Sometimes you just need a paranormal romance to sweep you off your feet and onto the back of a motorcycle (chuckle).

Rien Gray opens with a chase scene and keeps the surprises coming throughout the story. Christiana is on the run from a violent ex-boyfriend who just happens to be a cop. Lucky for her, over the horizon comes a hot stud on a motorcycle. Micah has a few secrets of her own, but they just make her more intriguing as the chase is on.

There are tense moments and some violence. Then there are some steamy moments that have you saying, “Oh my…yes, please.” I have to say that I agree with Christiana and the water scenes are my favorite too.

Gray has created an entire found family in which you want to know everyone’s story and watch them get their happy endings too. I love the dynamics and the potential for inner family war (on a larger scale). The politics kind of reminded me of Serenity Snow’s books which I thoroughly enjoy. I hope Gray continues with these characters and builds on the world they have already created.

Her Wolf in the Wild deals with family issues, domestic abuse, rape, and more. Gray handles these issues delicately and with respect. This being said, this book is a romance and the author remembers their intention. It’s not that dark and it is a great fun read.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me a free eARC of this book to read in exchange for my review!

Thank you to Netgalley and the published for giving me an advanced copy of this book to read and review.

This book was super promising for the first half of the book and then the second half it felt like a let down. The world building and the pack was so interesting to me and very well done. But the external conflict just didn't work for me - I loved the two MCs together and just wanted to see them together the whole time and nothing else.

I thought this was a super sweet romance. Though if I’m honest, the platonic love between Micah and her pack-mates was my favorite part of the book. The book is chocked full of representation. The writing is easy to follow. The editing is fairly clean. And the whole thing actually concludes, no cliffie.

However, I did feel a little bit like the villain was villainous just because. There wasn’t much steam in the book; no sex until the last chapter, in fact. There was also very little down time for the reader to get to know the main characters outside of the drama, which I found a little exhausting.

[SPOILER] Lastly, I was confused by the fact that Christina was supposed to be hiding from her crazy ex, but just went to work like normal—the most predictable place to find her. It made no sense that she would decide to do this, and having done it, it made no sense that he didn’t find her there. I was also irritated that she made no effort to inform anyone that she hadn’t, in fact, been kidnapped. I understand she was nervous about in-person police working with the ex. But she made no effort to—or even seemed to consider—informing anyone of anything and it felt like a convenient oversight for no reason but plot progression.

All in all, however, I enjoyed more of this than I didn’t and would happily read another Gray book.

Rien Gray just writes in a way I enjoy. I've already loved their monster romance novella A Strip of Velvet, which also came out this year, and Her Wolf In the Wild delivers on the same intimacy and depth.

The plot and ultimate confrontation are pretty straightforward but that's doesn't take away from the personal journeys this is ultimately about. We spend most of time with Christiana working through the terrible situation her ex put her in and learning to trust these people she just met. Meanwhile, Micah is in conflict with her wolf side from a past altercation and struggling for control. The comfort and protection these two offer each and other was lovely to see and I was rooting for them from the first moment they met.

Combined with the magical aspects and more surrounds these wolf shifters, it's a well-rounded slow burn of a story.

I started this book with mild expectations. I've read w/w books written about werewolves before that were either hit or miss. This book was a hit.

Taking place in the deserts of AZ, a land which I am very familiar with, allowed me to imagine myself in the story better. The MC Christiana is also Latino, so it was nice to see someone I could also relate to in that sense. The imagery as a whole was wonderful for this story. The chemistry when meeting Micah while running away for her life from her abusive ex was thrilling from start to finish. Reading from both the MC's povs was fun too. I think the author has a good grasp on it compared to others. The sense of 'pack' and belonging that Micah showed and gave to her members, even the young Connor who was still trying to figure out his place in the werewolf to Rebel, who definitely knew who she was and what'd she do to protect her mate, was also heart warming. I was most intrigued by the Wardens and the rules that the werewolves had to live by. I would've loved to have learned more about them. They left me with the most questions in the story. I honestly think that's what caught my attention most, and I admit I was a bit disappointed that they didn't talk more about them and what was going on with Micah and her powerful mother. I had expected the mother to have some sort of interference with the pack as they kept mentioning her on and off with caution somewhat. Maybe that's something for another book? The romance between Christiana and Micah was standard it seemed between two young woman from different worlds. The werewolf aspect didn't seem too much of an issue between them. There was respect between both beast and human. I would've liked a little bit more comedy but considering the setting, it wasn't necessary. Overall, it was a decent book and enjoyable.

