Music is my life. At least, it would be if my father’s politics didn’t dictate every minute of my day. When I sneak out to live my dream for the night, consequences follow. Papá’s Second, Eliel, challenges him for the throne, putting me at risk of being forcibly claimed by the devious, disgusting male.
To keep me safe, my father sends me to the one person he trusts—his best friend, Richard. Yet, Richard isn’t the wolf I remember from my childhood. The moment I see him again, a tether forms between us, twisting our souls into a bond so rare, it hasn’t been seen in thousands of years. Barely there touches, smoldering looks, and soft growls become something more, something intense and powerful that draws us together like moths desperate to burn.
But as with everything in my life, our connection is complicated. We have to keep it hidden, because when my father finds out, he won’t understand. Worse yet, he won’t give us the chance to explain. I’ve got to succeed in my quest for harmony to drown out the discord. Like my best friend Leo says, when words fail, music speaks.
Wrestling With Werewolves is a low angst, age gap romance between a latiné rock princess and her father’s best friend. If you’re looking for a book boyfriend who’s one thousand percent in his woman's corner, Werewolves is it.
Hazel Mack writes small town cozy but scorching monster romance. High heat but lots of sweet is the name of the game. She lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with Mr. Mack, Baby Mack and a dog named Andy. Hazel Mack is the sticky sweet alter ego of dark(ish) romance author Anna Fury.
Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed this installment, but it might be tied with Tangling With Trolls for my least favorite installment in the series. It's ironic, but my issues with this book were a foil to my issues with TWT: in TWT, I felt like Ohken's dom nature was over-written, but in WWW, I felt like Richard lost all of his dominance and all of the Alpha aspects of his personality about halfway through the book.
The other issue I had with this book was Lola's character, which made me especially sad since I've loved all of the other FMCs in this series. Lola irritated me a little bit from the start of the book, but by the end, she was downright insufferable. I didn't even care enough to read the epilogue freebie on the author's site like I usually do! 😩
All of that aside, I will say that the first half of this book was mostly really enjoyable between how good their chemistry was and how much I loved Richard's character. I really enjoy when authors write Alphas as caretakers instead of over-domineering assholes, and Hazel Mack did such a good job of showing us how deeply Richard cares about his pack. ♥️
Now, onward to one of my most anticipated books in the series: Slaying with Sylphs! At least one good thing about this series is that, on the rare occasion when one of these isn't a 5-star read for me, I'm still incredibly excited for the next installment. 🥰
Wrestling with Werewolves missed the mark for me in many ways. I love this world and several of its characters but ultimately Lola came off immature and too indecisive. I found Richard to be a little strange and their interactions cringey at times. I felt like the story was trying too hard to be sensitive…or something. But hey, I read dark romances with a list of triggers that sometimes fill a whole page lol. Some plot points didn’t feel pulled together enough. It was cute though at times.
I love an age-gap romance but the dynamic, especially the Fem Dom piece in here just wasn’t my jam🤷🏻♀️.
4.5 stars. I was so excited for this ARC because Richard had all the sexy werewolf daddy vibes and I needed him to get his happy ever after. There was SO much angst in this book, with all the “he’s my dad’s best friend so we can’t be together” stuff going on. Richard had a serious self-sacrifice streak going on and Big Daddy, his wolf, (that name tho 😆) was a good comic relief to balance it out. Lola was an interesting mix of occasional rebelliousness, sneaking out sometimes to sing in her band, and utter dedication to her pack and, frankly, everyone she met. I was worried she was gonna be spoiled rotten, but she was a sweetie pie. Her dad though…. He needs a lot of therapy. Looking forward to Lou’s book!
Spice: 4/5
Triggers: mention of parent death (off page, no detail), mild violence, sexual harassment (brief, mild), threat of forced relationship
Content/Trigger Warnings: Blood, violence, severe guilt, anxiety, grief, loss of parents (in the past), mentions of stalking, mentions of harassment, breeding kink & pregnancy talk, explicit sexual content, scene of exhibitionism
-sigh- The time has come for me to reveal my thoughts and huge disappointment with this next book in the Haven Ever After series. When it was announced Richard was getting his own book, I was so excited and intrigued, but sadly, this book didn't turn out the way I hoped. Saying I disliked this book would be an understatement and after a lot of thinking, I lowered my rating to two stars because I really struggled to find much of anything I liked or enjoyed about this story. So without dragging this out any further, let's just dive into my thoughts.
