The Wolf's (Un)lucky Fae

Fortune Favors the Fae #2

by Michele Notaro

Call it fate, call it luck, but when a powerful wolf shifter walks into my life, everything changes.

Bel

I’ve made some stupid decisions in my life, and one in particular keeps coming back to haunt me. When I keep running into a handsome stranger, I know I should push him away, if only to keep him safe from my mess, keep him safe from me. But something inside of me—my heart, my magic, or my soul—keeps pushing me toward him, offering to make all my secret dreams come true. And I don’t know how to stay away.

Remi

When I travel across the world to open a new business—and get away from my overbearing family—the last thing I ever expect is to find the most beautiful and alluring fae I’ve ever met. I’m drawn to him, and I’m pretty sure if he lets his guard down, he’ll admit he’s drawn to me too. All I want to do is pull Bel into my arms and protect him from whatever he’s hiding. But he’s skittish and suspicious, and I just want to prove to him that he can trust me.

Fate, and a bit of luck, brought us together, and I’m not going to let it or anything else tear us apart.

The Wolf’s (Un)Lucky Fae is a part of the multi-author series, Fortune Favors the Fae. From spicy to sweet, zany romps to epic adventures, there’s something for everyone in this mystical series. Discover destiny and true love and follow the coin on its fickle journey to the next world and a new magical adventure.

Genres: Fantasy, M M Romance, Fae, Romance, Paranormal, Magic, Shapeshifters

340 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 6, 2024

About the author

Michele is married to an awesome guy that puts up with her and all the burnt dinners she makes—hey, sometimes characters are a bit distracting, and who doesn’t plot when they’re supposed to be cooking? They live together in Baltimore, Maryland with two little monsters, a three-legged princess, a four-legged goofball, and a cutie with giant ears (aka their two kids, their two cats, and their dog). She hopes to rescue another cat soon, and if her hubby wouldn’t kill her, she’d get more than one… and maybe a few more dogs as well.

She loves creating worlds filled with lots of love, chosen family, and of course, magic, but she also likes making the characters fight for that happy ending. She hopes to one day write all the stories in her head—even if there are too many to count!

If you would like updates on my new books or to be notified when a new book is released, please join my mailing list:
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Feel free to contact me. I’d love to hear from you.

Reviews

[Iz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was really cute!

"The Wolf's (Un)Lucky Fae" is a standalone story in this multi-author series packed with magic, fae and lucky coins; I'm looking forward to so many of these!
This one's blurb in particular had me so damn excited: I was sure I was going to love it... but yeah, although I did enjoy it (especially the first half!), I wasn't totally invested it, unfortunately.

First things first, the good.
"The Wolf's (Un)Lucky Fae" is a light-hearted, magical romance between a protective, sweet as sugar werewolf and a skittish, prickly fae with a hidden marshmellow heart: I loved seeing them get their much-awaited HEA. Their were cute and soft together.
I loved the side characters to bits, and I'm already looking forward to reading more books by this author. I haven't read the previous novels that are part of this same universe: for those who like me have started here, don't worry, you won't be lost. The world-building is fairly easy to grasp, and although there are a lot of side-characters that appear that have previously been featured in this universe, they have minor roles, and again, everything is easy to follow. I appreciated this quite a lot actually! I was worried I'd be lost, but Michele Notaro managed to make this novel feel like a true standalone: the character cameos aren't overwhelming, and Remi and Bel's romance remains the focus of the story from start to finish.
The world-building is intriguing; and I really liked the plot/premise in general too. No spoilers, but it had that Ella Enchanted feel to it y'know? *nods in approval*

Unfortunately, like I said, I wasn't totally sold on this book. There were a few plot/world-building holes that left me feeling a bit confused, like, the reason why the fae are treated so horribly and why nobody has done anything to remedy that; I'm hoping it will be addressed in the second book though.
I also kiiiinda got bored in the second half; I started skimming and that is never a good idea *sighs* I don't know; light-hearted books are fine, but I think I need them to have a smidge more substance and grit?
Also, I liked the two MCs, I did; but after a bit, they felt a smidge too easy-going, too perfect; they weren't enough to keep my interest. I like my MCs flawed and messy, and while Bel's definitely more my kind of protagonist (skittish, afraid, vulnerable, unsure? GIMME), Remi was just too perfect and too sweet for my liking.

