An epic tale of the wolf god, Cadean, and his mortal mate a wolf/fae hybrid. Samantha is kidnapped by the wolf god and brought to his realm to try and cure a curse she unknowingly put on him.

Throughout the story Cadean and Samantha fight their attraction and distrust of one another. Can the wolf god be redeemed with her help?

Wolf god is definitely a slow burn saga that continues in the next book, Hunter's Kiss.

Although the story was a little more slow- burn then I generally like, it had no problems holding my attention throughout, and I look forward to the next book which is already on my TBR list.

Wolf God is a steamy, enemies-to-lovers fantasy romance driven by action, adventure, and a twisting plot. It's set in the Dreamlands, a realm torn apart by ruthless gods, warring kingdoms, and perilous alliances filled with werewolves, shifters, vampires, and fae. Ends on a cliffhanger so you'll want to start on book two straight away!
You'll enjoy this if you like lots of tension/slow burn/enemies to lovers!

Received an Advanced Reader’s Copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

“Samantha Bennet. My tormentor.
My obsession.”

"I've been waiting for you, little wolf"

This fantasy romance book was … WOW !!! I really liked it !!!! A fearsome young werewolf woman trying to defeat the Wolf God, who’s threatening her home and her people. And the Wolf God himself who thinks she is the only one who can break the curse on himself and his land, making it impossible for him to protect his people from the fae. This story was addicting. The plot was intriguing. The characters were pretty incredible to be honest. The magic … I can’t complain about one thing because it was pretty amazing. And the romance between the main characters … I really really loved it !!! I wasn’t expecting much spice but what we got was short but relevant and it gave me exactly what I needed to keep me entertained and curious about what will happen to Samantha and Cadean in book two !!!! I really really liked that the action was quite fast paced and the writing style made it easy to the read to fall inside the story and follow the characters in their pursuit of freedom and their discovery of love. In this first instalment in the Ruthless Gods: Wolf God series I am more than surprised and I can’t wait to experience book two!!!

"You're right, little wolf. I am the most dangerous beast that prowls this land, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't fear the other things that lurk in the shadows."

“He wasn't just death. He was annihilation.”

“But deep in my soul, I knew another truth: somewhere along the way, the Dark God had captured me, and he would never let me go.”

*POSSIBLE SPOILERS?*

Wonderful read, follows the main characters, Samantha and Cadean.
Samantha thinks she’s just an ordinary wolf shifter, but Cadean seems to think she’s more then that.

I FLEW, through this book because I constantly was in a state of “What’s going to happen next”.

This is 100% a slow burn. But you can see where it’s going to lead too, as long as ya know, there’s no twists. The tension between Cadean and Samantha was captured perfectly.

The author did a wonderful job with describing the world and how it looked through out the book. I always felt like I was able to visualize everything and that really helped with getting fully engrossed into the story.

And as much as I wanted Samantha to just “give in” to her desire, I also feel like the pull between “he’s an awful person” to “why do I feel like I want him” was done beautifully. It felt realistic, I mean, as realistic as possible for a fantasy novel. DO I STILL WISH SHE GAVE IN? Yes. Do i understand why she hasn’t. Also yes.

POSSIBLE SPOILER.

I. DO. NOT. TRUST. THE. BROTHER. That’s all I have to say about him. He got way to excited about Samantha having a certain thing and it’s just, very sus.

The ending in this definitely had me ready to stay up all night continuing onto the next book. Which I will be starting today. I’m excited to see where the next book takes the story.

ALSO, Rune! I need there to be more appearances with him. He’s said nothing but I love him.

Review also available on goodreads & Instagram

Received an Advanced Reader’s Copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

The Wolf God was one of the books that I was really excited to dive into immediately because just the blurb reminded me of the Shadow Beast Series by Jaymin Eve and I had genuinely enjoyed that series so much and was really looking forward to hopefully enjoy this one too.

There are some similarities between the two series—given the nature of the storyline it would’ve been hard not to be—but the books read very differently and there’s truly no comparison beyond the small ones I noticed. Wolf God follows its own rules in a world where world building has clearly already been established. Yes, Wolf God can be read as a standalone and that’s what I did. However, when I started the book it did feel like I had walked into a movie theatre thirty minutes late and it took me a little bit to connect and understand the already established world. The author does recommend that the backstory and the characters would be better understood if the series is read in order. I would suggest that as well. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed Wolf God, I would’ve just enjoyed it more as part of a series.

