I'm not sure how I feel about The Wolf. I'm a huge JR Ward fan and have read every book that she has written. I didn't get pulled into this book. I really enjoyed V in the book but I really wanted more of Rio and Lucan.

Rio was a great cop and I loved her spunkiness. She brought a lot of character to the story. Lucan was to die for but I missed a lot of really getting to know him.

The story overall was great but there was much to the imagination that was left off. I loved the brothers in the story and getting to really know V was wonderful.

There were definitely some things that I missed that is in the first book so I am going back to read that and I recommend that be done before entering the world of the prison camp.

This book had a very different feel to it. I can’t quite put my finger on it. It definitely was not a favorite. I am looking forward to the next ones though. The side characters were more interesting.

The romance didn’t feel the same. It felt very rushed. By the end they were in love and it came out of left field. Hopefully this was just a set up for the next few exciting ones.

THE WOLF is the second instalment in JR Ward’s contemporary, adult BLACK DAGGER BROTHERHOOD: PRISON CAMP paranormal romance series-a spin and interconnected series from the author’s Black Dagger Brotherhood. This is wolven/vampire hybrid Lucan, and Caldwell undercover police detective Rio Hernandez-Guerrero’s story line. THE WOLF can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line is revealed where necessary but I recommend reading the series in order for back story and cohesion.


WARNING: Due to the nature of the story line premise including graphic violence, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.


Told from third person perspectives THE WOLF follows several interconnected and diverging pathways focusing on the search for the infamous supernatural Prison Colony that is now connected to a resurgence of drugs in Caldwell New York.Detective Rio Hernandez-Guerrero has been undercover in the hopes of uncovering the who, how and where of the uptick in drug trafficking but Rio finds herself a target of some very powerful people, none of whom are working together but all wanting something from our story line heroine. Wolven/vampire hybrid Lucan is the right hand man to Caldwell’s most powerful supplier but Lucan remains a captive of the people in charge. When a drug deal goes wrong, Lucan finds himself ‘nursing ‘ our heroine back to life, the woman that calls to our hero’s inner wolf.


Meanwhile, Detective Jose De La Cruz finds himself investigating a series of grizzly murders, all with connection to the latest influx of drugs in Caldwell New York. With two of the precincts undercover detectives missing and presumed dead, Jose discovers that all is not well within Caldwell’s police force, and Jose is about to come face to face with a ghost from his past.


Connected to both of the above premise, the Black Dagger Brotherhood, believing they had shut down the infamous Glymera Prison Colony continue to struggle with the latest information that a new set up is prospering outside of New York, a set up of which no one is able to locate or uncover. Knowing our story line heroine is working undercover to ferret out the people involved in the local drug trade, the Brothers are hoping Rio Hernandez-Guerrero will lead them to the prison, so they can shut down the operation, once and for all.


THE WOLF is a complex, detailed and multi-leveled story wherein all of the pathways are interconnected and feed off of one another. Detective Jose De La Cruz plays a pivotal role in the current timeline as Butch’s former partner is struggling with his impending retirement, the missing undercover police officers, the possibility of a dirty cop at the helm of the department, and the ongoing battle to clean up the streets of Caldwell, New York. The Brothers will cross paths with Jose De La Cruz, breaking our hearts as Jose is unable to grasp the loss of his former partner and friend, a friend he knows but is unable to remember.


JR Ward pulls the reader into a dramatic, intense and emotional story that continues to focus on the turmoil and upheaval of a drug epidemic that continues to destroy the lives of everyone involved.





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I love how the beginning of every one of JR wards books begins with us immersed in a different situation. The dark gritty surroundings immediately sets the mood, the pace, and gives you a bit of foreboding excitement for what’s to come. J.R. Ward has the ability to immediately immerse the reader in everything new and exciting. The Wolf shows us the underbelly of the black dagger brotherhood world. The brotherhood, as well as the reader, searches for what’s happening in the dark corners of Cawldwell. We catch glimpses of beloved and new characters in previous books. It makes The Wolf a terrifying and exciting read. I am thrilled about what’s to come in this world. Sharpen those claws and hold tight book friends The Wolf will have you howling with excitement.

No one builds a world quite as well as JR Ward, and The Wolf is no exception. This is book 2 in the BDB spin off, Prison Camp, and it delivers everything you expect from Ward.

Rio and Lucan have a love story that is fraught with danger and illicit activities. I felt as if there was a sort of mystery I was trying to solve. What was really going on here? I loved that aspect. Lucan is a classic BDB tortured hero and Rio is a badass for sure. However, all this "extra" takes away time from the romance, and I felt that loss. You do get lots of peeks as past BDB characters which is the norm for Ward, but again, takes away from this story's characters.

Despite my minor issues, I really loved The Wolf! It is a very intriguing book with lots happening that will keep you furiously flipping pages!

Book two in JR Ward’s Prison Camp series, The Wolf brings readers back to Caldwell with a healthy dose of the Brotherhood in addition to undercover police officer, Rio, and the wolven she falls for, Lucan. Fresh from The Jackal, book one in this series, are Lucan, Mayhem, and Apex. All three are still prisoners of the camp The Jackal, aka Jack, escaped from in book one.

I enjoyed reading The Wolf, for the most part, but there was a lot that bugged me and some of that was a double-edged sword. Vishous, Rhage, Butch, and Wrath get a lot of page time, including some hot and sexy from V and Jane. The problem? It added nothing to Lucan and Rio’s story. We get to see Jack but, again, his time on page added nothing to the romance or the overall story. It felt very gratuitous. On the other hand, we get multiple chapters from Detective José de la Cruz’s POV which flowed organically into the overall story.

I loved Rio. Ward always insists that she has a tough time writing female characters, but I think she does a great job. To quote another favorite author, Rio is ‘da bomb. She kicks ass even when hers has been kicked to oblivion. She’s loyal and handles the prison camp vampires with ease. I loved seeing her interact with Apex and Mayhem which, for me, was when the book really picked up.

Lucan is great. He’s got a tortured hero thing going on which becomes obvious as more of his backstory is revealed. His friendship with Mayhem and Apex is very reminiscent of the Brotherhood friendship and truly that’s where the book stood out. I could have read about them and their hijinks for hours.

For me, the biggest disappointment of The Wolf is how it deviated from The Jackal. The Jackal was very much a paranormal romance. There’s some action thrown in and the backstory of the prison camp bolstered the romance between Jack and Nyx. While there were chapters dedicated to flashbacks featuring Rhage and Darius, those were necessary to Jack’s backstory. All together I can say I fell in love with Jack and Nyx and really felt their connection. The Wolf, on the other hand, read like urban fantasy with multiple POVs, which had nothing to do with the romance. I never really fell in love with Rio and Lucan and preferred their scenes with other characters rather than their time together. The Jackal can easily be read by someone not familiar with the overall BDB world (which is great to bring in new readers!) but, if you’re going to read The Wolf, you’ll definitely need to have some knowledge of the other BDB series.

There is some hot and heavy featuring both couples, Lucan and Rio and (separately) V and Jane which was written in Ward’s sizzling style. There are scenes of kidnapping and sexual assault, so be mindful of that. The ending is rushed, which was very disappointing in regards to the romance; the book definitely could have benefitted from more pages dedicated to Lucan and Rio.