Other than that, I did enjoy this, and I'm absolutely looking forward to reading about certain someones HEAs in the sequels.
Any reader who's looking for something sweet (with a smidge of plot related angst!), heartwarming and light-hearted will definitely enjoy this. And I'm sure any die-hard Michele Notaro fan will love it too!
I, for one, am so excited to read a few more of the stories in this series; I'm especially looking forward to Tavia Lark and Eliot Grayson's installments.

Thanks GRR for the ARC. This is my honest review.

[❀ Jess ( Semi hiatus )]

DNF @ 80%

I tried realllyyy hard to finish this but I just couldn’t. There’s so many characters introduced in the first two chapters that my head was spinning and all the characters felt so immature. I tried to push myself since I wasn’t sure if it was just the slump but I eventually found myself putting the book down and looking at doing other things and that’s when I called it.

[Jewel · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF 35%

I was on the fence about reading The Wolf's (Un)Lucky Fae because I DNF'd the one other book I tried by this author because the characters were just beyond annoying. I should have just kept walking.

If we had not been told Remi's age in the first few pages (43 year old wolf shifter), I would have pegged him at about 19-20 from the way he talks and acts. I assume his best friends are around his same age, but they all act like they're college age.

Plus, the writing is very superficial and everyone is so perfect. I am bored. Time to move on.

Seems this author is not for me.

[Claudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review audiobook
so, I had a not so great experience with this book. it was my first time listening to Michael Lesley and I have to say - although he did great in giving each person their own voice - I absolutely hated his voice for Bel.
I think this was my first time when I really, absolutely could not really listened to the narration of one of the MCs without thinking "such an arrogant wanker" - which is not really true for Bel

around the middle of the audiobook I increased the speed, which made the narration much better.
then I really enjoyed it

so in all, still a lovely story and with increased also an ok narration

First Review
4,5 stars for this really cute fae story.
I loved Bel and Remi and how they gave each other what they needed.

Remi especially is very patient and seems sometimes to be too good to be true.

But my favourite was Bel. He is a sweetheart.

This story has a bit of mystery and action in it, but it is not the main focus. That stays on our couple, which I really liked and fit this book perfectly.

The Ellwoods made an appearance, which was nice ... and maybe, I should read all the books as I stopped for Thays book

I loved the supporting characters, and I am really looking forward to the next two books.

In all, a lovely read, which I will re-read in the future

[Cindaren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this. Loved loved loved seeing the Ellwoods again, loved Bel and the other setups, and I liked the coin too. Sometimes with these things they can seem kinda gimmicky but Michelle did an excellent job setting this up. I thought this was a quick read but it is over 300 pages. It feels quick though, it's so easy to sink back into the world. I can't wait for Tan's book and I can't wait for the next one in this series!

[Lois · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not My Favourite

This is my first full story by this author and to be honest I struggled a bit. It seemed to take a long time for the story to get off the ground and it wasn't until around 80% that I truly became interested. The book is set in a fictional land that I still know nothing about. Why are the fae hated? Why has the king not left the tower in 25 years? It just all feels like a set up for future books which I probably won't read. I didn't feel any real connection with either of the MCs or any of the other characters. Even the coin was pretty absent for most of the book.

[Cadiva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very much enjoyed this instalment of this multi author series

I'm not sure but I think this might be the first book by Michele Norato that I've read.

I was trying to work out if I'd read her entry in the Fated Mates anthology but I don't believe I've got round to it yet. I'll have to pick it back up because I very much enjoyed this one.

It had the right level of world building to make a solid background for the narrative to sit on and, while I've not read any of the Ellwood stories, enough info was given to not feel confused.

The coin element was a little lacking in this book versus the opener in the series, but I can't say I missed it at all.

I liked both Bel and Remi a lot, as well as their associated friends and family and I'm interested in finding out more.

[thosemeddlingkids]

DNF @25% - neither the plot, character chemistry, or narration worked for me in this book.

