Her Wolves (Fall Mountain Shifters, #1) (2024)

This went no where fast. I pushed to finish this read because I felt there was so much potential surely it would turn around. Alas, no.

Too much needless filler. No strong love story or sexual tension or action. Very bland read for me.

Happy reading,
DD

This is the first book in a rejected mate reverse harem trilogy, This mostly lays the foundations for what’s to come getting to know Mai and her future mates Alphas Henderson, Silas, Ragnar and Valentine.

Mairin has been a member of the Ravensword pack since she was discovered at the age of twelve alone in the woods with only her name.
Taken in as an unwanted foster kid her life in the pack hasn’t been kind.
At the ceremony to reveal her future fated-mate, she is matched with the current Alpha of the pack an individual because of previous trauma and abuse she not surprisingly hates.
Finding herself discarded and thrown to the sea a death sentence in itself she washes up on the shore and is saved by her packs enemies the Alphas of the Fall mountain pack.

So as I said this one is slow-burn but it still had plenty of subtle chemistry.
There an underlying mystery at the centre of this and it revolves around Mai and her obscure and unknown origins.
All of the Alphas are keeping secrets and it all stems from there shared past who they are and who exactly Mai is to them.
Mai herself has no memories of the time before twelve but does have some brief impressions when dreaming but it’s still tantalisingly out of her reach.
To further complicate things the Ravenword Alpha Sylvester still wants her dead and is pulling out all the stops to achieve this sending his wolves to kill Mai.

This was an interesting start to the series and I found myself easily invested and turning the pages.
Each male Alpha had a slightly different vibe and I’m interested in seeing how their connection to Mai evolves and grows throughout the course of this series.
The finish here was also very intriguing and my interest has definitely been piqued at the deeper implied revelations.

This was well written and imaginative and I especially liked the idea of a completely separate isle for shifters.
Don’t go into this one expecting anything graphic in terms of intimacy as we are not there yet.
But based on the natural chemistry I’m still optimistic that this has that all to come.
I’m definitely on board for the next book in the series and have already preordered it, a thumbs up from me.

Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
www.beckiebookworm.com

I hated it. It wasn't the story, it was the poor writing. This reads like mediocre fan fiction, poor sentence structure, clunky prose, and weak characterizations. It was painful to finish. I almost DNF about 40% because NOTHING exciting happens, but I super-speed read through the rest just in case it has a redeeming ending. It did not. I don't mind the reverse harem trope and the story had potential, but the writing was clunky and bland.

Examples of writing style:
"After climbing out of the shower, I braid my hair in a complicated way that Phim taught me before tying it in a hairband. She says it’s a fishtail braid that she learnt from humans, and it was easy to learn after a few tries. I find myself always wanting my hair put up in that way."
"I spent the morning training with Silas, who says I’m getting better, which is a big compliment from him because he spends most of the lesson now being grouchy for reasons I’m yet to understand."

The entire book is like this. Sometimes it takes the author 3-4 sentences to convey one thought (I put my hair in a fishtail braid) and sometimes the author puts multiple thoughts in one cobbled together run on sentence. It hurt my brain to read.

This is what I get for reading a book without checking the reviews first. In my defence I only had my phone on me and found this while looking for something else. The blurb sounded good so I dived straight in.

So I’ve no one to blame but myself. And I stuck with it! Again I’ve only myself to blame.

This book went no where. After a promising start I found myself skimming just to get through it. I stuck it out since I assumed something would happen I just needed to get there. Well it didn’t.

It’s wordy, slow and clunky. Next time I’ll read the reviews before I start.

I blinked and the read was over.

The book lacked energy. There needed to be some push and pull between the MCs, their interactions lacked heat.

Everything felt very lacklustre.

Potential Triggers: Reference to bullying and rape.

Acquired via KU.

THE CLIFFHANGER!!! *AARRGGHH* WHY??!! I really don't fancy cliffhangers as they are very unsettling. I was into the tale & savoring all the passion that was building up & suddenly, BANG, the writer simply releases the bomb & stops it. I was so invested in the account. Now I ought to go grasp the next part on asap basis. This novel of shifter outcast/fantasy is new to me, but it is so damn fascinating. I liked how the author aroused my curiosity to a different level entirely for this genre.