In any case, this was a nice read, and I look forward to future books by this author, especially if they contain more supernatural romances.

Her Wolf in the WIld is an entertaining fated mates story. It's not the first time I've seen the MC storyline for shifters, but there were some elements that stood out - particularly the wardens. The world Rien Gray has created here certainly has a lot of potential, and I don't know if another book is planned, but I'd like to see where things go for some of the other characters. There was also some intriguing backstory for Micah that would make for an exciting storyline.
As for this one, the story has good pacing, and it has a fair amount of action and danger to keep the blood pumping. The romance between Micah and Christiana is sexy, and they do have good chemistry. The danger comes by way of a crazy ex, and while I liked the angle, I had some issues with the way things happened. There were some things that I felt were overlooked or glossed over to further the plot, and those things stood out. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the romance, and I'd definitely be interested in reading more about this world.

Rien Gray said queer latina shifter romance and I RAN.

This was a fun, low stakes, paranormal romance with a heavy dose of diversity that I'm constantly craving.
I love a good mate bond in my werewolf romances and this definitely delivered on the insta-love without taking it to a weird place.

But Micah's rag tag pack of queer wolves was absolutely my favorite part of this book and I would love to read their stories as well!

This is 2* for the plotting, 4* for the romance, 5* for the large stoic sapphic biker with a heart of gold type of situation.

I’d be lying if I didn’t admit up front that Micah was the most compelling part of the reading experience. If you recall my review of A Heart of Blood and Ashes by Milla Vane, you may remember that a person who can make their love interest come by abs alone is one of my romance gold standards. Micah is that kind of woman. A 6ft tall supernaturally strong werewolf who rescues people in distress *and* has ab-sex powers. Where is the sign up sheet?

More seriously, I found this a very compelling read in so many ways. The story opens with Christiana, a Mexican-American dancer and bar tender, fleeing from her abusive ex-boyfriend, who also happens to be a state trooper. When her tire blows on a lonely stretch of highway she thinks that’s it, until a motorcycle comes over the horizon and stops. A huge brooding woman in leathers gets off and, realising the stakes, offers to help her. Christiana doesn’t know why she instantly trusts this woman, nor why Micah would go out of her way in the circumstances. She definitely doesn’t know that Micah is an alpha, leading a pack of rogue queer werewolves in the Arizona desert, or that they’re feeling the first twinges of a mate bond.

The plot that spools out from here is unlikely and distressing at times, as Christiana’s ex relentlessly hunts her down and she and Micah are forced to fight back. It’s unnecessarily twisted in parts, and the denouement was disturbing to me. It was the least satisfactory part of the book, engineering conflict that felt at odds with the thoughtfulness of the rest of the story. Because the affirming diverse queer world of the Hounds of God pack, all bikers, is a wonderful place to spend time. I loved Alejandra and Talisa, a bonded sapphic couple; Royal, a non-binary mechanic; and Connor, a young trans man just growing into his wolf. They’ve carved out a good world for themselves in the wilderness that gives Christiana a chance to relearn who she is after surviving years of psychological abuse and gaslighting. I also appreciated how the story tackled the corruption and use of intimidation and power by the police - there was no doubt they were the bad guys here.

And did I mention Micah is hot? No? Well, let me tell you more. There’s a lovely slow burn dynamic between her and Christiana, in spite of the insta-love inherent in the mate trope. Their intimate scenes were sensual and patient, and ultimately fiery. The writing in these sections is also lovely - Rien Gray has a fabulous turn of phrase that I could read all day.

In spite of the meh plot devices, I would definitely read more in a series, and I’ll be going on to Rien’s romantic suspense duology.

CWs: MC recently in abusive long term relationship - psychological abuse and gaslighting; destroying property and threatening; continued threats and physical abuse on the page; descriptions of violent assault against another woman; vigilante justice; violence leading to wounds

Quick read for the weekend.

A good blend of paranormal and romance genres.

Shifter wolf meets girl. Chemistry overrides basic survival rules for wolf and an unavoidable love begins to grow.

Some angst, some suspense, a bit of violence.

I would like to read more by this author and about this collection of characters.

I really wanted to like this book, as I have a soft spot for werewolves. This one just didn't cut it. The two main characters fall into insta-love, which is a werewolf trope, but there's no chemistry to back it up. Other than physical attractiveness, I couldn't figure out why the two liked each other. It's also painfully obvious that the author is both white and non-American. Throughout this book, there were moments where I couldn't help but cringe, especially during discussions of who "rules" land. There was absolutely no mention of indigenous people or how they factored into anything. The world building was flimsy at best and insensitive at worst.

