Bitten by a werewolf. Taught by a vampire. At this rate, she’s going to start a war.Literature major Jordan Abbey ordered a double mocha latte, but it wasn’t supposed to come with a side order bite by a love-sick werewolf. When a vampire comes to her rescue, gut instinct tells her he has questionable motives. But he’s the only one she can trust to help get in touch with her inner animal.Within a … animal.
Within a week, her smart mouth lands her in trouble with the hostile Alpha of the local pack and the stiff-necked vampire Elder. She now has less than a moon cycle to master shape changing… or else. And the besotted werewolf who started this whole mess is stalking Jordan and killing her friends. He won’t take no for an answer.
In the Northern California town of Rancho Robles where the children of the Wolf and the Bat share an uneasy coexistence, one woman makes an epic mess of the status quo.
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This is one fantastic story here. You get your paranormal and so much more.
Jordan is a human who goes to college and all seems ok until well it’s not. One night after she leaves a local coffee shop she is attacked by something furry. She guesses a dog until…A Sexy man whom she saw in the coffee shop shows up to her rescue.
She wakes in a strange home, surrounded by a sexy man which she knows is Montgomery, and his blue haired friend she learns is Thorn. She isn’t prepared for all she will find out from these two and the battles ahead of her. But I have a feeling these two men will keep her thoughts else where at times.
Fantastic story, I loved the banter between the three main characters, and the steam factor is off the charts. Definite recommend read.
Originally posted on Tales to Tide You Over: https://margaretmcgaffeyfisk.com/category/reviews/
Jordan Abbey is very much the lead of this story, despite sharing the point of view with several people and technically falling under the command of more. She is neither arrogant nor aggressive, and yet, Jordan maintains a surprising amount of agency. She’s bitten by a werewolf, saved by a vampire, and inducted into a world she didn’t know existed, but is rarely cowed. Jordan is a forthright (what some call “smart mouthed”) woman with well-developed protectiveness over her chosen people, whether roommates or vampires. This clashes with two cultures built on centuries-old traditions, creating both tense and funny moments.
Jordan is also young and questing. She doesn’t lose that part of her, even as everything she’s known changes. This newly made werewolf doesn’t become all powerful either, though there are hints of more on that to come in later books if I’m reading it right.
The novel takes advantage of Jordan’s innocence to introduce us to the details of this paranormal world, but not in a heavy-handed way. I enjoyed her discoveries such as when she learns the werewolf lore through stories considered myth or fact depending on the speaker. Her ignorance might offer opportunities to share the cultures, but her questions break up sections with humor before they can become too dense.
Nor is she innocent in all things. Jordan may not be able to take her wolf form from the start, but she has had self-defense training (using keys through her knuckles). She even figures out how to lose a tail on her own before accepting Montgomery’s offer of protection. He has knowledge and abilities she does not, but don’t think her helpless or sheltered.
Montgomery and Thorn, the vampires helping Jordan, are cast as leads but act more like sidekicks much of the time. Thorn’s story remains a mystery, and backstory drives Mac more than anything else. Well, that and his subconscious. He refuses to see the parallels everyone else can. His instincts might be driving him towards something he believed lost forever, but he’s not ready to accept that. The threads involving these two largely resolve by the end, but there’s room for exploration if more books in this world follow.
I enjoyed the portrayal of the chaos wolf Rhys as well. What starts as a horror movie tradition turns out to be much more complex. Rhys is clearly the villain from how he attacks Jordan and others. However, as we learn about the werewolves, his circumstances became more nuanced. The way the chaos wolf fits in their structure, and how he thinks versus how they expect him to when he takes over the narrative, is lovely. It doesn’t make his actions any more acceptable but offers a further example of the world-building surrounding this story.
The writing has rough spots that snagged my attention, but the story kept pulling me back in. Beautiful details, like how the vampire servitors (not a new concept) interact within the vampire and human realms, made up for any stumbles. The mix of cultures (with both traditional and new-to-me lore), multi-layered characters, and a developing relationship between Jordan, Montgomery, and Thorn made me happy to stick around. I was sad to see them go. This world feels cohesive and strong enough to support many more stories, both within this group and greater than it.
Chaos Wolf has elements of urban fantasy, paranormal romance, and some horror, though light on the last. These three genres come together into a compelling story with characters you learn to care about. At the same time, the novel doesn’t quite match any of the specific genres’ expectations. There is a detailed intimate scene with all three main characters that is supported by the romance build-up and important to the story. The villain is a window into werewolf psychology rather than there solely to create tension between the main characters. The cultural and political elements are more what I’d expect from an urban fantasy and introduce world-building elements I haven’t seen before.
I guess what I’m saying is walk into this story with an open mind (and I’m not talking about the LGBTQ characters). The story has a lot of meat in it to entertain and fascinate if you only let go of expectations and enjoy the ride.
P.S. I encountered this author at BayCon, the science fiction convention I have been to as a member and panelist many times.
I really enjoyed this book. The story is great with great characters. It has good action and some suspense. This is over all a good paranormal story. This is a great read for all paranormal lovers!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This was a somewhat new twist on the old lore. Not too much, but enough to keep it interesting. Wolves and Vampires have always had their own mythos and origin stories. This one is quite interesting and new. Delightful reveal, even. The beginning of the story hooks you in, but enough is left unsaid to leave you speeding to read more. There are points where the characters are frustrating, but not unnaturally so. There are a few times where I felt Jordan was put into positions that I didn’t agree with, like where they would leave information out or expect the impossible, and then angry when she didn’t deliver it. That is what made this book feel chaotic to me. Otherwise, an all around good book with a solid plot, decent pacing, and a good resolution.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Bitten by a werewolf. Taught by a vampire. At this rate, she’s going to start a war.
Bitten by a werewolf. Taught by a vampire. At this rate, she’s going to start a war. Delicious read!
Jordan Abbey was just a collage student walking to the bus stop when her life changed for ever. Being bitten by a werewolf and rescued by a vampire puts her in the middle of a paranormal political nightmare. Our heroine is naturally terrified of the werewolves that expect her to want to belong in their pack. The vampire has helped her so naturally she would feel safer with him. Is she ??
Our hero’s vampire conclave are not happy about the problem the new wolf could cause. What is his real reason for helping her ??
This action packed story is funny , and very sexy, with great characters. I was hooked on the first page until the last. It is the first book in a series, so I will be eagerly waiting for the next one.
Great fun.