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Sinners #1
The Wild Ones
July 5, 1968 was just another uneventful post-Independence Day...one that completely changed the course of history. The story itself is still not clear, but everyone knows about the riot that broke out in the middle of downtown Phoenix, Arizona. It quickly came to be known that some among the ruckus weren’t a hundred percent human. Shapeshifters, some claimed. Magicians, others said. As the era of unification came, these Supers, as everyone grew to call them, struggled to live as the minority in a prejudiced society. To ensure their safety and wellbeing, millionaire activists created SINS—the Supernatural Institute of National Security.
Louis Blackwood has been hiding his true nature all his life, lying to everyone and never daring to trust even those closest to him. When Louis is forced to use the powers he has always kept a secret to save his life, he’s led to prison without any chance of ever seeing daylight again. Until SINS shows up.
Lucas Lopes is the most popular professor at New York Supernatural University. Charismatic and honest, he’s renowned for his impressive control of his tiger form and impeccable good looks. Lucas is completely aware of the way he affects people with his charms and beauty, but it isn’t until Louis comes along that his smug arrogance grows to be a problem.
When they both join SINS as part of a new elite team, they’re led to a boot camp with ten other Supers to train their powers. Their personalities clash almost instantly, but as they proceed through their training and have to solve the mystery of who is trying to destroy their team before they even get started, their initial hatred grows into flourishing affection as they learn they're connected in many ways.
Content warning: rape attempt & side character addiction.
Louis Blackwood has been hiding his true nature all his life, lying to everyone and never daring to trust even those closest to him. When Louis is forced to use the powers he has always kept a secret to save his life, he’s led to prison without any chance of ever seeing daylight again. Until SINS shows up.
Lucas Lopes is the most popular professor at New York Supernatural University. Charismatic and honest, he’s renowned for his impressive control of his tiger form and impeccable good looks. Lucas is completely aware of the way he affects people with his charms and beauty, but it isn’t until Louis comes along that his smug arrogance grows to be a problem.
When they both join SINS as part of a new elite team, they’re led to a boot camp with ten other Supers to train their powers. Their personalities clash almost instantly, but as they proceed through their training and have to solve the mystery of who is trying to destroy their team before they even get started, their initial hatred grows into flourishing affection as they learn they're connected in many ways.
Content warning: rape attempt & side character addiction.
- GenresM M RomanceParanormal
250 pages, ebook
First published January 2, 2019
2 people are currently reading
27 people want to read
About the author
Louise Czarnobai
3 books15 followersLouise was born in Brazil in the mid-nineties and since little has been in love with the English language. She first picked up a pen to write when she was only ten, writing fan fiction and sharing it with her school friends. In only a couple years she already moved on to writing queer romance, which is still her main passion even more than a decade later. She has a degree in psychology and works as a therapist. When she's not working, she's either reading romance novels or pole dancing. When writing, she thrives on books with happy endings and tries to get away with adding as many spicy scenes as she possibly can.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 24, 2019
A Joyfully Jay review.
3 stars
I am going to be honest here and say that this book was very nearly a DNF for me. I had problems right from the start with the writing style that made it very difficult to get into the story and the early portions were a real struggle. I pushed through to the 25% mark (our minimum threshold for a DNF) and by then things had smoothed out a little (or maybe I got used to it) and I was far enough into the story that I decided to continue on. But I had some definite issues here that affected my enjoyment.
So first off, the positive. I think the Louise Czarnobai has done some nice world building here with her take on mages and shifters integrating into the human world. The mages were particularly interesting and I enjoyed seeing the different types and how they worked. The set up to the story is clever in the way that she depicts both Louis and Lucas in their own lives and then brings them together as part of the team. And I liked the ensemble cast and the way they were integrated into the story. But other than that, I had a lot of struggles here.
Read Jay’s review in its entirety here.
3 stars
I am going to be honest here and say that this book was very nearly a DNF for me. I had problems right from the start with the writing style that made it very difficult to get into the story and the early portions were a real struggle. I pushed through to the 25% mark (our minimum threshold for a DNF) and by then things had smoothed out a little (or maybe I got used to it) and I was far enough into the story that I decided to continue on. But I had some definite issues here that affected my enjoyment.
So first off, the positive. I think the Louise Czarnobai has done some nice world building here with her take on mages and shifters integrating into the human world. The mages were particularly interesting and I enjoyed seeing the different types and how they worked. The set up to the story is clever in the way that she depicts both Louis and Lucas in their own lives and then brings them together as part of the team. And I liked the ensemble cast and the way they were integrated into the story. But other than that, I had a lot of struggles here.
Read Jay’s review in its entirety here.
