Tried reading a few times and could not get into it unfortunately this was a DNF for me.

Thank you netgalley for the earc in exchange for an honest review.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

All her life, Jules Southby has lived as a boy. Her mother knew that if she had another pregnancy she would die, and her husband was adamant he wanted a son. Jules has known that she has enjoyed more freedom as a young man, than what she would've done as a lady, but there are times she wishes she could be her true self, and not have to hide. Working with her father as a psychologist, she meets the alluring and newly discovered James Winters, the Duke of Wulverton. Thought to have died in a shipwreck, he survived the harsh Canadian winters, first by working with a local wolf pack, and latterly alone. Back at his estate, he struggles with the pomp and expectation that comes with his title, and his mother, the Dowager Duchess, is wanting him to return to society completely. From the first moment they meet, sparks fly between Jules and James, who seemingly sees straight through her disguise, and wants to know more.

I honestly requested this book for 3 reasons: 1, the author; 2, the cover; and 3, the wild synopsis. I really did not know what to expect going in, what with a woman who's pretended to be a man her whole life, and a duke who's lived with wolves for the past few years. However, once you get over a few unbelievable moments, you see the romance blossom between Jules and James, and that they are what each other needs at this moment. As they grew to love each other, there were real moments when I didn't know how they could have a happy ending, but I'm glad at the direction that Reid took in that regard. A fantastic book, that I just couldn't put down!

This is an author I absolutely love! I couldn’t have LOVED this story more! It had angst, tension, longing, lost Duke, disguised heroine, and steam! I didn’t want this one to end! It was utterly perfect! James, Duke of Wulverton, was lost for 10 years in the cold parts of Canada but he survived. He doesn’t like to talk much and most def doesn’t like touches from anyone! Jules is our heroine in disguise, whose father has no idea she’s a woman! Her mother suffered a bad birth so she claimed Jules was a son in order to keep her husband from wanting to try again, but she never got the courage to tell him the truth. Jules studies phycology like her father. She enjoys freedom but longs to be her true self and tell her father. When James’s mother hires Jule’s father to come help James become more like his past self and a Duke, Jules comes along to help. When James meets them, he knows Jules secret and agrees to only talk to her or no one. Jules realizes she feels an attraction to James that she’s never felt before! These two have amazing chemistry!!! Jules shows James how to open up to her, trust her, and eventually accept only her touches! I seriously can’t with these two! They seriously heat up the pages as well as giving me all the feels! I loved watching these two fall in love and how they overcome their fears & past to make an HEA!

Hi Stacy Reid. I think I just became a new fan.

I have now read two of Stacy’s historical romances and both were such a huge success for me. Even if you don’t pick up many historical romances like me, The Wolf and the Wildflower is a must read. I simply cannot get over the last 20% of this book. Obviously, the build up was incredible but I was sitting at a solid 4 stars for this story. Then, the declarations of love and the letter from James almost had me passing out.

There were moments where the angst and longing not only for each other but for Jules and James to have happiness in their own lives made me feel like my heart was in my throat. They longed for independence and to be true to themselves. Their connection as they came to terms with what they wanted for their future was beautiful. This book was perfect and took me completely by surprise.

I was given an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review. The Wolf and the Wildflower is available now!

List of Themes in The Wolf and the Wildflower
- MF Historical Romance
- Secret identity
- Forbidden
- Mutual pining
- SWOON-WORTHY

My Ratings:
Overall - 5⭐️
Angst - 4💗
Tears - 2💧
Spice - 3🌶

I have read most of this author's historical romance books and I like her writing style very much. So I obviously had to read her new work, especially with that intriguing premise. And I enjoyed it so much. James and Jules were amazing together. Their chemistry was everything. Highly recommend it!

Loved it!!! Couldn't just put it down and once was not enough 🤩🤩
I requested for this without even reading the blurb and within the first few pages I got hooked and have been rereading it so many times!

A very well written and of course an unputdownable book!

Ah James and Jules, where to begin? **Treehouse love? **balls and ballgowns? **cute nicknames? **tortured souls finding solace in one another?

Well, firstly with a Stacey Reid romance you know it's going to be carnal. Every character, plot, situation and especially love scenes are going to be EXTREME, "turned up to 11," out of the box and very memorable and this book definitely checks those boxes. Yet, everything was just a little TOO far-fetched and unbelievable.

