Claimed (Lair of the Wolven #1) by J.R. Ward
Publication Date: July 27th 2021 by Gallery Books
Pages: 525
Source: Publisher
Rating: ★★★
My
Thoughts:
Lydia Susi heads the Wolf Study Project and is disturbed
when some of the wolves show up sick and poisoned. Lydia suspects the owners of
a big new hotel on the edge of the reserve’s property, and she aims to stop them.
Meanwhile, her director has been behaving oddly and now he isn’t even showing
up at work. The WSP has been operating on a shoestring budget and they need to
hire a new handyman. With the director MIA Lydia takes it upon herself to hire
Daniel Joseph, the handsome and mysterious drifter.
Claimed wasn’t anything I expected. I kept trying to
figure out what was going on, where the plot going, and it seemed to take
forever to get anywhere. Yes, it’s a mystery of sorts, but that it wasn’t front
and center, and I didn’t feel like there was a sense of urgency to solve it from
Lydia or that she was in any kind of immediate danger. It seemed to be more of
Daniel and Lydia getting to know each other, and slowly, very slowly falling
for each other.
There isn’t any paranormal in much of the book, even though it’s
part of a series named “Lair of the Wolven”. There wasn’t anything shapeshifter/wolven to
the plot, other than natural wolves in the preserve, until the very end. I was surprised by the reveal, I thought it’d
be the other way around.
I was thrown by the addition of the Black Dagger/Xhex
chapters not really getting the connect to what was going on. Yes, the labs, but
I think it’d would’ve been fine to leave out the BDB part. Honestly, it was a
little distracting and took away from the main story, but maybe that’s because
I haven’t kept up with the BRB series. Maybe someone who’s been reading every
book from the BDB might understand the connections and feel differently.
With all that said, Claimed managed to hold my
attention enough to finish it even though it’s a long book (525 pages), and I
have no problems with pulling a DNF if I’m not enjoying the story. I wouldn’t say
this ended in a cliffhanger, more a “to be continued” sort of situation. I was
left with a lot of unanswered questions by the end. Hopefully, we get a more
focused plot and answers in the next book, which I plan on reading.
3 Stars
Book Description:
A heart-pounding new series set in the Black Dagger Brotherhood world, with a scientist fighting to save the timber wolves—and getting caught in a deadly trap herself...
Lydia Susi is passionate about protecting wolves in their natural habitat. When a hotel chain develops a tract of land next to the preserve, Lydia is one of the most vocal opponents of the project—and becomes a target.
One night, a shadowy figure threatens Lydia’s life in the forest, and a new hire at the Wolf Study Project comes from out of nowhere to save her. Daniel Joseph is both mysterious, and someone she intrinsically wants to trust. But is he hiding something?
As the stakes get higher, and one of Lydia’s colleagues is murdered, she must decide how far she will go to protect the wolves. Then a shocking revelation about Daniel challenges Lydia’s reality in ways she could never have predicted. Some fates demand courage, others require even more, with no guarantees. Is she destined to have true love... or will a soul-shattering loss ruin her forever?
Without a sense of urgency either in the characters or the plot I probably wouldn't have finished this one. I need to feel like there's a point to all the pages. Here's hoping the next one is better.
ReplyDeleteI have yet to pick up a book by this author. I just feel like books keep being written in the same world, so I feel like I need to read from the very first book, and that always pushes me away.
ReplyDeleteGenesis @ Whispering Chapters
Hmmm, and I had such high hopes after I met a werewolf in one of the spinoff BDB books and thought that was where this was going. I'm close to being caught up, but apparently not enough to help figure out the connection with Xhex. Hopefully the next book is stronger.
ReplyDeleteI have heard that this one is a slower read, I haven't read it yet but I just bought it so I am exciting to see a different type of book from this author. I did think it was separate from the BDB world but good to know its a spin off
ReplyDeleteThis BDB series / world is just not for me.
ReplyDeleteAnne - Books of My Heart
Too bad this one didn't work quite so well for you. Hope the next book is better!
ReplyDeleteI did give up long ago cos she kept going away from the main story .
ReplyDeleteBut I want to know why she has a Finnish last name, also no Finn is named that
Interesting about the lack of paranormal in the story. With a series title like that I would definitely think it would be more prevalent.
ReplyDeleteWell dang. I have really liked her books and was looking forward to this one. I'll probably still read it.
ReplyDeleteUgh. I hate when the crossovers don't really work. It sounds confusing to me as well, Rachel. I was looking forward to reading this book. Bah.
ReplyDelete