we perceived them to be. Can one be innocent and yet guilty? How do you decide who you can trust …. if anyone?
Ness may only be 17, but she’s learned things the hard way. She was born a female …. okay, so what? Well, you see, female wolves are not welcome in the Boulder Pack. Her dad is ki11ed which forces 11 year old Ness and her mother out of Boulder. I didn’t say out of the pack because they never were part of the pack…. as I said, females were not welcome.
Six long years passed before Ness is confronted and forced to go back to those Boulder wolves. But, she’s not 11 years old anymore. Now 17, Ness has learned survival at its best. I guess you could say she got her PhD from the School of Hard Knocks… and now that she’s back, she uses her skill, her cunning and her knowledge to try to right those past wrongs. But just how effective can she be when deception and duplicity is knocking at her door?
…. Is Liam an undercover good guy?
…. What is August’s role here?
…. What about Everest? What is his real game?
…. Lucas comes across harsh, but why?
…. Alpha or not, how on earth did Heath last as long as he did?
Ahhhh, I could go on and on. It seems that no one is who or what they seem to be…. or maybe they are and just know how to hide things well.
Yep, this is a different take on werewolves and very intriguing…. enjoy!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This book has everything you want a great book to have. Strong female character, check. Guy whose face you want to smash in, check. Hot friend/old crush. Other guy who you want to punch if you could just stop laughing. This book had all that and more.
I loved it so much that I read it one night and then proceeded to download & read the rest of the series. I loved that Nessa stood up for herself and didn’t let anyone push her around. I loved the relationship between her and Evelyn.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
They don’t want her but they won’t let her go…
Ness has lived in Los Angeles since she and her mother were driven out of the Boulder Pack six years ago. Now that her mother has died, Ness only has Evelyn, the loving elderly neighbor who befriended them shortly after they arrived. Ness is not yet eighteen so when her only remaining relatives show up unexpectedly she is compelled to return to their Boulder Inn but she insists that Evelyn accompany them.
The Inn is the hangout of the Boulder Pack. How long will it take one of them to sniff her out and will she suffer the same fate as her mother when they do?
This is a good, fast-paced paranormal novel with enough intrigue and twists to make it interesting. It is an excellent start to the series.
I really enjoyed this first book in The Boulder Wolves series, I love wolf shifters and their normally alpha protective, dominant ways, so I was interested as to how an all male pack would work. It was a page turner!
Ness is forced to return to the pack who shunned her as a child for being a girl born to an all male pack.
Son of the now dead, cruel, sadistic pack alpha, Liam came across as a bit of an alpha-hole at the start, turning up and interfering wherever Ness went. Was he being overly protective or trying to run her off again? Assuming Liam to be just like his father and faced with misogynistic attitudes and contempt from a large majority of the pack, Ness does the only thing she can….. Challenge Liam for alpha status just to spite him and to prove that being a woman doesn’t make her weak. However, there was a lot more to Liam as she was about to find out.
I liked Ness, only 17, she had, spirit, fight, determination and was caring and kind although a bit hot headed, reckless and stubborn in some of her decisions. She’d been through so much pain but deep down just wanted to be accepted.
The story was action packed and pretty fast paced with many twists and turns. There was a lot going on with secrets, lies, coverups, betrayals and a slow burn enemies to lovers romance. However, I’m sure that’s not going to be plain sailing if the hints throughout regarding her childhood best friend August come to fruition! Colour me intrigued, I’m going straight on to book two!
Rating 4.25 stars
“A Pack of Blood and Lies” is the first instalment in “The Boulder Wolves” older teens/NA urban fantasy series by Olivia Wildenstein.
Six years after she left the Boulder Pack, Ness (FMC) comes back to the all-male pack in Colorado, to the people who shunned and drove her and her mother away just for being female. While she never forgot them, the pack doesn’t recognize her, not even the pack’s Alpha Heath Kolane, not his son Liam, the infuriating heir apparent that makes Ness absolutely mad, without even trying, and Ness’s heart skip every other beat. As Heath dies, Liam is supposed to become the new alpha, until Ness challenges his for the position. But a fight to life and death, Ness doesn’t have many options.
Wildenstein’s story is interesting, easy-to-read, with great characters and a solid plot that explore the difficult relationship between males and females in the pack and due to the target audience (older teens) abstains from the oversexualized narrative often used in the werewolf genre… a refreshing turn.
Hooked from page one!!!
This amazing installment sucked me in from the first page, its twisted and dark plot, unexpected twists and turns and non-stop action, had me on edge, trying to guess what will happen and gasping at the shocking revelations
Love Ness and Liam so much, can’t wait to read how their relationship will develop!!!
There are so many twists and turns in this book, even somewhat predictable arcs end up having unexpected twists. There are characters that you love and then hate and then love, and vice versa. First impression isn’t always the best impression, and it keeps you on your toes as you make your way through the story. The tension continues to build slowly, and by then I was fully drawn in and engrossed in the story. Very much looking forward to the next book, as there were some very interesting twists at the end and I can’t wait to see how they play out.