Mistake number one was me not checking who the narrator is. I can count on one hand the narrators that don't work for me, and Michael Lesley is the only one on the list. Hated the accent and performance of Bel.

There were also other plot and character issues that didn't work for me but may for others:
- The first couple chapters is an info dump in first person for each MC while in their POV. The reader also gets dumped on with a ton of side and secondary characters that are in a friend group.

-White knighting/white savior trope of the rich guy dropping off a ton of blankets to the homeless people on the street while on his way to his expensive high rise luxury office.

-The first person POV for each character made them both sound a bit insufferable. I don't normally care about the POV unless it's noticeably unenjoyable.

-Instalove without any actual chemistry or spark between the MCs. They bump into each other and now wolfy shifter man needs to save this poor purple haired fae.

ARC audio received from GRR

[Ami · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a little worried at first to read this.

Michele Notaro is a new-to-me author and she has so many inter-connected series already released. I already experienced reading a multi-author series, where the author apparently used the previously released series to be the setting for the book, and I ended up being lost in the universe and the so-many cameos/characters introduced.

Well, apparently The Wolf's [Un]Lucky Fae is also related to Notaro's The Brinnswick/The Ellwood Chronicles series. Remington Ellwood, the wolf shifter, is the adopted son of Ailin and Sebastian from The Ellwood Chronicles and he comes from Brinnswick. He moved to Gauhala to set up his own security firm. Then he stumbled into a coin seemingly dropped by a fae with vibrant purple hair, Belryn Bixidor, and then their story went...

The plus point is this story still works well as stand-alone. Yes, there were characters from that series but it didn't bother me much. The author gave enough background for those characters so I didn't get lost. The world built was easy to understand.

BUT, the story felt too sweet for my mood at the moment 😅. Remi is WAY too perfect - he's handsome, he's rich, he's kind and understanding, his family is perfect. I mean, come on, give me some weaknesess!! And I got a little bored in the second half because I felt that it wasn't enough conflicts to make it engaging, although Bel did have threat to his life being obliged to a very bad fae.

I still look forward to other titles in this series though.

[Demian Grimm · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐

The Wolf’s (Un)Lucky Fae is a standalone book in the multi-author series Fortune Favors the Fae, set in the same universe as Michele Notaro’s Ellwood Chronicles and Brinnswick Chronicles. While it's not necessary to read these previous series, it is recommended due to the numerous recurring characters.

The story follows Remi, the youngest child of Allin and Seb from the previous series. Remi, a wolf shifter, runs a security business in Brinnswick and is expanding his operations to Gauhala with the help of his friends: Isa (a fae), Tan (a witch), and Savelle (a kelpie).

On the first day in Gauhala, a mysterious coin leads Remi to meet Bel, his viramore. Bel is a fae in a country where fae are seen as evil and discriminated against. Despite being a talented musician, Bel is forced to live on the streets, making a living by busking and/or pickpocketing. Their encounter sparks a relationship that, despite Bel's cautious approach and troubled past, slowly develops as they date. However, Bel’s troubles continually disrupt their lives, but Remi remains determined to overcome the challenges posed by Bel’s history.

Both Remi and Bel are fiercely protective of their families and loved ones. Remi is openly kind, while Bel, understandably untrusting, hides his big heart behind a prickly demeanour. With this Notaro skillfully portrays how their different backgrounds and life experiences have shaped them. So the gradual development of their romance, focusing on building trust and emotional connection, is needed and natural. It is also particularly well-done and perfect for them.

As always, Michele Notaro’s writing style shines through with great world-building, engaging characters and a mix of serious, sometimes painful subjects, along with humour and heartfelt moments. The book is a nice blend of romance, action, humour, and emotional depth, making it a charming read.

I am very excited that we will be getting two more stories in this universe—one for Remi’s best friend, Tan, and another for Bel’s cousin, Keryth.
I am eagerly looking forward to the next book!

I received a copy of this book from Gay Romance Reviews, and this is my unbiased review.

______________________

CW: homelessness (one of the MCs), discrimination, violence and death.

[M'rella · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at @ 13%

So far, even with all the info dumps, I learned precious little about the characters and the world. The author uses too many irrelevant distractions instead of concentrating on the MC and his goals.