There’s no room to breathe while reading Wolf God. The book is all action, emotion and events, one after another, setting the pace to a maximum. The stage set-up is done immediately and the book jumps right into the thick of the story. The book reads with a dual POV giving us two sides of a story which greatly supports the enemies-to-lovers, opposite-sides-of-a-war tropes the book follows.

The plot of the story is quite complex and each chapter adds more threads that even when they reveal, have layers of concealed truths that I presume will unravel over the series. Which means that by the end of the book we know perhaps three things out of the several billion that remain a mystery.

The characters are few, but the roles they occupy in the plot more than make up for it. The FMC and the MMC are thrown together by their situations and the forced proximity between the characters causes them to see life through the eyes of the other. However, there is more understanding that happens within the MMC on this front than there is with the FMC. Now there are two things that can be perceived because of this: one, there was no concrete change that happens within the dynamic of the FMC and the MMC with relation to how they view one another for the most part (it’s hard to explain this without spoiling); two, with life experiences from the past that teach you someone is a villain and your own experience that both reiterates it and disproves it, it’s hard to make progress in trust or understanding. So by the end of the book we may even have gone from one step forward to seven steps back on some fronts. Adding this to the way the plot unveils itself, I’m truly curious to see how the author will take the series, after this seemingly big set-back.

I would rate the book four stars, but only because I would’ve loved to see some progress by the end but as that’s a personal preference, other readers may enjoy it much better. But will I read the next book? Certainly. I mean, I have an ARC of it and like I said, I’m curious

Talk about slow burn 🥵 this book didn’t have much in terms of the spicy romance but the tension and undeniable chemistry between Sam and Cade is thrilling! Beautiful story and a plot that sinks it’s claws in a refused yo let go. If you haven’t added this to your tbr, what are you even doing with your life?

It was nice to come across this story. But how sad to wait to read the second book, because it clearly ended very well.

This story in a magical world, which was not very well developed and for that reason it lowered a star, leads us to meet two strong, independent characters who are constantly in the line of what is right or wrong to do.

On the one hand, Sam, who doesn't know if he's really doing the right thing. If she is betraying her pack, if she betrays her ideals and values ​​but there is something that attracts her and makes her trust that monster she promised to destroy.

On the other, Cadean, a being that was transformed into a monster due to the war that raged in his land. He stands on the fine line of good and evil, whether what he does is a way to counteract the evil done to him or whether he destroys and continues this endless cycle.

That's something I loved about this book, that the characters are not GOOD or EVIL. They are there, in a strange gray.

Primarily Sam constantly considers what he does, what he feels and his ideals.

I liked having both of their points of view, although Sam predominates, and I liked that too!

I look forward to reading the second one 😍

Thanks NetGalley and Magic Side Press for the arc in exchange for an honest review

"Could the woman who wields the power to undo me be my mate? If so, I’ll destroy the world just to keep her safe."

Whewwww the TENSION!


... with that said ...

I really wanted to like this book but I just couldn't because of the FMC.
The story as an idea is good, but the execution not so much. I had no problems with the MMC and he stayed true to the character he was supposed to be.
The FMC was so frustrating; she was so wishy- washy and hypocritical. For someone who had a kind of rough upbringing she was super naive and stupid. She continuously stated she could only trust herself, yet she actively chooses to go along with another character who she said previously was untrustworthy. WTF???

I should've stopped reading but I was hoping it was going to get better. I was wrong. If you can handle that type of character then you'll probably like the story, but it wasn't for me.

Everything about this book seemed like it was perfect for me. Unfortunately I felt like the writing needed more polish and I just didn't like the FMC. A good start for the series but the slow burn was a little too slow for me. It just wasn't enough to hold my attention.

I want to personally thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me an advanced copy.


Spice: 🌶️
World-Building: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Plot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Character Development: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Mostly on the Dark God's side, read further notes.)

This author wasted no time diving into the adventure. In this slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers story we first meet Samantha and Cadean while she is out strengthing the moon's shields that keep Cadean imprisoned away from the rest of the world. Naturally, he tries to defend himself and his kingdom, and in the process gets hit with a magical spell that leaves him with a growing vine up his arm that continues to not only siphons his own godly power, but the power within his lands, leaving him and his people wide open and defenseless to neighboring fae attacks.

