Alpha's Rejection

Tales of the Tellurian Pack #1

by Blake R. Wolfe

alternate cover edition of ASIN B0BR5ZG248

He’s the kind of alpha dreams are made of, but I can’t make another mistake.

After a bad breakup, I can’t get out of town fast enough. I’m headed north to the peace and quiet of a borrowed cabin in a small town. It’s time for a clean slate and a chance to reinvent myself.

But with my mother calling to remind me that I must keep looking for a mate, I have no choice but to mingle with the locals.

A secret romance with a hot ginger alpha wasn’t what I had in mind, but the sweet wolf sweeps me off my feet with the love and affection I've always craved.

That is until my ex begins to harass me, and a string of nearby murders have us both scrambling to figure out what exactly is going on.

There’s also the matter that Chance is next in line to lead the pack and will have to produce an heir…

This spicy shifter romance contains jaw-dropping twists, sizzling sex scenes, a cinnamon roll alpha, and a happily ever after that will leave you speechless. It should only be read by those who like their werewolves hot and their broody boys shown the love they deserve.

Genres: M M Romance, Shapeshifters, Paranormal, Romance, Fantasy, LGBT, Gay

203 pages, ebook

Published January 15, 2023

About the author

Blake R. Wolfe has adored werewolves and monsters since he was a child growing up in a small rural Michigan town. Now he lives near the shores of Lake Michigan with his two partners, two cats that need to be fed every three seconds, and a dog that is very spoiled. He spends most of his free time hiking through the nearby forest, thinking up the next great romance story for his readers.

Blake writes under three separate Pen Names:

--Blake R. Wolfe -- Gay Paranormal Romance

--Atreus Rosewood -- Gay Contemporary Romance

--Eoghan R. Cunningham -- LGBTQ+ Fantasy

Sign up for Blake’s newsletter for exclusive discounts and special editions at www.blakerwolfe.com

Get access to exclusive short stories on Blake’s Patreon!
www.patreon.com/blakerwolfe

Reviews

[Sabrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was just okay. I liked the characters well enough but I wish there was more time to see them grow together. As it was, things just moved a little too fast for me, especially at the end.

[mellismoodreads · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't feel it.... the MC was kind of unlikable and there was always something sad about his past uncovering through the Story... like? First it is a cheating boyfriend, then he Talks about his side daddy, the he is abusive? His dad died, then he saw him dying but it also happened in the Hospital? And those two MCs didn't have any chemistry

Also.... I feel like the title doesnt match at all?

[peach]

DNF @ 30% I found the MC and his narration pretty insufferable

[Shawn Cha · Rating 2 out of 5]

it’s ok but could’ve been executed better

The book was ok. It was strange because the people on cover doesn’t match the description of either characters in the book.
Kael is a beautiful slight man on the shorter side with a few scruff while chance is a handsome tall ginger man.
While the book is told only in Kael’s POV it’s interesting seeing him grow as a person. Kael visits his friend Leo to run away from his obligation and abusive cheating ex boyfriend. While he’s in a small town I found it strange that chance as handsome as he is doesn’t have a girlfriend or an ex who would want to become his mate and the future Luna.
Climax of the story didn’t make any sense when we find out who the killer is. The killer goes into description about Kael and his uniqueness but we never find out what that is. You can’t write a story where the villain gives us his reason and not give us an explanation about it.
While the book is suppose to be hot at times we didn’t even get to read it or live it till like 98% of the book. Would’ve been nice to really take your time and give us both Kael and chances first time truly becoming one and chance accepting Kael.
Book was interesting, the mating isn’t like every other shifter romance, the characters in the book mate like humans do with wedding and no bites.
I think overall it was just rushed a bit could’ve gone into more depth. If your going to write smutty times please take the time to do it right otherwise it just doesn’t go right. And If you don’t at least make up for it in the story and don’t forget to wrap everything up so nothing is left out.

[Aleksandra · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nie każdy powinien pisać. Żałuję że nie zrobiłam dnf, tylko doczytałam do końca.
I żeby zrobić jednego smuta, który pojawił się dopiero w ostatnim rozdziale w książce o wilkołakach? Zbrodnia

[Betsy]

Ben Coffman, who writes as Blake R. Wolfe, Atreus Rosewood, and Eoghan R. Cunningham goes on to my banned authors / dnr list bc:
➪ produces audiobooks using AI "virtual voice" (by his own admission & he seems very proud of this fact..)
➪ using AI translation, essentially scamming foreign, non-English speaking readers with poor quality translations & then having the gross, entitled attitude of having no respect to other languages & cultures
➪ who knows what else he uses AI for (writing, covers.. etc)
➪ i do not support anyone who uses AI in any way, shape or form - AI is stealing. support real artists.