Hate to use a severely abused cliche, but here it is: stop telling, start showing.

1 star.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

5⭐ Narration by Michael Lesley
3⭐ Story

Diving into a book from a multi-author anthology without prior familiarity with the author’s works is always a gamble. Sometimes it sparks enough intrigue to explore their backlist, while other times, it leaves you scratching your head. For me, *The Wolf’s Unlucky Fae* landed somewhere in between.

Michele Notaro’s writing is undeniably solid, and I’d be open to reading more from her. However, the story felt like jumping into a world where everyone else had a full grasp of the backstory, while I was piecing things together with only partial context. Some elements were explained and fleshed out well, and the mentions of characters from Notaro’s other books were intriguing enough to pique my interest in those stories. On the flip side, much of the wider world-building felt underexplained, leaving me feeling like an outsider trying to catch up.

That said, the fated-mates romance was a definite highlight. Remi, our wolf shifter MMC, is pure perfection—adorable, devoted, and immediately smitten with Bel. Bel, on the other hand, is guarded and distrustful, with self-hatred deeply rooted in a world that has vilified the fae. Their dynamic felt authentic, and emotional, and kept me invested far more than the broader plotline.

Michael Lesley’s narration was, as always, exceptional. He’s a master of distinct character voices, and his performance carried the story beautifully. Even when I felt a bit lost in the world-building, his narration kept me hooked and made the audiobook a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

While the story itself didn’t completely wow me, the romance and narration were strong enough to make this a worthwhile listen.

*I received an ALC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review, all opinions are my own*

[Molly Otto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just adorable

Absolutely adored how protective and steadfast Remi was towards Bel even when he wasn't entirely sure what was going on. Bel may have been a little standoffish but you could understand why and his willingness to protect his cousins over anything made me adore him all the more.
These two have a dorky sort of love that is hard to pull off in a more serious book that shows how strong of a writer Michele is. With a certain bestie up next it will be fun to see how he handles the events. The Brunswick crews shennigans brought that right amount of lightheartedNess to the story that makes the more tense parts flow even better.

[Raven and Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a multi author series so much. And this one is packed with some of my favorite authors. This one takes us back to the Ellwood/Brinswick world of Michelle Notaro. It isn’t necessary to have read those books to enjoy this one. It would just give you background on Remi’s very powerful family. (I love Seb and Ailin.) This story was so good! Poor Bel. Of course Remi is too perfect for words. He is an Ellwood!

[Natalie H · Rating 2 out of 5]

August 2024
Kindle edition

I'm not sure if it was because I enjoyed the first book so much, but from the off I couldn't really get into it. Stereotypical fae with the binding words and obligations, Werewolf/fae fated mates. I think part of the disappointment was coin. After being so vocal in the first book, it was silent in this one. Set up for other relationships, curious about the dragon king. Apart from the wolf form pets, I didn't enjoy this one much.

[Cee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dnf @ 15%/ 4 chapters

I’m kinda bored tbh.

[Jude · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really cute story that juxtaposition's horrid bigotry and abuse against a supper sweet and maudlin love story. It works, sort of but not a satisfying read.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was sweet and a little angsty and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Aki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet und am Ende kurz mal Spannend.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I could do half star ratings to have it at 4.5 stars. I loved it. I more than loved it. I'm not sure it's quite a 5 star for me, but 5 stars are rare for me at all. Still pretty close.
It's sweet that we get a new story on the Brinnswick/Elwood universe, this time with Remi as the main character. And we get a new place! And a whole new cast of characters, with occasional cameos of those we know and love. Remi is a sweetheart, Kel is a delight, the two make a lovely couple. And the adventure was jn point. I started the book and had a hard time setting it down.
And the hints of more books in the future! So exciting!

[Jacquie Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll come back to the ebook at some point. The audio just doesn't work for me

[SophiaH · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sigh, I just write a whole review only for the app to shut down at the end. So I'm sorry if I'm not that eloquent the second time around...

