Monday, April 23, 2012

Review: The Wolf Who Loved Me

The Wolf Who Loved Me by Lydia Dare

Publication Date: April 3,2012
Publisher: Sourcebooks Inc.
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Pages: Paperback, 384pp.
ISBN-13: 978-1402263460
ISBN: 1402263465

(Received for an honest review from Sourcebooks Casablanca)


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Excerpt from The Wolf who Loved Me courtesy of Amazon's inside look feature

Synopsis:

REGENCY ENGLAND HAS GONE TO THE WOLVES!

LADY MADELINE HAYBURN HAS MONEY PROBLEMS....

Specifically she has so much of it that she's dogged by fortune hunters, including her bewilderingly attractive, penniless neighbor, with his wild nature and uncouth manners.

WESTON HADLEY HAS AN IDENTITY CRISIS...

Specifically, he's just turned into a wolf while Madeline was watching. Now it's up to the regal lady to tame the wild beast...if she can...  

Thoughts:

Lydia Dare once again scores a hit with her latest book, The Wolf Who Loved Me. This is the first book in a new trilogy featuring the Hadley brothers, siblings of hero, Dashiel Thorpe from The Taming of the Wolf. Dare's keen sense of Regency dynamics and customs add an authenticity to this paranormal historical that is lacking in many books of its kind. This writing duo focuses on intensity and emotional connection. Readers will find this one irresistible!


As many of you who have followed my blog for a long time know, Lydia Dare is one of my favorite authors. The writing duo of Tammy Falkner and Jodie Pearson have such a great writing relationship. One of them focuses on the historical aspects of the book, while the other focuses on the paranormal parts of the book. The combination is mesmerizing! It always intrigues me to see how the two authors are able to blend their story elements so seamlessly.


I rarely mention the cover art of a novel in my reviews but I think this one bears notice. This cover is absolutely gorgeous! It conveys the overall atmosphere of the book so well. The background appears misty giving off the ideal of shrouded mystery, while the main couple remains in the frame, but a little set apart. Weston and Madeline are dealing with some big obstacles to their relationship in this book and I think the secrets they are keeping are well distinguished in this cover. 


I have been waiting patiently since reading The Taming of the Wolf for Lydia Dare to tell the story of the Hadley brothers. They were introduced to readers in that book, but didn't get any story time in the next several installments to the Lydia Dare world. I was excited to see that one of the twins got the first book in this trilogy. I love the way Dare ties all of her books together, but makes each one a stand alone as well. The continuity a reader feels from having read all of Dare's books is hard to beat. 


The overall plot of this one focuses on the fact that Weston Hadley lets his time and his emotions get the better of him and Madeline accidentally sees him transform into his Lycan form. That sets a series of events in place that results in Weston practically kidnapping Madeline in order to keep his secret. It's a tried and true romance scenario. You have the bad boy rogue and the little princess. He is impoverished and cannot hope to aspire to her station in life and she is a bit naive, spoiled and completely taken aback by him. But somehow Dare makes it seem original and fresh. She infuses a lot of drama and emotion into the plot as well as they paranormal elements that make things all the more difficult for the pair.


I loved Weston. He certainly had his moments of disregard and hasty decision making, but his heart was in the right place. He had loved Madeline for a long time and she was obviously intrigued by him. The romance between them started out slow and continued to ramp up throughout the story, teasing and tempting the reader as well as the characters. Madeline comes across as a little entitled at  moments and certainly very naive. I got a little frustrated with her at times, but overall I thought she and Weston were a great couple. 


This title definitely lives up to Lydia Dare's previous success with all of her other books. It is a good start to the story of the Hadley brothers and I see lots of different directions that the authors could go. I am extremely happy that we got to see some well known characters from the other books here as well as being introduced to some new and different characters. Dare continues to impress and captivate readers of both historical romance and paranormal romance. The Wolf Who Loved Me is one of new favorites!

The Wolf Who Loved Me is available NOW from your favorite bookseller.

I'm giving this one 5 out of 5 apples from my book bag!


Lydia Dare is the writing team of Tammy Falkner and Jodie Pearson. Both Tammy and Jodie are active members of the Heart of Carolina Romance Writers and live near Raleigh, North Carolina. They are working together on their next paranormal historical trilogy as Lydia Dare, which will be released by Sourcebooks Casablanca in Spring 2012!

3 comments:

Carrie at In the Hammock Blog said...

I loved this book!! And I agree the cover is so gorgeous!!! I love this style!

Anonymous said...

It sounds like you loved this book with only a small reservation - you sometimes got frustrated with Madeleine. So why only one apple? Was that a mistake?

justpeachy36 said...

Yes! It was a mistake... I forgot to put my apple on that one! I gave this one a 5. Lydia Dare is one of my favorites!