[thosemeddlingkids]

DNR - AI for translating editions in other languages and audiobooks.

[Rae (semi-hiatus)]

Note: Uses AI

[Josh Lambie]

Girl whatever

[E · Rating 1 out of 5]

BRAIN-CELL-DECIMATINGLY-AWFUL CARDBOARD CHARACTERS

Well, I tried my best not to DNF this, forcing myself to soldier through to at least 50% and I think that’s enough martyrdom for me, I did my due diligence to the best of my capacity. But I’ve never been a masochist who’d continually subject myself to torture if not absolutely necessary. I just really wanted to give this a chance but it’s just so all over the place and empty of substance; it inspires no love nor happiness in me whatsoever, and despite my pride at wanting to be brave enough to fully understand things that get my goat, I need to recognise my own limits, and well… Reading any more of this is just prolonging the punishment, and me and my mental health deserve better.

—

Crawling at a snail’s pace at 45%. So many utterly weird issues keep making me stop. Now it’s the extremely contrived discussion the MC has with Chase after he first learns of the killings. Why is he making such a big deal of Chase bringing home someone for protection? Can’t it simply be a case of Chase wanting to make sure a friend and fellow wolf is safe? Does every single dude Chase wants to help shelter automatically have to mean that they’re in a relationship and they have to come out about it just because he’s going to stay at a place where basically anyone who was invited to the potluck is welcome? I don’t understand why this MC is so self-obsessed that he has to make EVERYTHING ABOUT HIM. All the bloody time. The moment Chase says he just wants to make sure he’s safe, he goes into another emo rant about how pitiful he is because he is so different and how he doesn’t belong anywhere, blah blah blah BOO-HOO POOR ME AGAIN.It always has to be about him and his problems and how life is so unfair to him, like… Dude, can you stop being a narcissistic overgrown-man-child and get over yourself for like 2 freaking seconds?? Plus, the way this story presents werewolves is so weird. According to the MC, werewolves are 99.99% binary and heterosexual, and he is the only one werewolf on the ENTIRE PLANET who is gay. Er… REALLY? That’s the basic premise of this whole story? That the MC is some one-of-a-kind, super-special creature in the entire world? That he carries a burden that NO ONE ELSE DOES like he’s Jesus-friggin-Christ-on-a-cross-level kind of special? Wow. Okay. Talk about delusional hyper fantasy. That makes absolutely no sense. Not even the animal kingdom is strictly heteronormative, and that is a concept that only makes sense to humans because it was only ever invented by religion to control people (as with so many other things indoctrinated into society). Yet, in this book’s warped universe, the WOLF MEN - half animal, half human are the ones who are STRICTLY heteronormative, ergo: ALL WEREWOLVES ARE STRAIGHT AND HOMOPHOBIC. EVEN MORE THAN THE PLAIN HUMANS. Seriously…? This was actually a plausible plot to those who beta-read and edited this story? How??? It’s like the entire universe was bent and altered just to conform to the MC’s self-aggrandising fantasies. S I G H. I’m seriously reconsidering even trying to give this a chance by forcing myself to finish it. Everything about this is just so unbelievably absurd. Maybe I should quit once and for all to spare myself of any more stress.

—

So I decided to TRY and get back to this at 40% now, and nope, I didn’t imagine it: it’s still decidedly bad. Because the protagonist couldn’t be more unlikeable. And here I thought he couldn’t get any more overbearing, and he outdoes himself by aggressively coming on to a guy who never said nor showed signs of being gay, nor being sexually interested in him (and no, of course that’s not creepy behaviour at all, not at all delusional, no siree Bob). Then he throws YET ANOTHER OF COUNTLESS emotional man-child tantrums again because BOO-HOO the world has been unfair to him, aw poor overgrown baby! And no, that’s not conceited and self-absorbed of him to think at all, because for some reason, he was born as an invertebrate. Apparently, no one could possibly be hurting more than this poor, poor man—er, wolf? who is 26, 28? (hell if I know, the author doesn’t seem to know themselves) but has the emotional and mental maturity of a 15 year-old. Truly, it makes me wonder how he even lived past 20 with this kind of attitude and crippling mentality. I mean, I know some people are late-bloomers, but don’t babies usually outgrow their self-important nature once they leave the nest or graduate from college? (Oh, okay so apparently some men don’t really reach emotional maturity till they’re past 40, all right, haha.) Too bad I don’t have overwhelming maternal instincts for fully-grown adults because I think that’s the only way I could possibly find this tragic example of both wolf and man remotely endearing. Kael is the type of character who I couldn’t care less about and the world would definitely be better off without because KAEL IS A MENACE.
—