I loved this sweet love story between the fae and the wolf shifter. It was also a blast to meet up with some beloved characters once more. This is a huge benefit to your setting being in a fantasy world where people live hundreds of years 👍🏻

Remi was a very sweet and patient partner to Bel. This is what I love about books like that and about Michele Notaro's writing style. There have been books in this and other series that were darker themed and where the action and heart wrenching moments were more in the forefront, but always up to a point. Never just for the sake of it. I love that you can relax with one of this authors books without having to worry. Some characters demand/call for a more emotional story line and others are more on the cosy side of things. There is always a time and a place. This book also deals with heavier topics the loss of parents, homelessness, hunger, having to sell ones body in the past but it was handled with soft gloves rather than exploiting it to take the reader in darker waters.

I in generell am not a fan of too dark tropes as I am of the mind that the world we live in is unpredictable enough and the beauty of literature is that you can emerse yourself into a world were true love exists, and a resolution to a problem and wholesome families and comfort. This is why I enjoy this authors work. Michele Notaro knows when and how much to push and when to let up.

So, true, Remi with his seemingly endless supply of patience, capacity to act with hindsightand loyaly might only exist in our world in people born every other blue moon but I would like to think that there are people like that out there. Maybe a bit like this famous Mr. Rogers? But who cares in the end? I loved him exactly for that reason and for who he portrayed.

I think a little bit of Bel lives in all of us. Scared and suspicious of anything good happening, looking for the flaw or the price tag that comes with it. So, I understood why the stories emphasis was more on their relationship with an action subplot rather than the other way around or equally spaced. The real plot was Bel himself. For me at least.

The conclusion with their adversary was foreseeable to me early on but nonetheless satisfying in the end.

[m]

DNF @85% I tried to skim for a while but better to just move on imo. The following comments are notes for myself in case I forget why I gave up. 🤗

I haven’t read the series this is connected to and it’s not really necessary but some things weren’t super fleshed out for me (or I’m dumb idk I’m running on very little sleep this week) like the obligation situation. I didn’t know what the rules were for it so I was lost for a while wondering why Bel didn’t ever try to get help but I guess he couldn’t talk about it (what about writing though? He didn’t try 🤔)

I liked Bel who was a homeless fae busker and his character was pretty interesting overall but Wolf boy was so one-note I was immensely bored by him. There were also hints at other romances that weren’t interesting to me and then the two deaths at the end meant nothing because those characters had just been introduced. Idk I just stopped caring.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaing even with difficult topics

I enjoyed Remi and Bel, although Remi was almost too good to be true. I can see the setup for more in the series. We get to see some of the characters from The Ellwood Chronicles and Brinswick Chronicals, which was nice.

Only issue I had (and I have with all books with this) is the “I’m too proud to accept help even when I desperately need it” trope. Just, why??? I guess I can see from the “obligation” magic in this particular book that it might be dangerous but there were instances that Bel refused help from people that were objectively safe.

All in all, fans of this author and the related series will enjoy it!

[Josie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️
Audio: 4.25⭐️


(Un)Lucky Fae is an entertaining and sweet story with a warm-hearted but wary fae and a cinnamon-roll wolf shifter who acts like a golden retriever. I really like some things , but it is uneven in several ways. I adored the MCs, and Remi is loving, patient, and understanding. He is the perfect boyfriend with the strong family ties Bel craves. He wants to give Bel the world and believes in him even though Bel has no faith in himself. He also has a strong, supportive friend group, especially his friend Tanyl who is obviously getting his own book. Remi could have been completely boring, but he works for me.

Bel internalized his country's hatred for fae so believes he’s a terrible person, but he’s a good guy who loves his five cousins to pieces and does what he can to help them. Outside of them and his friend, Antoine, he's learned to distrust everyone else. Bc of the discrimination against fae, Bel turned to a crime lord to help his family and is now bound to him. Bel hates that he has to lie, steal and turn tricks to survive, but life hasn't beaten him down. He busks to make a living but also bc his soul is full of music. It brings him joy, and he shares that with his audience.