Let's start by addressing our two characters, Lola and Richard. The way both of these characters constantly beat the reader over the head throughout this book with the "She's too young for me," "He's too old for me," made me wish this wasn't an age-gap romance. I typically love a good age-gap romance, but if I'm constantly being beaten over the head with the reminder that it's an age-gap, I start to dislike it even hating it. That's factoring in that their ages are extremely confusing and never actually addressed so we have an idea of just how big their age gap actually is. The dialogue in the book doesn't help with figuring that out either. Mix this in with the fact that Lola feels like a contradiction. She's a very hot and cold character of coming off as insanely immature and naive to then having moments where she's acting more mature than she's portrayed. The other thing that really hindered my enjoyment of these characters was Richard's wolf and the fact that he's referred to "Big Daddy." Not only did the name "Big Daddy" wear out it's welcome very quickly, but also the fact that he was such a constant figure interjecting into conversations and thought processes of Richard, also wore out it's welcome. By halfway through this book, I was done and over with it.
Something else I want to point out that really bothered me was a scene that centered around Dirk, Connall, Lola, and Richard. It felt extremely out of place having Lola jump into the conversation that was happening between Connall and Dirk especially when Lola is a brand new character in all of this and Lola even states herself that her friendship with Lou is very new. If you know, you know. This scene really bothered me because it's the equivalent of if your romantic partners are discussing your mental health and then a friend of a friend decides to jump in and give their two cents on how it "fix" things. In no way shape or form would that kind of behavior fly not only in reality, but also in the majority of fantasy and romance books this behavior is always challenged or corrected. I was surprised that didn't occur. We do get a follow up chapter where Connall and Richard talk it out more that leads to a really wholesome scene with Iggy talking about Lou to Connall and Richard (one of my favorite moments of the entire book). Again, if you know, you know! Despite the wholesome scene, the fact that Lola went uncorrected/challenged in that moment really added a sour taste to my mouth. I also want to take a moment to state, this is a personal thing for me as someone with PTSD and I always focus on this topic (and mental health in general) with a microscope focus, and so take this part with a grain of salt.
Another thing I thought was odd that didn't get addressed or really challenged was Lola's father abusing his position of power to do harm to others all in the name/sake of his daughter. We get moments where we're told Richard and Lola will both be speaking with Marco to address his behavior, but it never happens, we never see it, and it's like the author expected us to just forget this was happening on the side. Even near the end, it's very briefly mentioned, but that's about it. Between this and what I just previously stated, this came off as the author trying to avoid any kind of conflict resolution that wasn't the "main conflict."
There's also a few other things that caused an internal divide with the things I enjoyed in this book. Such as the side characters and seeing some original favorites like Iggy and Morgan. Yup, that's right, the side characters stood out better than the actual main couple we're supposed to be following. The scenes with Lou, Connall, and Dirk gave me so much joy and happiness. I love all three of them with my whole chest and it has me excited to see the three of them in book six. However, it really gave me pause to reflect that I was enjoying moments with side characters and excited about side characters more than I was following the main story or couple. It also made me feel like I couldn't 'dnf' this book because there's so many key moments of these three characters and you don't know if it's going to be important in reference to the next book.
The other thing I semi-enjoyed was the ending. Okay, it was more so the fight scene, but everything else about the ending just felt so out of character and out of place. I wasn't a fan of Lola icing Richard out of her strategy and stringing him along, I wasn't a fan of how the ending didn't match up with what both characters desired, and a few other things I don't want to spoil. The ending was a lot of mixed feelings for me and I'm still a little divided on how I feel.
One of my most favorite things about this book, however, was the talk of grief and the quotes I pulled that were centered around grief. There was a really beautiful moment where Richard gives Lola photos of her parents and precious memories, and that whole scene made me cry. It was hands down one of my favorite moments in this book along with Iggy talking with Connall and Richard about Lou. Hands down, those are my two most favorite moments.
And one final brief thing I want to mention that I really loved... It's the fact the author held off on the release of the book so the sensitivity readers could read the book and go over things. This really stood out to me and I wanted to share my appreciation here!