At 30% now and this doesn’t get any less weird. Kael is supposed to be a werewolf or shifter wolf, whatever—the point is he’s supposed to be part animal, strong and one with nature and all that shiz. Yet he is a spineless sissy, and he even bitches about communing with nature and sweating from outdoor exercise? What kind of werewolf is he? The new bratty, lazy-arse, couch-potato variety? The one who hates everyone who isn’t as butt-hurt bitter and angry at the world as he is? So he’s not gay, but trans female, because he acts more like he has a pussy than a penis, and the extremely defensive kind, like he’s always trying so hard to overcompensate for his lack of female genitalia and appearance by lashing out at everyone and everything because that’s the only way she knows how to assert herself? She also seems confused about her own age. Telling her mother that she’s 28, but then later Leo says she’s 26. Hmm, I’m more inclined to think she’s 12 years old, with how underdeveloped her emotional intelligence is. Reading this is like being forced at gunpoint to read some attention-seeking little girl’s diary of endless whining and bitching in her pitiable attempt to come off as “cool” and “hip”. I have no idea how anyone with any ounce of self-respect and maturity can find this despicable character likeable. Is it the author’s intention to make the protagonist such a nasty (she-)man-child? Because if so, then congratulations. I’ve never met a protagonist that I wanted to die a horrible death so badly already until this book. So yeah, he’s succeeded in that.

—

Just started reading this at 15% now. First impressions: 1.) The cover could have used even just an iota of creativity, and is the shirtless dude on the cover supposed to be college-age?? Because if so, that’s one old looking college student. Also, this:


(Where were these covers made from? Stock images?? *FACEPALM*)

2.) Kael started out pleasant enough, not incredibly interesting but at least not unlikeable; however, from the coffee shop onwards? What’s with all the trying-hard-to-be-edgy vibe with most new-generation lead characters in novels? Is rudeness and entitlement cool now? Well, it’s definitely not likeable in my book. It also goes to show how narcissistic he is when he complains about how an older generation manager glares at him, but doesn’t think his weirdly pompous behaviour warrants the same reprimand. He went from an OK character to a NOPE! really fast. 3.) All the new-generation pop culture references really cheapify the whole narrative. (I mean KARENS?? Really?? This guy called someone who hasn’t done anything to him but react to his attention-seeking behaviour a Karen?? Like that’s something he isn’t, when he actually out-Karened everyone in the room for no other reason but because he was in a bad mood? Was that supposed to be funny? Well, maybe some people find humour in provoking other people to anger or making fun of others, but any self-respecting person certainly wouldn’t. As any responsible author should not even be encouraging the use of “Karen”-calling and other bully-culture behaviour.) 4.) Obviously not copyedited because the writing is so sloppy. So many errors and inconsistencies in the narrative (like, he crests the same hill 2x?? He’s a shifter but getting naked makes him feel self-conscious??) Typos, plot holes, and redundancies galore. 5.) What’s with the sudden breaking the 4th wall? Is this a comedy? A parody? It’s always cringe when the authors self-insert into the narrative this way. What happened to the most basic rule of writing where the author is supposed to be invisible? 6.) Why is the lead character bitching about everything? It’s hard to picture any grown man this petty and whiny. I’m starting to imagine a teeny-bopper female instead of an almost-thirty male.

So yeah, not looking good so far. I usually drop a book if the main character is a boring and entitled douche.

[Shaun Thomasson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had my misgivings at first. But looking back, those mostly came down to me as a reader. Kael (sorry I misspelled your name, bby boy. I was listening to the audiobook and just assumed) got on my every nerve at the start. But, that’s the point, I think. I don’t get to be mad at him because his trauma responses buck up against my own.