James, the Duke of Wulverton, has just been found and returned to England after being lost in the wilds of Canada for 10 years alone with a pack of wolves. Yep, Wulverton and a pack of Wolves. Go figure. Only now, his whole family thinks he's an insane heathen because he wants to be outdoors, not dressed in stuffy clothes, sleeping and running around in the forest. I wanted to shake the Duke's family - HARD. They seem stupidly incapable of empathy or even trying to see his side of things. They were extremely selfish characters who only thought about him in terms of how his behavior affected them. Of course, he doesn't want to talk to them or be touched. He's dealing with a lot of stuff. Okay?!

Jules Southby was born a boy, or that's what her father believed when he met her for the first time as a baby and her mother (wanting a reprieve from childbearing) never corrected him. She has always secretly been a girl and her mother has forced her to lie about it her entire life. Yep, you read that right. She's a girl who's been raised as a boy.

Jules is now 23, a psychologist like her father, and very interested in the case of the feral duke who has just come back to England. Let me just say here - Jules' mother making her complicit in this enormous lie is child abuse. I did not care for it as an explanation for having Jules be a cross-dresser, I kept hoping her mother would love Jules enough to tell her husband that she had lied and let Jules be her authentic true female self. I really made me hate her mother and also wonder why her father (a psychologist) never noticed. It was just too far-fetched. So, Jules is dealing with a LOT of stuff too! Okay?!

Anyway, Jules and her father get hired by the dowager duchess to assess her son's mental state. The Duke sees through Jules' disguise instantly, or should I say he smells through it. He is attracted to her distinctly feminine scent. The two form a friendship sharing their traumatic and unusual truths with each other which of course, develops into a carnal love affair. Did I mention he has a secret treehouse where they can be alone? *Wink Wink!

No wonder he likes Jules. She is the first person who listened and tried to understand him.
No wonder she likes the Duke. He's the only person to ever know her secret and treat her like a woman (a VERY desired woman.)

This book is as hard to put down as it is completely bonkers. It's definitely a historical romance that's characters are hard to forget. It is sexy escapism at its best Just be ready to leave your "bs meter" at the door and go along for the fictional ride.

The premise for The Wolf and the Wildflower really intrigued me. I don’t think I’ve ever read anything like it, but I really enjoyed it. I read it in a single sitting. I have a thing for scents and love when men smell me so I immediately fell for James. lol Be sure to check this one out. So refreshing!

I'm in love with this entire story. Amazing through and through. The plot, the romance, the spiiiicceee was everything. I literally finished this book so fast because I couldn't put it down. James and Jules are chef's kiss!!!

I received an ARC copy from netgallery for an honest review. All the opinions expressed in this review are mine and mine alone.

Oh my, that is the two words I said a lot through this book. Jules is our main character who will stop at nothing to live the life she wants. James is the ultimate sexy man, who easily made my book boyfriend list. I fanned myself, I cried, and let out frustrated cries, but this book is so worth it. I finished it in one sitting and my mind is still reeling from everything that happened. The author does an amazing job with bringing the reader into the story and not letting you go, even after you finish the book!

From the very first book I read by Stacy Reid, I have been hooked. Her romance novels are wonderful, and this one is as well. The plot was unique and riveting. The 'hero' is a mix of cool reserve and at times disdain & anger, yet also deep passion and wry humor. The 'heroine' has lived in a way most women of the time never got to. Yet, when the right person came along, she was able to shed her cocoon and emerge a beautiful butterfly. It is such a great book, and solidifies my love for Stacy Reid books. Definitely a winner!!

I'm always a huge fan of anything Stacy Reid writes, and I was excited to read this book as it had a very unique plot. I found the prologue really gripped my emotions, and I could sympathize with the plight of the mother of the female main character that sets up the initial gender deception. However, I felt the next 20%, until the male and female lead characters met was very slow and didn't do much for the story (ie little character building, not much significant plot). I would strongly urge anyone reading to continue on past this point, as the rest of the story of the relationship between the two characters was very beautiful. I was wondering through most of the book how a relationship would ever work between these two characters, and in the end I wasn't dissapointed by how things progressed in the story.

I received a complementary copy from NetGalley for honest review.

