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Historical Werewolf #8
Code of the Wolf
Lust and revenge are best served after sundown…Outlaw werewolves destroyed his home and killed his wife. But they made one they didn't kill him, too. Now, after ten lonely years honing his skills with a gun, Jacob Constantine is back in New Mexico, hell–bent on justice-until he's ambushed by bandits and saved by an angel on her own deadly crusade.With a gun slung low across her seductive hips and vengeance in her eyes, Serenity Campbell isn't who she seems to be. But neither is the mysterious bounty hunter who threatens to drive her desire into dangerous territory. Together they track their prey with the same intensity they circle one another. But will their growing passion be enough to right the wrongs of the past and bring two damaged hearts together?
381 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2011
7 people are currently reading
390 people want to read
About the author
Susan Krinard
76 books330 followersTrained as an artist with a BFA in Illustration from the California College of Arts and Crafts, Susan Krinard became a writer in 1992 when a friend read a short story she'd written and suggested she try writing a romance novel. A long-time fan of science fiction and fantasy, Susan began reading romance -- and realized what she wanted to do was combine the two genres. Prince of Wolves, her first romance novel and one of the earliest to feature a werewolf hero, was the result. Within a year Susan had sold the manuscript to Bantam as part of a three-book contract, and the novel went on to make several bestseller lists.
Since then, she's written and published over fourteen paranormal and fantasy novels, and written stories for a number of anthologies, both fantasy and romance. Both the anthology Out of This World (which included Susan's "Kinsman") and the novel Lord of the Beasts appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List.
Susan makes her home in New Mexico, the "Land of Enchantment", with her husband Serge, their dogs Freya, Nahla and Cagney, and their cat Jefferson. In addition to writing, Susan's interests include music of almost every kind, old movies, reading, nature, baking, and collecting unique handmade jewelry and decorative crafts.
Since then, she's written and published over fourteen paranormal and fantasy novels, and written stories for a number of anthologies, both fantasy and romance. Both the anthology Out of This World (which included Susan's "Kinsman") and the novel Lord of the Beasts appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List.
Susan makes her home in New Mexico, the "Land of Enchantment", with her husband Serge, their dogs Freya, Nahla and Cagney, and their cat Jefferson. In addition to writing, Susan's interests include music of almost every kind, old movies, reading, nature, baking, and collecting unique handmade jewelry and decorative crafts.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
September 10, 2019
I really enjoyed the setting of this book. The main characters were great, especially Jacob. This is book eight so I guess I'm reading out of order, but this was just fine without having read the others.
December 2, 2018
This was actually an interesting story with an unbelievable romance tacked on. I liked that it was shapeshifters in the historical old west. Haven’t read that premise before. I liked that the hero... a bounty hunter, wolf, kind, decent man meets someone. The heroine who had a horrible thing happen was too emotionally damaged so her suddenly being ok with the past and that the hero was a wolf...nope. Just nope.
December 2, 2018
This was fun
Old West, werewolves, revenge, independent women , Quakers, and last but no least an ex Texas ranger. Makes you want to jump on a horse and ride into the sunset!
Old West, werewolves, revenge, independent women , Quakers, and last but no least an ex Texas ranger. Makes you want to jump on a horse and ride into the sunset!
August 14, 2025
Jacob fully expected to die in the desert at the hands of the men he sought to bring to justice.
Shot, thirsty and hung from a tree, he fears not even his werewolf resilience can save him. Until,
out of the shadows comes a group of women armed to the teeth. They save him and the next day
he awakens in their reluctant care.
Serenity's distaste and distrust of men is shared between all the residents of Avalon, a safe haven
for women where men are not permitted and have so say in their way of life. She saved the lawman
but that doesn't mean her stance towards his sex has changed in the slightest and she hopes he
heals fast and leaves. Though he may be thoughtful, polite and respectful, the distrust remains.
However when they need help with the cattle, Jacob steps in as a temporary hand to repay his debts.
Nobody fully expected the gang he was hunting previously would make a return and kill one of their
own. Full of remorse and hatred towards every man who ever killed or harmed anyone she had ever
cared about, Serenity begs Jacob to help her find the people responsible for her parents murder.
He refuses to start with, knowing revenge can never truly release one from the horrors of the past.