This was such a great story. It kept my interest from start to finish. If I had to pause the book I was irritated because I couldn’t bear to stop listening. The characters all have a good depth to them, the plot is a hook line and sinker and the mini plots are intriguing. I highly recommend this book for paranormal lovers, slow burn love lovers, hard headed female leads, a good mystery lovers.
This is my first book by this author and it hooked me fully and completely. Wildenstein has a way of weaving words that will captivate you from the first to long after you’ve read the last. This first book in the Boulder Wolves series is both romantic and heartbreaking. Ness feels real in both her flaws and strengths.
This book was surprisingly addictive. While I love a good werewolf romance I honestly didn’t expect much from A Pack of Blood and Lies, mainly because it had a bit of a rough start to it. The further and further I got into the story however the more hooked I was.
It had an interesting take on werewolves that I haven’t really seen been done in other books which made it much more appealing. I loved the pack dynamic, both the good with the family bonds within the pack and the traditions, as well as the bad with the sexism and every other injustice that made the conflicts oh so juicy. Following the bane of the conflict, Ness, seeing her trying to find a place in a pack that shunned her, lied to her and disliked her among other things made me invested to the story like no other character could make me. There was never a dull moment with her when the world was constantly against her and not in a bad unrealistic or self pitying way, but rather naturally with the matter of the plot for such conflicts it had. While she toed the line of being bitchy I really could expect no less from how she was treated and what happened to her and her family. Her attitude did play really well with her rival in the competition, Liam, as well, pulling and pushing them apart in a very compelling way, just as a good build up in a romance should.
I did feel at times that the book left things in the air, like how situations or explanations (or lack thereof) was brushed by like they weren’t that important when they were. Somethings were cleared up later on so it was easy to move passed some of these moments, but some still feel a bit off to me, like I was expected to know something the story didn’t tell me. I even thought that there perhaps was a previous series in the same world that I had missed because of this, and even now I’m not sure. Hopefully this will also be cleared up and handled a bit better in upcoming books.
This is a definite going to keep reading, especially with how the romance between Ness and Liam came to a very satisfying close and hopefully continuation. I am a bit nervous about this though, since it seems like a Sarah J. Maas is going to be pulled in upcoming books with a triangle and … let’s call it “change of heart”. I’m all for drama, but that’s where I draw the line. Cross my fingers I am wrong about this.
I really loved this book. I instantly had to purchase the second one. I was trapped in the series and couldn’t get out. If you are looking for romance and action this book is for you.
Amazing series ! A must read !!
You will be pulled right in and not able to put it down. The character development is great, the friendships, the intensity of the story line. I loved it ! I will definitely be reading more from this author.
A Pack Of Blood And Lies by Olivia Wildenstein.
I really enjoyed this story. Great characters, moved along nicely and had me intrigued from the start and guessing until the end!
Looking forward to more in this series!
4.5 stars for A Pack of Blood and Lies by Olivia Wildenstein. This is book 1 in The Boulder Wolves series. This is also my first book from this author, and it will not be the last. Ness has been living on her own since her mother died , now she is being forced to return back to Colorado. The home her and her mother were forced out of . They were forced to leave because she was a female wolf. The pack is a sexist place and Ness doesn’t like any of them except her old friend August and her cousin Everest. I loved this book and everything about it . I love that Ness is not afraid of Liam or any of the other men in the pack even if she should be. I loved it and I cant wait to read the next book.
This was a great start to The Boulder Wolves series! Ness and her mother were shunned from their pack because she was a female. She’s forced to return, but no one recognizes her anymore. The alpha of the pack has died, so his son, Liam, is unopposed to become the new one until Ness decides to challenge him. She believes he’s just as evil and vile as his father, but there’s more evil in people you’d least suspect. The trials that she had to go through to compete for the pack leader position were extremely rough, but she kept pushing forward even when death threats started coming her way. I loved Ness’ fierce and determined personality to fight for what she believed in and Liam’s hot and cold personality that left you wondering where he truly stood and if you should root for him or not. The characters Olivia has created are all mysterious, intriguing, and well developed; the world/ politics of this book are descriptive and vivid. Along with the main plot, there were multiple subplots that kept you on your toes guessing what would happen next. This book was filled with death, mystery, suspense, romance, and a misogynistic society. There are trigger warnings for rape, suicide, abusive relationship, and foeticide.
Sara did a fantastic job with this narration! Her voice was easy to listen to and her male voices were done well. Her performance heightened the experience and brought every character and emotion to life!
*I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
I have been keeping a eye out for this book. The cover caught my attention and man the title fits the story to a T.
I enjoyed the pace and the storyline SO much. I loved Ness’ world and when it expanded to the Boulder tribe and meeting more characters I found myself truly enjoying the story even more. Who to trust, and trying to solve the mystery kept me on the edge of my seat.
Love this world. Need more.
Audio 5 stars
The narrator Sara Hannah is phenomenal. She brings the story to life. Amazing at doing the male voices and she brought the Boulder pack to life. I could listen to her all day and in fact I did!!