March 31, 2019
A awesome debut book from a new author. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of the THIRDS series by Charlie Cochet, Enhanced series by Victoria Sue and the Change of Heart (book 1) by Mary Calmes. I want to appeal to Harry Potter lovers too since the characters in this book have to go to boot camp to learn to better control their special skills and are grouped in classes.
Another concern was that Louis and Lucas are both 'L' names and at the beginning it could be very easy to confuse the two if a reader weren't paying close attention or in my case has a medical condition that can cause confusion. There were also a lot of 'A' names: Alex, Angelica, and Adrian (all part of the recruited group with Lucas and Louis and a couple of other).
Other than these issues I totally enjoyed the book and thought it was well done and I am looking forward to seeing where the author decides to take the series.
Just a note for anyone who is put off by the setting of July 5, 1968 in the blurb. Only the prologue is in 1968 the remainder of the story is set in 2015.
A free copy was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.
Another concern was that Louis and Lucas are both 'L' names and at the beginning it could be very easy to confuse the two if a reader weren't paying close attention or in my case has a medical condition that can cause confusion. There were also a lot of 'A' names: Alex, Angelica, and Adrian (all part of the recruited group with Lucas and Louis and a couple of other).
Other than these issues I totally enjoyed the book and thought it was well done and I am looking forward to seeing where the author decides to take the series.
Just a note for anyone who is put off by the setting of July 5, 1968 in the blurb. Only the prologue is in 1968 the remainder of the story is set in 2015.
A free copy was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.
September 21, 2022
Where to start, where to start. The Wild Ones is written from a third person perspective that switches between Louis and Lucas. What’s unusual is that the author uses present tense. I like reading a good book written in present tense, because you don’t see it often and not a lot of writers can pull it off. And that’s one of the problems I have with this book. It took me the first 30% getting used to it. It simply reads tedious (Might be me, I’m not a native English speaker.). Especially in the beginning, but also throughout the book, I found quite a few typos and spelling mistakes, as well as missing words and letters. Also, every so often you find some odd word choices, not wrong by itself, but slowing the reading down. A good editor or beta reader might have helped with that.
Overall the writing sounds stilted, which might have something to do with the way things are over-explained and a sentence structure that feels heavy a lot of the time.
I think the story has a very interesting world-building that will hopefully be explored more in later books, since we only saw so much of the world in the first one. There seem to be three groups of people, normal people, shifters and magic users. The reader is introduced to a small group of shifters and mages, who are selected by a government agency named SINS that deals exclusively with supernatural problems. They are transferred to a secluded location to train and to get acquainted with each other to become elite agents of the organisation. The main characters are Louis, a red mage, who can manipulate bodies and Lucas a multi-shifter, who is most comfortable in his tiger form. They become very unlike roommates, since Louis is rather socially inept, while Lucas is very sure of himself and altogether well-liked. Louis keeps everyone at a distance and only connects with Alex, a shifter he already knows from before. Alex is the voice of reason between the two of them. He helps them becoming friends and Louis in particular to open up to the other people in the group.
Things work out well, with Louis and Lucas going from enemies to friends to lovers. Until a few disappearances shatter the peace in the training facility. And here things start to get strange. I don’t understand why the instructors leave the group alone with the problem, why they aren’t more alarmed. Furthermore, whenever it comes to violence and death everything gets very unemotional, which bothered me to be honest.
I see potential in this becoming a great series. I just hope the author smoothes out the writing a bit.
Overall the writing sounds stilted, which might have something to do with the way things are over-explained and a sentence structure that feels heavy a lot of the time.
I think the story has a very interesting world-building that will hopefully be explored more in later books, since we only saw so much of the world in the first one. There seem to be three groups of people, normal people, shifters and magic users. The reader is introduced to a small group of shifters and mages, who are selected by a government agency named SINS that deals exclusively with supernatural problems. They are transferred to a secluded location to train and to get acquainted with each other to become elite agents of the organisation. The main characters are Louis, a red mage, who can manipulate bodies and Lucas a multi-shifter, who is most comfortable in his tiger form. They become very unlike roommates, since Louis is rather socially inept, while Lucas is very sure of himself and altogether well-liked. Louis keeps everyone at a distance and only connects with Alex, a shifter he already knows from before. Alex is the voice of reason between the two of them. He helps them becoming friends and Louis in particular to open up to the other people in the group.
Things work out well, with Louis and Lucas going from enemies to friends to lovers. Until a few disappearances shatter the peace in the training facility. And here things start to get strange. I don’t understand why the instructors leave the group alone with the problem, why they aren’t more alarmed. Furthermore, whenever it comes to violence and death everything gets very unemotional, which bothered me to be honest.