That said, for my first foray into a straight up romance type story in a long time, this was great. I’m a sucker for hurt/comfort, couch it in werewolf trappings and I’m a happy camper.

This was a fun read that did exactly what it needed to do, and I look forward to making my way through the next three books eventually.

[Joshua Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sparky fun

This is a book that takes cliches and turns them on their head. We really get to peel back the layers and see the why's behind the snarky, millennial gay and his very own himbo. This skirts the edge of "gay for you," but really, it feels like honestly watching someone who hadn't considered their options having new possibilities open up to them. There is a lot of lush language to sink into here; well worth the read.

[Axalia]

Franchement, je n'écrirais même pas un avis à ce point là ptdrrrr rien n'allait

[Jesslan Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alpha's Rejection AKA Alpha's Awakening
By Blake R. Wolfe

Side Note: At some point Alpha's Rejection was renamed Alpha's Awakening.

When Kael discovers his boyfriend cheating on him he moves out. Wanting to also escape his interfering mother his only option is his friend Leo's cabin in the woods. He meets a pack member from Leo's new pack and finds himself drooling over the red-headed hunk, but can't understand why or how Chance effects him so much every time they're together.

While the book is titled Alpha's Rejection, it isn't the typical formal rejection, and it's a very short one. Typically, when a book is about rejection, it happens in the beginning, and you spend most, if not all, of the remaining book either getting back together or finding a second-chance mate. That's not the case here.

I loved both Kael and Chance. Chance may be the Alpha-in-waiting, but he is also a complete sweetheart, naive, and a total virgin in the aspect of being with other men. (Women aplenty yes, but Kael was his first man.) Kael's biggest personality traits are sarcasm and some bitterness too.

In regards to them being together, I can't believe I'm going to whine about this for the first time ever in a review, but the story wasn't spicy enough. What little there was was good. There just wasn't enough of it. The first time they're together they're just fooling around. Then you get to the end and Kael states "In the past eight months I’d had more sex than I’d ever had in my life." My first thought is "when?" Because we didn't see barely any of it. 😆 At any rate, because Chance was a virgin where men were concerned I wanted to see his reactions to all his firsts. So that was a bit disappointing.

This was the first book I've read by this author and it was good enough I added it to my reread list and I'm on to read the next in this series with Chance & Kael's best friend, Leo.

Slight Trigger: Kael's ex-boyfriend, Jeremy, was verbally and physically abusive to him. Though you don't find out about the physical abuse until closer to the end of the book.

[Kelly (Maybedog) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was way better than the usual shifter of the month books. I really enjoyed it. There was action and danger, angst and romance, and the early sex scenes where they were first working stuff out were really hot.

I didn’t like Kael in the beginning. He was such an ass to everyone and yet he kept talking about how he was a people pleaser. I wasn’t thrilled with Chance at the beginning either—he was like a little puppy who kept being kicked but would come back for more; not at all alpha like.

But after their first kiss I fell in love with them. Kael showed his soft nurturing side and Chance started to show his backbone and strength. It was a little formulaic what happened but it was a good story and enough that was different such as the easy going pack dynamics that it felt fresh (although still pretty sexist).

There were a few editing issues like in one place he said he was 28 and in another he was 26, and in another Kael mentioned he used to have blackouts which was never explained, but they didn’t detract from the story. There is also the fact that both MCs lost a parent but they are very surprised when someone dies because it’s so hard to kill a werewolf. I wanted them to explain how those people died so it made sense.

[Beaumont · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars.
Would I read the sequel? Maybe. It sounds like a very similar plot (straight guy realizing he’s bi in a queerphobic werewolf world).

Kael is sometimes 28 and sometimes 26 (he literally says both at different times and means it). He’s a gay white cis werewolf man. He’s described as pretty lean verging on skinny. He’s not physically fit and struggles with all the hiking Chance does. He left his home and job after his ex-bf (a human) cheats on him. His mom ostensibly wants what’s best for him and wants him protected and she thinks if he could just give up dating men, he’d find a nice woman mate and have babies and be happy. Chance tells Kael this is only his mom trying to make him happy. Chance is oblivious and passively queerphobic. But then Kael is too sometimes. Kael is acerbic, a jerk, and never ever stops whining. He hates almost everything and everyone and dislikes happy people. He wants others to be miserable when he is. He doesn’t actively bring this about but he does whine about it. He’s like a caricature of millennials from the news. I bet the reason he doesn’t have his own house is because he eats avocado toast. It’s just constant and it makes it irritating to hear all his thoughts. It get slightly better by the end, where he’s cranky but bearable. This is from someone who usually ADORES cranky characters. He doesn’t believe in fated mates because any he’s ever heard of are straight and he doesn’t like women.

