Rating: 4 stars
Buy Links: Amazon | All Romance
Length: Novella
After surviving a near deadly hate crime, following the love of his life to the small town of Black Creek, Vermont is an easy choice for Connor Vincent. But the town is too quiet. Maybe it’s because he’s accustomed to a big city, maybe there’s something more. His new job as a sheriff’s deputy in the quiet town filled with odd residents and new rules makes Connor a little restless. Looking into a cold case seemed harmless enough, but when Connor gets a little too close to the truth, he finds himself on the wrong end of a wolf attack.
Veterinarian Josh Nolan is worried about his lover. Nothing could scare Josh more than the night he witnessed the attack on Connor. But the thought that he could be losing Connor, that Conner is unhappy in his life with Josh is almost unbearable. That’s the only conclusion Josh can come to, either that or PTSD. Josh would do anything to see Connor happy, but he needs Connor to open up to him.
A new world opens up to Connor after the wolf attack, one he doesn’t understand and one no one around him can seem to give him a straight answer about. When Connor starts to look into the wolf attack, he comes face to face with a world amazing and equally frightening. And as he comes to terms with the changes in his life, he faces a danger that threatens not only his life, but Josh’s as well.
The New Wolf by RJ Scott is the first book in the Building the Pack trilogy by R.J. Scott, Stephani Hecht, and Amber Kell.
I am a huge fan of R.J. Scott. If she’s written a book, I’ve read it. Yep, I own them all. And when I found out about this book, of course I had to have it. The New Wolf is an exciting beginning to a fun series. It’s a good read and, yes, I really enjoyed it.
I like that this series starts out in the relationship of two men who were hurt deeply by a trauma so severe it still affects their lives. This book is primarily about Connor and Josh’s relationship and the effects of trust and honesty, or dishonesty, on it. It’s a romance first and a paranormal mystery second. It’s sweet and quirky. The paranormal is good. The mystery is intriguing.
This book is the beginning of a secret world of shifters, a world in and of itself. It’s a world with new rules and strange people, one of born and made wolves. And a world of feral and crazy wolves out for vengeance. This story is a start to a creative and fun world. It is not a new concept. It’s been done before, but let’s be honest in saying that it’s mostly all been done before. The thing that kept me interested were the rules and progression of the world. It was well planned.
I really liked Josh and Connor. The fact that their story began while they were five years into their relationship was sweet. I like that even though these men are firm in their relationship and in their love, they still have struggles. They still have vulnerabilities and insecurities. Yet they stick through them and fight for the love they share.
On that note, one of my issues with this story is the main conflict between Josh and Connor, the omission of truth, is not really firmly resolved. There was a big question: Will we make it through this? And the answer? It was pretty much: I don’t know, but we’ll try. I wanted more. I wanted a concrete happy ending for Josh and Connor, yet I got more of a we’re trying end. It’ was just disappointing after all they’d been through.
My other issue is with the lack of answers. Who hit Josh in the head at the site of the wreck? Was Oscar the murderer of old? What did Edward’s last words mean? And I’m confused by the tattoo comment. Waves? Smudged? Why? What happened? I don’t get it. I understand that this story is part of a series, but it would have been nice to end the book with answers to the smaller questions.
In the end, I liked The New Wolf. The characters are really good and the story is entertaining. The world is fun and engrossing. The story is not perfect and I had a couple issues with it, but overall I enjoyed The New Wolf by RJ Scott. Recommended.
