I am surprised by how little attention this book has received.
It's nothing special but it does what it does better than a lot of books with 50 times the ratings and the same average.
I think this is a good example of how much of a difference a famous name and a big publisher can make.
The main difference between this story and other werewolf pack stories is that there is no romance or love interest worth mentioning. (Maybe that's the issue?) A lot of what this book does I would categorize as young-adult but I can see why someone decided against that label.

Now let's get to the actual book. There were a few things that irritated me.
This book makes use of a very effective tool in a blunt way to keep engagement high which I don't like. Injustice because of prejudice and use of influence behind the curtain against the underdogs. But the entire thing felt forced and unbelievable. If someone is powerful enough to influence Police investigations he should be smart enough to trap his "accidentally" bitten werewolves without alarming them first to what he is up to for example. A lot of the plot relies on the stupidity of supposedly smart, ruthless, influential, and powerful people, which always rubs me the wrong way.
The unjust treatment of the underdog has a very strong allure regardless of the rather crude setup.
Despite these complaints, I have seen much worse in that department.
I have a hard time putting this next one into words. The world feels small. There are no connections that reach into the world beyond the core plot and its actors. This ensures a fast pace but even tho I generally enjoy fast pacing, in this case, it makes it hard for me to buy into the world itself because there is nothing to buy into there. There basically is no general worldbuilding at all. ( )

A few worldbuilding issues, but solid writing

I enjoyed the characters and the interplay as they became a pack. My issue is with policing, as in their was almost none. The ‘bad guys’ did things with almost no repercussions and that bothered me. The world was too normal for witches and weres to be so out of control. There were some hints about power structures, but the witch interactions especially left me questioning the stability of the world, which is a flaw in he narrative.

I was, however, able to look past the worldbuilding issue and enjoy the growth and development of the pack. There is a lot of potential in this group.

I will purchase book 2. Best recommendation I can give, it is worthy of my money. ( )

A few worldbuilding issues, but solid writing

I enjoyed the characters and the interplay as they became a pack. My issue is with policing, as in their was almost none. The ‘bad guys’ did things with almost no repercussions and that bothered me. The world was too normal for witches and weres to be so out of control. There were some hints about power structures, but the witch interactions especially left me questioning the stability of the world, which is a flaw in he narrative.

I was, however, able to look past the worldbuilding issue and enjoy the growth and development of the pack. There is a lot of potential in this group.

I will purchase book 2. Best recommendation I can give, it is worthy of my money. ( )