OMG! Vampires, Sympaths, & Wolves oh my! I love this detour into another world. I can’t wait for more! Lydia & Daniel were hot! I loved how he was so ready to hop on board of her cause. One of my favorite lines Daniel to Lydia was “Does the sunlight always find you?” They just see each other.

I felt bad for Rick. He was trying so hard, but didn’t understand her at all. Daniel saw her, and pulled her back. I love that this world just keeps getting bigger & bigger!

I love that we get more of Xhex and John Matthew. I so wanted her to turn him loose on her brother. We get more information about her, and how she finally realizes she has the BDB at her back. But Rehv… he can see her, and wants her to know that he sees her. Rehv is just brave enough to call her on her crap.

Daniel wants to assure that Lydia isn’t left alone. I can’t wait for more! Can I have more now? Please?

Honestly, I wasn't sure what I was getting into. I didn't know if I could dive into this not having been caught up with BDB. I felt like I was missing something and I have no idea if these characters have previous books or the storyline. I don't feel like after the 2 books I've read in BDB I could fully enjoy this. I hope to get caught up and then give this another shot. So at this time, I'm marking it as DNF and hope to come back.

I just love everything about JR Ward's writing. This book was more than I expected and I am here for it. I loved this book hard.

A brand new series by JR Ward.
With wolves.
Yes please.
Give it to me now!

So I don’t even know how to explain my feelings on this book.
Let’s start with what I liked, I liked the setting of the story, the wolf study project and the mystery element the story had. And also the sun plot with Xhex and her past.
But that’s as far as my enjoyment went.
This book is advertised as a paranormal romance and we didn’t see the paranormal aspect until after 90% of the way through. And as for the romance, I didn’t feel it.
I was disappointed with this book.
Will I read the rest of the series?
I will read book 2 but unsure if I will go any further. I’m hoping that this book is just suffering from first book in a new world syndrome. Only time will tell.

Claimed is the first book I’ve read by JR Ward and I’m hooked. Although it’s a new series, it’s set in the Black Dagger Brotherhood world and I must confess that I was initially a bit lost. Some of the side stories involve BDB characters, and I was unsure of some of the paranormal terms and species, but after doing some googling, I quickly got up to speed!

So what’s it about? When the timber wolves that scientist Lydia Susi had dedicated her life to protect start being poisoned, Lydia suspects the luxury hotel resort being built on the fringes of the nature reserve may be to blame. But as a vocal opponent of the project, Lydia has unwittingly put a target on her back.

When mysterious drifter Daniel Joseph starts working at the Project, Lydia is inexplicably drawn to him, despite her best intentions. It’s not long before Lydia and Daniel are thrown together when tragedy strikes, but can she trust him?

I really enjoyed everything about this book. The world building was beautifully crafted and very easy to follow. The story is told in third person from multiple character viewpoints and covered a number of different, interlinked storylines at once which kept my interest.

Lydia and Daniel are great, likeable characters and I loved watching their relationship grow from a sweet slow burn romance to full on sizzling steam! Daniel is HOT! There are loads of brilliant side characters and I particularly liked Candy, the matchmaking, larger than life Project receptionist and Lydia’s friend.

Claimed is a rollercoaster of a read with a great storyline, intriguing mysteries and endless twists and turns that kept me guessing until the very last page. And what an ending - that cliffhanger has me desperate for the next book! Until then, I’m off to catch up on the Black Dagger Brotherhood series.

Claimed is a must read for an paranormal fans.

Not really sure what to say on this one. It's a mixed bag for me, hence the 2.5 star rating.

Claimed is the first book in Ward's newest series, The Lair of the Wolven. However, there are scenes and characters from her BDB series within this book that I feel will lose any new reader who hasn't read the BDB series (myself being one of them). It's one thing for those characters to make appearances but when they are an integral part of the plot, it truly hurts the flow of the book and causes a lot of confusion on the reader's part.

The mystery is what kept me interested in this book. While I found the book to be well written, it did feel as though it was all over the place. There really isn't any paranormal aspects (aside from Xhex's POV from BDB) til the end (huge letdown). I wanted more of the paranormal as part of the plot development and not just as bait for a cliffhanger.