We follow the story as he captures her, and tries to show her that he is not all the beast of a god the entire realms have made him out to be, and when he is it's merely to keep the balance in the world. Yet Samantha, struggles to see past years' worth of engrained information, even as her heart and body gravitate towards him, her mind stays firmly placed.

My Take on the Characters

The Dark God (Cadean):
He is practically the god of werewolves and shifters, whose name has instilled fear into neighboring realms for millennia. However, that's not all of who he is. He loves and cares for his people, fae alike. If you choose to love and cherish his lands and call them home, then he will fight to protect you with his dying breath.

I felt that he was a strongly written character with quality traits and was very well-rounded. I enjoyed reading from his point of view. He carried a lot of guilt due to lifetimes of savagery, but he wanted to change- for her. Honestly, his morally-grey self is right up my alley!

Samantha:
She is a stubborn she-wolf. Raised in a bullying, hell pack that tries to beat its wolves into submission instead of helping them grow. She grew up rough and alone. I felt very conflicted while reading through her point of view. One minute she is seeing the Dark God as he was, just a man trying to protect his people, and the next she spews nasty words in order to emotionally wound him.

My Complete Take Away:
In those moments where the veil is lifted from Samantha's eyes, we see her feelings begin to mature and grow toward him. Then, suddenly she would hate him again, no matter how much proof he presented that he wasn't the only bad guy, or what the fae was doing to his lands she would turn a blind eye and continue to repeat everything she was taught.

Now, this is fine if it's throughout the first half of the book, but this happens throughout the whole book. I'm not sure if it was to draw the story out. Or to have us simply rooting for Cadean (which I totally am) but, Samantha's character is difficult to relate to, and I found myself wanting to shake her more than a few times. My personal opinion- and I'm totally reaching here, but Cadean deserves better.

This book hooked me within the first 20 pages, and even though it frustrated me at certain parts, I am dying to read the rest of their story. I just bought the second book in the series, and cannot wait to start reading it after I post this review.

Hooked from chapter 1 until the end of the book. I loved everything from the characters to the scenery. Everything! The making of a beautiful trilogy. I’m diving right into book 2 and cannot wait to see what happens in the conclusion. I just hate I have to wait until Dec for that! Great book!

I like a good fantasy with shifters and romance in it. The story was intriguing and I liked the world building. It was really a slow burn that will continue in the upcoming books, but it was good to get glimpses of Cadean and Samantha’s bond. I became fond of Cadean despite of his dark god side. Samantha was quite headstrong, her hatred rooted deep and she wouldn’t budge even when she didn’t know much about the things. Sometimes she seemed to be able to come through, but her fear was greater in the end. I’m curious how their story will evolve.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of the book.

Enemies to lover
Shifter
Slow burn
enjoyed the plot and the characters. In Wolf God we get a story with two POVs, Samantha and Cadean's. Learning more about the Fae and that there are more things out there.
As the story progresses we learn more about Cadean and how he interacts and treats other.
There's plenty of action in this book including a steamy scene Samantha determined to help keep the Dark Wolf God locked up in fear that the legends of her pack will come true finds herself in the grasp of the Wolf God himself. She seem a little obnoxious and annoying in her storyline
But they seemed to grow in each others presence.
I received an arc from netgalley for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this read! Samantha drove me a bit crazy by the end, and Auren is giving me some super bad vibes. Ready to start book 2!

I am very curious about the Fae Queen, that and they keep calling Samantha princess..... just a little suspish

This is perfect for those who enjoy books about the Fae because although yes the main characters are Wolves (with a touch more !) it's heavily influenced by the Fae. Essentially we have Samantha who somehow managed to infect the Wolf God and yes she sees him as a monster but the man he is inside sees a whole lot more in her !
I won't go into the plot but will say this whilst not a finished journey it's quite clearly a slow burn enemies to lovers story. I still think there's a lot the reader isn't told as I would have liked to know a lot more about why Cadaen was imprisoned because it's all a wee bit vague. However it's clear he has the loyalty of those within his realm that he protects so it's easy to root for him even when he's vicious. I liked the supporting characters but wish they had been fleshed out more and as this ends its clear Samantha has been tricked somehow but just what the reasons and implications are, well that's obviously being revealed in the next book Hunters Kiss.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

The world is set in a modern paranormal fantasy, which switches to a more medieval realm with a strict magic system centered on wolf shifters. I read this without knowing of the previous books and found that it could easily stand on its own.