Overall, I'm just sad and disappointed that I couldn't love this book more. I don't know if I had my expectations too high, but it just didn't work for me on so many levels. I'm honestly shocked this turned into my least favorite book of the entire series. This also has me very nervous for book six especially with the author claiming it's going to be a true polyam relationship. As someone who is polyam, I always find polyam rep in books is always a 50/50. So while I'm so excited to read Lou's book, after this one, I'm feeling very cautious and hesitant over jumping right in to book six. I also want to take this moment to emphasize that you should really read these books in order because there's pieces in this book that are in reference to things that happen in the first four books in the series.
Me niego a ser objetiva con esta novela. No quería puntuarla por la mala puntuación que le voy a dejar, pero ahora al hacer la reseña me ha venido la vergüenza ajena así recuerdo el libro en general y me pongo mala.
Es una pena porque yo esta saga me han encantado los tres primeros libros y a quien le haya gustado esa novela me alegro por ella. Sin embargo, para mí ha sido un no rotundo por varios frentes. Puede estar decente escrito, pero no soporto este tipo de argumento. Me da incluso asco. Tenía que decirlo.
Ahora si me estas leyendo estarás diciendo: ¿por qué la has seguido leyendo? Por el simple hecho que quiero leer el siguiente libro y no podía dejarlo colgado y si lo iba a criticar lo hacía habiéndolo leído.
Qué mal sabor de boca me ha dejado. Lo peor de este año.
HAZEL MACK IS THE QUEEN OF COZY MONSTER SMUT, and with every new release just solidifies her reign even further.
wrestling with werewolves is the newest in her haven ever after series, and once again delivers all of the cute, quirky small town feel-good elements with god-tier smut. every single time. every book in this series is somehow both adorably precious and criminally spicy.
this was a blast, truly, and would be an especially good fit (ha, ha) for omegaverse newbies who want a gentle introduction to the subgenre. this one tells the story of richard and lola — richard, in the role of a much-older, dad’s-best-friend, bodyguard-esque alpha wolf, and lola, in the role of rebel rockstar princess sent away for her own safety.
there are KNOTS. there is NESTING. there are TAMALES. and there’s enough of a plot here to keep you interested as these two navigate the forbidden romance of a large age gap and a complicated history of family dynamics.
pick up this series if you were team jacob as a teenager but are firmly team charlie swan as an adult. this is like the best of both worlds.
thank you to hazel mack for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this one! i'm already dying for the next one — this is officially my emotional support cozy small town monster romance series.
"An alpha's job is to protect everyone, but his omega is another story. She's where he unleashes, sweetheart. She's HIS resting place. His sweetest torment. His hottest f***. Sweet nothings aren't a pack alpha's style. Dominance, that's what I want."
So excited to get a chance to go back to Ever! This world feels like coming home and getting a cozy hug. The found family and community vibes in this book is so strong and made me very sad that I can't live here in real life. I loved that we got to see another Haven! The description of Santa Alaya sounded so amazing and peaceful. And getting to know more about how the shifter world works and their lore was so fun! I love how they are connected to their wolves.
Not only did I fall in love with Richard and Lola, but there were so many side characters that captured my heart! Lupe...I need her as my stand in grandma. She was hilarious. I aspire to be like her when I get older. 🤣 And of course the thruple I've been looking forward to for a while! Dirk, Connall, and Lou are going to be so fun to read (even though I feel like my heart is going to be broken in the process). And I can't not mention Mr Wolfy (Richard's wolf)! I'm not going to spoil his name but you'll lol when you read it. He had me cracking up the entire time.
I was certain that I had figured out what was going on with the pack King and Lola. So when the conflict ended sort of anticlimactically I kept turning pages to see if I somehow missed something. There was so much build up about Eliel and him using magic that I am sort of shocked the whole issue was resolved so easily without anyone getting hurt. Although I love that we got to see Lola become even more of a bad*** princess than she already was! I didn't care for how much her father did a 180 on his personality. I wouldn't trust that guy at all.
The spice is SPICIN in this book. Office scene? Wow...I definitely had to take a break after reading that. Richard very much deserves to have that big ego attitude. 🥵 Lola resisted that growly alpha a lot longer than I would have!
4.25 ⭐️ Hot as hell Shifter Princess falls for her father's best friend.