I wanted to enjoy this book so much more than I did. I had high expectations because I have read other books from JR (not her BDB series) and her writing is impeccable. And the writing here was great too, but the whole plot and development was just everywhere. I have never struggled to read a book by Ward like I did this one. It took me 6 days to get through it; I wanted to DNF this many times, but refused to.

If you are interested in reading it, definitely give it a try. I am in the minority on this one (and it pains me to write that).

L’exceptionnelle J.R. Ward est de retour avec une toute nouvelle série mettant en scènes cette fois-ci des loups. Étant une grande fan de cette sublime plume, je dois vous avouer que j’avais de grandes attentes pour ce premier opus. Et sans surprise, la magie Ward a opéré de la meilleure façon qui soit…

Ce qu’il faut savoir ce que cette nouvelle saga est un spin-off de la phénoménale saga La Confrérie de la Dague Noire, plus précisément du passé de l’un des personnages. Cependant, je vous rassure de suite même si vous n’avez pas lu cette superbe série vous pouvez vous lancer les yeux fermés. Car l’histoire est principalement centrée sur un nouveau couple dans un tout nouvel univers. Lydia & Daniel.

Deux tempéraments de feu qui vont faire beaucoup d’étincelles. Et même s’ils vous prendre un malin plaisir à jouer avec vos nerfs, vous allez kiffer chaque moment passé auprès de ces deux-là. L’un comme l’autre m’ont beaucoup plu. Tant par leur détermination, leur force de caractère, leur sens du devoir et leur intégrité.

Lydia est le genre d’héroïne que j’affectionne énormément ! Une nana farouchement protectrice qui n’a pas froid aux yeux. Quand à Daniel ? Et bien il est en liste pour devenir l’un de mes nouveaux chouchous. Agaçant à souhait mais incroyablement irrésistible pour notre plus grand plaisir. Malgré les secrets, les dangers, les incertitudes ou les épreuves à affronter, ce lien spécial qu’ils partagent est puissant et profond. Et ils sont prêt à tout pour l’autre…

Parlons un peu des autres personnages. Là encore Mme Ward a fait un excellent boulot. Tous sans exception ont leur importance. Si certains vont agréablement vous surprendre et piquer à vif votre curiosité. D’autres par contre vont vous faire sortir de vos gonds. Et enfin pour ceux qui connaissent La Confrérie de la Dague Noire, comme moi vous serez plus ravis de retrouver certains personnages.

En bref… Si J.R. Ward fait partie de mes auteurs préférés ce n’est pas pour rien. Son style si particulier est une beauté absolue ! Elle possède un don inouï pour créer des mondes aussi bien complexes qu’originaux avec des personnages atypiques d’une force incroyable. Et « Claimed » ne fait pas exception à la règle ! Une intrigue brillamment ficelée riche en rebondissements et en sensations fortes. Un décor fort fascinant. Un suspens haletant. De l’action. De l’humour. Et de la sensualité. Tout ce qu’il faut pour passer un excellent moment. Un palpitant premier opus fort prometteur posant les bases solides d’une nouvelle saga Urban Fantasy avec des loups impressionnants qui est à découvrir !

This book was more like a 3.5 for me. I love JR Ward but this one just didn’t do it for me. It was a slow read and didn’t really go into the wolven like I had hoped it would. On the bright side, the cliffhanger on this book wasn’t too terrible so I’m not salivating for the next book. And the couple was pretty great. They were just picking up speed as the book closed out. We will also get to see more of Xhex in the next book and got a little bit of her in this one. Overall, I think the series will be really good it was just a bit slow in the setup.

Claimed is the first in Ward’s Lair of the Wolven series. Lydia Susi is a scientist working for the Wolf Study Project in upstate New York. The book opens with her discovering a gray wolf in the woods just as it collapses, apparently another victim of animal poisonings that the WSP staff has been finding in the area. Lydia has her suspicions that the poisonings are connected to the luxury resort going up across the valley.

She and the vet rush the wolf back to the clinic, where Lydia is informed that an applicant for a job opening has arrived. Daniel Joseph turns out to be an eyeful. He’s eventually hired as a handyman.

He and Lydia find themselves drawn to each other, especially as alarming incidents start happening. As they investigate the poisonings, they find themselves caught in a web of danger.

With Claimed, Ward takes you on a wild ride full of twists and turns. You are left with a cliff-hanger, cursing that you have to wait until the next book to find out what happens next. Members of the Brotherhood clan also make an appearance, with Xhex featured in her own mysterious story line that will intersect with that of Lydia and Daniel.

