Raised by Wolves Trilogy

Over the long weekend I was looking for something to read. Somehow I discovered the Raised By Wolves series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes.

I guess I was in a paranormal ya mood because after I read the first book in the series, I went and bought the second two books for my Kindle. Let’s just say I was up until 10:30 am reading the second book because I couldn’t put it down. No wonder I went to bed at 9:30 last night. I was bagged from reading this series and it had me gnashing my teeth.

Here’s the Amazon blurb for Raised By Wolves (book one):

At the age of four, Bryn watched a rogue werewolf brutally murder her parents. Alone in the world, she was rescued and taken in by the mysterious Callum, the alpha of his werewolf pack. Now fifteen, Bryn’s been raised as a human among werewolves, adhering to pack rule (mostly). Little fazes her.

But the pack’s been keeping a secret, and when Bryn goes exploring against Callum’s direct orders, she finds Chase, a newly turned teen Were locked in a cage. Terrifying memories of the attack on her mom and dad come flooding back. Bryn needs answers, and she needs Chase to get them. Suddenly, all allegiances to the pack no longer matter.  It’s Bryn and Chase against the werewolf world, whatever the consequences.

Book Two is Trial by Fire:

There can only be one alpha.

Bryn is finally settling into her position as alpha of the Cedar Ridge Pack—or at least, her own version of what it means to be alpha when you’re a human leading a band of werewolves. Then she finds a teenage boy bleeding on her front porch. Before collapsing, he tells her his name is Lucas, he’s a Were, and Bryn’s protection is his only hope.

But Lucas isn’t part of Bryn’s pack, and she has no right to claim another alpha’s Were.  With threats—old and new—looming, and danger closing in from all sides, Bryn will have to accept what her guardian Callum knew all along. To be alpha, she will have to give in to her own animal instincts and become less human. And, she’s going to have to do it alone.

Bryn faces both the costs, and the rewards, of love and loyalty, in this thrilling sequel to Raised by Wolves.

The final book in the trilogy is Taken By Storm:

In the eye of a storm stands Bryn, the alpha of the Cedar Ridge werewolf pack. She is young. Female. Human. Physically weaker than any werewolf, she could never survive a battle with another alpha, the strongest, fiercest, and canniest of his pack.

Yet she cannot refuse a summons from the werewolf Senate. A rogue werewolf is attacking humans. The risk of exposure threatens to destroy pack life, and the center of the crisis is Cedar Ridge territory—her own lands.

Bryn has no choice but to attend the meeting, a gathering of the most powerful werewolves on the continent. The subject is the rogue wolf, but Bryn knows the other packs want what she has. Her territory. Her females. Her pack.

They want her death.

Werewolf law prevents the other alphas from making a direct attack. It also prevents her former alpha, the mysterious and powerful Callum, from coming to her aid. But it doesn’t prevent Bryn from knowing what she wants. To keep her lands. To protect her pack.

To survive.

What was so great about this series was that the author took the werewolves and gave me something new. The author upped the stakes with every book. There were times when Bryn made me face palm but those decisions were always justified later on. Yes this a series geared for young teens but I’m (*cough*) not anywhere near being a teen anymore and I loved the books. I loved the pacing. Where some series will take place over a couple of months. So a book published a year later only takes place a few months later. Not so with this series. A year went by in publishing terms and Bryn was a year older. I didn’t need to see her entire journey between book one and two. I liked seeing her a year older and knowing because there is further growth of her character in each book. And without the crutch of Callum (who is aaaawesome) who could tell her what to do and how to get out of these jams she found herself in, but he let her learn and grown on her own. The characters are all wonderful and I have a massive reader crush on Callum (who totally deserves his own adult book…just sayin’). The characters are complex and the series is so layered that I was traumatized by the time I reached the end. I mean…that was it. Just over. I had nothing more to read in the series. I was all “Wait…nooooo!!!!!” I wanted more. I still want more.

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