*I received a free copy of this book to read and review*
There are three criteria by which I judge a book: writing quality, story line/plot, and character voice. Lone Wolf Rising delivers in all three.
Writing quality (4 stars): Brumfield is a strong writer. Even though this is all I have read by her, I have a feeling that if she were to write an instruction manual, I still be drawn in to read it front to back. That said, however, this book could use another edit. I discovered many typos while just casually reading (I probably would have found more if I were looking): "form" instead of "from", "I" instead of "It", an entire word missing in a sentence, two periods at the end of a sentence, etc. I also noticed a few repetitive parts that could be condensed (*Small Spoiler* for example, it is mentioned 3 or 4 times in one chapter that Lucky and Rebecca drove home alone because Hunter and Savvy had a late practice after school; once would have sufficed). These are minor things, but the mistakes do take the reader out of the story and can be easily fixed.
Story (3 stars): Ok, I was actually incredibly drawn into the story and stayed up late last night finishing the book because I could not put it down. Why only 3 stars then? You ask. There were just too many similarities with the Mortal Instruments series. I'll admit that I have not read many paranormal teen romance books, so I'm not sure what is derivative from The Mortal Instruments series and what is just a trope or archetype of the genre, but it was too close for my comfort. However, Lone Wolf Rising is unique enough to be enjoyable, especially if you like the genre.
Character voice (5 stars): When I am reading a book, I want to be able to tell the difference between the characters by just reading the dialogue and description of the action, especially when chapters are going to be from different perspectives, like in this book. One of the biggest failures of Allegiant was that Roth only wrote in one voice; every character was the same in my head. Brumfield, however, gave each of her characters unique personalities. Without having to go back to the beginning of the chapter, I was able to tell whose point of view each chapter was from, and I knew when Rebecca was having a conversation with Lucky, or Gabriel, or Jackson, without having to read the indications of who was speaking.
Bottom line: I recommend giving the series a try. I'm going to get the next book in the series myself.