So this is my first time reading Rien Gray's stuff, and it is pretty solid. I am glad that I got a werewolf romantic thriller for spooky season. I liked the lore and the characters. It does some new things, but still stays with some of the tropes we are now coming to expect with werewolf paranormal romances; a brooding alpha type, found family, mating shenanigans, and isolation. I kind of found it hilarious that alpha were Micah Nubilo formed a vigilante biker gang of the misfit castoff weres in her mother's territory. She's also been haunted by a violent outburst she had when she tried to save a young woman from a sadistic serial killer. Then you have Christiana Arjean, a woman who is running from an abusive ex - after her and Micah meet for the first time, she is drawn to the soft, brooding woman and her found family.

Like I said, this is a nice paranormal romance with some decent thriller stuff thrown in. I think what lowers my enjoyment a bit is that there's so much lore and worldbuilding that doesn't really get explored here. It's hinted at, and there's so much stuff to dig into with regards to Micah's pack and their motivations. Some of their stories get told to us, but man, this seems to be such an interesting world, I hope we see more of it. Overall, though if you want a thoughtful, if slightly by the numbers werewolf paranormal romance, this is for you. I enjoyed it and love the ideas that Gray has, even if they were somewhat limited by genre tropes.

*I received this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Even if i liked this book and found it entertaining I found it a bit on the average side.
The world building is interesting, there's a lot of potential but it never became exciting or gripping.
The characters are bit underdeveloped and the romance is sweet but very average.
I think this could have been a gripping story but somehow it didn't work for me.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I read an assassin series by Rien Gray that I enjoyed, and I was looking forward to checking out a shifter book by the author. The book opens right in the action with Christiana on the run from her abusive ex. She doesn’t have a plan or anything with her, she’s just running from him. Micah then rescues Christiana, and Micah already knows who Christiana is to her. But Christiana has no idea there are humans that can transform into wolves, no idea they have mates, and has no idea what to think when Micah takes her far into the woods to where the pack lives.

For as interested as I was to read this book, it didn’t work for me. Once Christiana goes with Micah, we meet the pack and start to learn their history. A lot of information was piled on about Micah’s backstory, as well as the stories of the pack members. It didn’t flow well for me and I found the style made it more difficult to get into the book. Micah also has a family history with her mother, who is higher up the wolf chain of command, and it wasn’t all a smooth flowing, cohesive story.

Christiana is supposed to be hiding out from her ex, but she still goes to her regular job. Her ex is trying to track her in all the ways, yet she’s there at her job and this made no sense at all to me. The ex is shown as a caricature bad guy and his character wasn’t developed at all to be interesting. The mate bond between Christiana and Micah, which is usually the highlight of a mate story, was lackluster as well and I didn’t feel much connection or heat came off the page. There was some shifting and a protective alpha. However, while this book could work better for another reader, it wasn’t the book for me.

I so wanted to love this book. It hits the vibe I was hoping for in a fall read. Unfortunately for me, the pacing was a bit too slow. I liked the main characters and the setting by the story lagged a bit.

Micah finds and assists Christiana when she is stranded while attempting to escape her ex-boyfriend. Christiana is accepting of Micah's club members and joins them. She is an outsider to them and human but they quickly discover how much she means to Micah. I enjoys the female empowerment and sense of community support.

Rien Gray is a new to me author and that I love shifter romances, so I couldn't wait to get into this one. Even though I loved the characters quite a bit, the plot needed to be fleshed out a bit more. It felt like little things here and there were missing, which kept me from fully immersing myself in the story.

I definitely want to give this author a try especially if there are more shifters in the cards.

I’m going to be honest: I’m not a big fan of motorcycle club romances. But when I saw this was sapphic werewolf fated-mates MC romance? Sold!

When Christiana’s car breaks down on a long desert highway while running from her abusive cop boyfriend, Micah stops to pick her up, and then, inexplicably, offers to let her stay with her motorcycle club while she gets back on her feet. Despite all the reasons she shouldn’t stay with a stranger, Christiana feels drawn to Micah and can’t help but trust her, even if her club seems a bit incredulous to begin with. But they have good reason to be wary of an outsider: their club is actually a werewolf pack, and revealing themselves to humans is a death sentence. Micah can’t help but want to protect Christiana, though the reason why would probably scare her off forever.

