In a Wolf's Eyes

The Saga of the Black Wolf #1

by A. Katie Rose

Raine is a slave, a gladiator. Known as the Bloody Wolf, he is the champion of all champions in the Empire of Khalid. Ly’Tana is a warrior princess of Kel’Halla and is set to wed the heir to Khalid’s throne, Crown Prince Broughton. When Raine and his new wizard pal, Rygel, accidentally murder the High King, they set in motion events which rapidly spiral out of control. Ly’Tana discovers the true, and violent, nature of her betrothed, a man nicknamed Prince Brutal for his vicious nature, and escapes her marriage.

Brutal will stop at nothing to have her for his wife. To entice his runaway bride into a trap, he brings down and captures her griffin bodyguard, Bar. Ly’Tana vows to have Bar back or die trying, and seeks the help of Raine and Rygel, to free Bar from Brutal’s clutches. In doing so, Raine and Ly’Tana are forced to flee for their lives, hunted by Brutal’s secretive assassins.

Can they escape the hunters and their silent, evil hounds? Can Ly’Tana evade Brutal’s hungry need to marry her and seize her beloved country? Can Raine keep Ly’Tana alive and still save himself from capture and torture? Can they stop themselves from falling in love?

Thus begins the first novel of The Saga of the Black Wolf series.

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal

465 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 25, 2012

About the author

A. Katie Rose is a Colorado native, and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Western State College in Gunnison, Colorado. She currently works as a photographer in San Antonio, Texas, and lives with her nine cats and four horses. “In a Wolf’s Eyes” is her first novel. Since then, she has published four more books: "Catch a Wolf", Prince Wolf", "Under the Wolf's Shadow" and "The Unforgiven". The novel, "Unforgiven" received the Kirkus star for books of exceptional merit. It was alsonamed as one of the Best Indie Books of 2016 by the editors of Kirkus Magazine. She is currently working on the fifth of the series "The Kinslayer" as well as a romance novel, "The Stolen Heir".

Reviews

[A Voracious Reader (a.k.a. Carol) · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Wolf is a gladiator of Khalid with a ten year reign. Sold into slavery when he was nine when his family was killed he’s survived by his wits and his fighting skills. He’s killed more men in the arena than he can clearly recall, but he still lives by his own code of honor. When he’s mortally injured in one fight he is ready to die. However, on his way back to his cell an unlikely ally shows himself. Rygel is a powerful magician and the pet torturer for Crown Prince Broughton, a Prince nicknamed Brutal for his insane savagery. Rygel heals Wolf for reasons of his own and Wolf allows him because while his sister is out there somewhere as someone’s slave he needs to stay alive for her.

Ly’Tana is the only daughter of the King of Hel’Halla and he has sent her to Khalid to wed Broughton in order to stop the constant warring of the two kingdoms. However, he has no idea what kind of man he has sent his daughter to and when Brutal shows his true colors, Ly’Tana and her warriors need to escape and hightail it home. An impossible task until the palace breaks out in an uproar caused by the High King being murdered and Brutal savagely beaten, the accidental handiwork of Wolf and Rygel.

While Wolf and Rygel are fleeing what they did, Ly’Tana and her warriors use the uprising in the palace to get to their horses. Brutal’s younger brothers use the opportunity to try for a takeover, but somehow Brutal’s army manages to quell the uprising, killing two of his brothers and their armies while four of his brothers and their armies flee. Will Wolf, Rygel, Ly’Tanna and her warriors make it out of the city? Will Brutal find them and make them pay? What about Wolf’s sister? The odds sure don’t look good.

I love this story! It is well-written with a great plot, wonderful world and well-developed characters, main and secondary. Lots of action and I love the interaction between the characters. Brutal is a deliciously villainous villain. Wow. What a horror that guy is. He made my blood run cold. I was enthralled with this story from beginning to end. And can I say how much I love Wolf? I want him for myself though I’m sure my husband would object.

My only complaint is the gigundous cliffhanger at the end. GAH! Personally, I feel the ending should have come just a tad sooner leaving the full final scene for the opening of the next book, but since I don’t know how the next book is going to play out I’ll reserve final judgment. Speaking of which…when IS the next book coming out?! *dances from foot-to-foot impatiently*

*Many thanks to Untreed Reads for providing me with a review copy. Please see disclaimer page on my blog.

[Veronica Morfi · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a Wolf's Eyes is the story of Wolf, a slave and gladiator and Ly'Tana, a princess and bribe to be to the Crown Prince Broughton a.k.a Brutal. After the current King ends up dead and Brutal dadly beaten Wolf and Brutal's magician pet have to flee, bacause they are the ones who killed the King. In the whole chaos that follows the attack Ly'Tana and her people manage to escape too, but Brutal won't let her go that easy. He manages to capture Bar, Ly'Tana's griffin right in front of her so he can place a trap to get her back and finally conquer her Kingdom.