But he eventually relents because there's something about this woman that sparks something within him that he thought died long ago with his wife. Now together they make the trek back to the past where Serenity must confront old wounds and find a way to heal from them else succumb to the darkness forever.
This may have been a PNR but it was a long of well thought out characters and scenes that actually
felt more like a old movie. Serenity is a woman who's never learnt to deal with her past trauma
where her parents were brutally murdered and she herself was raped. In the beginning she paints
herself this picture of being a strong independent wild woman of the West but I think Jacob
saw through that almost immediately. Inside, she was just a scared and wounded animal searching
for a way to heal herself. She was very distrusting of Jacob and all men because of her past
experiences but from the jump, the walls she had built around herself began to crumble. Mostly
because Jacob was the kind of man she's never encountered before. Strong, quiet, dependable.
Jacob himself is also struggling with trauma but he suppressing it more successfully than Serenity
did. He buried himself in the Code and lived within it so as to distance himself from ever caring
about or becoming too close to another person again. But once again, as soon as he encountered
the heroine, his walls began to fall as well and started to show a man who's not as in control
as he wanted to think he was.
This was a story about what the hunt for revenge does for someone. It's also a story about letting
go of the past in favour of finding happiness in the present. The characters didn't immediately
sleep together, instead they built their relationship on trust and friendship. This author always
has this gift of making true and honest characters set in a PNR world and I will always enjoy
stepping into it.
Shot, thirsty and hung from a tree, he fears not even his werewolf resilience can save him. Until,
out of the shadows comes a group of women armed to the teeth. They save him and the next day
he awakens in their reluctant care.
Serenity's distaste and distrust of men is shared between all the residents of Avalon, a safe haven
for women where men are not permitted and have so say in their way of life. She saved the lawman
but that doesn't mean her stance towards his sex has changed in the slightest and she hopes he
heals fast and leaves. Though he may be thoughtful, polite and respectful, the distrust remains.
However when they need help with the cattle, Jacob steps in as a temporary hand to repay his debts.
Nobody fully expected the gang he was hunting previously would make a return and kill one of their
own. Full of remorse and hatred towards every man who ever killed or harmed anyone she had ever
cared about, Serenity begs Jacob to help her find the people responsible for her parents murder.
He refuses to start with, knowing revenge can never truly release one from the horrors of the past.
But he eventually relents because there's something about this woman that sparks something within him that he thought died long ago with his wife. Now together they make the trek back to the past where Serenity must confront old wounds and find a way to heal from them else succumb to the darkness forever.
This may have been a PNR but it was a long of well thought out characters and scenes that actually
felt more like a old movie. Serenity is a woman who's never learnt to deal with her past trauma
where her parents were brutally murdered and she herself was raped. In the beginning she paints
herself this picture of being a strong independent wild woman of the West but I think Jacob
saw through that almost immediately. Inside, she was just a scared and wounded animal searching
for a way to heal herself. She was very distrusting of Jacob and all men because of her past
experiences but from the jump, the walls she had built around herself began to crumble. Mostly
because Jacob was the kind of man she's never encountered before. Strong, quiet, dependable.
Jacob himself is also struggling with trauma but he suppressing it more successfully than Serenity
did. He buried himself in the Code and lived within it so as to distance himself from ever caring
about or becoming too close to another person again. But once again, as soon as he encountered
the heroine, his walls began to fall as well and started to show a man who's not as in control
as he wanted to think he was.
This was a story about what the hunt for revenge does for someone. It's also a story about letting
go of the past in favour of finding happiness in the present. The characters didn't immediately
sleep together, instead they built their relationship on trust and friendship. This author always
has this gift of making true and honest characters set in a PNR world and I will always enjoy
stepping into it.
October 7, 2011
the Constantine weres and the Renier weres have had centuries of fueding. Jacob Constantine is Texas Ranger, married to gentle Ruth, but he left her too often - and the Renier's killed her. He carries the guilt, left the Rangers, became a bounty hunter, and lived by a Code of justice.
until he is ambushed when taking a murderer in, is tied up, beaten up, no food or water, and Serenity and company rescues him. Serenity has founded Avalon Ranch, where women run everything (there are 8 of them). They reluctantly take wounded Jacob - who quickly recovers (as soon as he has strength to Change, he is fine).
Serenity was raised Quaker, and she survived when her family and fiance were killed for no reason by the Reniers - they then held her captive for a year, raping her at will. She escaped, took a lot of ther money, and bought Avalon Ranch with a few other women - successfully working it for the last 4 years - with more women coming. Zora, half Apache half white and were, is one of the bunch.
And Jacob stays on to help with branding (to pay his debt)... and the gang shows up, and they take the leader alive, losing one of theirs to his gun. He wants to take him in for justice, the women overrule him - but before they can hang him, Jacob shoots him, to save Serenity the eventual guilt she will feel.
And they are warming up to Jacob, especially Serenity - he keeps to himself, he works hard, he supports them... and Serenity hires him to go after the Reniers - he reluctantly agrees, knowing she'll go after them herself if he doesn't... and he tempers the Code with their needs.
And on the way, Serenity finally gives up her need for revenge - after putting 3 friends at risk (another ex ranger bounty hunter tries to take one of the friends for killing her abusive husband before he killed her)... and she goes home, to her ailing aunt.
and on their journey, they get closer. Serenity finds she trusts him, she finds that she is attracted to him... and Jacob restrains his attraction, but starts to hope that she might care.
And in the end, when they find honesty and passion and forgiveness, the Reniers take parts of her Quaker family hostage, and they capture Jacob through trickery, and Serenity and hers once again rescue them. And for those who do not die, Jacob takes to justice, waiting until their trials are complete... and he goes home to Avalon. ahhhhh
and Zora departs when he arrives - to find herself... the next book?
until he is ambushed when taking a murderer in, is tied up, beaten up, no food or water, and Serenity and company rescues him. Serenity has founded Avalon Ranch, where women run everything (there are 8 of them). They reluctantly take wounded Jacob - who quickly recovers (as soon as he has strength to Change, he is fine).
Serenity was raised Quaker, and she survived when her family and fiance were killed for no reason by the Reniers - they then held her captive for a year, raping her at will. She escaped, took a lot of ther money, and bought Avalon Ranch with a few other women - successfully working it for the last 4 years - with more women coming. Zora, half Apache half white and were, is one of the bunch.
And Jacob stays on to help with branding (to pay his debt)... and the gang shows up, and they take the leader alive, losing one of theirs to his gun. He wants to take him in for justice, the women overrule him - but before they can hang him, Jacob shoots him, to save Serenity the eventual guilt she will feel.
And they are warming up to Jacob, especially Serenity - he keeps to himself, he works hard, he supports them... and Serenity hires him to go after the Reniers - he reluctantly agrees, knowing she'll go after them herself if he doesn't... and he tempers the Code with their needs.
And on the way, Serenity finally gives up her need for revenge - after putting 3 friends at risk (another ex ranger bounty hunter tries to take one of the friends for killing her abusive husband before he killed her)... and she goes home, to her ailing aunt.
and on their journey, they get closer. Serenity finds she trusts him, she finds that she is attracted to him... and Jacob restrains his attraction, but starts to hope that she might care.
And in the end, when they find honesty and passion and forgiveness, the Reniers take parts of her Quaker family hostage, and they capture Jacob through trickery, and Serenity and hers once again rescue them. And for those who do not die, Jacob takes to justice, waiting until their trials are complete... and he goes home to Avalon. ahhhhh
and Zora departs when he arrives - to find herself... the next book?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 21, 2014
After the confusion of the preceding Luck of the Wolf, this piece is refreshingly straightforward.
Indeed, it's an old-fashioned Western, strongly reminiscent of the classic Riders of the Purple Sage. Serenity Campbell and a handful of other women have bought and run a New Mexico cattle ranch, united by their determination never to become dependent on men. But when bounty-hunter Jacob Constantine falls into their hands, Serenity decides to use his help to return to Texas and revenge herself on the outlaw gang who killed her family and enslaved her, but Constantine has his own history with the gang of which she knows nothing.
Can she get her revenge without destroying herself in the process? Can he? And can the community of women, isolated by choice from the male world, survive the impact of the rough but civil Jacob Constantine?