I thought the book had a good measure of mythology going in it, though not enough got exhibited & might gradually be disclosed in the following part. But, I sensed that somehow the actors were being held back in terms of a thoroughly detailed narrative. Also, the closing episode seemed a little hurried to end it. I craved more extended investigations occurring in the new pack property & its history. Probably, that'll appear in the next installment.

Overall, I would suggest the title to fiction, shape shifters, romance fans, or anyone who aspires to try a new style similar to mine. Furthermore, I appreciate Love Book Tours for allowing me to be a member of this book tour!

DNF at 50% after the FMC Mairin had a strange wolf try to kill her and the alphas were discussing their next steps.

The book started off pretty cheesy and contrived with a scheduled mate ceremony when she turned 18, then the super overboard response of Mairin as the rejected mate of the current pack alpha (possibly her rapist?). After that, of course the alpha leaders of the competing pack found her after she was left for dead, and consequently saved her and forced her to live with them for her safety. I did kind of enjoy the twist that Mairin had actually grown up with these alphas but forgot once she was abandoned as a 12-year-old. I was hoping that "alphas" in this book just meant a class of more domineering shifters, but when it actually meant co-leaders of the pack, it ended up a little too trope-y to me.

The main behavior that really bothered me was how the new alphas disregarded her thoughts and opinions almost from the start. When they first met, one of them immediately started calling her Mai when she introduced herself as Mairin/Irin. ?????? That was super condescending and rude to me. At least she noticed the new nickname and commented on it, but it really irritated me that the men chose to call her by something she hadn't introduced herself as. The last straw was how the alpha Silas held her ability to change into her wolf over her head. Apparently, female wolves needed permission from all four alphas to gain the ability to shift, and Silas was the last jerk holdout. Even after Mairin was almost killed by a strange wolf, Silas still refused to let her shift.

After that, I had enough asshole masoch*stic behavior and had to quit. It was interesting that the author had thrown in some non-standard Greek mythology theology as the wolves' gods and goddesses, but it wasn't enough to save the book for me.

Mairin (aka Irin FMC) doesnt have a happy life growing up. Found and adopted as a foster wolf into an abusive pack that hate her. For her her only way out is being mated and claimed except things dont go to plan. She ends up being cast out straight into another pack - Fall mountain pack and 4 Alphas - Ragnar, Henderson, Silas and Valentine. Its an adjustment for her because they have different morals and standards than the last pack. Its pretty dark in places and some of what Irin goes through is a bit hard to read but what that does it make you understand what her life was like. Some of which was heartbreaking and a few parts made me well up a bit. It was hard not too. You genuinely want her to get her revenge on what was done to her and come back a stronger character. Well i did. My god that cliffhanger ending was killer!! I cant wait for the next book now

Not bad.

I read another book about rejected mates and it sucked so bad, glad that this one didn't go that route.

This was a relatively short book, less than 200+ pages on my reader so there wasn't really time to connect with the characters. I have read shorter books that have the ability to make you feel you have known the characters for ages but this book focused more on the surrounding that the main characters. We didn't get to see them all interact with one another, a missed opportunity that.

I am curious about the angels and divided spirit bit so I will be on the lookout for book 2.

Hades and Persephone vibes? Well, sh*t, sign me up for book 2 please!

Her Wolves introduces you to Mairin. Now she's an orphan and lives within a pack that loves to torment her. It also doesn't help that she's about to turn a certain age where she will meet her mate. It would be amazing if Daniel, her best friend, ended up becoming her mate but things don't always go the way we want them to.

Nope. The alpha asshole ends up being her mate and he instantly rejected and tries to murder her. Talk about insta-hate people. It was also pretty mutual between them both since she didn't think he was hot sh*t either.

After waking up to some hot ass alphas, I was wondering what was going to happen next with her. Mostly because she didn't die and I'm pretty sure that means the alpha asshole knew it and wasn't happy. What I wasn't expecting to go down was the little cliffhanger. First off, an unexpected death and now a possible family reunion? Eh. I'm not really buying it but that's because I'm very suspicious of anything right now.

Either way, I'm down to dive into the next book!

I have a slight obsession with wolf-shifter romances, so I was super excited to dig in to this new series by G Bailey! This is an adult reverse harem wolf-shifter romance with the rejected mate trope (I have been looking for more books with this trope!)

Mairin has no recollection of her life before she was found by the Ravensword pack. Now she lives as a nobody, a foster kid living in the packs orphanage. Her only hope is to have a good match in the mating ceremony to be able to start her life. What she doesn't expect is to be mated to the vicious alpha of the Ravensword pack, who publicly rejects her and attempts to kill her.

After she is saved by the Fall Mountain pack, Mairin starts to discover that things she once thought were the truth are very different in their pack. Each of the four alphas of the pack start to heal her from her broken past in their own way. As she learns the ways of the wolf and trains, she is still being hunted by her mate who rejected her. The romance is slow burn, mostly focused on building a foundation of support and friendship between Mairin and the alphas. I am excited to see how the chemistry between her and the alphas will progress in the sequel.

I was surprised to read that the story is linked to Hades & Persephone's myth. I was not expecting that plot twist. That is my singularly favorite greek myth! The story ends in a cliffhanger so I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel to see how things will play out for Mairin...

Thank you to the author for gifting me a copy of the book!

I think the plot of this book is really interesting but I think it is just not executed as well as it could have been. I also was not the biggest fan of the writing. I felt when the characters were talking they just seemed so formal and not at all like 18 and 19 year-olds. The timing of everything was also weird. It's like we would get one scene and then it's 2 weeks later. There were also times where it sounded like the alphas were newer to this pack and then they would talk like they had been there for years (they are only 18-19) so unless they took over a whole pack super young the timing is just seems off. Like if they were a little older it would work better. But overall the plot is interesting so I'm going to keep reading the series.

a fun fast read. excited for more.

This was really fun! I’m definitely interested in continuing the series, I loved the boys and honestly I wish this was longer.

It’s just really fun to read shifter books.

wow

I took this book nice and slow,
I really enjoyed it, and that ending had me screaming for a lot more.
I’ll keep reading the second book and see how it turns out,

Get it here:
Amazon US * Amazon UK

This story has a lot of promise and I'm interested enough that I've already started the next book. But I did feel like this book dragged a little too much and took too long to get to any of the main plot.

Not for me

A lot of grammatical errors. Usually wrong words used or omitted, which was weird.

It was a whole lot of the main character being in the dark and not knowing things or even piecing them together.

It didn't really make sense why the four alphas wouldn't tell her anything, although they did say it would be too much for her to handle and that they were hoping she'd just remember on her own with time. With that said... Come on! How long were they going to wait? Forever, apparently.

The book was pretty annoying in that way, and just the characters and how they acted with each other, as well. For how much I disliked it, it still wasn't the most difficult book to push through.

The ending was a decent cliffhanger.

This was a solid rejected mate story with a twist at the end. Definitely a cliffhanger, and I’ll most likely read book 2.

The story started out solid, explaining a bit of the world Mairin lives in, as it doesn’t appear to be the regular world. There are walls up and different packs took different territories in the UK and Ireland. We do later find out that there is a regular human world with amenities like Netflix, so I didn’t totally understand the walls and treaty. When Mairin is tossed in the sea by the alpha rejecting her, she end ups in the Fallen pack territory (i think Ireland).

So this pack has 4 alphas, which is unheard of elsewhere, and we quickly come to find out they know and have been searching for Mai since she was lost at 12, with her memories also disappearing. This is where the story fell short for me.

So the guys obviously all know her, but they don’t tell her that. They don’t seem to bother to find out much more about her background, what’s happened to her in the past 5 years. Also, this story starts when she’s 18, and the guys are supposedly 1 year older than her. It felt like they were years older than her, especially since they had taken over this pack, so that part was just confusing. And with Trey, one of the guys considers him a son (instead of a little brother), and he had been a rejected baby from the other pack and was now 11, so?

I also didn’t like that they kept all information from her. She was kept inside the house, didn’t explore the pack outside, and we don’t see that much interaction with her and the guys. It seemed like missed opportunities, maybe with how short this book is, with a little more there could’ve been a bit more meaningful interactions between the characters.

