he has survived inhuman horrors. They will protect her at all costs. But can they save her from the monsters within them?

For years, the monsters who killed my family have held me in a cage. Brutalized and half-starved. Only kept alive so they can steal my blood.

Until one evening when four eerily gorgeous men break me out of my prison.

They offer me a safe haven under their protection. A soft bed, delicious food, and all I need to heal. I’m not used to this kindness—or the desires their smouldering eyes and strong hands stir in my body and my heart.

But these fearsome men aren’t really men. Like my captors, they’re fae who can shift into wolves. A curse gripping the faerie realm turns them wild under the full moon, and only my blood can cure their rage.

As long as I’m a prize more than a person, how can I trust their kindness?

I’ve survived this long without giving up. Somehow this damaged human girl will hold her own among the savage wolves.

This was a TikTok recommendation and I’m glad I decided to try it out because I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I was a little sceptical and weary at first because the MC Talia is not found in the best of circumstances. I started to doubt whether this would be a book I’d enjoy or not but I stuck with it and found that I enjoyed the slow beat of Talia’s development through the story.

This is a supernatural reverse harem story. I had initially thought it was a trilogy because Kindle allowed me to buy 3 books in 1 but I have since learned it is a series of 9 books – whether that is the end of not I won’t know till I get there.

The story is predominantly told through Talia’s eyes but we get several point of view chapters from other characters. Aside from Talia we meet Sylas, Whitt, August, and Kellan.

I was seriously wondering at the route of the book with the character of Kellan – you’ll understand if you go on to read this book – but he is an incredibly unpleasant character and I was wracking my brain trying to work out his importance to the narrative – to no such luck!

Talia is human while Sylas is the leader of the fae shifters that Talia comes into contact with. August, Whitt, and Kellan make up Sylas’s cadre. Think of them like his inner most circle. They come cross Talia while searching for something, realising belatedly that she is the something they need.

Talia, at the beginning of the book is facing a lot of trigger warnings, so waking in the keep of the men is unnerving for her. In fact, the whole book is angled towards her recovery and her life beyond what happened to her. The book moves slowly but that doesn’t mean there is a lack of action of heat.

I saw Talia as kind of like Kimmy Schmidt coming out of the bunker – she just had that innocence and naivety that made her character pure. While her mind may be battered and broken, she carries herself with an air of determination. Her vulnerability is there for all to see but she doesn’t let her mind or body fall victim to that vulnerability. She is as much trying to prove to herself that she isn’t broken as she is trying to prove to the men that she doesn’t need any help.

The dynamics between Talia and the men are complicated and fuelled by much more than we are able to see as the reader. Talia has an easy going comradery with August, his joyful spirit is something she gravitates towards, even when she is uncertain on whom she can trust. There are more moments between Talia and August than there are with any of the others in this book.

With Talia and Sylas there is an element of protectiveness on his part and want on her part. She believes him capable of keeping her safe and at the same time she still longs for home. Their dynamic changes over the course of the book and becomes more endearing to read.

Talia and Whitt hardly have any moments till the near end of the book. He comes across as a sarcastic joker and she often feels unnerved by him. I couldn’t tell whether he was hiding something nefarious or not and that irked me. Whitt goes through the most changes in this book in terms of how he views Talia.

Finally we have Talia and Kellan and really he takes on the role of a vicious bully. He is a hateful character and he’s written that way. There is no part of him that is redeemable in any way. His fate seemed predetermined before the start of the book.

We see glimpses of villains in this book. At the start there are the despicable men who had Talia and at the end there is a emissary that sparks a plot progression in the series. There is no main villain to be had yet and much of that is because the book focuses more on the plot of Talia’s recovery and the dynamics between her and the fae. It’s more needed at this point than introducing a new villain. These characters need firm ground to stand on before the plot starts to branch out and evolve.

I think, as a character and from where she’s come from versus where she is going, there is a lot of possibilities to explore and roads to take. It wasn’t clear from this book just what, if anything, makes Talia special so I’m fully expecting that to be explored further in the series.

For me personally, fae books are hit and miss. This is mostly because I read them so heavily during my late teens/early twenties that they just became boring and easy to predict. This book and by extent the series holds a lot of promise and I am confident that I will continue to enjoy the series as I read.

I wasn’t well this weekend and it seems like a cold/cough is brewing on the horizon so this was a welcomed distraction to read yesterday. When I’m ill three things turn me into a grouch monster: sore throat that hurts when swallowing, blocked sinuses, coughing. At the moment I have 2 of the 3 so I feel very grouchy. But reading always helps me to escape whatever I’m feeling and this book took me right out of reality and dropped me straight down in the thick of it and I loved it and I’m grateful for it.

I give this book: ✨✨✨✨✨