I see potential in this becoming a great series. I just hope the author smoothes out the writing a bit.
January 5, 2019
My actual rating is 4.5 / 5
I was given a copy of the book by the author in exchange for a review.
Reading The Wild Ones was a trip from beginning to end. I loved the author's take on the Supernatural world, and the different versions of Supers in generally. The characters came to life on the page and no matter which POV character you were reading in, you learnt them: what makes them tick, what makes them who they are. The author did a great job of making me care about the characters - all of them, not just the main characters. I felt fully invested in the lives of all the characters involved, wanting to know more about them.
When I first started reading the book, I hated one of the mains. He was aloof, standoffish and a complete jerk. It's a testament to the author's skill that by the end of the novel I was absolutely in love with this character. His development was something I was excited and happy to see.
If you're looking for a new take on fantasy genre: Shifters and Magicians in particular, then I highly recommend this book. I can't wait to read the next books in the series!
I was given a copy of the book by the author in exchange for a review.
Reading The Wild Ones was a trip from beginning to end. I loved the author's take on the Supernatural world, and the different versions of Supers in generally. The characters came to life on the page and no matter which POV character you were reading in, you learnt them: what makes them tick, what makes them who they are. The author did a great job of making me care about the characters - all of them, not just the main characters. I felt fully invested in the lives of all the characters involved, wanting to know more about them.
When I first started reading the book, I hated one of the mains. He was aloof, standoffish and a complete jerk. It's a testament to the author's skill that by the end of the novel I was absolutely in love with this character. His development was something I was excited and happy to see.
If you're looking for a new take on fantasy genre: Shifters and Magicians in particular, then I highly recommend this book. I can't wait to read the next books in the series!
January 9, 2019
Where do I even begin with my praise for this excellent book? The way Czarnobai eases us into this incredible supernatural world astounds me. The lead-in at the beginning with what is, essentially, a state of the union address was absolutely sublime.
However, the real story starts when we're introduced to the charming and handsome lawyer, Louis and we get to see him in action. He's a secret super who tries to help other supers get off of insane charges with his law degree. However, because of this, he gets into a little trouble himself. This is what leads him to SINS and ultimately to the sexy Lucas.
And once those two get together it is allll downhill from there. In a good way, that is. Their sexual tension and bantering really had me hooked! It was impossible to look away from all of their spicy encounters. I found myself almost to the point of frustration, screaming at my Kindle for them to kiss.
What a well-done romance story! I wish there had been more SINS stuff in there, though! I can't wait for the second book with more epic action and romance.
An excellent debut for Louise Czarnobai.
However, the real story starts when we're introduced to the charming and handsome lawyer, Louis and we get to see him in action. He's a secret super who tries to help other supers get off of insane charges with his law degree. However, because of this, he gets into a little trouble himself. This is what leads him to SINS and ultimately to the sexy Lucas.
And once those two get together it is allll downhill from there. In a good way, that is. Their sexual tension and bantering really had me hooked! It was impossible to look away from all of their spicy encounters. I found myself almost to the point of frustration, screaming at my Kindle for them to kiss.
What a well-done romance story! I wish there had been more SINS stuff in there, though! I can't wait for the second book with more epic action and romance.
An excellent debut for Louise Czarnobai.
April 18, 2019
**A free copy of this book was provided by the author in exchange for a honest review via the MM Romance Group ‘Don’t Buy My Love’ program.**
The overall premise of this book is a cool idea. The characters, Louis and Lucas, as concepts were good and the action sequences are good once you get to them. Again the concepts of the world-creation here are interesting.
Unfortunately, the biggest detraction for me was the writing style. Written in third-person present tense throughout, it's also filled with lengthy and minutely-detailed descriptions without always furthering the story, atmosphere or characters. It's difficult to engage consistently with the plot or feel consistent connection to the characters, which all gets lost in all the lengthy descriptions. Trying to read that POV in that verb-tense for a full novel is also an impediment to engaging with the story. On the plus side, the detailed approach worked well for creating realistic dialog between most of the characters. Aside from all that, there are also a few very unnaturally contrived scenes (Lucas being approached by the second "agent" stands out). Overall I give it 2.5 stars.
The overall premise of this book is a cool idea. The characters, Louis and Lucas, as concepts were good and the action sequences are good once you get to them. Again the concepts of the world-creation here are interesting.