OMG THIS BOOK! I loved it so much! I read it in less than a day because I couldn’t stop myself from reaching out for it. It’s super original and unique.
James Winters, the Duke of Wulverton—thought lost at sea a decade ago—survived in the harsh wilderness of the Yukon. Now he’s been returned to his family, his responsibilities, and a nightmarish world of artifice and noise. He has three weeks to become a refined, elegant duke for the Queen…or doom the entire family to ruin and scandal.
Promising psychologist Jules Southby knows a lot about disguises. She’s secretly been living as a boy since birth, enjoying the freedoms of men and knowing little about how to behave like a woman. When she meets the alluring duke, she’s unprepared for his raw, masculine beauty and icy intelligence…or that he can see through her darkest secret. Their attraction is stark and achingly real—and forbidden. But loving the lost duke would mean losing every sacrifice she’s made to earn her freedom…
This is a compelling love story about a man deprived from human contact who believes himself incapable of emotions, until this “creature”, a woman in disguise, enters in his life and makes him hole again. The interactions between them are deeply emotional and they seem quite real to me. She’s patient, caring and respectful of his times and boundaries. He is obsessed with her, with her intelligence and the ability to reach him.
They are so passionate about each other! There are hot and really nice sexy times but emotional moments too. The smelling thing made me sigh every time.
This book is a must! I highly recommend it!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

4 stars
This was so different than most books of this genre. What a winner. You have someone who needs"fixing" in order to fit in and the person who is "fixing " him....is a person who has been in disguise all of their life! perfect.

The Wolf and the Wildflower is a very interesting story. Jules is forced to live as a man to protect a secret her mother had from her date of birth. James, the Duke has returned home alive after being lost for years and presumed dead. His mother hires Jule's father, a noted doctor of the mind, to ensure that James is not mad and that he will be presentable for the upcoming season so that he can choose a bride. After James detects Jule's secret, he demands that she work with him alone and they develop a bond. They must decide how to maneuver society and their secrets in order to have a life together. Its a little different story from what Ms. Reid normally writes, but it is romantic and as usual, it has lots of steam involved between the involved couple. I enjoyed the story and look forward to further installments in the series.

I received an ARC from Netgalley and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

The Wolf and the Wildflower begins with a duke, James, who has been lost in the icy wilderness of Canada for 10 years and has miraculously found his way home. He must of course attend to his duties as a duke and protect his family's position, but he has returned a very different man than the teenage boy who left for an adventure in Canada. He has worried not only his family but the society of the ton as well with his erratic and changed behavior. His mother, the duchess, calls in a renowned alienist, Dr. Southby, to evaluate and help her son before the first ball of the season. Dr. Southby brings along his son, Jules, who has recently graduated university in Austria for studies of the mind. James quickly discovers Jules is a woman presenting as a man to society, and they soon develop a friendship over secrets and trauma they've both endured.

I really enjoyed this story between James and Jules!! I found their relationship so comforting. James is now very quiet and touch-averse, and seemingly stubborn, as a result of the trauma of living alone in a harsh wilderness for a decade. Jules, as an alienist and a caring person, understands his limits and wants what's best for the duke, not what's expected. She tries to communicate that to his family as well, who are the main source of tension for James. This brings up a lot of her own trauma and worries to the forefront of living as another gender than she feels, which she has to confront with her father.

I did find the story of Jules living as a man to be a little farfetched. I can't recall it now, but I felt a lot of disbelief in the beginning of the story over how she lived as a man all this time. By the halfway point I was just giggling to myself over how ridiculous her fake mustache probably looked and distracting myself trying to figure out where it went when Jules and James got intimate. Also the story of how James survived... yeah, we'll just have to suspend disbelief here.

That said, the strength of this book is definitely in James and Jules relationship and how Jules gave James the space and comfort and trust to heal himself to a point where he feels safe. It was a pretty unconventional plot so it felt very fresh. The slow burn was *chef's kiss*. James' journey was quite emotional, and he was such a sweetheart. I really loved watching him coming out of his shell and heal.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book through Netgalley and the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I finished this book in 2 days but i must say that it usually takes me 4-5 hrs to devour a Stacy Reid book. I am a huge fan of Stacy Reid but there are some plot points I look for in a story and this novel didn’t have them. It does not mean it’s a bad book, it’s just personal preference. The main premise was so fresh and unique and I wish the plot could have been developed further.

Read this book if you are looking for spice (lots of it), insta-love, low tension/conflict, unusual plot, unconventional heroine who pretends to be a man.

