The Strength of a Gamma is the second book in the Pack Discipline series and is told in third person through the eyes of two gamma werewolves, Steffan and Francis.


Francis and Steffan have been friends since Francis was a pup. Steffan has been in love with Francis as long as he can remember. This story is how the two navigate the waters of a friendship turned to lovers. It’s also how the two find their way into a BDSM lifestyle.

I was disappointed with this story. I’ve read other books by this author I enjoyed more. This story seemed fragmented, like the author’s ideas didn’t mesh well together or the author tossed random thoughts together and stirred. I enjoyed the parts with Francis where he is trying to figure out how to start this relationship with Steffan and to figure out how to make BDSM work for them. Steffan on the other hand I found highly frustrating. His feelings of inferiority and “I’m not worthy” struck me more of an Omega rather than a Gamma. It was so pervasive throughout the book that I found it annoying and couldn’t connect with him. By the end of the story, he’d convinced me that yes, he wasn’t worthy. I didn’t find him a very appealing character.

What I also found lacking in this book was any sense of werewolf lore or society or anything. It’s like the author just used the word ‘werewolf’ so she could create a hierarchy of gay guys living out in the woods and get them all growly. It didn’t help that they were mostly referred to as “the older man,” “the younger man,” etc. referring to them as their human aspects rather than wolf aspects. They didn’t seem like wolves to me.

Also I didn’t care for, as I mentioned, the overuse of descriptive pronouns. I would have preferred the author used their names instead.

Overall, I rank The Strength of a Gamma as one of the author’s least enjoyable books. I can only give it 2 Stars


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This story fascinated me. It shows what damage can be done if two people each make assumptions about what the other person needs, without checking whether what they think is true. In this case the situation was especially damaging because the two main characters had known each other for years, yet had missed essential clues about the other’s development and changing circumstances/needs. A string of resulting misunderstandings is woven into a tale of friendship and love that made me want to shake the characters so they’d wake up and see what they were inadvertently doing to each other. It also moved me deeply.

As unusual as the D/s relationship in the first volume was, the second volume was in many ways as unexpected and special. I liked that it was clear how much Steffan and Francis love each other – to anyone except the two of them. Neither wants to admit to their feelings. Steffan because he thinks he isn’t good enough for Francis, and Francis because he doesn’t realize that what he feels is love. The ultimate solution, and how they get there, was a surprise to me, but very well crafted.

I love how Kim Dare took the preconceptions about what physically strong wolves/humans should be like and want, and what physically weaker ones should behave like and crave – and turns them totally on their head. The rationale and why it works is all there, though, and made this book a wonderful surprise.




NOTE: This book has been provided by Total-E-Bound for the purpose of a review. ( )