It was really hard for me to read this one because the same day I was accepted to read it, it also was archived. Therefore I never got the chance to download it. I read it on kindle unlimited so that is why there is a big delay in posting my review.
Anyways enough about that and onto the actual book.
Overall I’d give it 3 stars and here is why. When I read something involving magic and fantasy, I like to be able to clearly visualize the scenes and Characters in my head. For some reason I had a hard time doing that with this one. It had a lot of potential because typically I really love these kinds of books, but it was just really hard for me to get into it as much as I wanted to. I thought the character were very compelling and alluring but I just couldn’t relate with them, just couldn’t find that connecting piece. Now please know that that doesn’t mean this was not a great book. Because it is! This just didn’t work for me as I would have liked it to.

Most of the books I get from NetGalley are well written and have cool concepts. This was no exception. It was very original and had lots of great conflict. But like most of the new authors/books I try, they sag in the middle. I stayed with this one longer than most. But the problem was that there were too many POVs and subplots. The book is HUGE and sooooo slow. Lots of stuff happens, but hardly any of it seems connected. I got through 33% with no sign of a true plot and they were still introducing new characters! So much potential. Doesn’t seem very kid-friendly. Long, complicated, and surprisingly violent. That said, my 9 and 10 year olds were sad when I stopped reading it to them. (But weren’t interested enough to read the rest themselves.)

I loved that book very very much!
I am amazed at the writing of the author and I loved the action and the characters.
The first thing that got to me was the title and I immediately decided that I wanted this book ad that I wanted to read it ^^
I am not disappointed and I hope everybody else gets to enjoy it as much as I did.

I didn't enjoy this one as much as the other book I read from these authors. Worth picking up if you enjoyed Grey Lore.

Werewolves rule..... literally! 'Nuff said!

This was a book that I can honestly say I did not enjoy. Not that the writing was bad. I just personally couldn't get into the story. I found myself skimming and when you start to do that, you loose a lot of the story.

I enjoyed this even more than the first book. I especially love the fact that these aren't cute and cudfly werewolves but proper red in tooth and claw vilains. The plot gere was much deeper and more satisfying. Unfirtunately it had the same stylistic issues as book one which bumped tge rating down for me. I really don't like choppy head hopping narratives and being kept at arms length by the prose was frustrating. So I liked it but didn't love it.

I received an ARC copy from netgalley for my honest review,  so thank you netgalley and publishers for offering me this book! ♡
This was my first book by this author, It was okay. It was slow paced but it was alltogether an easy read. ♡ I give this book a
3.5 star rating!

I was so fascinated by this book, this universe, these characters, all of this.

We're in a world where four principal races are present. Humans, dogs, wolves, and shifters (a sort of werewolves but don't you dare call them that), all of them who can talk., but not all of them equals. Wolf-shifters are the most powerful (the king is one of them) and can use magic, followed by the wolves. Dogs are mostly independents and humans are basically slaves for the shifters and the wolves.

We follow many characters, like Pietre, a human boy who will help and befriend the half-breed pup Humphrey, who is supposed to be killed for what he is, Wittendon, shifter and son of the king, who can't use magic, the witch Zinnegael or even the king himself. These characters' paths will meet, and we will see them grow and develop, question themselves and everything around them. Every relationship was special in its own way, positive, negative or mixed.

I loved the many POVs because we could see the story through the eyes of people with different backgrounds, different perspectives. But even when I had read the thoughts of many characters, I found myself gasping at some events, not at all expecting what would happen. It's a thing I loved. We read what they do, what they think, but we don't know all of what they do and think. I really love that.

The worldbuilding was especially great, I didn't understand it all at the very beginning but it became clear quickly. It's incredible that such a universe exists and evolve in a book less than 350 pages. Like I said, fascinating.

One-Line Summary:

The race of wolves have ruled the kingdom mercilessly for many thousands of years, walking all over the dogs and humans that live there, but is equality really worth fighting for, with everything that would be lost?

Summary:

When a dog and her pups are attacked by a wolf sent to dispose of them, Pietr doesn’t hesitate to grab the one pup that’s set at his feet, the only one of the litter he can save, and take it back to his village. When the mother arrives not long after and collapses at his doorstep, his mother tends to her wounds and soon buries her after the dog succumbs. But in the attack, one of the King’s wolves is killed, and it’s a crime to kill a wolf, punishable by death. As the dog is no longer around to pay for her crime, guilt falls on the shoulders of those who aided her, and Pietre hides, helpless, as his father is carted away to what will surely be his death.

