*** Review*** Ravaged: A Werewolf’s Tale (Werewolves #2) by David Wellington

On the Back of the Book

The days grow colder. The nights grow longer. And every time the moon rises, the wolf inside her grows a little stronger.

Cheyenne Clark – a woman whose hatred for werewolves has turned her into the very beast she most despises – prowls the Arctic Circle on the trail of an ancient secret, hunting for the one thing that could remove the lycanthropic curse and make her human again.

Yet standing between Chey and her goal are a werewolf hunter armed with a diabolically brilliant weapon, and a centuries-old werewolf with her own mysterious agenda... and Chey’s own complicated feelings for the man who doomed her to this existence, but on whom her life now depends.

Worse, with every hour that passes, the wolf inside Chey becomes more powerful. It won’t be long before the woman disappears completely, and only the beast is left.

Pre Read Thoughts

An impulse buy because of the 3 for £5 offer at my local branch of The Works. I really enjoyed book one, Cursed, and wanted to know how Chey’s story ended.  So I picked this up to read next. Well that and because I have this need to read as much of a series one after the other as possible. The cover is clean and striking. The black cover contrasts nicely with the wolf’s fur and the red eye just stands out. If I were to ask my mum what she thinks of the cover she’d say ‘Oooh! It’s a bit dark!’ but I guess it’s a matter of each to their own. The synopsis is incredibly detailed and I can’t wait to open the book and get stuck in.

Post Read Thoughts

I found this book to be more consistent in how good it is but it never reached the level of awesomeness that Cursed did. I didn’t really sense the danger of the hunt. I felt that the biggest dangers to Chey were Lucie and Chey’s wolf. The writing is something that I really liked. I find Mr Wellington’s words easy to visualise and this adds the idea that the book triggers some mental movie. Mental in the sense that it’s playing in my head, not any other sort of mental, just to clarify, or dig myself in a hole. The author’s storytelling ability is incredible and I loved the back stories and also the research that he must have put into the book.

Chey – I still liked her in this book. She goes through a lot in the duration of Ravaged and if I’m honest, I probably would’ve just given in. That just proves that she’s a fighter and a survivor and you just can’t help but admire her.

Powell – he grew on me as I read this book. He makes a good alpha male and he has all the qualities I like in a leading man. He’s caring yet protective and he’d do anything for his woman. It’s an admirable trait in a guy.

Lucie – After everything that was eluded to in the first book I was expecting more from Lucie. She was painted out as some sort of manipulative psychopath and that never really happened for me. There were a couple of moments like that but nothing concrete that said ‘Hi I’m Lucie, and I’ve lost my mind.’ She wasn’t a likeable character and I didn’t really feel anything for her.

Varkanin – He’s the guy in this book that’s trying to kill Chey and Powell but the one he really wants is Lucie. His vendetta is explained in the book and as bad guys go, I liked him. He’s very distinctive (how can you not be with blue skin?) and very focussed on what he feels he had to do. I did point out that he was blue didn’t I? He’s also Russian. It was different, you don’t really come across blue Russians (why ever not is my question).

Sharon – She’s a character that I would’ve loved to know more about. Her wariness of Chey was 100% understandable and if I was her I would’ve been the same. Her strength was something that I admired and I loved the way that she was her own woman and made her own decisions.

Overall I enjoyed this slightly less than its predecessor but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t like it. The thought that must’ve gone into this book and the amount of research astounds me. It feels planned to me and it’s been executed well. If you read and enjoyed book one then you should definitely read this one. It closes Chey’s story in a satisfactory way. In fact, I’d say that this is one of the best werewolf novels I’ve read. Ever.

My Rating

4 Stars – I’d definitely recommend this to adults who are fans of shifter stories. T’s so much better than the YA equivalents and it manages to slot nicely into the adult market for this genre. It’s a genuinely good book and I want you all to read it.

A Final Note

As I keep pointing out this is an adult book and not suitable for immature teens. It does contain swearing, a bit of sex and a lot of violence. Not for the faint hearted. 

*** Review*** Cursed: A Werewolf’s Tale (Werewolves #1) by David Wellington

On the Back of the Book

There’s one sound a woman doesn’t want to hear when she’s lost and alone in the Arctic wilderness.

For Cheyenne Clark, there’s a bad moon on the rise. When a strange wolf slashes her ankle to the bone, her old life ends and she becomes the very monster that has haunted her nightmares for years. Worse, the only one who can understand what Chey has become is the man – and wolf – who’s doomed her to this fate. He also wants her dead.

Yet as the line between human and beast blurs, so too does the distinction between hunter and hunted... for Chey is more than just the victim she appears to be. But once she’s within killing range, she may find that – even for a werewolf – it’s not always easier to go for the jugular.

Pre Read Thoughts

Aaah, The Works, without you my TBR pile would be significantly smaller. Darn you and your 3 for £5 offer on books! Mind you, it takes more than a price tag to make me stop and pick up a book. In the case of this one I think it might be something to do with the cover. I personally think that the wolf’s muzzle really stands out against the black of the background and really draws potential buyers in. The synopsis makes me want to read the book. It sounds like the story offers an alternative to the werewolf books I tend to read and that can only be a good thing.

Post Read Thoughts

This is a book of two parts for me. I really struggled to get into the story, despite being thrown in at the deep end. Once the book had settled and I got accustomed to the author’s writing style I got into the book and found it to be a quick read. The ending was incredible and I couldn’t put the book down, in fact, I didn’t realise I was reaching the end until I ran out of pages to turn.  I also loved how the author chose to let the reader discover Chey’s back story. So many authors would’ve started with what Mr Wellington put in the middle of this.

The journey Chey went on is incredible and I really enjoyed learning about her and could really feel for her as she tried to adjust to the changes that had been forced upon her by Powell. Speaking of, Powell is a character that I like and don’t like. He’d do something really nice that endeared him to me and then I’d find something else about him or he’d do something nasty and I’d be back where I started with him. Bobby was a complete prat and a fool and I disliked him intensely from the moment he appeared on the page. Dzo is a character that freaks me out more than a bit. I didn’t really get to find anything out about him and that’s what I wanted to do more than anything.

Overall I liked this book, really I did. The characters were interesting even if they weren’t always likeable. I found the writing easy to read and enjoyable (for the most part). I loved the thought that went into the character’s back stories and there were some things about werewolves in this that I hadn’t seen explored before. I’d recommend this to people who like werewolves and I personally thought that it was much better than the YA equivalents that I’ve read.

My Rating

4 stars – A great read that really fired up my imagination. I definitely want to read the other book in the series and other books by the author and recommend him to others who are fans of the genre.

A Final Note

This is an adult book and as a result of that there is swearing. There’s also some heavy violence so this book so it’s definitely not for the faint hearted.