Age Gap romances aren't really my thing, but with paranormal romances where characters are basically immortal, I feel like the line is much more blurred. Lola and Richard have a very odd start since they've known each other since Lola was born. They reunite as Lola is sent to Ever after she gets in trouble by sneaking off to play with her band, while her father is preparing to be challenged as leader and King by his second.
This book flew by. I know it's not the longest novel ever, but it seriously felt like the first 50% happened in the blink of an eye. I've already read the extra epilogue and still, I want more! The concept of alphas and omegas is not new, but I loved the politics and hierarchies created here. The sense of community was great and the pack run is something all shifter books should have! I feel like it's a staple that other books are missing.
This was such a fun book, I'm salivating at the thought of being able to read Lou's book next month!
🌶🌶🌶+🌶 - This was so hot! The first half of the book takes it slow but once they get going it's all happening fast. The extra pepper is for the extra epilogue -aka the dance and jewellery presenting ritual chapters.
Oh boy, do I love a good forbidden romance, and nothing says forbidden like an age gap of a few hundred years and the MMC being the best friend of the FMC's dad. This is actually a first for me, reading the dad's best friend trope. I have read age gap with best friend's dad or ex's dad, and those are always so steamy and delicious. This book is certainly no exception, especially with the little bit of a slow burn that comes along with it as they fight their attraction to each other. In addition, Hazel channels her alter ego Anna Fury with some omegaverse spice that always hits the spot just right. Yeah, it's messy and chaotic and libidos are on overdrive, but the intimacy and tender moments are top notch. Hazel Mack is the master at both world-building and relationship building, and so I found myself immediately sucked back into the world of havens and wishing I could not only live there but find my own happily ever after. I can not get enough of this fictional world!
Our heroine, Lola, is a were princess, kept safe and protected even though the things she wants most is to travel around with her band and perform on stage. Her father sends her to live with his former Second, Richard, when things get dangerous for her at home, and sparks fly almost immediately. Richard hadn't seen her since she was a little kid, and he was completely unprepared for the beautiful woman she had become. Lola, in turn, found Richard to be a hottie, even though he was much too old for her. Not to mention, her father would never allow anything to happen between them. Richard shows her around the town, gets her set up in a place of her own, and soon their attraction to each other is impossible to deny. Richard's wolf, Big Daddy (I kid you not, that is his wolf's chosen name), is eager to solidify their connection to Lola, insisting that she is the one for them, but Richard is hesitant. I loved the internal dialogue between Richard and his wolf, with his wolf being so protective and horny at the same time. When flirting turns to kissing, and Lola decides to throw caution to the wind, the ball is in Richard's court to so something about it. And oh, does he. And in the bedroom? These two are on FIRE. Richard is at once gentle and dominant, taking control while also making sure Lola feels completely cherished. Her father does eventually find out, of course, and that's when I just fell in love with Lola. She was so strong and capable, didn't need a man to solve her problems, and Richard was ready to stand by her no matter what. These two...you'll fall in love with them both.
**I received a free copy from the author and this is my honest review.**
I love this series. I've been loving this series. And Richard and Lola are the perfect new addition to this cozy monster series full of shenanigans and spice and heart. (These books are very personal to me personally okay?)
WWW has the perfect amount of angst for my anxiety ridden brain. Richard and Lola probably shouldn't be together (dad's best friend, age gap, etc) but fate is like "LOLZ YOU THOUGHT". Which is very fate of fate, y'know? But after Lola lands in Ever for protection while her dad battles for the crown of King of the Shifters, we get this delicious push/pull that was perfectly done. Lola and Richard don't spend a whole lot of time waffling back and forth on their feelings. The feelings are acknowledged but they've both, separately, got to figure out how to act on them without hurting the person that connects them.
And Hazel diverts a lot of the "simpering omega, big bad alpha" stereotype that we see in usual A/B/O dynamics. Lola is strong and independent and doesn't cower. (And she kinda wants to peg Richard which he's totally down for). And Richard has that protector Alpha energy but he also lets Lola hold her own. Because he knows what he's got and that's a badass lady shifter.
Adored the inclusion of toys designed for people with penises. We don't see that enough and Hazel Mack BLESSED us. My favorite installment in the series thus far. So good. The teasing of Lou/Dirk/Connal was immaculate. The age gap was perfectly handled (Lola isn't a fresh 18 year old lol she's like decades old and has life experience!). And the inclusion of Lola's culture, home haven, and Richard helping care for her hair??? LOVED.