His relationship with Remi is charming and fluffy, if rocky. Bel is plagued with self-doubt and sometimes anger at Remi’s insistence in trusting him. He’s prideful but not pigheadedly so. He feels unworthy of Remi, and if the bond btw them didn’t cause them distress when apart, he would have ghosted Remi to save him from himself. For his part, Remi is always respectful of Bel’s fears and boundaries. He never pushes and is an open book, which leads to one of the story's weaknesses. Remi believes the best of almost everyone, but Notaro skirts the line of him being stupidly naïve for dramatic effect. The text tries to justify it, but it doesn’t hold weight.

The story’s pace and worldbuilding are also unbalanced. The book feels too long and is repetitive in its emotional beats. It doesn’t incorporate the lingering danger of Bel’s contract or his cousins’ interactions with Remi well. Bel’s remaining family is his life, but Remi only spends limited time with them on two occasions, and the second is taken up with set-up for yet another spin-off book. With all the time spent repeating things or dedicated to fated-mating two other couples, there could have been better integration.

The worldbuilding is full of “but why, tho?” and contradictory info, especially regarding Bel’s homelessness. Bel admits to not being too proud to beg for a job but won’t accept one from a friend who owns a bookshop he loves? It makes no sense that Bel wouldn’t be working there as he was going to Antoine’s before his parents died. I’m expected to believe a grief-stricken, newly orphaned and homeless adolescent wouldn’t ask for/accept a job from his friend and keep refusing for a decade? It also seems out of character that Bel’s pride would take precedence over caring for his family by decreasing their constant worry over him and by having a source of income that could have allowed them to all live together comfortably.

It’s also never explained why fae are so hated and distrusted in this country, but seemingly not the word in general. Did they go around abusing humans and other supernats? Bel says humans consider shifters as fae victims, but why? They’re progeny of fae and humans, but were they treated as slaves? Discriminated against bc of their human blood or being able to shift into animals? How did fae lose so much power/status that they’re third-class citizens now? The king is a dragon. As long lived as he is, does he hate fae too since he allows the despicable discrimination that keeps one group impoverished?

There are also things Remi says that make no sense given how he grew up. E.g., he’s forty-odd with fae siblings, a fae bestie, and a family home in the fae lands but believes all fae have the same affinity for nature? His fae brothers have different affinities but ok. Also, Remi mentions wanting to help the homeless, but there are not even a few lines to suggest civic works he’s thinking about by the end. Remi buys buildings left and right, buying the building Bel’s cousins live in to protect them without a thought. Why not buy an apartment building for fae or create a shelter or community center? They bought a huge house with a garden. Did Remi invite the cousins to live there, especially with the eldest actually having a nature affinity? Did he at least give them a better apartment in the building he bought?

The big bad storyline has a running theme where other ppl owned by the crime boss are suddenly opening up to Bel/being friendlier, seeming almost magical in nature. He exclaims upon it several times, but there’s no explanation or payoff. Also, the antagonist has Bel stealing artifacts from someone for months. He makes some cryptic comment about their ownership and is super pressed about them at the end. What does it mean? Why is he so fixated? Who knows! He’s there to torture Bel, make him do bad things, and give him the third act catharsis he needs to take back his life.

However, the book still gave me all the warm fuzzies needed to ignore the eye-roll inducing nonsense, helped by Michael Lesley’s narration. He’s always good with sass and snark, and conveys emotions so well. Occasionally, his delivery is a bit jarring bc of odd pauses and cadences, and all Remis’ friends sound similar. But the performance is still really good and definitely added to my enjoyment. Despite all my critiques, I’m a sucker for a gentle, patient person giving their loved one the space to grow, and this delivers in spades. Throw in some cute kids with an awesome older brother and a meddling (but not overly obnoxious) family and friends full of love, and I’m all in.

[Ashley · Rating 1 out of 5]

take a shot every time Bel sucks in his breath.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

highly recommended and entertaining

Rating: 4.5 🌈

Well this is an absolutely splendid addition to the Fortune Favors the Fae series. I loved how Michele Notaro adapted her Brinnswick universe into this series, by means of that mischievous wayward fae coin.

While its personality doesn’t really come into play as it has in a prior tale, that coin is still the means through which unlucky fae Belryn Bizidor meets wolf shifter Remington “ Remi” Ellwood, newly arrived with some of the members of his family to start a family security company on Gauhala.