What I really loved about this book is the characters. Both the main characters and the secondary are truly brought to life. Haunted by their pasts, fighting for their freedom, falling to their knees and getting back up. Real-life characters. And my favorite: Brutal. Yes, he is the villain, but you love to hate him. And trust me I hated him ever since the first couple of chapters and a very infuriating horse scene. He is truly the perfect villain. He had me wishing for his painful death, while at the same time hoping he would keep living so I would keep hating him. Perfect bad guy material.

Another thing I liked was the wolrd building and the characters' past. That made everything more real. They come from different places with different stories and through out the book you get to see bits and parts of their memories and of the history of their world.

On the other hand, I felt like the story didn't move as fast as I wanted it too. Yes, there was a lot of action, but just when I was all hyped up and lost in sword fights the main characters had to start thinking about every little detail in their future plans and what brought them there, it was a bit distracting. Also I thought that up until the moment the two main characters met the book was slow, fortunately their meeting didn't disappoint.

[Sharrice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness I cannot gush enough about this book. A. Katie Rose is a genius and I am in love with this series!!! <3 p="">

Raine is the Kings slave, forced to fight in a deadly arena for his life he is the Kings champion and has been for ten years. Nobody knows his real name anymore though, nobody knows his true identity. When a deadly battle in the arena leaves Wolf near death he meets Rygeal Prince Brutals personal wizard who heals him. All Wolf wants his to be free with his sister Arianne who he lost so long ago when they were sold into slavery. However, the Prince has other plans. When Wolf and Rygeal accidentally wound the Prince and kill the king they fled.

Princess Ly’Tana is being forced into a marriage she doesn’t want but her father feels would be best for both parties. Little does her father know the man he betrovthed his daughter to marry has no intentions of letter her live long past wedding day. When the prince does something so terrible Ly’Tana knows she needs to find a way out of this marriage soon. When the King is declared dead and war breaks out in the Kingdom Ly’Tana knows it’s time to go. Taking her soldiers with her they fled.

Now after thinking they’ve escaped Brutal has captured Ly’Tana’s griffon Bar and Ly’Tana can only think of one person who can help her get them back. Wolf.

Ah!! Okay so I am seriously in love with this book. I honestly didn’t think I would be since there is so much description of everything, but A. Katie Rose wrote this book so well I honestly didn’t notice it all that much.

The characters are all phenomenal. Ly’Tana is a warrior and she kicks major butt in this book. Her loyalty is always to those around her and she always uses her instincts to think through a situation. There are a few times when she breaks down and is vulnerable, but honestly that just made me like her more. Raine is amazing I love him. He is funny and just an all-around good person from the start. I could tell right away there was more to his story. The whole cast of characters is honestly amazing. All of them have their own personalities and they all bring something to this book that would have been empty without. I truly enjoyed all the characters, except you know the bad guys because they are seriously evil.

In A Wolf’s Eyes is such an adventure of the characters trying to escape the king and getting injured and fighting. Oh yeah In A Wolf’s Eyes is jam packed with awesome fight scenes, I mean come on you’ve got warriors, soldiers, assassins, evil dogs, a griffin, an evil king, a magician, and a slave warrior. How could you not have awesome fight scenes?

All in all, I loved this book. I could not put it down for one second and I could read this book over and over again and it wouldn’t get old. A. Katie Rose did a fantastic job and I cannot wait to read the rest of her books!

Teaesr: I myself was unimpressed after hearing of him and even less so upon seeing him for the first time. Like many galdiators, Silas carried his brain in his muscles and thought himself invincible.

[Nadene (Totally Addicted to Reading) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I must confess the first thing that caught my eye was the cover followed by the title. As a result, I was quite enthused to read this book. Based on the cover and the title I honestly thought that this would be a story about werewolves and being a fan of the genre I was ready to jump in with both feet. However, when I started to get into the story I realised that this was not what I was expecting. It had absolutely nothing to do with werewolves so you can imagine my disappointment. Well my disappointment was fleeting as In A Wolf's Eye took me on a fantastic an exhilarating journey. It may not have been what I expected, but it sure surpassed my expectations. In A Wolf's Eyes reminded me of the importance of never judging a book by its cover, it's what lies between the covers that is important.

In a Wolf's Eyes was told from two POVs. Some readers may find this a bit confusing, but for me it helped me to better able to relate to the main characters thoughts and feelings.

In this epic story we meet Raine aka Wolf, a slave and a formidable gladiator and Ly'Tana, warrior princess of Kel'Halla who is betrothed to crown prince Broughton aka Brutal of Khalid. Brutal is a very fitting name for the prince as I am sure you will agree with me after reading this book.

This an entertaining, funny and engaging read about love, jealousy, betrayal, friendship and the quest for power. It's filled with action, which at times was quite violent and bloody, suspense and adventure. There were a lot of twists and turns and some unexpected turn of events which had me on the edge of my seat. The story drew me in from the very first line and it became difficult for me to put it down as I could not wait to see what was going to happen next.

