Milky Way of books

Wolf in the Shadows by Maria Vale
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Summary from GoodReads

The latest book in Maria Vale's award-winning Legend of All Wolves series is packed with all the action and heat you've come to expect!
A wolf shifter hero with a haunted past
A shifter heroine with a lot to learn about being part of the Pack
Dark secrets that could destroy everything they love
Fantasy-level world building and epic romance-the new werewolf standard

Shifter Julia Martel has been spoiled and pampered by all the alpha males around her whose urge to protect her have left her uninformed and vulnerable. Now the Great North Pack has relegated Julia to the care of the wolf at the very bottom of the Pack hierarchy, Arthur Graysson. Julia wants nothing to do with the Pack, except to escape back to her life of luxury and idleness, but the more time she spends with Arthur, the more she learns about the Pack, the dark secrets Arthur carries with him, and the fierceness within herself that could save them all...

Praise for The Last Wolf:
"Wonderfully unique and imaginative."-JEANIENE FROST, New York Times bestselling author
"Pushes boundaries, and keeps you at the edge of your seat."-TERRY SPEAR, USA Today bestselling author
"Raw, wild, and intense."-AMANDA BOUCHET, USA Today bestselling author

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REVIEW

I received an e-ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The final book in the Legend of the Wolves series was amazing leaving the bittersweet feeling I always get when a series I loved for almost 4 years ended. The Pack tries to pick up from where they left after the events of the previous books with two prisoners of the Shifters, one being Julie. Her care is given to Arthur the one they consider the Omega of the Pack but one who also hides a terrible power.

The story is not only about how the wolves live and their daily lives but moreover, it is about a woman who finds her true self, after being groomed to believe that she needed protection, making her inferior to her true potential.

A testament to Maria Vale's gorgeous writing, we see the POV of both Julie and Arthur as they learn from one another and struggle through the Pack dynamics and their own feelings. I enjoyed the descriptions, the throwback to a specific forever wolf, which always makes my heart ache, the amazing beauty of nature as seen from both human and wolven eyes.

Definitely recommend reading the whole series when it comes out so you won't have to be tortured like me who had to wait year after year.

And don't miss the first books of the Legend of All Wolves series!

About the author:

Maria Vale is a journalist who has worked for Publishers Weekly, Glamour, Redbook and the Philadelphia Inquirer. She's a double-Rita finalist whose books have been listed by Amazon, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, ALA Booklist & Kirkus among their Best Books of the Year. Trained as a medievalist, she persists in trying to shoehorn the language of Beowulf into things that don't really need it.

The War of Two Queens by Jennifer L. Armentrout
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Summary from GoodReads

From the desperation of golden crowns…

Casteel Da’Neer knows all too well that very few are as cunning or vicious as the Blood Queen, but no one, not even him, could’ve prepared for the staggering revelations. The magnitude of what the Blood Queen has done is almost unthinkable.

And born of mortal flesh…

Nothing will stop Poppy from freeing her King and destroying everything the Blood Crown stands for. With the strength of the Primal of Life’s guards behind her, and the support of the wolven, Poppy must convince the Atlantian generals to make war her way—because there can be no retreat this time. Not if she has any hope of building a future where both kingdoms can reside in peace.

A great primal power rises…

Together, Poppy and Casteel must embrace traditions old and new to safeguard those they hold dear—to protect those who cannot defend themselves. But war is only the beginning. Ancient primal powers have already stirred, revealing the horror of what began eons ago. To end what the Blood Queen has begun, Poppy might have to become what she has been prophesied to be—what she fears the most.

As the Harbinger of Death and Destruction.

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REVIEW

I received an e-ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

One of my most anticipated reads is finally out! I can not express my love for anything Jennifer Armentrout and this new book, the sequel to her fantasy series is everything I enjoyed! Angst and romance, action and humor all packed together. Poppy needs to defeat the Blood Queen but also save Cas, and among others learn the secret behind her powers and how it is tied to a prophecy that may destroy the realms.

Like no biggie?

Right?

Right.

I loved the plot and the dual POV that interject in between. While we do follow Poppy we also follow Cas through his own POV. I enjoyed both and I loved how it completed some missing pieces of how each character looked upon the events.

There were some revelations I did not expect to learn and left me gapping but also (for those who read the first book in the prequel series), some very lovely surprises. We have draken, shapeshifting wolves, sleeping gods and Primals, and magic that goes back to the beginning of time.

This series does not disappoint and with each book, it becomes even more amazing!

About the author:

# 1 New York Times and # 1 International Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Charles Town, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki. In early 2015, Jennifer was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a group of rare genetic disorders that involve a breakdown and death of cells in the retina, eventually resulting in loss of vision, among other complications. Due to this diagnosis, educating people on the varying degrees of blindness has become of passion of hers, right alongside writing, which she plans to do as long as she can.

Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Tor, HarperCollins Avon and William Morrow, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her Wicked Series has been optioned by PassionFlix. Jennifer has won numerous awards, including the 2013 Reviewers Choice Award for Wait for You, the 2015 Editor’s Pick for Fall With Me, and the 2014/2015 Moerser-Jugendbuch- Jury award for Obsidian. Her young adult romantic suspense novel DON’T LOOK BACK was a 2014 nominated Best in Young Adult Fiction by YALSA. Her adult romantic suspense novel TILL DEATH was a Amazon Editor’s Pick and iBook Book of the Month. Her young adult contemporary THE PROBLEM WITH FOREVER is a 2017 RITA Award Winner in Young Adult Fiction. She also writes Adult and New Adult contemporary and paranormal romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

She is the owner of ApollyCon and The Origin Event, the successful annual events that features over hundred bestselling authors in Young Adult, New Adult, and Adult Fiction, panels, parties, and more.