Unfortunately, the biggest detraction for me was the writing style. Written in third-person present tense throughout, it's also filled with lengthy and minutely-detailed descriptions without always furthering the story, atmosphere or characters. It's difficult to engage consistently with the plot or feel consistent connection to the characters, which all gets lost in all the lengthy descriptions. Trying to read that POV in that verb-tense for a full novel is also an impediment to engaging with the story. On the plus side, the detailed approach worked well for creating realistic dialog between most of the characters. Aside from all that, there are also a few very unnaturally contrived scenes (Lucas being approached by the second "agent" stands out). Overall I give it 2.5 stars.
April 14, 2019
The Wild Ones is the first book in The Sinners series by Louise Czarnobai. It is a fascinating story that captures your interest and keeps your attention throughout. The strong sexual attraction and entertaining banter between Louis and Lucas is terrific... I love these characters and their interactions. The supporting characters are also amazing to read. The story is well written and amazing. I felt immediately drawn in and as the story unfolded and surprises popped up, I felt some emotions over some scenes and just found myself unable to put the book down. Definitely love the paranormal aspect- mages and shifters and a secret agency. There is suspense, mystery, action, humor, sweet romance and lots of steam. I can not wait to see what else this series has in store for us readers.
I received an advanced reader's copy of the book and I am voluntarily leaving my honest review and recommendation.
I received an advanced reader's copy of the book and I am voluntarily leaving my honest review and recommendation.
April 13, 2019
Awkward writing
I haven't read the entire book yet, so you might well decide I've not given it a fair chance but right from the beginning, the writing struck me as awkward - and then I figured out what was going on: The book is written in present tense with some odd slips into the past tense, e.g.:
That and what seems like a habit of just dumping information on the reader in regular intervals ruins a very promising premise. We'll see if I get through this.
I haven't read the entire book yet, so you might well decide I've not given it a fair chance but right from the beginning, the writing struck me as awkward - and then I figured out what was going on: The book is written in present tense with some odd slips into the past tense, e.g.:
Right in front of him, he sees five shadows in the dim light. Men, as Louis recognized, all talking to each other, gesticulating and laughing as if they hadn’t just kidnapped someone and tied them up.
That and what seems like a habit of just dumping information on the reader in regular intervals ruins a very promising premise. We'll see if I get through this.
September 9, 2019
A well written hate-to-love male/male romance with magic and magical creatures. I loved these characters and the journey they took. If you’re interested in supernatural stories and romantic intrigue, pick this up.
April 20, 2019
this was sexy and interesting and different. i liked the writing and i enjoyed the characters. very good story
May 13, 2020
**A free copy of this book was provided by the author in exchange for a honest review via the MM Romance Group ‘Don’t Buy My Love’ program.**
A wonderful start to what I think would make an interesting and thrilling paranormal series.
‘The Wild Ones’ weaves together the romantic tale between two very different ‘super’ beings- Louis, A ‘Red Mage’(who can control the elements of blood) and Lucas, A multi-shifter, in the backdrop of a world that is aware of paranormal existence and discriminates against them. The two meet at a training camp after being recruited by SINS (a secret security agency that fights against crimes committed against supers). Being polar opposites, they set off on the wrong foot, but soon they can’t deny the undeniable bond between them.
The blurb doesn’t reveal much about the premise of the story, which I felt makes it more enjoyable for the reader as we uncover detail after detail. I personally liked how the characters were introduced and the way their back-stories were revealed. I also loved the slow burn romance between Louis and Lucas, though my heart sided with Lucas all the time (*‘Hot-shifter-who’s-a-professor’ alert*). I did have a few issues with the narrative and editing, but that didn’t affect the overall feel of the story.
Complete with great side characters, thrilling mystery and good romance, I recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of paranormal romance.
Looking forward to reading part #2.
A wonderful start to what I think would make an interesting and thrilling paranormal series.
‘The Wild Ones’ weaves together the romantic tale between two very different ‘super’ beings- Louis, A ‘Red Mage’(who can control the elements of blood) and Lucas, A multi-shifter, in the backdrop of a world that is aware of paranormal existence and discriminates against them. The two meet at a training camp after being recruited by SINS (a secret security agency that fights against crimes committed against supers). Being polar opposites, they set off on the wrong foot, but soon they can’t deny the undeniable bond between them.
The blurb doesn’t reveal much about the premise of the story, which I felt makes it more enjoyable for the reader as we uncover detail after detail. I personally liked how the characters were introduced and the way their back-stories were revealed. I also loved the slow burn romance between Louis and Lucas, though my heart sided with Lucas all the time (*‘Hot-shifter-who’s-a-professor’ alert*). I did have a few issues with the narrative and editing, but that didn’t affect the overall feel of the story.
Complete with great side characters, thrilling mystery and good romance, I recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of paranormal romance.
Looking forward to reading part #2.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews