When I read Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy, I was immediately impressed. Here was someone who knew how to weave an enthralling story with a love and passion for conserving the natural world. In Once There Were Wolves, Inti Flynn, her twin sister, and a team of biologists settle into rural Scotland to reintroduce wolves to the environs, much against the wishes of the area farmers.

Inti and her sister, having endured their own share of trauma, are in the process of healing. They seek solace in the tranquility of Scotland. As the wolves flourish, Inti yearns for her own sense of belonging. However, when a farmer is found dead, Inti is aware that the blame will fall on her beloved wolves. In her quest to maintain harmony in all aspects of her life, Inti begins to unravel...

I quite enjoyed this. It was very atmospheric. The story wasn't predictable, and I liked that! It made me want to go to the Scottish highlands and run around with wolves... heh. Okay, maybe with cats. I am more of a cat person.

I looooved Migrations by this authors so I was really excited when I saw she had a new book out! Although it didn't hit me like her previous novel, Once There Were Wolves still packs a punch.

It has all the exquisite nature descriptions and fantastic writing I adore about this author and her unique storytelling carries you through such a journey it was hard to put this one down. I had some trouble understanding the mirror-touch synesthesia part of the story and almost felt like it was unnecessary. It was new to me, and felt a bit unreal (although I know it IS real!) but just glossed over initially that I had a hard time understanding it and why it was relevant to the story.

I'm not sure the ending really worked for me either. It was not what I expected, and I don't know if it was just too unrealistic, or just a bit too over the top.

This book had everything I enjoy in a book. The setting is in the Scottish Highlands and centers around twins Aggie and Inti Flynn. Inti is part of a team that reintroduces wolves back in the wild…until a farmer was found dead. Inti has mirror-touch synesthesia and can feel other's pain, human and animals alike. This is a difficult condition for her.

This book covers sensitive themes like rape and abuse, mystery & thriller, environmental and climate change. It is a beautifully written novel about families and sisterhood. The writing is a deep review of complex characters background going between past and present.

McConaghy writes an emotional, poignant and heart breaking tale. The audio narration was moving.

I spent the past couple of years telling people about Migrations, one of the most entrancing stories I’ve ever read, and now I will spend the next couple telling them about Once There Were Wolves. Charlotte McConaghy has done it again with a powerful story about the fragility, resilience, and animalistic brutality of human life and the natural world that surrounds us, Such a talented writer with alluring prose and turn of phrase that captures depths of meaning. Absolutely brilliant writing just as in Migrations - writing that makes you want to linger longer in each and every word - atmospheric, visceral, achingly beautiful. Cannot wait to read what she creates next.

Saskatoon Maarleveld complemented McConaghy’s writing well and did a first-rate job at conveying the emotion of Once There Were Wolves.

I absolutely loved Charlotte McConaghy's Migrations, and this did not have the same weight, even if it touched on dark themes. The book was thoughtful and quiet and entertaining, if a bit unmemorable. The narration by Saskia Maarleveld was very good.

This was a great book, blending my love of animals and murder mystery and suspense into a perfect cup of tea. I learned so much about wolves and their importance in the forest's ecology. The audiobook was very well done, I highly recommend it. I always appreciate when the narrator's talent and that of the author compliment each other so well.

Overall, I rate this one 4 stars 🤩
Thanks netgalley for giving me the advanced pdf so that I can share my thoughts and opinions with y'all 🧡

This was downright one of my favorite books ever. it is so beautiful. i loved the role of animals. i loved the violence and strive for peace. i love the way McConaghy seamlessly blends the reality of a climate apocalypse with everyday life.

A realistic literary fiction + murder mystery combo that you don't want to sleep on.

Inti and her team are reintroducing wolves into the Scottish Highlands after they died out in the 18th century. Inti has a condition that causes her to feel the pain of others and the author really leans into this. Many emotional traumas unfold in the book, in great detail. Inti and her twin sister were raised by two very different parents: their father a naturalist and their mother a detective. The girls have learned much from both parents and bring their knowledge together to perform their task.

I listened to Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy on audiobook. I enjoyed the narrator and the story. This is one of those books though that I would have preferred to hold in my hands and re-read sections as I went.

Inty Flynn has arrived in a remote Scottish village with a team of scientists. The group is there to work on reintroducing wolves back into the environment. Inty has worked on similar projects in Alaska and Yellowstone and is a wolf expert. She expects resentment and fear from the people living there, most of whom are sheep farmers and she is not disappointed. The people are adamantly against bringing wolves into their lives. Intry tells them about the ways that wolves improve the wild. Predators are necessary to keep the animals that graze down, so that they don't eat all the young growth of trees and so that the weak and old are taken from the herds. But the populace just expects that the wolves will kill their livestock and present a danger to humans, even though Inty has explained that wolves are shy creatures, afraid and leery of humans.
Along with her knowledge, Inty has brought her twin sister, Aggie. Aggie doesn't go out, her mind shattered by a marriage when her husband regarded her as his property and enforced that belief with his fists. The women have fled from him and Aggie's greatest fear is that he will track them down and force his way back into their lives. She only trusts Inty as she and Inty have always lived together and been there for each other. Most people don't even know that Inty has a sister.

As time goes on, Inty starts a relationship with the local police chief, Duncan. Duncan also has a history with violence but Inty slowly starts to believe that she might have a future with him. At least, until Stuart is killed. He is a local farmer, vocal against the wolf project and furious with Inty as she has outed him as a wifebeater. When he is killed, Inty knows that the town will think the wolves were responsible and she is right. Can Inty protect those she loves, Aggies and the wolves?

I listened to this book and it was a great choice. The prose is slow and haunting and the narrator reflected that. I had time to settle in and imagine myself in the remote Scottish highlands, to feel the love Inty had for her sister and the wolves and to feel the fear that Inty feels as she comes to believe that everything she loves will be taken from her. Along the way, I learned quite a bit about wolves and their place in the ecology of a forest. This book is recommended for literary fiction readers.

Migrations was brilliant. It was tied withThe House in the Cerulean Sea for my favorite read in 2020. It's been over a year (I received a digital ARC) and I still think of Franny and the book's absolutely perfect ending.

This is just to say that when I was granted a digital ARC of this one, I was hesitant. I did not want to be disappointed. Then I read the first sentence:

“When we were eight, Dad cut me open from throat to stomach.”

I was in. I did not put the book down. I was captivated by Inti, her condition, her passion for wolves, her devotion to her sister; and the more I learned about her, the more I wanted to know. When I finished the book I reached out to my bookish friends to share what impressed me the most: In both Migrations and Wolves, McConaghy creates characters who are living with childhood trauma, but unlike other authors who seem to include mental illness sorely for shock value, McConaghy treats these women with respect and I appreciate that.

If you have read Migrations: know that you have another main character who is obsessed with a species of animal, flashbacks that help you understand the character's motivation, a memorable climax, and another unforgettable ending.

This book has everything I enjoy. It has a murder mystery thriller, environmental and climate change, family relations, heavy topics , past and present timeline and complex character situations . I was totally immersed .

While the atmosphere of this book is beautiful, it just wasn’t for me. The pace was just so slow and the mystery was underwhelming. The audiobook was done so well that I definitely recommend this to someone who is looking for a beautifully written drama.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

Easily in my top ten reads of 2021. An excellent example of incredible storytelling, Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy takes its readers on a journey through Scottish highlands somewhere in the near future where a team of biologists are trying to reintroduce gray wolves into the remote dying landscape.

I don't know how Charlotte McConaghy does it, but somehow she manages to deliver a breathtakingly evocative and compelling story along with educating her readers about nature, climate change and ecological regeneration.

I loved the characters along with all their complexities, strengths and flaws. I was utterly fascinated by everything I learned about the natural world and the majestic creatures that are wolves. And also, at times I couldn't hold back those tears, because the heart and profundity in Ms McConaghy's writing is absolutely overwhelming.

Once There Were Wolves has everything one could hope for in a book, compelling characters, gorgeous prose, an unexpected mystery and a beautiful tragic story full of hope. A raw and powerful book that is bound to leave a strong mark on its readers, this one should not be missed. I'll go reread Migrations (that I also adored) while waiting for her next book.

I partially listened to the audiobook and Saskia Maarleveld did an exceptional job narrating it, making the listening experience an immersive and emotional affair.

CW - trauma, violence, rape, abuse, mirror touch synesthesia, toxic relationship

Atmospheric and great on audio. You really become one with nature and also the not so best side of human emotions while reading this one.

For someone who is so smart, Inti definitely didn’t make the smart choices.

Off the bat I had a feeling she was someone who can definitely be stubborn and outspoken for what she does especially when it comes to her wolves shes studying. What I did find rather odd is having to take care of her twin sister, Aggie. Her twin sister is very odd. She’s not mentioned often. It’s until towards the ending and I find that weird. For someone who I thought wasn’t relevant, she indeed became relevant when the plot was thickening.

I love the nature and outdoor setting of this book. I don’t really much about that. It’s always modern and contemporary places so this was something new for me to read.

Even though this was about the wolves, it really wasn’t about the wolves. It’s about the sisters and that’s all I’m going to say. I wasn’t very attached to the characters but the story was an attention grabber with the drama of the bond between sisters, the love interest, the murder, and of course the wolves. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. I listened to the story and the narration was entertaining so I say you can’t go wrong with picking this book in either format.

I think the most important thing for me to write here is this: trigger warning times 1,000. Though book is very well written, it's a surprise what it ends up being about to me. It's like half of a book about releasing wolves into the wild and how hard it is for nature to be accepted and understood by humanity, and half a book about being raped, abused and murdered and just some really heavy topics. I feel the need to inform people about that because there are so many triggers out there for people and I feel like that needs to be brought up because PTSD is real and the last thing any of us want to do is relive it. And this book forces you to do that. I have no problem with anybody using those events and speaking on them as I think that's also important, but I think that there should be warnings. It's like the first half of the book is about the wolves and relationships and the second half of the book is about a lot of blood. lol but I can't say it wasn't well written. It's just not really my kind of book. That being said it's clear she's a good writer, it was a story that I didn't see coming which in and of itself is a talent and I do not fault her for what she wrote, I only wish that the mornings had not been overlooked. I think it's very possible a lot of people might enjoy this book it's just that it's not my cup of tea. For something so brutal it sure feels like and after school special by the end.

I am such a fan of Charlotte McConaghy’s lush, haunting, evocative prose.

Her debut novel Migrations was one of my favorite novels of 2020, so I was thrilled to get my hands on Once They Were Wolves. It was released in early August, so you can grab a copy now.
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McConaghy uniquely interweaves two kinds of threats in her novels: person versus person & person versus nature. The central tension of this novel rests at the intersection of these threats.

Inti Flynn and her twin Aggie arrive in the Scottish Highlands with a team of biologists as part of an effort to rehabituate wolves into what was once their natural habitat.

As we think about the existential threat that is climate change, this was a fascinating component based on actual work done in Yellowstone Park and ongoing debates currently happening in Scotland. The theory being that wolves were eliminated by humans, but they act as natural predators. If reintroduced, they can help manage animal populations that have gone unchecked in their absence and restore balance to the ecosystem.

The challenge is that ranch farmers, faced with years of challenging economic struggles, fear the wolves will feed on their livestock.

In addition to this ecological theme, the book grapples with the role of humans as perhaps the most dangerous predator of all as secrets, toxic masculinity, self preservation and fear pit individuals against one another and test the strength of even the strongest relationships.
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Many thanks to partners @netgalley @flatiron_books @macmillanusa for sharing this book with me.

Woah. This novel is beautifully-intense. With truly interesting details and turns, this is the story of a woman surviving in a world that is often violent and dangerous for women. I rooted for the protagonist from the beginning til the end and find myself holding my breath even now when I think of the character. All of it - the whole book - is A LOT. For me, it was too much at times - and I live my life getting the biggest popcorn available at the movies knowing I won’t eat it all. But this was a lot. I kept telling myself to let go and just see the book’s many twists as symbolic representations of danger so many women face. Whew. Book clubs - this is your book! Heartfelt thanks to Flatiron for the advanced copy. I’m grateful.

This copy was an audiobook from Netgalley.
The narration was very well done for a really good book.
It’s a good mystery that involves murder, nature and relationships of all kinds. It is well written and it kept my interest from beginning to the end.