Its meet cute, and mate recognition, sort of . Mostly both feel a very special unusual attraction, which I find interesting because it takes time for this relationship to develop. For Bel, his situation is fragile. His city views Fae as the lowest form of life, discrimination is common, he’s homeless, and trying to protect what’s left of his family.

The more the reader learns about his character and how perilous the situation he’s in, the more we connect with him. Bel is the type of character Notaro crafts so well. Layered, emotional, and warmhearted. And desperate. In this case, to save his family.

Remi the wolf shifter who finds his viramore and is determined to hold him, no matter what, is kind and loving. Just by his own history he’s not as vividly drawn as a wounded Bel. It’s just the nature of the difference in the drama between them. They do have a gentle charm and connection that works well here.

Notaro has created a number of fascinating characters that support the main couple, ones that almost prove more compelling. Whether it’s Tan, Remi’s friend and business partner who’s in a frenemies attraction thing with the Dragon King, or Bel’s cousin Ker and the vampire bookstore owner, Anton Orsova, those are stories that beg to be told and look to come in a new sequel series soon to be released.

I hope we see these characters as well.

The Wolf's (Un)Lucky Fae (a Fortune Favors the Fae story) by Michele Notaro is a highly entertaining read and one I’m happy to recommend!

Be on the lookout for the new series below.

New connected series that continues a couple’s developing romance:

The Witch’s Grumpy Dragon (Brinnswick: Tales From Gauhala Book 1) - Oct 25,2024

Look at what’s coming up next!

Fortune Favors the Fae - 15 books:
- [x] A Fae Coin Transported Me Into Another World and Now I'm the Gay Holy Maiden by AJ Sherwood #1
- [x] The Wolf's (Un)Lucky Fae by Michele Notaro #2
- [ ] Bound to the Wild Fae by Tavia Lark #3 June 13
- [ ] The Sorcerer’s Thief by Lee Colgin #4 - June 20, 2024
- [ ] The Fae Menagerie by Edie Montreaux #5 - June 27,2024
- [ ] Never Darling by Sam Burns #6 - July 4,2024
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[Aysha · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Wolf’s (Un)Lucky Fae is part of the standalone multi-author series, Fortune Favors the Fae.
It is also set in the same world as Michele Notaro’s Ellwood Chronicles series and Brinnswick Chronicles series; while not essential I would highly recommend reading at least one of these series before.

If you do know these series, then this book is about Remi, Allin and Seb’s youngest child and he is the last sibling to find his viramore! At first I was a bit disappointed to hear this as I thought that meant no more Brinnswick stories, but more on that later.

Remi is a wolf shifter, he runs a security business that has a lot of firms in Brinnswick, but he is opening a new one in another country called Gauhala. He is joined by three of his friends (Isa a fae, Tan a witch and Savelle a Kelpie). Don’t worry we still see quite of few of our favourite characters from the treasured Ellwood family!

A strange coin causes Remi and Bel to meet and then to keep meeting actually. Bel is a fae and in this country fae are seen as evil and discriminated against. Because of this Bel is quite prickly and untrusting, rightfully so, but very caring towards his family (his five cousins). Bel is also very gifted with music and has a deep love of it. Remi on the other hand is a total sweetheart - protective and kind. This story was exactly what I needed to get me back into reading.

Allin being the same over-protective dad he has always been never fails to make me laugh. The family moments in this book are so sweet and often made me say “aww”.

“You guys came and put up wards?”
My dad simply said, “Yes.”
“Dad! You do know that I run a security firm, right? Like, this is what I do for a living?”

And that is why I love Notaro’s style of writing. I know when I pick up one of her books it will be a well written story, with characters who are engaging and more often than not will have me laughing out loud at some point. This was a wonderful read that had me swooning and laughing and left me with a smile on my face.

If you believe heat is to do with the chemistry between the two characters then you will certainly not be disappointed. However, if you believe heat is directly related with intimate scenes then you should know these are minimal, as the book is mainly focused on the developing relationship and the feelings/ trust between them. Personally this didn’t bother me as it felt right for the two characters.

Sometimes both Remi and Bel act oblivious which doesn’t fit with their characters and low key annoyed me, however, this didn’t make me love them any less.