Chance is a straight (likely bi since he’s into Kael, but there’s no exploration of his sexuality at all) white cis werewolf man. He’s an alpha. The book says alphas of any gender or sex are muscular and big. Other than that I have no idea what makes an alpha different than other werewolves. He’s not bright. He calls hotdog joints “sandwich shops” because he thinks anything in bread is a sandwich (he’s serious about this). He tells Kael he shouldn’t be writing fantasy (since that’s just for children, he should be writing serious books, and has no idea this is not a helpful thing to say. There’s little indication he’s into Kael for most of the book. He’s never considered some people might be queer since apparently his whole pack and town is straight. He’s only attracted to women except Kael. This is one reason I don’t like “gay for you,” because straight people don’t get attracted to the same sex, and it ends up feeling like a straight guy who has a queer guy crushing on him and they just kind of go with it. Anyway, Chance believes strongly in fated mates and is a romantic (won’t have sex unless he’s serious about someone). Kael has some reasonable doubts that Chance won’t regret being with a man rather than a woman, who can provide ostensibly obvious and socially-desired benefits over a man. Chance can’t figure out why Kael thinks this (despite apparently understanding that wolves are almost always in opposite sex couples). Except then Chance also shoved Kael back in the closet and won’t talk about his intentions to his dad the pack alpha because he knows he’s expected to marry a woman who can become pregnant.


The Good:

I like the role reversal of the grumpy/sunshine trope. Usually Grumpy is older, bigger, more masc, male (if it’s an MF couple), richer, more experienced, and prefers to top during sex. Sunshine is usually young, delicate/tiny, less masc, female (if it’s an MF couple), poorer, and innocent/inexperienced. In this book, Kael was absolutely the grumpy one (he’s smaller, less masc slightly, not rich but not poor, more experienced in most ways, and doesn’t like to top during sex).

I liked the mossy cabin, that sounded cool.

I liked that Kael was more sexually experienced than Chase and be willing to lead him with that. This is very unusual especially with characters like Kael who are relatively smaller and prefer to bottom during penetrative sex.

I liked that Kael was able to defend himself and Chase against the villain. Usually the non-alpha character, or the skinny character, or the character who prefers to bottom is the one with little agency and no ability to care for or protect themselves or others.

Kael had somewhat of a personality and was able to do most things for himself. Also unusual in this kind of book, and I enjoyed it.


The Not So Good:

One of the main conflicts in the book is homophobia among werewolves. It feels very “homophobia 101.” That, and a 2023 book about queer people that had a Harry Potter reference? Not good.

This book is also very very “traditional” with its gender roles, at least among wolves. Only women know how to be parental/caretakers/emotional labor. Except now Kael, a gay man, is also well-suited to a role reserved for women (the Luna). This is reminiscent of some old school misogyny and homophobia the way it’s written. It doesn’t help rebut the iffy situation I discussed last paragraph.

It was nice that apparently in this world being gay is “totally normal”….. but only for humans. Among werewolves, the werewolves are almost 100% straight. Some of them appear to be bi, but according to Kael, women wolves only hook up with each other after their male mates die. Male wolves ONLY ever want to be in relationships with women, but they might have sex with a man “when the pickings were slim.” The implication is that Kael is a very rare anomaly among wolves: gay and not at all willing to mate with a woman. Even his mom can’t understand why he wouldn’t just choose not to date men and instead mate with a woman so he can finally be happy.

The voice actor was ok, but had long pauses at weird times. However, the writing was wonky and honestly I think the VA is the main reason I finished the book.

Inconsistencies and typos fairly frequently in the book (again, smoothed over by the VA).

The only person with not described overtly as white is the villain, Jeremy. Jeremy is tall with dark hair, dark eyes, and copper skin.

Most of the dialogue and actions were off and didn’t feel very person-like. A lot of it made little sense. The title is also confusing. Maybe it means the alpha was rejected? Kael did kind of reject him at one point. The chemistry between the MCs was nonexistent most of the time.


