Review: Little Wolf by R. Cooper

Title: Little Wolf (A Being(s) in Love Story)

Author: R. Cooper

Pages/Word Count: 380 Pages

At a Glance: Expect to be wowed by this book, and expect to smile for weeks after reading it.

Reviewed By: Janet

Blurb: On the run from his old-blood werewolf family, Tim Dirus finds himself in Wolf’s Paw, one of the last surviving refuges from the days when werewolves were hunted by humans and one of the last places Tim wants to be. Kept away from other wolves by his uncle, Tim knows almost nothing about his own kind except that alpha werewolves only want to control and dominate a scrawny wolf like him.

Tim isn’t in Wolf’s Paw an hour before he draws the attention of Sheriff Nathaniel Neri, the alphaest alpha in a town full of alphas. Powerful, intimidating, and the most beautiful wolf Tim has ever seen, Nathaniel makes Tim feel safe for reasons Tim doesn’t understand. For five years he’s lived on the run, in fear of his family and other wolves. Everything about Wolf’s Paw is contrary to what he thought he knew, and he is terrified. Fearing his mate will run, Sheriff Nathaniel must calm his little wolf and show him he’s more than a match for this big, bad alpha.

Review: I truly love an author whose world building skills are so strong that I have no choice but to be pulled into the worlds they create. R. Cooper is one of the best, and Little Wolf is a fantastic addition to A Being(s) in Love Story universe.

This story is set in Wolf’s Paw, a sanctuary of sorts, a town full of humans and weres and all sorts of Beings. The town itself is a very important part of the story, as Timothy is very much in need of sanctuary when he arrives, and it gives him a comfortable place to spread his wings and learn that he has more going for him than he first thought. The character of Nathaniel is such a clever foil for Tim that his awesomeness takes a while to sink in. The strength that he has is obvious, but the openness that he displays is a reaction to the love for Tim that is growing within him, and not a natural characteristic of his. This is just one of the many delightful conflicts that are layered so cleverly in this story.

The witty dialogue and the tone that flows throughout the story are hilarious to read. That R. Cooper makes me blush right along with Tim at his ridiculous babbling is impressive. She creates emotions that sink into the reader; we are there with the characters, feeling what they feel, but omnipotent and able to see the backgrounds of where they are at the same time. The fact that their courtship is going on under the fascinated eyes of their town is another layer of humor and a display of world building craftsmanship at the same time. The whole story is just solid. There are new facts revealed on each page, and the characters are built in layers that expose them and endear them to us with every word we read. This is a book I was not able to put down until the very end. I was fully engrossed and eager for the final resolution. This is something that I have come to expect from an R. Cooper book, and it is so refreshing to find an author who can continue to expand the world she builds with every subsequent story.

I can honestly say that there is nothing gratuitous in these pages; the sex is hot and fitting to the stage of the story, there are moments of tenderness and also of violence. Moments of bumbling awkwardness and also enraging revelations of abuse, but through all of this is the overwhelming sense of hope for Nathaniel and Tim and their HEA. It is felt by the whole town, all of its people, and by the reader at the same time. It makes the ending even sweeter because we have been such an important part of the story. Expect to be wowed by this book, and expect to smile for weeks after reading it when a phrase or scene pops into your head. I can’t wait to see what is coming from this author next.