What I was really excited to learn is that Tan (mentioned earlier) and Keryth (Bel’s friend, a vampire) will each be getting their own individual books! And they both actually meet their viramores in this book so we even know who they will be with!

This heartfelt romance has it all. A sexy, sweet hero; a strong, snarky hero; action; humour; heat and lots of heart. I highly recommend!

This book contains sensitive content such as homelessness (one of the MCs), discrimination, violence and death.

Plot: 📚📚📚📚📚
Character rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
World building: 🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎
Sexiness: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Feels: 🖤🖤🖤🖤
Writing style: 🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊

[Kelly (Maybedog) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the characters. They were different from one another with distinct personalities. There was at least one nonbinary person that I had to guess from the use of they/them pronouns rather than being told which was so cool.

I liked the plot, the melodrama, the angst, the utterly complete kindness of Remi. He was beyond perfect for Bel. He almost made me cry. The majority of this, more than half the book was their love story. Which was nice but went on a smidgen too long before the excitement happened. When it did though, it rolled along and built to an excellent ending.

One subplot of this mirrors a lot of societies in the past and present where some people are considered “less than.” I liked the theme and how it was used to educate Remi and show what Bel had to do on a daily basis. But it bothers me that although Remi didn’t like it, he was never very upset, certainly not outraged like I would be. He instead continues to build his company in that country and befriend the king. I know that he kind of had to for the book to work but the solution that made the most sense to me was to get Bel and his family out of there. Let Bel’s family continue to contribute financially but go somewhere to set up business where their money went further and they could go into any establishment they wanted.

There were two cliffhangers at the end where characters had met in the story and there was weird behavior. It turns out that this is part of another series where those issues are addressed but I was bothered until I figured it out.

This was good. I plan to read the next one in both series even though Fortune Favors the Fae is written by various authors so the books are each very different. But they’re unified by a magic coin which has been used well in both books. I miss the snarky and crazy coin from the first story though.

The reader, Michael Lesley, was pretty good. His voice variations were sometimes painful with rarely appearing characters having nasally high pitched voices even if they were good guys. All of the wolf’s friends talked in a sardonic tone like they were mildly irritated but also tired of the world. They also spoke wording in the way of teenagers: “Oh my god! No way! That totally sucks.” But that improved as the story went. The two heroes sounded a little alike in the beginning but he got into his groove like with the other characters and their voices soon improved and continued to do so throughout the book.

[Bette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome Story & Narration🎧Magically Captivating!

The Wolf's (Un)Lucky Fae
Fortune Favors the Fae
By: Michele Notaro
Narrated by: Michael Lesley

Michele Notaro pens another amazing novel, an urban fantasy mm romance novel that is magical, one that grabs your attention and captivates it the entire. I am a newcomer to this magical world, and am usually hesitant to jump into an existing world, especially paranormal ones, but since this is a standalone in a multi-author series and an author whose detailed and descriptive writing are fantastic, that it would not be an issue and I was right, I never felt lost or if something was missing. Remi, a wolf shifter, runs a security business in Brinnswick and, looking to expand his business, he moved with three of his closest friends to another country, Gauhala, to open up offices there. Out and about, he sees him, Bel, and he feels an instant attraction to him and oddly, there is a magical coin that pulls them together, more than once. Bel is fae and in Gauhala the people do not treat fae well, and they look down on them, and that is not how it is where Remi is from, so he treats him as he should be, like an equal. Bel is reluctant and untrusting, but Remi does not give up on him and Bel realizes he is for real and there is an undeniable chemistry between them. Except Bel is hiding a secret, one he knows will ruin everything for him. This cleverly plotted story has the perfect balance of drama, angst, heartfelt emotions, and steamy romance. The writing, world building and character development are amazing and there are a lot of layers to the story. Michele Notaro, thank you for another fabulous story.

🎧📚🎧   Michael Lesley did a fantastic job bringing these characters to life and did so with a complete understanding of who he was portraying, giving each their own distinct voice, making it easy to follow along and tell who was who. He set the perfect tone for the story, captured all the characters’s emotions and had you feeling them all. Lesley is an entertaining storyteller and a pleasure to listen to. Thanks for the fabulous listen.