Content warnings and tropes:
—Kael has an ex-bf who was emotionally and physically abusive. This bf also forces a deep kiss on Kael after threatening him.
—Threats of kidnapping, imprisonment, likely future SA, experimentation, harvesting of blood against MC
—Queerphobic werewolves
—Explicit sex scenes (two total, one with anal penetrative sex). All on-page sex is between MCs and is consensual
—Anal fingering with no lube
—Anal penetration sex with no lube or prep
—No condom use
—Grumpy/sunshine
—Small town PNR

Other:
—Single first person POV
—No cheating
—No other love interests (Kael has a stalker ex but he’s not a love interest anymore)
—No kids (actually the book barely mentions the “needs and heir” business more than once and then abandons it)
—Strict sexual roles (Kael likes to bottom but is often more in charge during sex, Chance likes to top but follows Kael’s lead during sex).
—HEA

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

where’s the rejection?

Wolf shifter romance that tries to play with some tropes, only to fall prey to others. Usually a shifter romance with “rejection” in the title is a lot more formal that “main character has his head so far up his own navel he can’t accept good things”.

An earnest straight-ish alpha meets a self-loathing gay wolf shifter. A lot of the drama seems to come from the internalized homophobia of the gay wolf character, him leaping to conclusions and preemptively thinking the worst.

Thankfully, before sassy gay wolf can self-destruct this relationship, things work out (albeit with a pretty high body count and a weirdly powerful secret villain).

[Artemis Rios · Rating 2 out of 5]

The mc wasn't really likable, he got a bit better twords the end but I still didn't see why Chase liked him. The person doing the killings was sort of predictable but there wasn't really any clear reason as to why he did it. He said it was about power but nothing in the story showed he was power hungry just that he was an emotionally abusive cheater.
Mc gave a lot of reasons to not be with Chase as his mate but then did a 180 when mc's ex threatened Chase's life. There were no conversations or even internal thoughts as to why he decided to stay as Chase's mate. His hold ups didn't go away and it wasn't until after saying Chase was his mate and 8 months that it showed his trepidations had been uncalled for.
There were also a lot of little grammar errors like having it'd been instead of I'd been.

[John Adams · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not My Type of Read.

I have read this book via Kindle Unlimited and this is an honest opinion of this story.
Kael and Chance are the two main characters with the dullest personalities.
I feel that the author was constantly being over descriptive, which detracted from the story.
I really couldn't get into the story, which also has a couple of subplots overarching the main plotline. The story is told from Kael's perspective only, which I personally find lazy writing.
Neither of the main characters are likeable. Also, what the hell is a gamma? I appreciate authors trying to give the omegaverse and Shifterverse a new twist, but again, this novel fails.
Overall, I certainly won't be reading anything else by this author.

[Shelly Bazensky · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book really had a lot of issues for me. Spelling errors, consistency issues and a weird under developed story. Too many holes and lack of character development really made it hard to finish this book. Cute love story but this book was a gay awakening book that lacked luster. Good try but really needed a better proof reader and editor because the flow was really terrible and the “villain” really didn’t see that coming. Sorry but don’t recommend this book. Can’t read future books because I don’t think it gets better.

[Megan Bloomberg · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

The protagonist was such a jerk that I couldn't get past the 46th page. It was also very slow moving with only the protagonist's angry rants to keep you going. Which, for me, had the opposite effect. I never finished a book, but I was getting angry. Maybe if it had duel POV to break up his whining, I could have moved forward.

[Moon · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF@ 29%

The main MC was unlikable. The people on the cover don't match the characters in the book, and there were too many grammatical errors to speak of. It's a no for me.

[OneDayI'll · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sunny alpha, grumpy lone wolf

Kael is running away. Yes, it's cliche. No, that isn't going to stop him. His life went to crap and he needs away. His friend offered a remote cabin to stay in and his laptop is along to write the book that's crowding his head. But he didn't count on getting over 1 guy by an instant crush on another. Especially a sunny ginger alpha in training. A sunny ginger alpha in training who is having his first bashful interaction with another guy...