The characters were engaging. My favourite is Wolf. He is intelligent and a natural leader. My least favourite is Brutal. He is evil to the bone, but I guess that is what is expected of a villain.

The story is very detailed as it it provides enough information for readers to picture what is really taking place.

Overall, I enjoyed this story and I am looking forward to read the next book in the series as the ending has left me wanting more.


DISCLOSURE:
I RECEIVED A COMPLIMENTARY COPY IN EXCHANGE FOR A HONEST REVIEW

[Maghon Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a new wonderful fantasy story that is the beginning of a new series. There are loads of well developed characters, and a adventurous story! It’s EPIC is what I think it’s supposed to be :) There’s two main POVs which lets you see so much of the story. You start with Wolf, who’s a slave/gladiator. You also have Ly’Tana (whom I’ve called Ly LOL), she’s the princess who is marrying the evil Prince to Be Brutal. Thank goodness his POV is not there. Brutal gets his name for a reason. And when a little craziness murders the king, everyone goes on the run from Brutal, but Brutal won’t let them go. He uses Bar, Ly’s bodyguard, to trap her and get her back, as he wants her kingdom.

There are some seriously good characters, not just main, but secondary. Everyone is fighting for freedom or running for their life, or just trying to be able to live, not just survive. You will love Wolf and Ly, you will love to hate Brutal, and you will cheer for those good guys, and pray for an very terrible end to the bad guy!

There’s a lot of world building, and pasts, and things to make the characters so 3 dementional. A lot of detail went into this. Yes, it sometimes makes for a lot of info, and sometimes makes the story seem a little slow. But no worries, there’s a ton of action and funny moments that you don’t even notice. You will love the action scenes. I did. And it’s not too gory for those of you who are a little squeamish.

It was an interesting plot line, as I kept thinking maybe Wolf would “be” a wolf, but nope. And that gave it a little twist for me. I really enjoyed this one and I look forward to more in this series. I believe it will get better as it goes on because it’s too good not to :) Well DONE! 4.5 FIGHTING, EPIC, INTRIGUING PAWS!

[Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book through a Goodreads giveaway.

Princess Ly'Tana, a warrior from the empire of Kel'Halla, is set to marry the Crown Prince of Khalid, Prince Broughton, whose nickname is Prince Brutal. The more Ly'Tana sees what kind of person Prince Brutal is the more she is determined to leave and not marry him. Outside of the castle, Raine, a gladiator slave nicknamed the Bloody Wolf, is hoping that after all these years he will be set free. As both Ly'Tana and Raine dream of escaping Khalid and returning home, their dreams are interrupted by an accident that sets both parties on the run for their lives. The characters in the book are well developed and the plot is told in vivid detail. The first in a series, this book is one that will make you want to read the second immediately to follow what happens to these two characters.

[Linda Parkinson-Hardman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel has it all, love, anger, betrayal, jealousy and hatred. Sit all that on top of a fantasy novel and you have something quite unusual in your hands. It's rare to find a fantasy novel which could sit almost as easily in the romance or crime fiction genres (without the unusual 'characters' of course) but this is one where it's just possible that those who love those other genres would genuinely get something out of this read too. It's a great start to what promises to be a grand trilogy, all we need now is the second book to go with it and tell us what happened after the massive cliffhanger Katy left behind with this one.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won book 2 in this series, read part of the first chapter and was enjoying it so much that I knew I need to read the first one before it. I purchased this one and read until 2AM, when I had to sleep. Finished it when I woke up and IMMEDIATELY reached for volume 2 before my husband was even awake. Volume 3 is now ordered.
Swords, sorcery, shifters, warriors and a love story, what more can one ask for. This is fast and furious with sudden humorous moments, much violence and wonderful characters. The only thing I disliked was the cliffhanger ending. Good thing I already have volume 2.
I very highly recommend this book.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I sat down to read for thirty minutes or so and put the book down 3 hours later.... Yep it's THAT good! The characters are brilliantly put together and the interaction between all of them is incredibly detailed without swamping the story line with needless dialogue or losing the picture built in the mind. The hurts, frustrations, frayed nerves, anger and love are fantastically drawn so that the reader feels it all while reading. A book I intend to read time and time again along with the rest of the series!

[Shelby · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the plot line is cliched it is well told. The language is inconsistent with the setting and with itself being peppered with modern terms and expressions between more period language in a slightly distracting manner. Yet the story is well told enough and the ending such an irksome cliffhanger I may just read the next installment.

[Cynthia A · Rating 5 out of 5]

The descriptions of the characters are so precise that you feel you are part of the story. A lot of action, emotions, finding their identities, and growing together as friends. I won this book on Goodreads and look forward to reading the next installment.

[Barbara Ghylin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will probaly finish this one later today. All I can say is WOW!!! What a story. I would really like to see more in this sereis. This story is NOT over.

[A. Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Check out what John Garry said on Freado.com!

http://www.freado.com/book/15077/in-a...