Unfortunately for me this book was a DNF. This did not live up to what I have come to expect from Ward. This book was SLOW moving and by 300 pages in I still was not at all invested in the story or any of the characters. Maybe my expectations were set too high, but this book was just not at all what I was hoping for.

I am captivated by this new world.

I enjoyed the new characters introduced in this series. Lydia Susi is an animal behaviorist who is monitoring the repopulation of wolves in upstate New York, near the Canadian border. She works for a tiny not-for-profit organization. A high-end Resort is building on the lands bordering the wolf preserve and suddenly Lydia’s wolves are being poisoned. She brings this to the attention of the local sheriff but fears he might be in the pocket of the Resort. Trying to keep everything working in the meantime, Lydia hires Daniel Joseph, a drifter, to be their new handyman, at least until he feels it is time to leave town again, which is a shame because Lydia hasn’t felt this much attraction to a man in a long, long while.

Suddenly the danger isn’t just to Lydia’s wolves. Several of her Lydia’s workers end up missing or dead, and she wants to point blame at the resort but fears that there is something much more sinister going on. When it looks like Lydia is next on the list, Daniel decides he needs to stick very close to her. But the more answers Lydia finds, the less she trusts those around her: her boss, her co-workers, the sheriff, and even Daniel. Will finding the last piece of this puzzle be the one thing that gets her killed, and is saving her wolves worth the risk?

J.R. Ward bring us a new world in her Lair of the Wolven series. As I have said before, I have issues with the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, some of it is world building and some of it Ward’s writing style. With the BDB, I found myself annoyed by the fact that many of the characters have the same style of speech and while I can understand that of the Brothers, when Butch and Manny were featured in stories, both of whom were human and obviously had a different upbringing than the Vampyres, and therefore they really shouldn’t speak like them. I say this because in Claimed, the world building and writing style changed from what we were used to from Ward. Well, I can’t say the entire book. I thought the Wolven would be a completely different and separate world but it apparently crosses-over with BDB because the underlying story has something to do with Xhex and the time she was captured and tortured. I have missed a few books in that series so I don’t remember this backstory. So there are a few chapters which bounce back to Xhex, her brother Blade, John Matthew and the sympaths. While I missed the backstory with Xhex, you don’t need the details to following along with that part of the story.

At one point in my reading, my husband asked if I was going to continue to ignore him (like he hasn’t met me before). I turned to him and said, “I am 85 percent into this story is about ‘the Wolven.’ I haven’t met a Wolven. I don’t know if she is Wolven. I don’t know if he is Wolven. I don’t know if the wolves are Wolven. But I’m in this until I find some freakin’ Wolven.” Lydia was a great character and I was drawn into her story, but if you are in it for the paranormal aspect, that part doesn’t make much of an appearance here and while we do get some answers in this story, the post-story notes indicate that there will at least one other story continuing where Claimed has left off but we won’t be seeing that until 2022.

There is a good story and a lot of potential here and hopefully, we will get more answers to our question of “Who are the Wolven?” in the next book.

JR Ward writes werewolves and I am here for it! Claimed kicks off a totally new series for the queen of PNR.

The heroine of Claimed is a scientist and that is just awesome. I love seeing intelligent, well educated women in romance. She works for a wolf rescue. She is passionate about her work and helping animals. Daniel, the hero is an enigma that really keeps you wondering. I enjoyed the sort of slow build of his and Lydia's relationship (its not really slow burn, because it's still a JR Ward book, but everything is a touch slower in book 1 of a series and I felt the sexy times were fewer).

Now, there is obviously a mystery to solve within Claimed. I think the story moves a little slow because Ward is creating this world. It does exist within the Black Dagger Brotherhood world, and there is a touch of crossover involving Xhex, but nothing that would exclude new readers.

Claimed was one of those books where I kept looking at the percentage on my kindle and thinking "Um, I have so many questions and there is so little book left". It builds an extra bit of tension and suspense for sure! I'm excited to see where this series goes for sure and am hoping we don't have to wait a year or so for book 2!

“I’m not scared”
“Maybe you should be. Wolves are wild animals. Their rules are their own.”