“Baby, we’re the monsters that go bump in the night. You don’t have to be apologizing to us.”
“I only have one monster in my life,” Christiana insists, with far more force than I expect, “and Micah said she’d keep me safe from him.”


Micah’s the alpha of their little pack. She thinks, she plans, and she doesn’t act impulsively – except for one incident she deeply regrets and, now, Christiana. Her pack is happy to camp in the woods in a national park, catching their own meat and bathing in a local lake. For some of them, the pack is their only hope of survival – Connor, for instance, struggles to control his shift, so would’ve been put to death in another pack. Sheltering Christiana may mean bringing more police attention to the pack, the last thing they need. For her part, Christiana thinks there’s something not quite right with how kind Micah is, but the last thing she expects is that they’d turn out to be werewolves.

“My throat tightens as Christiana lays her head against my shoulder. Why would she want eternity after what he’s done to her, what he’s doing now? How would it feel like anything but a trap, escaping one person only to be bound by another?”


Despite the fated mates insta-love, it’s a slow burn romance in terms of their physical relationship, which is shown through their dual first person POVs. For one thing, Micah is hesitant to push Christiana into anything considering she’s just getting out of an abusive relationship, though Micah has other reasons for going slow.

I thought the use of the motorcycle club as a pack was interesting. There’s a bit about the werewolf politics in the book, mostly in regards to the cruel and violent way Micah’s mother controls the northwestern packs. Considering the pack consists of another f/f fated mates couple plus an ace (and possible trans?) and nonbinary characters, it’s definitely got a lot of queer found family feels. Their interactions with each other and with Christiana were one of my favorite parts of the book.

As for cons, a lot of the conflict with the toxic ex didn’t work for me. He knew what bar she worked at, so I was confused as to why she felt safe going back to work and why he never looked for her there. The way that plot line wrapped up at the end also strained my suspense of disbelief.

Overall, I’d give it around 3.5 stars. While I had some issues with the plot around Christiana’s ex, I liked the queer werewolf pack and the development of the relationship between Christiana and Micah. This feels like the start of a new series, and if so, I’ll definitely pick up the next book in the series.

I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This was a pretty average paranormal-romance book. There was a lot of good potential here, but in the end it was missing some excitement and a deeper storyline. I read Gray’s debut Love Kills Twice, earlier this year and enjoyed it so I think I had expectations that this would be an even better read, which unfortunately it wasn’t. It’s not bad by any means, werewolf stories are always fun, but I don’t believe it will stick with me like their debut did.

There were a lot of good ideas in this book. I liked that the wolf pack was actually a club of lesbian, bi, non-binary, and trans motorcycle riders. I enjoyed the concept of them living in a park and using their might to help people in need. I also liked that they had a character who was a “Warden” who added something new to the werewolf twist, and I also liked the conflict about the main character’s family. There were lots of great little storylines and different places that Gray could have taken things but they all fizzled out. We don’t get to actually ride with the club and see how they help people. We see nothing come from all the mentions of the main character’s family, and finally I felt for sure something was going to happen, that seemed obvious yet a really cool twist to the story, but it didn’t happen either. SPOILER: I thought for sure that Christiana would take on the role of a Warden so she could be with Micah long term and it would open up a new dynamic with Micah’s family. END SPOILER: I haven’t seen anything indicating this might be a series, which is a shame since this world Gray has built has such potential but instead none of the great storylines really turned into anything.

Besides feeling let down from great ideas that never materialized, there was some big eye rolling moments and characters being stupid. A stalker ex is after you so what do you do? You go and hang out at all the spots that he knows where to look for you. It was so dumb that it was hard to overlook, plus the big angst moment also felt really forced so I was rolling my eyes more than once.

The romance is not insta-love in where the characters get together right away, but it is insta-love in that the characters fall for each other right away. I didn’t really mind that because of the whole werewolf mate thing, I love paranormal books so I can give this a pass, but there was something in the relationship that I was missing. I can’t quite put my finger on it but I liked the two together but I didn’t feel like they had to be together. Maybe I needed to see stronger feelings between them since when you are throwing around the ‘soulmate’ word it needs to be powerful. Whatever it was, the romance fell in just the average category for my tastes.

TLDR: A paranormal story with a ton of good ideas, but not enough of them was seen all the way through. This was an average werewolf story, with an average romance, and not enough excitement for the paranormal part. I did have trouble distinguishing who was speaking at times, but hopefully that will be tightened up before this book releases. The story is fine and very readable, but its just not as good as it could have been. Gray has shown they have a lot of potential, so I would definitely read them again.