I’m not too sure where the angel thing she read about is going, but when one of the guys mentioned the whole 4 parts of a soul thing, I guess he was talking about them. Again, not sure where this is going, but I’m intrigued to find out the meaning behind it all. Especially with how the mate who rejected her is still after her death. I will say I was glad that there wasn’t any magical feelings between them just because they were chosen to be mates, and she’s left pining for him. Definitely a fresh take that I appreciated.

3 stars
So, I am being very generous with this book. I am not normally a fan of G. Bailey and compared with her other books, this one was better than the others. That being said if anyone else had written this book I probably would have DNF it around 60%. I really did try to like it though, as this is one of her newer books and I really wanted to see her writing growth. Unfortunately it was not as great as I expected but better than what I normally receive from this author.

Mia lives in foster care as an outcast in her pack. When the day of her mate ceremony comes for all eligible 18 year olds, Mai is hoping she will have a better life and will finally be protected by her fated mate. However when that mate turns out to the the alpha and one of her abusers, she is thrown into the sea. To Mai‘s disbelief she washes up on the shore of the rival pack, alive. The alpha mate knows she isn’t dead and will do anything to kill her. However now she knows what freedom feels like, she will anything in her power to stay alive.

I really enjoyed this. The only thing that bothers me is that the writer seems to rush over certain things. Wish some conversation would have gone into more detail.

I was thinking of giving this a 3 but that tidbit at the very end dropped this a whole star. I liked Mai and her Hs well enough, more the guys than her, honestly. Some of the dialog between the characters felt stilted/awkward and it felt like important moments were rushed through. I didn't get swept into the characters as much as I would have liked to is I guess one way to describe it.

I don't mind at all that this is a slow-burn and in that respect, I enjoyed the story. The potential of what they are to each other was present throughout and there were hints but, I completely believe that 'reveal' in the end was unnecessary. I appreciate reveals when it feels like validation of what you suspect is going on as you're moving through a story. What we were given in the end felt like that, but with extra that made it borderline ridiculous.

I have come to realize I loathe when major revelations are randomly given at the very end and in one or two sentences. Not only that, I thought the content of that reveal was too much and made it over the top. It's hard not saying without giving any spoilers, but, the mishmash of what she is on top of the use of a well known mythological story made it ridiculous.

Thank you in advance to @lovebooktours and G. Bailey for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Overall, a fantasy wolf-shifter romance that had enormous potential, but unfortunately fell quite flat with execution. I felt that nothing happened throughout the majority of this book. It wasn’t until like the 80% mark that I felt things picked up somewhat. It had a confusing storyline that I’m still not quite sure how to make sense of and overall, a book that’s just not my cup of tea.

What I liked:
🐺The storyline had a great deal of potential and I’d be foolish if I couldn’t at least recognize this. It is a fantasy that I’ve never read before. The world building is interesting. The concept of alphas and mates were interesting
💕The only thing I was even sort of remotely invested in was who Mai would wind up with in the end. Though at the end of the day I would not even label this book as a “romance”

What I didn’t like:
⁉️The storyline was rather confusing and hard to understand. I couldn’t wrap my head around how the alphas knew of Mai prior to finding her since they are all around the same age. To top it off that ending really had me questioning what exactly I’d been reading this entire time
📉I found the plot to to be incredibly boring. Literally nothing happened throughout the entirety of the novel. It was only around the 80% mark that things picked up. If this wasn’t an ARC I would have DNF’d.
💕Also, I HATE love triangles and any variation on a love triangle. Mai having four potential love interests was quite ridiculous and to top it all off none of them had very deep characterization and I really couldn’t feel for any of them
✍️I found the writing to be a bit choppy with too much filler.

Just not my cup of tea

Rating: ⭐️⭐️
CAWPILE: 4.54/10

*screams*

Argh!

Holy mother of all cliffhangers!

*shakes fist*

*coughs*

Apologies for the outburst, peeps. It won’t happen again (reader note: she lies). I’m sure I’m not the only one that has a love/hate relationship with cliffies. It’s called being invested in the story. Don’t look at me like that!