Another amazing story by Hazel. Richard and his wolf, who is absolutely a terror in the best ways, are tasks with taking care of Princess Lola. But lines get blurred real quick in a “the wolf wants what it wants” kinda way. Ever is steal healing from the the attacks and losing a shifter member, things back at home are a mess for Lola, all the good drama that’s never too heavy but just enough to keep you on the edge! Speaking of edging… 👀🤭 I seriously loved Richard’s Story and getting more sneaks at Lou, Dirk and Connall. I cannot wait for more Ever adventures. You’re going to absolutely love Lola and Richard. Their dynamic is so so good!! The big tough alpha who can take it as well as he gives it? Yeah. That’s all you get. Until release day 😉💖
At no point in this book did I know where it was headed. I haven't read any of the others in this series, so it took a little while for me to understand this world. There's a little of everything: OMV, shifters, packs with alphas leading, a king over all of them, magic and separate fantastical hidden worlds, humans and rock music, an electric guitar playing princess, concerts and body guards, centaurs, pegasi, gargoyles, houses that shift and interact with their residents (that was awesome), mates and...beyond fated mates, and so on. It was wild ride.
And honestly I just found it fun to read. At no point did I know where things would end up because I kept guessing and then something completely out of pocket would happen. Like the random butt plug vibe the MMC pulled out for himself.
I don't know how to explain how weirdly fascinating this book was. I kept mentally saying wtf while I continued reading anyway.
Lots didn't make sense to me, like the fact that the MMC was her father's second for hundreds of years, and was there when she was a young child, but also left and was an alpha of his own pack for hundreds of years...and she's still only 20 years into adulthood? So either she's also hundreds of years old and they're only considered adults after a few hundreds years like fae in some stories are, or the timing is off. It never says how old any of them actually are, it only ever mentions that she hasn't been underage for two decades.
There were some other things too, but that caused me the most mental strife.
Lastly, I hated what happened at the end because it was so unlike what either of them wanted for their lives. Like a complete turnaround from everything they had said they wanted, and we don't get to see how they work it all out either. We see strong hints that they'll be good at it, but being good at something and wanting it to become your life, are two different things. He swore to her to find a way to make her dream happen even with their new responsibilities, so we get the idea that it does, but we don't see it in effect. I'm tempted to rate this lower for that ending alone, but overall, this really was a cute read.
At the rate it was going it just felt like it was gonna be a 3 star and I wanted something a lot better. Plus I couldn’t get invested in the characters. Lola felt a little bit too immature to me and Richard kept giving me whiplash with one minute he’s flirting with her and being all sexy and then the next minute he’s backing off and sitting there saying he shouldn’t be thinking about her like this that’s his best friend‘s daughter,….. like pick one because this back-and-forth is getting really old. I also could not stand his alpha voice. It was very childish plus he gave me ick vibes with always saying how he wanted to show Lola his d*ck..a little gross ngl and usually when I read werewolf or shifter books their inner alpha are very mature so this one was very random. Not to mention him calling himself big daddy was ridiculous. I could not take that seriously 😂 boy bye you’re supposed to be the pack alpha and your inner alpha likes to be called big daddy….ok
Do you ever see the trope list for a book and think this was written for me? I’m pretty sure Hazel Mack wrote this one for me. Gimme all the rockstar monster romances and I will be very happy, add in a forbidden age gap and I am smitten. I loved Lola and Richard so much, their banter and chemistry was delightfully delicious! Seeing another haven was so fun too. I really appreciate well thought out lore and world building and I loved seeing this world expand more. As always I cannot wait to read the next one!
This was fun, light, laugh out loud, just a good time.
🪢 cozy fantasy romance 🪢 small town 🪢 werewolf mates 🪢 age gap (I'm talking dad's best friend) 🪢 knots 🪢 heats
I don't wanna spoil anything accidentally for anyone. But Big Daddy made me laugh every time, what a perfect addition! Book 4 still holds the 1st spot in every single aspect, but this one is a close second.
Lola is a 5 star queen and I'd appreciate this book more but I don't really like the story - the first 4 books followed the same storyline and I get why that had to change but this one wasn't for me. . . . and: SLICK. Please just don't use this word. EVER.
Sadly a DNF for me. I love this series so much. But I can not do age gap when it’s the dads best friend who know the women as a literal child. It’s gross. Period. If it had just been age gap I would have continued on. But that’s a hard no for me.
Wrestling with Werewolves follows shifter musician princess, Lola and Richard, alpha of Pack Ever and Lola's father's best friend and previous second (right-hand man) of over two centuries. Lola's father, Marcus, is about to be challenged by his new second, Eliel, and would force the mating bond between himself and Lola. To avoid this, Marcus sends her to the only man he knows he can trust, his best friend and alpha of another pack, Richard.
What Richard doesn't know is that Lola is different than he remembers. She's older, mature, and carries herself in a way he wasn't and shouldn't be attracted to. His wolf in his head insists they have the Luna bond– a bond so rare it hasn't been blessed in over two thousand years. If it's wrong, why does it feel so right?
LISTEN, I only started this series to get to the fourth book, but after reading four books in a series, I figured I was invested in this small-town enough to continue. I don't normally lean towards werewolves, I've always been a vampire gal myself, but hey, Richard's kinda hot.
I also don't lean towards age-gap romances. I hate when whoever is older always mentions how they were in the womb when they were graduating highschool or they're old enough to be their parent, but this one wasn't so bad. Richard did know Lola when she was a pup, he literally carried her lol, but because Hazel Mack made the option to not talk about their relationship (when she was a pup) it made the age gap parts of this romance blend away, which I enjoyed!
I really recommend reading the first four books in order, but this is the first book you could read by itself if you really want to! I just feel like it's a little farther from the town, so it feels like a new era for this universe.
I wouldn't consider myself a smut reader, but these books are smutty and they have their audience. There's knotting and because Richard is an alpha, his wolf has its own personality and literally named itself Big Daddy, yikes... I wasn't the biggest fan of that just because that's a bit too quirky for me, but everything else was fun! This focused mostly on the romance and the plot was definitely more in the background.
This was SO easy to read in one-sitting because it is so page-turning. I couldn't get enough of these two. I thought this series would go downhill after finishing the original characters' stories, but so far it's okay! I'm hoping to get caught up with this series in April.
Buddy read this book with a good friend of mine, Bri, which is why “we” is used through this review
Wrestling with werewolves is the perfect addition to the haven ever after series. We only wish we got to see more of the quirks of the town in the story, like more of the sentient houses.
I was able to read this, even with not reading the others, with little trouble so if you want to read it as a standalone, you definitely could.
Wrestling with Werewolves focuses on a woman named Lola, the princess of the werewolf clan in the Haven of Santa Ayala and the Alpha of Ever, Richard. Richard is her father's best friend and Lola is sent to him for her protection after another stunt of her sneaking out to play at a rock concert.
They are so, so cute together. Richard really takes the time to learn and take care of Lola, emotionally and physically. Being an alpha means taking care of his pack and Lola's well being is his number one priority. Lola is a complete bad ass and the ending of the book 1000% proves it.
We are obsessed with Richard's wolf, aka Big Daddy. He was the true star of this book. His thoughts were hilarious, unhinged and down right dirty. Any time his lines came up, insta highlight from us.
The side characters really added color to the story. Special shout out to Connall & Iggy. They were cute af. We wanna be friends with Arkan. His tees were absolutely hysterical.
Even though we expected more wolfy smut, we were really, really fucking happy with the smut we got because it was fire. That office scene was hot af So thankful for the bonus chapters giving us more of that smut that was hinted at through the book. 👀
*Strong FMC *Age Gap *Fated Mates *Dad's Best Friend *Political Challenges
CW: death of parents (off page), mild violence, sexual harassment (brief, mild), forced relationship threats
I absolutely adored this book! To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect with a werewolf relationship. I tend to favor vampires and witches, especially witchy themes, however, this book was a delight! Werewolves have a strong sense of family and community, which I admire greatly, but with that comes great responsibility when you are in a position of leadership. Lola a princess, Richard the alpha male of the Ever pack face challenges as they discover a bond that neither one of them can ignore. Both are very strong characters and though they both enjoy their independence, they come to learn how much stronger they are together. Some of the obstacles they face: age gap, dad’s best friend, political positions, potential forced relationship, fated mates. Lola is such a beautiful balance between nobility and being down to earth. She has a natural instinct to find harmony and to care for each of her pack members. Richard, the alpha of the Ever pack, is greatly respected and loved, he is driven by action and protection of his pack at all costs. It never easy when politics are involved but that is part of being in a hierarchy, it happens. Navigate their relationship together and read Wrestling with Werewolves!