Set in the same world as The Black Dagger Brotherhood series, Claimed is the first book in J.R Ward’s new series, The Lair of the Wolven.

Lydia Susi is passionate about protecting wolves in their natural habitat. When a hotel chain develops a tract of land next to the preserve, Lydia is one of the most vocal opponents of the project – and becomes a target.

The new hire at Wolf Study Project, Daniel Joseph, is both mysterious and someone she intrinsically wants to trust, but is he hiding something?

As the stakes get higher and one of Lydia’s colleagues is murdered, she must decide how far she will go to protect the wolves.

Some fates demand courage, others require even more, with no guarantees. Is she destined to have true love… or will a soul shattering loss ruin her forever?

“Unless you tell me to go,” he said in a husky voice, “I’m going to kiss you.”
As Lydia stared up into his face, they both knew what she wanted. What she needed. Still, she kept them on the edge for a heartbeat or two.
“I don’t want you to leave.”

Claimed started out strong and I really fell into the first half to three quarters of the novel but there were a number of things that disappointed me about the book as a whole to the point that I was honestly unsure whether I actually enjoyed the book or not. After having time to process the novel, I’ve come to the conclusion that I did enjoy it but there were quite a few things that did inhibit my overall enjoyment of it and a lot of those came down to the expectations I had for it based on both the genre & my past experience reading J.R Ward’s books & the way her books/series are written.

On one hand, I really did enjoy it. I liked the characters and I’m keen to find out what happens next, but on the other, this was not at all what I expected. The paranormal aspect seemed almost non-existent for a lot of the novel, and I ended up finishing the book with more questions than when I started it – and not necessarily in a good way.

I think what threw me off the most and stopped me from enjoying it as much as I could have been that I was not expecting these characters arcs to be continued across more than one book. I was expecting The Lair of the Wolven series to follow the same format as JR Ward’s other series and be more interconnected stand-alone than a full series, with each book featuring two central characters whose arcs would be wrapped up and plot are resolved by the end of the novel, while the central plot for the series would be left open enough to continue in the future books. Claimed, however, was not written this way & it appears that the series is going to follow Lydia & Daniel throughout the books.

This is not a bad thing, but had I known this going into the book I would have been more prepared for the number of unanswered questions I had – not to mention the cliff hanger – & would have expected the level of confusion I was left with. Instead, I was caught off guard, tracking the number of pages I had left of the book as I tried to reconcile how close to the end it was with the abundance of unanswered questions that seemed to be growing by the page. Trying to figure out how Ward could possibly wrap the story up in such a short amount of time while providing satisfying answers ended up souring my enjoyment of the book itself because so many twists were being dropped, leaving me with more and more questions and very little clarification, right when – if it had been an interconnected stand alone as I was expecting – I was anticipating getting some answers & resolutions.

Claimed is definitely an enjoyable and gripping novel but don’t go into it expecting the arc/progression of an interconnected stand-alone.

“The pair of them had hopeful expressions on their faces, as if they were trying to appeal to her better nature—which was a joke because she didn’t really have one.
Well, except when it came to . . . well, the two fighters who stood in front of her.”

I loved the Black Dagger Brotherhood and loved getting to see a bit more of them during Xhex’s chapters. I particularly loved getting to see some more of John Matthew and Xhex as well as Xhex and Blays friendship. Although as much as I enjoyed that, I did find that her chapters didn’t really seem to fit with the rest of the book and because I would get so engrossed in Lydia & Daniel’s chapters and plot, I found myself wanting to skim read them in a similar fashion to how I skim read the Lesser chapters when I reread the BDB books, so I could get back to Lydia and Daniel.

It wasn’t until towards the end of the novel that inclusion of these chapters started making sense and I could understand why Ward included them, but unfortunately by that point they had already detracted from the pacing of the novel and my overall enjoyment.

“I wonder if there’s a plumbing deity somewhere out there I can pray to.”
“You want me to build you a shrine to Drano?”
“Will you?”

There was a moment towards the start where I thought Claimed was going to mirror Dark Lover (sort of like how the Star Wars movies mirror the episodes from the original trilogy) & I got really excited because I LOVE Dark Lover. It always has such a fresh vibe every time I reread it & I can’t put it into words but it’s always just stood out to me in a way a lot of other books, even other BDB books, haven’t (no matter how much I’ve loved them). But Claimed ended up being quite different, which is also great.