Mairin’s story is frustratingly good. *nods* Agreed, that is a weird analogy. However, let me explain…

I love entering a new book world and being introduced to all the different characters (those who pique my interest and those that raise my metaphorical hackles!) while learning about all the rules of this new society. Especially those in a wolf shifter world. (Side note: anyone else adore shifters and magic?)

So much information to process which inevitably leads to questions. *shrugs* Coz we all know Laura’s questions have question. (Uh-oh, she’s referring to herself in third person again… *smirks*) And, boy, did I?

One of the lures of Mai’s story was the reverse harem aspect *blushes*. *whispers* I expected steam (don’t judge me!); we had intense flirtation. Rather than look at this as a negative, I’m gonna say the author has me hooked! Hello, Mythology!

Quick question. At 43, am I allowed to call dibs on Valentine or is that a step too far?

*snorts*

I’ve already downloaded Book 2. I have a burning need to see how this story and the characters develop considering the revelations in the last chapter!

Fancy joining me? If you do, we’ll have much to discuss.

Her Wolves has a combination of elements I love: rejected mates, reverse harem, and apparently it also has a surprising twist on the Hades and Persephone twist, which I honestly didn’t see coming!

I was immediately intrigued by the story thanks to Mai’s mysterious past, especially once her past seems to be somehow tied to the Fall Mountain Pack and its four alphas: Henderson, Silas, Ragnar and Valentine. By the end of the book we start to get an inkling on what’s in store, but we still don’t know how exactly things played out and how they’re all connected. I’m so curious to find out. The book slowed down a little towards the middle, but overall, I enjoyed this story! Also, that cliffhanger…wow! Lucky for us, there’s a four other books to complete Mai and the alpha’s story.

I enjoyed Mai’s interactions with the alphas and also the dynamic within the alpha group. It’s hard to choose a favorite, because they all have something that makes them lovable. I especially loved the bonding moments with Valentine, since they both are hurt and healing, and I adored Silas’s big…energy.

Thank you to the author for gifting me a copy. Opinions are my own!

Rejected mates and reverse harem. This is such a must read for shifter lovers!

G. Bailey is one of the best authors that I have the pleasure of reading. She really know how to crest a world and characters that grab you snd drag you into their book-becoming invested and enthralled in what is happening. She has once again started off a series with a bang...with a book full of heartache, tortured souls, suspense, drama, caring wolves, mysterious characters and deadly evil characters that you just want to see loose. Mairin is a brilliant FMC...she has a vulnerability and a brokenness about her but she is strong and more capable than she believes. Then there are the alphas...of course the tortured soul and intense Valentine, the harda$$ Silas who has a soft heart for Mai under it all, the strong and stable Ragnar and the one who has connected strongest with Mai in this book, Henderson. They all bring something unique and compelling to the story. I also loved the supporting characters through the story...Mike, Jasper, Daniel, Trey and Phim...I cannot wait to learn more about them. And lastly there is the evil alpha Ravensword, I hope Mai gets to slice and dice him and get her revenge! I cannot wait for more from this great new trilogy from the very talented G. Bailey.

This is a quintessential three-star read for me. The writing quality left a bit to be desired. There were some very clunky sentences that should have been worked out in editing. There were a few too many times where I had to read a sentence several times before being able to understand what it was saying. The world-building is also delivered in a pretty heavy-handed way. It was almost entirely people just explaining things to other characters in a really flat and boring way. It was a perfect example of telling, not showing. However, the story itself was interesting enough that I want to read the next book. It did help that this book was short but there was something that was compelling to me about the story and that's why I'm willing to overlook the issues to read the sequel. I'm not sure I would recommend this book but this book is short enough that if you're interested, I would say maybe give it a chance.

Mairin has grown up in one of the biggest shifter packs in the world, but as a foster child her life has been nothing but hard and full of violence. So when she's chosen as the Alpha's mate and he rejects her, she thinks her life is over. Certainly when he throws her away like a piece of trash, right over an cliff and into the sea. Then she is found, by the four dark Alpha wolves of the Fall Mountain pack. Who worship a forbidden god and who don't care about any of the rules she has always been taught.