A world full of magic, music, wolves, and mythical creatures—this is the world of Ever, which will captivate you from the very first moment. I can only say wow; I was completely in love with this great world that Hazel has created. I couldn't put the book down at any moment. This is the first installment of the series that I've read, but it was more than enough to captivate me and make me fall completely in love. The chemistry between the characters Lola and Richard was instant; their relationship was beautiful, especially the hot and spicy parts, which were excellent. I loved the secondary characters and can't wait to learn more about them and their stories, especially Lou and Connall. Iggy was super cute; I definitely loved his character and he won my heart. Big Daddy's internal dialogues with Richard were delightful and made me laugh; his wolf knew exactly what he wanted and needed, even though Richard was a bit stubborn at first.
Lola, the princess who sneaks away to sing in her band, has a big heart for her people and others. She is extremely sweet, and I loved her throughout the book. The integration of Mexican culture was wonderful, allowing me to experience their customs while reading the story. The detailed world of Ever fascinated me; it was like watching a fairy tale for adults with the scenes between Richard and Lola 🥵. I am going to read the other books because I really can't wait to know everything about this series.
Wrestling with Werewolves is another great addition to this cozy small town series by Hazel Mack. You have no idea how much I want to be able to pack my bags and move to Ever. A big reason why I love this series so much is because of how amazing the found family is. Everyone is just so nice and welcoming! So let me tell you that every time I find myself in an antique store, I’m looking for that map.
I loved getting to see what life in shifter hollow is like and watching the interactions between Richard as the pack alpha and the community. I really enjoyed the unique way in which the werewolf lore was written for this world. So different to anything I’ve read before.
This was definitely more of a slow burn than I was expecting but it suited the plot and the characters to let it build. The tension was fabulous! The spice was HOT! I loved watching Richard be dominant but also being super into taking a step back and letting Lola take control. Richard & Lola were such a comfortable pairing, their characters really complimented each other and even though their story had a number of conflicts, you knew they would be ok. The climax and the ending felt a bit rushed compared to the rest of the story, especially considering all of the suspense leading up to it, but overall a wonderful trip back to Ever. I highly recommend this cozy monster romance series! It’s fantastic!
Wrestling With Werewolves is the latest action-packed instalment in the Haven Ever After series. Our FMC Lola is forced to seek protection in another haven, under the careful watch of her dad's best buddy from way back when, Richard. Lola and Richard haven't seen eachother in decades, since she was a pup. And guess what? Lola's matured into an absolute knockout, and Richard's aged like fine wine.
Oh dear, what could possibly go wrong? *cue dramatic music*
Now let me just warn you upfront: this book is HOT. We’re talking filthy, can’t-read-in-public level spicy. 🌶️🥵
Richard's inner wolf, as we come to find out, is (aptly) named Big Daddy. This was so fucking funny to me for some reason 😅
I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy the main trope being "dads best friend", as its not my usual cup of tea- but hoollly heck. This one was perfection.
If you enjoy omegaverse, shifters, sexy tattooed silver foxes (or should I say silver wolf?) then this book is for you.
The book does cover some darker themes (be sure to check TWs), but this was balanced well with humour and cosiness throughout.
Be prepared to laugh, swoon, and possibly fan yourself on more than one occasion.
TWs: mention of parental death (off-page, historical), mention of forced mating, biting, grief, mention of loss of child, brief mention of s3xual harrassment
*I received this book as an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review*
4.5 ⭐️ Rounded up Hazel Mack, you’ve done it again
It’s always fun to jump back into this series and visit these characters again.
Lola is sent to live in Ever with her father’s trusted friend Richard for her protection after political turmoil comes to light that puts her father’s position, and her safety in jeopardy.
I read to have fun, to kick my feet and giggle and separate myself from the world and the Haven Ever After series does just that. This book is fun, spicy, and sweet to a point that had me smiling at the screen, mixed with a new political intrigue different from what we’ve witnessed in previous installments in which I gasped openly.
If you’re looking to have fun, and find an escape from your world and into one filled with kind monsters, and magic, Wrestling with Werewolves is a great place to find it! Highly recommended reading the entire series first though to get the most out of these characters and this story!