Things that didn’t work for me:

*mild spoilers ahead*





- no tension. It was insta-lust. No angst. No drama — unless you count the problem of Jules being known in society as a man. But by the end i’ve stopped caring how that will be resolved
- because it was insta-lust, it was hard for me to feel any chemistry between the protagonists. I feel robbed of the build-up of their emotional connection.
- he calls her wildflower. Echhhhhh. Please no. Why does he have to call her that? Can’t he just call her by her name?
- “Savage.” Soooo much use of this word. “Savagery.” Even James at one point was like “what does savage even mean?” - correct so stop with it.
- he lived with a wolf pack. Yeah ok.
- he is all huge and muscular after living in the equivalent of the Canadian Rockies for 10 yrs. No no no no. The lack of food would have made him lean — not muscular and bulky. Don’t believe me? Just watch Alone, Vancouver edition.
- gratutitous sex scenes that doesn’t move the plot along. (This might actually be a selling point for some readers.)

3.5/5

Thank you netgalley and enchanted for the ARC.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Wolf And The Wildflower is a novel by Stacy Reid. Going into a Stacy Reid book, I know I will get writing excellence, a passion that steals my breath, and characters that will stick with me long after I close the book.

Jules Southby has been raised as a man, a secret only her mother knows. Jules follows in her father’s footsteps, becoming a scholar in what we now call psychology. James Winters, the Duke of Wulverton, has been lost in the wilds of the Yukon for ten years and presumed dead. James has entered a world he doesn’t want to comprehend or be a part of. Jules and her father are called to help James assimilate into his role as Duke. Everything spins out of control when James instantly recognizes what Jules is.

James and Jules are two broken souls trying to fit into a world that is cruel, petty, and constricting. James and Jules fit perfectly together. I viscerally felt the overpowering physical, and emotional connection James and Jules instantly have. My heart ached for this couple in an untenable situation.

Stacy Reid’s books always command my emotions and my heart. This book took my breath at times. I won’t give anything away – but the letter had me in tears! The conclusion was everything I could have wanted; giving freedom and peace to James and Jules’ souls. Do not miss this incandescently beautiful love story! I recommend this book with my whole heart!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book through Netgalley and the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I loved Jules and James’ unique story in The Wolf and the Wildflower by Stacy Reid; a story of loss, worries, cover-ups, saving face and forbidden love. James Winters, the Duke of Wulverton, thought lost at sea at age eighteen, somehow survived the harsh wilderness of the Yukon, only to be discovered by a trapping team in Alaska a decade later. He is now back in London, unrecognizable to his family, as James was forever changed by the time he spent in solitude, surviving by his determination to live. His family expects him to step back into society and marry, but he is overwhelmed by their touch, their noise, and their rich foods. He can no longer stand physical touch, and longs to be in nature away from all the hustle and bustle of town. His mother, quite worried that James will never conform, hires a renowned psychologist, and his son to determine his mental fitness and prepare him to reenter society. Jules Southby, was born a woman but has lived her life disguised as a man since birth; enjoying the freedoms that she would not have if she had been raised as a lady. She went to university and plans to follow in her father's footsteps; studying Psychology and the human mind. When the opportunity to assist her father in treating the Duke of Wulverton arises, she jumped at the chance. James rejects Jules's father and quickly sniffs out her secret, aware, because of his heightened senses, he realizes she is in disguise. He wants her to help him in disguising himself as the Duke his mother, family, and the ton expect. As he is nicknamed Wolf, due to his name, James decides to call Jules Wildflower, since it was her scent that opened their connection.

James and Jules bond as they trust one another and a friendship grows between them. Knowing the consequences of this forbidden relationship, they battled and fought their magnetic attraction and sizzling chemistry. James was almost animalistic, hungering for Jules, similar to the wolves that protected him while he was missing. James and Jules are two lost souls, found only by each other.

Ms. Reid wrote an emotional, love story about two people who wanted to be accepted for who they are, not who they pretend to be. She provided a tale, one that should not be missed, rich with emotions, sizzling chemistry, secrets, wonderful dialogue, and engaging characters giving James and Jules a chance be their true selves and a forever together. I highly recommend The Wolf and the Wildflower to other readers.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

This is one of the most unique romances I’ve ever read. I loved it I loved how she resolved the issue so they could be together. I loved what he was willing to do to be with her. To me it was sort of a Tarzan retelling. I absolutely loved him, but I love hard heroes.