Pro's:
+ The concept of this story is quite good. Even though it sometimes feels like a cheap romance story, the characters are quite well written and all have their own personality. Mairin is quite a complex character for this type of story and I really liked learning more about her and seeing how she find her strength eventually.

Con's:
- This is marketed as a Reverse-Harem romance story, but there is no actual romance or any sexy bits at all. The characters are just slowly walking around each other and there is not a lot of romance progress at all. So if you want to pick this up and expect something steamy, the water isn't even close to boiling in this entry.
- The writing is actually kinda bad, I expected a more flushed out story, but somehow it just felt very cheap and very rushed. Like this is just a copy you send to your trail readers, something that needs to be polished more to get to it's actual state.
- The ending of this book cuts off so suddenly that I was confused and was searching for the rest of the book, only to discover that there was nothing more. This has never happened to me before and now I'm not sure if this was supposed to be one big book instead of three small ones.

I got this in a mystery box and even though I was really happy when I first got it, I couldn't be more disappointed now. This might be one of the worst Reverse-Harem novels I have ever read in my life, mostly because THERE IS NOT ONE REVERSE-HAREM SCENE!. How does that happen... There isn't even a real romance, as the characters are constantly dancing around each other, never making a step forward. Also the ending and the writing style are atrocious. The concept is fun though and a part of me wants to read the next book, hoping for some action.

5/5 stars

WHAT THE HELL!!!!! WHAT WAS THAT CLIFFHANGER???!?!?!??!?!?!?!??!!?!? MY JAW IS LITERALLY ON THE FLOOR ROLLING AWAY.... I halfway called the cliffhanger, and let's just say that my prediction was 10000% correct, I just did not realize some other things.... Like holy crap.....

This was me exactly after finishing the book. I really want to read the next one but I am just nervous from how the last one left off, and I am worried that it will not compare to this book... It is also really late at night, so I doubt that I will be starting it tonight....

“And we are going to tell you every single day how beautiful, amazing and strong you are until you believe that.”

Now do not even get me started on the guys. I literally cannot, I just love them all. I love how we get to know each and every one of them on their own, but we get that really deep connection with them.

I loved all the twists and turns of the book. I felt like the pacing was really good, and I was hooked straight from the beginning. I could not put this book down, and I loved every second of it. I am running out of things to say because my brain is not working now, but I will say this. I almost did not pick this book up because I was not sure of the blurb, but I am so glad that I did. Honestly this was a really good and I felt needed read to try to get me "back" into writing, and I will hopefully be starting the second book very soon.

*Update - a few minutes later*

Oh. my. god.... THERE ARE EIGHT FREAKING BOOKS IN THIS SERIES! WHAT THE HECK! Now I just do not know what to do... There is no way I will be able to read EIGHT books. I already have enough trouble if it is a trilogy, which by the way is what I thought this was... How much is there to write bout anyway??? I just do not know what to do now.... This really burst my bubble...

I was intrigued by the blurb, and there were elements of the story that were interesting, but there were also several things that weren't so great that need some work..

There were a few things that didn't quite make sense to me.. Like Silas not giving Mai permission to shift. "She's not ready" doesn't really cut it, especially after she's attacked and when the other alphas say she'd be stronger and would pick up fighting easier if she could shift. After she's attacked, and then challenged, why would he not want her at her strongest?? It really doesn't make sense, especially when the other 3 alphas gave their permission, so his reason can't be too important.
There's also the fact that Mai is pretty sheltered and clueless to a lot of things, such as human things. For some reason they don't really teach her in a helpful way or explain things very well - like washing. They don't tell her about separating colors from whites or anything, they just let her do it with no instructions and let her wonder why the clothes come out in different colors and don't say anything to her. Ummm why?
Some comments also didn't quite make sense to me - like her saying "they certainly do not love me." Such a random thing to say and for no apparent reason. She's only been in their pack for 2 weeks, she doesn't love them, there's been nothing romantic between her and the 4 alphas, so of course no one would expect them to love her. .

The writing also needs some work - it's not the smoothest with some of the sentences a little stilted and disjointed, and some are just too overdramatized.

The story has a lot of potential, but needs some work. I'm not sure i'll continue with this series..