Spoilers ahead.
So, the first third of the book you just want to shake Kael. He's bitter, he's snarky, he snaps at everyone, he's hateful and lies. He flips from being hateful enough to keep Chance at arm's length to suddenly inviting him over for a revenge bang, something about proving something to an ex who'd have no idea because they aren't there to see it, and putting pressure on him to be with him. I about didn't make it past that, nearly putting it down there. But that scene sets the stage for an actual heart to heart when Kael realizes what he's doing and guilt causes him to open his eyes and change his ways. He finally starts to become a character you don't mind reading about. But it took a while to get there. It was part of the reason for the lower stars. The other reason is he doesn't really redeem himself. He just stops being a complete jerk. He still quasi pressures Chance, who is new to homosexual relationships. The other reason for lower stars is the time jump. The relationship is just starting and then bam, months down the road and it's fully established without readers being a long for all the discovery and changes. We don't experience any of the newness with Chance. We see how Chance's dad reacts but not him coming to grips or seeing him change his mind, or speaking with Chance about it. So we see a big change but none of the effort. Much like the anticlimactic resolution to the "big bad", there's just a poof happy ending without any of the transition to get there. Without that effort, there's no connection to the characters. If you can't connect with them, you don't care about them and you aren't interested in reading more about them. So, while I can see this is the start of a series, there's no hook, no lure to come back and read it.

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

The cover picture doen’t match the descriptions in the book. Single POV from Kael. He’s sarcastic but also kind of bitchy/rude although seems like a defense mechanism to keep people away because he’s been hurt in the past.

Quite a few typos and missing words/punctuation:
13%: “…taller guys. started to respond”
42%: had’t instead of hadn’t
60%: dind’t instead of didn’t
63%: slid up to first knuckle then another knuckle slid in then like two paragraphs down another knuckle slid in. How many knuckles does he have? It’s just one finger.
75%: eep instead of deep
76%: breaks instead of brakes
81%: you dad instead of your dad

I don’t know how I feel about this one. Overall it was a fast read, but a lot of the focus was on Kael kind of being a douche even though he had gone through a lot in his life. Then there was the mystery angle that wasn’t really that shocking for me. Honestly the romance part of this was small and in the background. I feel like we didn’t address the fact that Chance had a bi-awakening, or was gay for you with Kael. There was only a small part in the last chapter where they walked into a meeting holding hands and then having like a minute conversation with Chance’s dad.

I would have liked more romance. I also think this should be edited again. I saw quite a lot of typos. A lot of them weren’t even words, so spell checker should have caught them. I wish we would have had dual POV because I have a feeling I would have enjoyed this more seeing Chance’s journey as well. Kael was funny sometimes with his sass and sarcastic comments, but he was also very rude at times. Also Kael seemed so weak throughout the story and I thought we’d see him gain his strength back in the end after we found out what happened, but he didn’t, so I feel like that’s a remaining plot hole. Maybe 2.5 out of 5 stars?

Kael: 28 or 26 (said both), Moontide pack from Kansas City
Chance: Tellurian pack from Marquette, alpha’s son

[Cinnamon bun · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately, this story managed to hit me right in my pet peeve center.
Add to that too many errors that could have been avoided by professional editing, and my rating will have to land on a 3-star. However, if it hadn't been for my lack of patience with the book's main character, I would most likely have put up with the editing issues.
So if you're a lover of MM shifter stories and don't share my pet peeves, then this is a decent story. Who knows, you might even love it!

But to start, I didn't like the MC. Kael just isn't a very nice person. Sure, he's been hurt and has a lot of baggage to sort out, but he's so obnoxious and rude in the start it's a wonder Chance didn't bolt. The problem, I think, was that Kael's behavior hardly improved during the course of the story, and I just couldn't grow to like him at all. There would have needed to be some kind of personal growth happening there. Or that his trauma was explored earlier on instead of being hinted at for too long.

Second, my no. one pet peeve "I need to leave coz X is better off without me" appeared. Now, it didn't play out exactly like that in the end, but together with Kael's previously selfish behavior, it didn't make one lick of sense and just pissed me off.

Then lastly, it was the errors. Not huge ones. Mostly missing words here or there. One gross misspelling. But it was consistent throughout which had an additive effect. Especially together with the other stuff.