As I mentioned above, the paranormal aspect of this book was not at all prominent. Apart from Xhex’s chapters and the occasional line or paragraph during Lydia and Daniels chapters that alluded to something paranormal occurring, the vast majority of the book felt more like a contemporary crime novel.

I really enjoyed getting to know these new characters and am really excited to see where Lydia’s arc – in particular – goes from here and see her grow as the series progresses, and also to get some answers for the copious amount of questions I still have.

Claimed is packed with Ward’s signature dry witty humour and I loved the chemistry between Lydia and Daniel and I’m looking forward to getting to see more of them in the other books.

“I understand. We do work together—”
“That’s not why I’m leaving.”
“So why are you?”
He traced her cheek. Then her jawline. “If I stay, I’m not going to let you get any sleep at all.” He stepped back.

If you love a good plot twist then Claimed is for you. I was honestly not expecting any of the plot twists that got dropped in this book, to the point where my jaw dropped on multiple occasions. I loved how it flipped a lot of the expectations I had on their heads & subverted some of the common Paranormal Romance tropes.

Overall, I did really enjoy this book and I wish I had gone into it knowing that these characters would be the focus of the series as a whole and not have their individual arcs wrapped up at the end, but I am really excited to read the future books and get some more information on the Wolven.

3.5 stars

The first book in J.R. Ward’s new series, this is a surprising mystery/suspense PNR story with a chemistry-filled romance. It’s a spin-off from the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, and while the story itself stands alone, there is a close tie-in that non-BDB readers may struggle to understand. But more about that later.

Lydia is an animal behaviourist who works for a non-profit, passionately protecting local wolves and their habitat. Her biggest adversary is a major hotel chain that is building a new resort in the woods next to her preserve, and she suspects them of poisoning the native wolves as a way of protecting their guests. She’s ruffling feathers, and people have noticed. So when she discovers evidence of people sneaking around her home, and then her colleague goes missing, she’s desperate to figure out who is behind it and what is going on.

Luckily, she has her new groundskeeper, Daniel, by her side. Protective, caring, and kinda badass, Daniel takes it upon himself to protect Lydia and help with her investigations. He’s also gorgeous, and their attraction to each other is evident from the very start. But she’s protecting her heart and keeps him at arm’s length… for a little while anyway.

There is romance, and it’s really sweet. It’s slow-moving with good build-up, there is sexy time and a whole lot of feels, but it’s definitely in the background of the mystery of who is behind the attacks, why, and what is really going on at Lydia’s workplace.

There’s a whole lot of secrets to unravel, and Daniel himself is hiding something about his past, and his presence in town, and it’s a twisty road full of surprises as it all plays out. Like I said, this is only the first part of the story, so while we do get some answers, there’s still a lot more to uncover, and I’m really curious to see how it’s going to happen.

This series takes place in the Black Dagger Brotherhood world, and chronologically fits into the series after book #19, Lover Unveiled. There is a secondary storyline for Xhex that brings the Brotherhood and their world into the picture, and it’s definitely helpful to know about Xhex and her background in order to fully understand what’s going on (bonus points for us getting a bit more John Matthew and seeing how happy they still are together). It’s still a bit confusing yet, but this book sets up an intriguing storyline for Xhex that will continue into the next book, and I’m so curious to see where it’s going and how it will all tie together.

Somewhat different from J.R. Ward’s usual books, this is not a complete story. It’s the beginning of a story which will continue in at least one more book, possibly more. So we’re left on a bit of a cliffhanger, which is not too brutal, but definitely leaves the story unfinished. It brings some surprises and lots of feels, and I’m looking forward to seeing how Lydia and Daniel’s (and Xhex’s) story will continue in the next book.

3.5 stars.

I never considered myself a lover of the mystery and thriller genre but Claimed proved me wrong!

Here’s what I loved:
The writing is completely flawless. Its informative, engaging, and witty. I thoroughly enjoyed that aspect of the book. It’s heavy on mystery and suspense and I didn’t expect that but loved it immensely.

The mystery. Yup, never thought I’d say that, but I was definitely hanging on each chapter to see when or if we’d get the next clue or surprise.

The characters stand out. They are well written and believable. Lydia, an animal behaviorist is so compassionate and caring. Her love for the wolves she’s pledged to save endeared her to me. Daniel is the newly hired groundskeeper working with her. He’s selfless, protective, and would give his life to protect Lydia. Their attraction was immediate, but this is still a slowburn.

The surprise near the end. How the heck did I not see it coming?! I was so focused on the wrong thing. Ugh! I don’t even know what to think at this point except to wait patiently for the next book in the series!

Lydia Susi is dedicated to studying her wolves. She's part of a research project tagging and tracking them and making sure they continue to thrive. When she comes across another poisoned wolf, she suspects the new developer who is working to get rid of the wolves habitat for a new luxury hotel.

When a drifter comes to town looking for a job, he comes to Lydia to apply for her open maintenance position. She's drawn to Daniel John, but is hesitant since he's told her he doesn't stay in one place very long. But there is definite attraction between them that they both won't be able to resist.

I was pulled right into this story. There is a lot of information in this book as it sets up how this world relates to the Black Dagger Brotherhood world. The connection between Claimed and BDB comes through Xhex who is having nightmares about her past, and her hellren John Matthew who wants to help her. Turns out that Xhex knows something about what's going on up on that mountain. I've never been a big Xhex fan, but she and JM felt like old friends in this story.

There is a different sort of connection between Lydia and Daniel John. There was physical attraction for sure, but it's a different sort of yearning from the BDB couples. I don't know if that explains it, but I did like the relationship between Lydia and Daniel from the start. It was steamy and full of promise, but the other aspects of introducing this world took precedence over their connection until the late pages.
I couldn't help but wonder if there is a connection between John Michael and Daniel John -- that two first name thing and I'm hoping there's more to Daniel's background than we know so far in the story.

There's a lot to this story that happens in the final twenty percent of the book. I loved the ending here. It wasn't hard to figure out there would be unresolved stuff too when I still had so many questions 80 percent in, but I didn't make mind (too much) although ..well I won't say more because I don't want to spoil, but you'll be holding your breath in those final pages.

I NEED more of this world. I have so many questions..

There's something I really like about JR Ward's writing in her non-BDB stories. Even though this one is set in the BDB world, it still has a different tone and voice which I loved. Maybe I just pay more attention in a fresh series. And I found Claimed to be fresh and familiar at the same time and it made my time spent reading worthwhile.

Can't wait for more of this story!

Lydia Susi cares about the wolves on her preserve, enough to become a target. A shadowy figure threatens her, and new hire Daniel Joseph saves her. She wants to trust him, though he has secrets of his own.

Claimed is the start of a new series called Lair of the Wolven. It's in the same world as the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. There are cameos of those characters in this book, but the only thing you would need to know about them is more or less explained in the passages where they appear. (Knowing the terms that Ward uses ahead of time would be helpful, but you can figure it out if you've never read the Black Dagger Brotherhood books.)

The story here focuses on Lydia and is told from her primary perspective. She cares about the wolves and hates that the resort being built puts them in danger for the sake of profits. She's loud about her discontent with just about everyone, and it becomes worse after getting the local news involved. Of course, that paints a target on her back, and we have aspects of a thriller begin as someone starts to hunt her. Of course her new hire Daniel knows more than just the random handyman skills, but we see a glimmer of more as the thriller aspect of the story kicks into high gear. I do enjoy the awkward flirting that the two do, as he really doesn't have much of a sense of humor, and Lydia's is just as stilted. It's the facepalming kind of flirting you'd watch adolescents do, but they genuinely have a physical attraction and a rapport formed even before the threat to Lydia's life.

Without spoiling anything, the final few chapters had some surprises that came out of nowhere. I would've appreciated some kind of warning for Lydia's secret, since the entire time we've been focusing on Daniel hiding things from her. I couldn't help but wonder if everyone in that small town had weird secrets because there were too many oddities that weren't explained. I know this is book one, but what I can recall of the first Black Dagger Brotherhood book was that it felt complete. The cliffhanger feel of this ending disappointed me a bit, but I'm still curious how this series will go.

