The Wolf in the Cloister

The Wolf and the Nun #1

by Emily Lavin Leverett

Marie de France was born to be a princess and brought up to be a witch, but when her heart is broken, she takes refuge as a nun at Shaftesbury Abbey and leaves the familiar world behind. She might never love again or learn the truth about her Celtic mother's magic, but at least she'll have the comfort of her books.

Bleiz Clavret, lord of Sarum Castle, returned from the Crusades a changed man: bitter, broken, and cursed with a magical "gift" he never asked for and barely understands.

Now infamous for debauchery, he hosts notorious parties attended in secret by the most powerful men and women in England; his name is known by all. But he hides his darkest secret from even his closest friends.

Three days a week, he is literally a wolf.

A stolen relic and the rising of a demon bring Marie to Sarum Castle to search Bleiz's impressive library for clues to the source of both. Intrigued by her sharp mind as much as her seemingly innocent beauty, Bleiz begins by trying to seduce his guest. But he soon discovers this "little nun" might well be more than his match.

Equals in mind as well as courage, they discover a mutual attraction much too powerful to resist. But dark forces are gathering around them, and an evil from the past threatens to tear them apart.

149 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 28, 2020

Reviews

[Arta Auzāne]

2.75 ⭐ this story has a potential - there were shapeshifters, demons, nuns drest as monks, ghosts, stolen artifacts and even a little murder mistery, but I think it should have beed done with a better editing - there were moments where it was not quiet clear how we got from point A to point B, not to mention point C. Although there was information on characters - like who they are and what have they done to get here at this moment in this story, but it seemed quite irrelevant in greater scheme of things. All in all... story was quite ok, but lacking in composition and execution.

[Ilze]

2.5⭐ great potential, but quite not there yet. I liked the premise, but for me there were too many unanswered questions, too much unused good background information about main characters that could have made this book excellent.

[Jill]

Great Read!

I really enjoyed reading this book and the medieval time period it is set in. It was a quick read and will definitely be reading the next book in this series.

[Belladonna]

6

[Margaret]

Lovely prose, terrific characters and story!

[Erin Penn]

Original Read May 9th, 2020
Interesting twist by the writer, taking a medieval romance writer and Abbess Marie de France, and using her as the main character in The Wolf in the Cloister - a novella which is a love letter to all things medieval romance by Dr. Leverett as well as being a steamy modern romance. In particular, seeking inspiration from one of the Abbess' own fictional romances to base this fictional romance.

There are a couple rough transitions, the transition to the steam scene being the harshest of the lot, but this tends to be a common issue with the novella format. Lack of space to smooth out all the rough edges. On the other hand, being able to chunk through a book in three hours is worth a few rough edges when wanting a full story and to also wake up in time for work.

Demons and Bishops, Shapeshifters and Witches, Crusades and Calligraphy. Action, romance, deception, and combat. A fun read.

(read through Kindle Unlimited)

Second Read December 4, 2024
I took a longer time to reread this wonderful novella. Still all the magic, romance, and historic goodness as before. Now to dive into the rest of this series!
(Read from book bought from the author)