On the other side of the kingdom, Prince Wittendon is gearing up for the Motteral Mal, a massive tournament held among the wolves every hundred years. As the king’s eldest, it’s his job to win against the fierce competition. Only, there’s one problem: he’s verlorn. He has no magic. It’s practically a death sentence against all the powerful magic users he’ll be facing in the tournament, and as talented as his best friend and mentor Sarak is, not even his training can fix that.

It is Wittendon who is sent to the village to retrieve Pietre’s father, who sacrifices himself rather than letting the wolves take his wife. When he leaves, he touches foreheads with his wife—a gesture that is inconceivable among the wolves. Wittendon is intrigued by this closeness and warmth share between family members. This interest only deepens when he notices Pietre risking his life to sneak to the mines to visit his father. The more Wittendon thinks about it, the more it seems these humans aren’t the weak, pathetic animals wolves consider them to be.

All the while, a storm is brewing that’s been centuries in the making. There’s disrest among the humans, but they’re too weak to fight. There’s disrest among the dogs, but they refuse to fight. There’s disrest among the wolves, but they have no reason to fight. Yet somehow, something must be done before the wolves become too powerful and the other two races are crushed beneath their paws.

The Positives:

- There is something about this writing style that I’m just absolutely in love with. I said this when I read Grey Lore, and I’ll say it again. It’s very folklore-ish and just invokes a wonderful feeling that transports me into the plot and takes me along for a ride. There weren’t any major scenes that jumped out at me as being dull or boring. It moved along quick enough to keep my attention and always leave me wanting more, but slow enough where I wasn’t lost in the lack of details somewhere.

- Zinnegael is an easy favorite, since her character is just brilliant. She’s smart and witty and powerful and obviously has it all figured out. I love the cat-and-mouse game she plays with the king. She’s a bit overpowered, but it’s not overdone and she has her limitations. I just really enjoyed her. I’d go have tea with her any day, if only I were invited.

- I need a Humphrey. He’s such a good boy. He’s loyal to Pietre, but strong and adorable. He knows there’s no place for him in this world, as the dogs won’t take him and the wolves want him dead, yet he’s determined to make one for himself and refuses to give up. 10/10 would give a bone.

- The lore is really marvelously done. Worldbuilding isn’t easy, but I slipped into this world quite nicely and loved the way it was built up and the lore and tales that are told about the world. It really brought the setting to life, and they were foreboding and lovely to read.

- The moral questions that are raised in this are poignant and meaningful. Because nothing comes easy, right? Not even for Wittendon and especially not for anyone else in the kingdom. There were so many issues that were explored, from class issues to race issues to loyalty and sacrifice and love and destiny. None of them felt like lectures or after-school specials, but they arose naturally because that’s what the characters themselves were facing. There was just so much depth there, and because these are pertinent issues in life, it made me connect to the characters all the more.

- I laughed. I cried. I swore a few times. As I said before, I was pretty invested in these characters because I connected with them, and they pretty much run the gamut personality-wise. Each character had their own personal challenges and backstories that were slowly drudged up and placed nicely into the plot in the appropriate places, right where they tugged at my heartstrings the most. Everyone has secrets, and nothing is as it first seems.

The Negatives:

- I was already familiar with this world and still ended up confused at the beginning. The feeling didn’t last long, but it did take a little while for me to get my bearings when I started the book and get a feel for the setting. I wasn’t sure what to expect, and since it’s a high fantasy, it took a little time for it to actually make sense.

- I was a bit disappointed with Zinder’s role. I won’t say much because spoilers, but it seemed like he was going to play this major, pivotal role, and he sort of did, but it wasn’t really what I was expecting. Maybe I just misread where it was going, but I didn’t like the way his arc ended. It felt sudden and anticlimactic, considering how it was built up. He seemed to be shaping up to be a really interesting character, and I felt like he ended up more as a deus ex machina than anything.

- The plot twists were somewhat predictable. Then again, I’ve been told I’m really good at spotting plot twists or predicting how something is going to end, so there’s that. However, by the time the most pivotal moments came, it was old news. Most of the time, I already knew what the big reveal was going to be. Still, that didn’t make the scenes any more boring. Actually, I was almost more excited to see how it was going to go down, since I knew it was coming.

Overall:

So, I read Grey Lore first because I didn’t realize they were related, which is probably not a great idea. The two books can stand alone, but some of the characters make a reappearance in Grey Lore, so it makes more sense to start here. I mean, that being said, I was very excited to see the old characters I loved from that have a place here. Writing this review was hard, because while I really enjoyed the book and would highly recommend it, I feel like everything is woven so tightly together that I can’t boil the plot down all that easily and I’m not sure how much I can give away without actually ruining it. Everything works together like a well-rehearsed dance, where everything happens exactly when and where it needs to, and I don’t want to be the clumsy oaf barreling through knocking everyone else over. So all I can say is that it was a great read, and I would highly recommend it.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.