Claimed
Book #1 Lair of the Wolven
J R Ward


Claimed, book 1 in the Warden’s new series, set in the world of the BDB is unparalleled and as unique a concept as the Black Dagger Brotherhood is. The main protagonists Lydia and Daniel are exceptional characters, well thought out and very complex, but they’re not alone as there are some super secondary characters that are extremely important to the storyline and will definitely make it to book 2 and beyond. With a one-of-a-kind storyline where everyone is keeping secrets an in-your-face narrative, heart-stopping scenes, some jaw-dropping revelations and a spine-tingling cliffhanger, readers will have a hard time putting this edge of your seat read down. And will have an equally hard time waiting for the next installment in summer of 2022.

Lydia Susi loves working as a behaviorist for the wolf study project in upstate New York but lately there are some strange goings on, for one her boss is suddenly AWOL, the project is out of money and more important and more disastrous someone is poisoning the wolves. She’s pretty sure it’s the new luxury hotel complex going up right next to the wolves protective acreage and if it’s the last thing she does she will prove it. But first she needs to hire a new groundskeeper because as luck would have it everything around the project site is falling apart. Luckily a prime male specimen just happened to walk into her office to apply for the position.

Daniel Joseph is on a secret mission and getting hired as the new groundskeeper for the wolf study project is the first step. Unfortunately when Daniel meets his new prospective boss its lust at first sight and so now he has the double duty of keeping her in the dark and keeping his hands off her.

Meanwhile back at the BDB mansion in Caldwell, ever since rescuing the young male from the experimental lab Xhex is having flashbacks and daymares about her own time as a captive in an illegal lab and putting her mate through hell as she thrashes and fights. If that’s not bad enough she just learned she’s starred in one of V’s dreams and when he confronts her about it “Wolven” is all he says.

About the Warden:
J.R. Ward is the author of more than thirty novels, including those in her #1 New York Times bestselling Black Dagger Brotherhood series. There are more than fifteen million copies of her novels in print worldwide, and they have been published in twenty-six different countries. She lives in the south with her family.

^^^^Warning! This review is going to include spoilers!^^^^

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Last warning – spoilers!

If you have not read at least a part of Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series, I think that you might find yourself a little lost with this one. While it is technically the first of a new series, it is a connected series and characters from the BDB world do appear. And apparently will be a pretty big part of it going forward. I have read quite a few BDB books but stopped a few years back because, for me, there was just too much going on in each one. I felt overwhelmed but I loved Ward’s writing & characters, and I do here as well, so I was excited at the idea of something “new”. Unfortunately that isn’t quite what we get.

Buuuut, for those that are BDB fans, I think that this could be promising. Claimed delivers a world that is intriguing in all that is going on unseen. And, since it ends on a cliffhanger (upsetting quite a few reviewers, btw), there is quite a bit to look forward to uncovering. I think that we get spoiled with most romance series because we expect for the main characters to have a HEA type ending and then we move on to other characters in the world. But because it is open ended, Claimed feels more like an introduction than the first book in a series.

Going into it knowing that, I think, would help a lot of people feel better about the pacing. It’s a slow unfolding but I found myself caught up in finding out exactly what is going on. Understanding that everything doesn’t get wrapped up by the end of the book would probably have helped me settle down and enjoy how things develop.

So, reading this you might think that it isn’t worth picking up but I think that’s wrong. I enjoyed Lydia and her dedication to the area’s wolves. And while Daniel is kind of a typical man-of-mystery drifter, he makes a good match for Lydia and I was curious exactly how he fit into things. I loved Candy, the receptionist, and her quirky, mouthy, in your face self. And I’m super intrigued to she how the mysterious local sheriff fits into things.

Overall, I think that this one has a very specific audience that needs to go into being aware of what to expect to truly be appreciated. But if you can get past a few of the more common complaints, and just let things come when they are ready, I think that you’ll find yourself involved and looking forward to what’s next.

Confession time. I am a huge fan of J.R. Ward and The Black Dagger Brotherhood. I was super excited to learn about this new series and the first book did not disappoint!

Lydia is trying to protect the wolves from a large hotel chain developer that has purchased land next to the preserve. Wolves are dying. She cannot locate her boss. Shady things are happening. Daniel Joseph appears out of nowhere asking if she has any work for him and she can’t help her attraction to him. What is his role in all of this ??
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If you are a big fan of Black Dagger Brotherhood you will love this one. BDB makes an appearance in this one and you learn the connection at the end. I can’t wait for the next one!

Thank you to @socialbutterfly_pr, netgalley , pocketbooks and the author for the #gifted copy.