I won't write off Wolfe completely, though. I love gay shifter reads and the plot was promising. The next book in the series might very well be a winner.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read. It's werewolves. Kael is a werewolf who recently left his job, ex boyfriend and family behind to get away and a new start so he can write a book, his real passion. His friend Leo offered up his cabin and he took him up on it. Kael's mother wanted him to meet with the alpha so he wouldn't be a lone wolf trespassing in their territory. When he goes to meet the alpha, he meets the alphas son, Chance. He is instantly attracted to his scent but he doesn't believe in mates considering he's gay and all werewolf pairings are male/female. Doesn't stop them from spending time together until Chznce admits that he likes him but has never been with a guy. Meanwhile there have been attacks in their pack and Chance is worried for Kaels safety and has him move from Leo's cabin into their private property. There is where the Alpha sees them in bed together, reacts harshly but not to them. He then gets attacked almost left for dead. Turns put the one attacking them is Kaels ex boyfriend who is human. The thing is he wanted to be a werewolf so he was injecting himself with Kaels blood and becoming some weird werewolf creature. He needed Kaels blood to keep it up so he was there to take Kael back. But realizing Chznce is his mate, he got the courage to kill Jeremy his ex and save Chance.

[ShelfLife · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’d give this 3.5 stars, honestly. I really like the story, the characters, and the writing overall. However, I can’t rate it any higher due to the amount of errors and grammar issues. I’ve read this author before, and the writing has gotten better, but the books still need better editing.

But, with that said, I still found myself glued to my Kindle, not wanting the story to end. At first, Chance was kind of boring and one-dimensional. Eventually, he starts to have a stronger voice and more emotions come forth. Dual POV would have been great here. I would have enjoyed seeing him and Kael actually together as mates a bit more, but I know they’ll pop back up as the series progresses. Chance was so sweet and innocent. Just a big ole cinnamon roll. Kael was kind of mean at times, and I wanted to shake some sense into him. But the emotional and physical trauma he endured with his ex makes his character ring true. I was also hoping for a bit higher heat, as I know this author is capable of that (and writes those scenes well). But what we got was still hot and sweet, too.

Really looking forward to Leo’s book.

[Maryanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice story

This is the first book that I've read by this author.
This book could have used a strong editor or proofreader, as there were MANY incomplete sentences, wrong verb tenses used, missing connecting words and inconsistencies in the storyline.
The story itself was interesting, but the characters and atmosphere could have been filled out a lot more than they were.
The author rambled A LOT in his head and on the page, to where this book could have actually been novella length- if all of the excess pages of 'thinking to himself' had been cut way back. All the extra words added nothing to the story, and I found myself skipping pages, without missing any of the actual story.
The line of "I'm not good enough for you so I'll say hateful things to make you leave me" has been done to death, yet it was also in this story.
I hope this author continues to write, because I feel they have good stories to tell. But I also hope that he actually reads the reviews and feedback and learns from it.

[Kurohagi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful, well-written romance with werewolves and an endearing, slightly clueless hero who is coming out of a complicated relationship and is reluctant to accept his attraction to Chance. Mysterious, disturbing attacks also add a breathless intrigue to the story. We like the fact that the story doesn't just revolve around the relationship between the two main characters, but also develops other characters that we want to get to know in the sequel.
Some very pleasant and well-written spicy scenes

Une belle romance, bien écrite avec des loups-garous, un héro attachant, un peu paumé, qui sort d'une relation compliquée et en est peu enclins à accepter son attirance pour Chance. Des attaques mystérieuses inquiétantes qui également ajoute une intrigue haletante à l'histoire. On aime que l'histoire ne tourne pas uniquement autour de la relation des deux personnages principaux, mais développe également d'autres personnages qu'on a envie de connaître dans la suite.
Quelques scènes pimentées fort agréables et bien écrites

[James Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is good to me. The characters and the plot make sense. Kael is a gay werewolf running from the mess that is his life. His human boyfriend cheated on him and was a jerk. So Kael quits his job and packs everything he owns in a duffel bag and goes to spend time in his best friend’s cabin. Kael is going to finish his book and put himself back together. Of course there is pack in the city where he is escaping. So he has to introduce himself to the Alpha so it is not seen as rude. But then he meets the Alpa’s straight son, Chance, and feels a spark. Kael and Chance do not get along at first. Chance is very nice to Kael and wants to get to know him. But while Kael is sorting his life, something is gruesomely killing humans and shifters. With Chance is straight, Kael wants to get out of his way so he can find his female mate. But the killer strikes again. Chance and Kael will have to work out what is going on between them to survive. I am glad I read this book.