Samantha or Sam is the leading female wolf shifter with lots of internal dialogue, sometimes a little too much thinking and not enough action. She’s still endearing but gets in her own way. Cadean was my favorite storyline and I felt cheated when things are unresolved. The tension and dynamic between the two characters is slowish, but draw one in to desire them together. Part of me thinks that Cadean could do better. Will see what the next installment will bring.

Note: the new cover art of the very male Cadean is eye-catching and improves first glance adding more insights of the book.

I thought this book was a really great read.
I did find it hard to get into initially but as the story goes, it sucks you in and you cannot put it down!
I devoured it

My Real-Time Response: An I CANNOT GET ENOUGH OF THIS read

My Quick Summary: OUTSTANDING!

My Confession: I love this book so much!!! I am a HUGE fan. I admit that I requested this galley again just because I wanted to read it and keep it fresh in my mind as I prepare to read book two (Yes, I am totally geeking out in a big way!!! 🤓 I got approved!!!).

When I saw it marked as available, I actually thought it was the audiobook. (Can you even imagine what that would be like?!?! 😍) Needless to say, whether this book is consumed in a digital-E format or (dare I hope) in an audio form, it is now and will forever more be EXCEPTIONAL.

My Commitment: Today is dedicated to Wolf God and to Hunter's Kiss. 😁😜😎

My Review: Wolf God by Veronica Douglas was non-stop action and intrigue from beginning to end. This story had great elements. The plot had an air of fantasy, mythology, and dark realism mixed together. The main characters each had texture and depth. The emotional arc was brilliantly executed. I really loved being able to see the dual perspectives of the leads. They were so well written that I could not help but feel invested in each of them. I completely understood their unique struggles.

About the Characters:

Samantha and Cadean's story...WOW! (If I say anything right now, it would be too much. I'm still trying to recover from what happened. Much respect, Ms. Douglas. You wrote that and mic dropped, as far as I am concerned. Bravo!)

Wulfric, Mel, and Kass were a force. I loved their sense of loyalty and commitment to the Wolf God. They represented Cadean's inner circle. I want to better understand how they all came to be a band set to defend the Wolf God's kingdom.

Rune was a character that I hope to see again. There is definitely more to him than meets the eye. I can see him doing something even more remarkable later. (He made me think of Dobby, who was such a beloved character in the Potter series.)

Auren comes across like a villain. He is not trustworthy. He is written quite well. I can see things taking shape through his actions.

The Queen and the Fae were perplexing. So tricky. Their truth is a lie. Right?

Selene and her grandmother were supporting characters who helped to move the story along. Although they were lesser characters, they were instrumental in helping to better understand what was going on with the people who were being protected in Cadean's realm. Selene was interesting in that she allowed us to see the king's humanity. She was loyal to her king, but she also had a new sense of loyalty with her savior, Samantha, after being saved twice. (I'm thinking she'll show up again, for some reason.) The grandmother was sassy and wise. I enjoyed her defiant streak. (I think she knew more than what she was letting on during the celebration.) I do hope she makes an appearance in the other books, as well.

The Others: Even though this was story one, there were other characters who were mentioned. I am anxious to see how they will be used in the series. The wolves, Samantha's mother, Samantha's father, her best friend and her partner, the voices - what is the what with them?

My Final Say: I could not stop reading this book. It was utterly enthralling. There is really so much that I want to say about this book, but I don't want to ruin it for other readers. I'll simply sum things up by saying that this is a MUST READ. I'm going all in with this series. I must find out what comes next. Is there a fan club?!?! 🤓

Rating: 5/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: A
Series: Yes
Re-read: Yes
Keeper: Yes
Favorites Shelf: Yes
Besties-of-all-time: Yes
Status: M
Level: BOMB 💣💥
Cover: 5/5
Chemistry: 5/5
Tension: 5/5
Ending: 5/5

My Update: I stand by my original review post. This masterpiece in storytelling gets a 💎 rating.

Thank you to the author, to the publisher, and to NetGalley, who provided a digital ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review. I am most appreciative that I was granted an opportunity to read this incredible work. All of the words I have shared are my own and have not been influenced by the aforementioned in any way.

My first book by this particular author and I was not dispointed. I was immediately pulled in and loved the stroy between Samatha and Cadean. The world building was great, and the tension between our two MC's was delightful, 100% would recomend to any fanatasy reader.

A riveting plot, compelling characters and a heart wrenching and suspenseful paranormal romance. A can't-put-down read!