Book 47, 2023
Wild Wolf by Karen Whiddon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Yes, I've been going to work all week. I just happened to have several books winding down at the same time! Today, at lunch, I finishd reading Wild Wolf by Karen Whiddon. It's part of Silhouette's 'Nocturne' line, and it's book 9 in "The Pack" series. Can't say as that I've read any others, but they're stand-alones. Main characters are feral wolf shifter Raven and Protector Simon.
After escaping a life of captivity and abuse, wolf shifter Raven has retreated to the Colorado mountains to live among a pack of wild wolves. Her life is difficult, but she is content with it. Raven thought she was the only wolf shifter in existence until she sees an unfamiliar camper in her area change into a wolf.
Simon has been chosen and trained to be a Protector, and it's the only life he knows. His job is to evaluate feral shifters to see if they can be rehabilitated. If not, he's tasked with exterminating them. Dispatched to make contact with a feral in the Colorado mountains, Simon isn't prepared for the stunning beauty he encounters. Spending time with Raven soon has him questioning everything he's been taught about ferals, but questioning his superior puts Simon's career and life on the line as well. Going on the run with Raven, Simon begins to suspect she's his mate, and he'll stop at nothing to protect her.
I'd like to say that, for once, misogyny didn't rear its ugly head in a Nocturne book, but we learn that Raven was sexually assaulted, repeatedly, while in captivity. Sigh. Can any Nocturne author write one damned book where the female lead is tough, competent, and not subjected to sexual assault? Please? At least the male lead wasn't too much of a condescending jackass.
Favorite line: "I've intentionally let my savage side have free rein."
"Breath" line: Zach's tongue-in-cheek comment made Simon take a deep breath. He hadn't even realized he'd been holding it.
So-so story. Not as gawd-awful as others in the line, but nothing much to redeem it, either. Three stars.