Book Review: Claimed By J.R. Ward

Claimed

(The Lair of the Wolven #1)

By J.R. Ward

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?

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My Review:

* Everything in red is a spoiler.

I really liked this book but it wasn't what I was expecting to get. When you tell me J. R. Ward is going to be writing about wolves my brain automatically thinks it's going to be a Black Dagger Brotherhood type of series but with wolves instead of or with (?) vampires. So to put it plainly I was expecting a lot more paranormal and a lot less investigative/suspense/whodunit.

I love how she still managed to have everything start connecting in the multiple stories featured in this book by the end. It still surprises me every time I read a book written by this author. That's a nifty skill to have as a storyteller.

Onto the characters! Lydia was okay. She leads a pretty mundane life. The wolves at the sanctuary she works at are her life and she cares for them a lot. Candy was very entertaining and I liked the role she played in the conclusion to the mystery by the end. 

Daniel turned out to not be who I was expecting him to be. BUT after that ending, if J. R. Ward pulls an effing The Fault In Our Stars ending I will REVOLT. REVOLT I tell you! I actually really liked him and I'd like for the problems involving him to get magically resolved within the first few chapters of the next book, thanks!

This was probably just a me thing but I was also under the impression that every book in this series was going to feature a new couple. I think I subconsciously linked this whole series to be BDB but with wolves. That wasn't accurate or fair to this new series at all. 

On a cruddy note, this does end in a cliffhanger. Here's to the year-long wait to see what happens next. I'm excited that the next book will continue to follow Lydia and Daniel. Hopefully, we have more BDB members in the story as well.

My Rating: