A Pack of Blood and Lies
Author: Olivia Wildenstein
Release Date: April 18, 2019
Publisher: Twig Publishing
The Boulder Wolves Book #1
ISBN: 1948463148
ISBN13: 9781948463140
Genre: YA Fantasy
Review Copy Source: NetGalley
The 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 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.
A PACK OF BLOOD AND LIES was one of those books that I really enjoyed reading, but don't have a whole lot to say about it.
The characters: Ness was likable. I enjoyed her fight. I felt for her and what she was going through and rooted for her during her journey. I can't say I always agreed with her, but I understood where her actions were coming from. Liam was also likable. He was hot and cold for the most part, but the more you get to know him, the more he grows on you. The secondary characters were easy to like or dislike. Most of the characters that I started out disliking changed for the better throughout the story.
The romance: There are a few different possibilities. I would find myself rooting for one then switching to the other. Hopefully we will get a bit more romance in future books, but A PACK OF BLOOD AND LIES didn't really focus strongly on romance and that was OK.
The story: The story resolves around how Ness is trying to join an all-male wolf pack as a female and I enjoyed it. The navigation of pack politics was well done and watching her challenge the men in the pack for a spot was entertaining. There were parts of the story that I didn't totally get behind (her signing on to be an escort and the events that took place around that), but again, in the end I enjoyed it.
As I said in the opening of this review. I really enjoyed A PACK OF BLOOD AND LIES and look forward to seeing where Wildenstein takes the story next.
I gave it 3.5/5 stars
* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
