ARC REVIEW – The Wolf’s Lover, by Samantha MacLeod

#urbanfantasy #Norsemyths #mythology #eroticromance

Adult/18+ read

Blurb

Karen McDonald buried her past.

Five years after her divorce, Karen is a wildlife biologist studying wolves in Yellowstone National Park. But when the wolf she tranquilizes turns into a man – a man she recognizes from the recurring dreams which have haunted her for years – her rational, scientific world gives way to something stranger and more dangerous.

The man is Vali, son of the Norse god Loki. He was imprisoned thousands of years ago, cursed to live inside a wolf’s body. Now Vali tells Karen he’s being hunted…and he’s hunting as well.

Because something has awoken beneath the volcanic caldera of Yellowstone, an ancient power that could spell the end of everything, unless Karen is willing to risk her life, and unearth the secrets of her past, to save her world.

My Review

Sexy and Spellbinding ~ 5 stars TOP READ

LOVED it! The Wolf’s Lover is another sexy and spellbinding foray into the world created by Samantha Macleod which blends characters from Norse mythology with reality as we know it. Although can be read as a standalone, if you have read some of the author’s other books you will no doubt be as delighted as I to once again be reunited with some of the characters and places that were included in them.

Karen and Vali (serious hottie alert!) are a wonderful couple and I just loved how their relationship develops. Vali, the mysterious and unknown lover who invades her dreams, becomes a powerful lone wolf and then morphs into a man of flesh and blood, destined to change her life forever. As the son of the Norse god Loki, Vali is far from ordinary and his destiny is entwined with that of Karen’s in ways neither he nor she could have imagined.

Karen is a strong woman with a painful past and has a lot in common with Vali. Indeed, they are just what the other needs, yet fate has other ideas and their love will be sorely tested as the plot progresses. The secondary characters are well developed and I particularly enjoyed meeting Loki and Caroline from the Trickster’s Lover (click on book title for review). They not only have their own role to play in this story but we also get to find out more about Loki’s past and how their relationship is progressing. I won’t say anymore about the storyline, except that it is a real doozy and once again this author is to be congratulated for such a unique and impressive plot.

The novel is beautifully written in terms of both language and form and the storyline is strong, entwining romance, mythology, tension and suspense. It questions whether even our free will is free or whether is it out of our control and subject to the machinations of others. Indeed, the themes the book deals with – the cycle of life and death, love, family are deep. The strength of the story and the characterisations are matched by the quality and depth of the erotic lovemaking scenes between Vali and Karen and the myriad of emotions they evoke – you may need to ensure you have access to unlimited iced drinks and before reading…

Recommended for fans of urban fantasy and myths and legends who enjoy sizzling lovemaking scenes with strong characters and plot and excellent world-building.

Reviewed by Tina Williams

Please note an ARC of this book was given to me by the author for the purpose of a fair and honest review.