Title: Ghost Wolf
Author: Hurri Cosmo
Publisher: Painted Hearts Publishing
Length: 390 Pages
Category: Paranormal, Shifters
At a Glance: I have mixed feelings about the book. Overall, I would say that I would recommend it, just with a caveat. I did enjoy most of it and it’s got a good premise and storyline.
Reviewed By: Carrie
Blurb: Hi, my name is Trevor. I’m a wolf shifter.
I say that like I know what I’m talking about. I don’t. I was simply running off a ton of steam one day when I was around eleven and bam! Okay, not quite that easy or fast but it happened when I was young and stupid. I’m also gay. I say that like I know what I’m talking about with that too. I simply don’t.
I’m grown up now and living in the big city which has me too busy to much care about either one of those things. I get out and run my wolf when I can, trying like hell to stay out of the local pack’s territories. Belonging to a “family” just sounds like too much work, and honestly I don’t have time for such things. Besides, I was told when I was young the color of my wolf was all wrong. Too silver…or something. Metallic. I kinda thought it looked cool in the full moon. “Pack Alpha would kill ya soon as look at ya.” My grandpa used to say. Course he wasn’t my real grandpa. Just an old man who lived down the street, but he was a shifter too and I thought he knew it all. He probably knew diddly either, but a guy can’t be too careful. And romance? Way off the radar.
Only now someone has started killing wolves. Started leaving broken bodies lined up in a nice little row next to the high school in my home town and it’s got me to thinking. If a shifter is killed in his or her wolf state, do they stay that way? Were these dead wolves like me? The hell of it all is this: being a shifter isn’t common knowledge. It bothers me enough that now I want to find out more. See if there’s anything I can do. Kind of like a super hero.
Oh yeah. Probably forgot to tell you this too. I can turn invisible. Yep, Ghost Wolf to the rescue.
Review: This particular book was several things for me: it’s long, entertaining, and a bit YA—at least in the beginning—it’s mysterious, tedious, and quirky. The story has mystery, a touch of magic, and is a good example of fantasy fiction. It has a dark humor and a HEA. I know, confusing… right?! Thing is, when it was all said and done, I did enjoy it, at least parts of it, but the story kind of has its fits and starts and when it runs over on a topic, it really runs over on the topic. But when it ended, and I looked back in hindsight, I understood what the author was trying to accomplish, and, overall, it is an enjoyable storyline. And don’t think that this is a YA novel because of the above comment. It is not, at all.
Hurri Cosmo has a simplified writing style. It is conversational and done through the eyes of our main character, Trevor. At the beginning of the book, the story has a cadence that reminded me a great deal of young adult literature. As the story progresses, you almost have to look past that cadence—or just get used to it so that it doesn’t detract from the overall story. Trevor likes to make observations and comments on all his and other characters’ actions in his head; it is like having a built-in commentator in the storyline. Trevor is one of these characters that stumble through life. Things just happen to him again and again and again.
Ghost Wolf is the tale of a self-deprecating (to the point of being painful) young man named, Trevor, and the Alpha of the Jarfang pack (who, for someone who runs multiple businesses, is rather naïve). It’s a coming-of-age, coming-into-his-own story about a boy who learns at eleven years old that he can turn into a wolf. Trevor has always been on his own. Adopted at an early age he only has his mom, who he isn’t particularly close to, and an elderly neighbor he calls Grandpa. Circumstances happen beyond his control when Trevor moves away to go to college, and suddenly Trevor finds himself in the middle of a pack of wolves and he struggles to know how to act, what to do, and who to trust. Grandpa was a bitter old wolf who filled Trevor’s head with a lot stories, and Trevor really doesn’t want to find out if some of them are true or not; they are too horrifying.
The alpha of the pack, Ryan, knows Trevor is his fated mate the first time he sees him; he just doesn’t understand how Trevor can keep running away from him or continue to push him away. Ryan is a young Alpha, and as such he doesn’t have the commanding presence of someone older. His pack loves him, and he is working towards the inclusion of all forms of wolves into his pack. I kept wishing Ryan would ‘grow into his character.’ I pretty much thought that given ten years, he could be a great character and Alpha male. And honestly, Ryan is just what Trevor needs. He does ground Trevor somewhat, which is what Trevor needed.
Of course, with a touch of magic and a lot of happenstance, our HEA is actualized but it takes a while to get there; this is a very long book. There were parts of this storyline I thought… why? And there were parts of this storyline that I thought… oooo that’s good! Sorry for the mixed review, it’s just I have mixed feelings about the book. Overall, I would say that I would recommend it, just with a caveat. Like I said, when it was all said and done, I did enjoy most of it and it’s got a good premise and storyline. I actually liked that it wasn’t your “regular” shifter book. The secondary characters were interesting and annoying all in good measure. If you’re looking for a shifter book with a touch of magic, then this fits the bill. If you are looking for a shifter book with alpha males and submissive omegas, then keep looking because this book could not be farther away from that.
You can buy Ghost Wolf here:
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