Oh yes, and the outlaw gang are werewolves, another bunch of the omnipresent Reiner clan. And Constantine—yup, werewolf too. Though that’s barely necessary; the lycanthropy is almost tangential to the story, which could be written without it. Krinard’s werewolves, unlike some of the other shapeshifters and vampires on the bookshelves, are human enough that their romances work on human terms, without mysterious imprinting or other magic turning love into something alien.
I like that.
Indeed, it's an old-fashioned Western, strongly reminiscent of the classic Riders of the Purple Sage. Serenity Campbell and a handful of other women have bought and run a New Mexico cattle ranch, united by their determination never to become dependent on men. But when bounty-hunter Jacob Constantine falls into their hands, Serenity decides to use his help to return to Texas and revenge herself on the outlaw gang who killed her family and enslaved her, but Constantine has his own history with the gang of which she knows nothing.
Can she get her revenge without destroying herself in the process? Can he? And can the community of women, isolated by choice from the male world, survive the impact of the rough but civil Jacob Constantine?
Oh yes, and the outlaw gang are werewolves, another bunch of the omnipresent Reiner clan. And Constantine—yup, werewolf too. Though that’s barely necessary; the lycanthropy is almost tangential to the story, which could be written without it. Krinard’s werewolves, unlike some of the other shapeshifters and vampires on the bookshelves, are human enough that their romances work on human terms, without mysterious imprinting or other magic turning love into something alien.
I like that.
April 11, 2015
Last book of the series and another great story! Sad to see the series come to an end, and really, if she felt so inclined, there are other stories Ms Krinard could tell....because there was a brother and sister whose stories ended in separate books without either knowing if the other lived....and a couple of other loose ends as well...Zora's story maybe??? One can always hope, but even if there are never any more books in this series, it was well worth the read, and as I said before, they are definitely keepers, would read them all again! Highly recommend these books to anyone who likes historical paranormal/werewolf stories! Thanks to the author for some awesome hours of getting lost in time and fantasy!
September 22, 2011
Set in the late 1800's this historical novel is about werewolves. A mysterious bounty hunter is hurt trying to bring in a fugitive. Saved by a band of women who live by themselves (without men) and are extremely independent and wary of all men. These women have all been hurt by men. Helping the bounty hunter gets them involved with hunting down a group of outlaw werewolves. We find out that there are 'good' werewolves in the group that no one is aware of until the action starts to heat up.
November 17, 2011
Love conquers all... or at least thats what this book wants us all to think. All 378 pages are about how the two main characters are searching for revenge on the ones that did them wrong, but as soon as they meet each other things tend to change, but its not like they hook up right away or even seem like their going to. but as soon as they run into the enemy, thats when they decide they dont want revenge anymore but just love..... Totally unimpressed.
September 5, 2011
My first e-book check out from the library. I didn't realize this was a fairly new release.
I adore Krinard's were-wolf series. I haven't read the last few in the series, but this was a great trip back into her historical books.
I adore Krinard's were-wolf series. I haven't read the last few in the series, but this was a great trip back into her historical books.
July 21, 2014
Susan Krinard's Code of the Wolf examines issues of trauma, revenge, healing, and xenophobia. This is one of her darker tales where the hero and heroine's choices fall into the murky areas of ethical considerations. Serenity and Jake have potent chemistry, but there's very little sexual intimacy.
Read
January 6, 2021"his ways are not yours. thee cannot expect him to behave exactly as thee would wish."
"but this is thy home. thy true home, where thee can find peace."
"you do not seem much at peace, virgil."
"her body was something wonderful. not a thing to be used, not a vessel to serve a man's lust."
"but this is thy home. thy true home, where thee can find peace."
"you do not seem much at peace, virgil."
"her body was something wonderful. not a thing to be used, not a vessel to serve a man's lust."
November 12, 2011
Not Bad..back in horse and ranch times,good action and story
January 17, 2012
So slow, had trouble connecting the historical and the animal. Not something I'd read again.
April 11, 2012
and intensely emotional story, magical, mystical and moving. A wonderful story of love, courage and compassion that looks deeply into the human soul and finds the best in each character
July 17, 2012
Great book I couldn't put it down. I loved how it was a western with werewolves. Best book i read in a long time.
October 30, 2013
I didn't read the other books in the series so maybe this isn't a fair rating. I like the characters themselves, but didn't really get into the book.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews