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Wolf Hall
Halloween is a wild, weird night in the lonely moorland towns of the north. It’s dark and cold, and cracks can open up in the fabric of the safest world.Davey Bell has been trying to live safely. He’s struggled through a rough adolescence and has a decent job, a home of his own. He agrees to a meeting with his ex, even though Burdo got him into so much trouble in the past.But Burdo has plans, armed robbery amongst them. When Davey recoils from his efforts at blackmail, Burdo swears he’ll track him down. There’s something inhuman about Burdo’s rage, and Davey panics and runs from him. The town is small, the darkness beyond it absolute. Davey has lived there all his life, but he takes a wrong turn on the moorland road and is suddenly lost.It’s the first night of winter, and set to freeze hard. Not much chance of survival for a man without shelter, a man on the run from his past… Then Davey stumbles into the forest, and his fears of Burdo and the cold dissolve to nothing at the sound of deep, bestial growls.The moon is full. Ancient moorland legends are coming to life in its silvery radiance. Out of the woodland steps a strange young man, and the snarling beasts fall back. He’s offering sanctuary, but at what price? He’s the most beautiful creature Davey has ever seen. If Davey follows him in fascination through the gateway of Wolf Hall, what secrets will unfold before the dawn?
58 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 30, 2014
10 people are currently reading
231 people want to read
About the author
Harper Fox
58 books1,176 followersHarper Fox is an M/M author with a mission. She’s produced six critically acclaimed novels in a year and is trying to dispel rumours that she has a clone/twin sister locked away in a study in her basement. In fact she simply continues working on what she loves best– creating worlds and stories for the huge cast of lovely gay men queuing up inside her head. She lives in rural Northumberland in northern England and does most of her writing at a pensioned-off kitchen table in her back garden, often with blanket and hot water bottle.
She lives with her SO Jane, who has somehow put up with her for a quarter of a century now, and three enigmatic cats, chief among whom is Lucy, who knows the secret of the universe but isn't letting on. When not writing, she either despairs or makes bread, specialities foccacia and her amazing seven-strand challah. If she has any other skills, she's yet to discover them.
She lives with her SO Jane, who has somehow put up with her for a quarter of a century now, and three enigmatic cats, chief among whom is Lucy, who knows the secret of the universe but isn't letting on. When not writing, she either despairs or makes bread, specialities foccacia and her amazing seven-strand challah. If she has any other skills, she's yet to discover them.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 79 reviews
November 2, 2024
I don’t normally love short stories or novelettes (whatever this is technically considered), and I didn’t even really know what this was about when I started it, but this was SO GOOD, and I loved it!
Seriously, the writing was fantastic, kind of beautiful and eloquent but also funny here and there. And it all flowed seamlessly.
The audiobook narration by Tim Gilbert was equally fantastic, so natural-sounding with all the right emotion, and for me as an American, listening to a British narrator was much better than trying and failing to imagine a decent accent in my head. It gave the story an authenticity that it wouldn’t have quite had if I had read it the normal way.
The characterization for all the characters was so good that I felt like I knew each character within mere minutes of meeting them. I liked both David and Lowry, and I immediately felt for David. He was down-to-earth and real, and he brought a grounded-ness to the story, even when things got weird.
There was an air of creepy, surreal supernaturalness to the story for a bit (that eventually became clearer and not-so-creepy), but also a sweet romance, and also a heavier aspect about David’s troubled youth and how it still haunted him.
The sex scene was a bit odd, but safe and consensual and sexy, and I loved how David was realistic about it and wanted to make it good for Lowry.
I would’ve liked some closure in the ending. A lot was left hanging, and I’d like to know if these characters get a happy ending or not. But I suppose that’s sometimes the nature of short stories.
Overall, this sucked me in, and I loved the writing, the characters, and the story!
*I've read this story multiple times. This review was written after my 1st read.*
*Rating: 4.5 Stars // 1st Read Date: 2020 // Format: Audiobook*
*Rating: 4.5 Stars // 2nd Read Date: 2021 // Format: Audiobook*
*Rating: 4.5 Stars // 3rd Read Date: 2024 // Format: Audiobook*
Recommended For:
Anyone who likes short fiction, eloquent writing, imperfect characters, the supernatural, M/M stories, and open endings.
Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight
Seriously, the writing was fantastic, kind of beautiful and eloquent but also funny here and there. And it all flowed seamlessly.
The audiobook narration by Tim Gilbert was equally fantastic, so natural-sounding with all the right emotion, and for me as an American, listening to a British narrator was much better than trying and failing to imagine a decent accent in my head. It gave the story an authenticity that it wouldn’t have quite had if I had read it the normal way.
The characterization for all the characters was so good that I felt like I knew each character within mere minutes of meeting them. I liked both David and Lowry, and I immediately felt for David. He was down-to-earth and real, and he brought a grounded-ness to the story, even when things got weird.
There was an air of creepy, surreal supernaturalness to the story for a bit (that eventually became clearer and not-so-creepy), but also a sweet romance, and also a heavier aspect about David’s troubled youth and how it still haunted him.
The sex scene was a bit odd, but safe and consensual and sexy, and I loved how David was realistic about it and wanted to make it good for Lowry.
I would’ve liked some closure in the ending. A lot was left hanging, and I’d like to know if these characters get a happy ending or not. But I suppose that’s sometimes the nature of short stories.
Overall, this sucked me in, and I loved the writing, the characters, and the story!
*I've read this story multiple times. This review was written after my 1st read.*
*Rating: 4.5 Stars // 1st Read Date: 2020 // Format: Audiobook*
*Rating: 4.5 Stars // 2nd Read Date: 2021 // Format: Audiobook*
*Rating: 4.5 Stars // 3rd Read Date: 2024 // Format: Audiobook*
Recommended For:
Anyone who likes short fiction, eloquent writing, imperfect characters, the supernatural, M/M stories, and open endings.
Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight
May 2, 2019
Listened to this in audio.
Loved!! ❤
Loved!! ❤
November 21, 2025
Young man chased through the moorland and there's something out there... This author's written stories that creeped the s-t out of me the but this one felt kind of sweet. 3.5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
January 13, 2015
Harper Fox evokes atmosphere and feeling like no other. This short story is neat and clever and wonderful. It might not be a sweeping tale of love that is most often represented in romance genres, but it is there, beneath the halloween story, beneath the acknowledgement of self worth. It's there.....
.....maybe to be continued in a follow on story? I can only hope! Though this works beautifully on its own, a follow up would be wonderful, there is so much potential with these characters and events depicted and told in this book.
Reviews show me this book wasn't for everyone -but it most definitely was for me.
.....maybe to be continued in a follow on story? I can only hope! Though this works beautifully on its own, a follow up would be wonderful, there is so much potential with these characters and events depicted and told in this book.
Reviews show me this book wasn't for everyone -but it most definitely was for me.
November 14, 2017
Hauntingly lovely. I think those words describe much of Harper Fox’s writing, and this short was no exception.
A young man escaping a monster from his past, flees into the woods one Halloween night only to stumble upon a beautiful stranger who squires him off to Wolf Hall, his home.
Secrets are traded, but not necessarily believed. After all, werewolves are the stuff of myths and legends. There’s a dungeon, and chains, and tenderness before the hearth. A change occurs in both young men where secrets revealed are accepted, and together they face them.
Beautifully narrated by Tim Gilbert.
A young man escaping a monster from his past, flees into the woods one Halloween night only to stumble upon a beautiful stranger who squires him off to Wolf Hall, his home.
Secrets are traded, but not necessarily believed. After all, werewolves are the stuff of myths and legends. There’s a dungeon, and chains, and tenderness before the hearth. A change occurs in both young men where secrets revealed are accepted, and together they face them.
Beautifully narrated by Tim Gilbert.
November 7, 2014
I enjoy Harper Fox's writing usually. This story didn't really grab me in anyway and it ended ambiguously which, if there isn't a sequel in the works, I don't like.
Great descriptions of the moors and a lovely atmospheric piece from that end and while I enjoyed the characters of David and Lowrie the read just didn't work for me and I struggled to finish it. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood for it.
Great descriptions of the moors and a lovely atmospheric piece from that end and while I enjoyed the characters of David and Lowrie the read just didn't work for me and I struggled to finish it. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood for it.
December 17, 2014
The usual great Harper Fox-prose, yet the story and the characters left me cold. I couldn't get into this.
dnf
February 27, 2015DNF at 40%
Nope. Confusing and disorienting. It left me cold and perplexed. Note it down as DNF so I wouldn't have to try again *shrugs*.
PS: And the dry spell continues
Nope. Confusing and disorienting. It left me cold and perplexed. Note it down as DNF so I wouldn't have to try again *shrugs*.
PS: And the dry spell continues
October 17, 2020
A super sweet short that managed to pull out some nice moments and dialogue. A nice October read.
Want to read
October 31, 2014NEW HARPER FOX?! <333
May 7, 2018
A charming Halloween short story by the always excellent Harper Fox.
Although not as good as some of her other books, I've enjoyed reading this story combining the scary shadows of Halloween night with the troubles of an ordinary boy and the mischief of a young shifter.
The quality of the writing is, as usual, of a high standard and I love the cover - very atmospheric and evocative.
Only regret: deciding to read it on the hottest May Bank Holiday on record rather than on the appropriate October night... This may call for a more suitable re-reading when the right times comes.
Although not as good as some of her other books, I've enjoyed reading this story combining the scary shadows of Halloween night with the troubles of an ordinary boy and the mischief of a young shifter.
The quality of the writing is, as usual, of a high standard and I love the cover - very atmospheric and evocative.
Only regret: deciding to read it on the hottest May Bank Holiday on record rather than on the appropriate October night... This may call for a more suitable re-reading when the right times comes.
October 27, 2022
I liked where this was going, but then it ended and didn’t go.
If this didn’t have the epilogue, this wouldn’t have had any real kind of ending and I am a firm believer that an epilogue should just add to the ending (if you feel the need to add one). Your HEA, or in this case HFN (if even), shouldn’t be happening in the epilogue.
As for the narration, I did mostly enjoy it. I throughly Davey’s voice was a bit in consistent. It started to sound a bit more like Burdo’s voice as the book progressed, having more of a lower pitch and gravelly sound to it, and then in the epilogue, popping back to where it had started.
If this didn’t have the epilogue, this wouldn’t have had any real kind of ending and I am a firm believer that an epilogue should just add to the ending (if you feel the need to add one). Your HEA, or in this case HFN (if even), shouldn’t be happening in the epilogue.
As for the narration, I did mostly enjoy it. I throughly Davey’s voice was a bit in consistent. It started to sound a bit more like Burdo’s voice as the book progressed, having more of a lower pitch and gravelly sound to it, and then in the epilogue, popping back to where it had started.
March 26, 2022
This really left me wanting and I would drift while listening to the audiobook. It had a lot of potential but was a huge let down. Just when something real interesting was happening, it was over. For such a short story, some parts seemed irrelevant as well.
Maybe it would have made a difference in reading instead of listening but... *shrug*
Either way, I still enjoy Harper Fox and Tim Gilbert did a great job narrating. Will check out more with these two - together or separate.
2.5 stars rounded up. Rating may change as I think on this but probably not (if so, it'll go down).
Maybe it would have made a difference in reading instead of listening but... *shrug*
Either way, I still enjoy Harper Fox and Tim Gilbert did a great job narrating. Will check out more with these two - together or separate.
2.5 stars rounded up. Rating may change as I think on this but probably not (if so, it'll go down).
January 20, 2021
Wolf Hall by Harper Fox is an atmospheric paranormal short story. This is my third read from this author, and her talent is clear. Within such a short space, Fox manages to pack it full of fleshed out characters in an eerie world.
Set during hallowe'en, we follow Davey Bell as he is forced to make a hasty escape from his violent ex-boyfriend. His hometown is small so it's not long that Bell ends up runing through the moorland. It's here that he meets the mysterious man under a full moon, who offers Bell refuge from the bitterly cold night.
Of course I'd love a full novel of Bell and Lowry's romance, but Harper Fox works her magic to make me entirely satisfied with the what we got here.
Set during hallowe'en, we follow Davey Bell as he is forced to make a hasty escape from his violent ex-boyfriend. His hometown is small so it's not long that Bell ends up runing through the moorland. It's here that he meets the mysterious man under a full moon, who offers Bell refuge from the bitterly cold night.
Of course I'd love a full novel of Bell and Lowry's romance, but Harper Fox works her magic to make me entirely satisfied with the what we got here.
January 30, 2018
2.5 stars
This. This is why I hate most short stories. You just start to get some good forward momentum and BAM! It’s over. I adore Harper Fox’s books. She’s fabulously talented. But this short story medium doesn’t work for me. Want to read some great short stories? Josh Lanyon is arguably the best in our genre.
This. This is why I hate most short stories. You just start to get some good forward momentum and BAM! It’s over. I adore Harper Fox’s books. She’s fabulously talented. But this short story medium doesn’t work for me. Want to read some great short stories? Josh Lanyon is arguably the best in our genre.
June 9, 2017
Nice little short story. The narrator (Tim Gilbert) was very good.
December 13, 2014
Wolf Hall
By Harper Fox
Four stars
I suppose one could say that not everything Harper Fox writes is as good as everything else she writes.
But I’ve never read anything by her that I didn’t like. The worst of her writing is better than most of what’s out there.
This short Hallowe’en novella (or long Hallowe’en story) is just the sort of thing that proves to me Ms. Fox’s skill as a writer and as a storyteller. While I often find novellas and stories frustrating because there’s just not enough in them, I find that Fox manages to create short works that are satisfying and fully formed.
“Wolf Hall” is a perfect, shivery Hallowe’en treat. A rich chocolate truffle of a story, in which the humans are monsters and the monsters are human. As usual, Fox draws us in with mortal frailty, with unhealed wounds. David Bell is the unlucky victim who blindly stumbles into the lair of something unearthly and unknown—only to discover that what he’s found is better than anything he’s known before.
Fox also doesn’t belabor things or attempt to over-explain. By avoiding such heavy-handedness, the reader is forced to actually fill in gaps with his own prior knowledge of the more and manners of paranormal fiction. This is what I call subtlety, and it is surprisingly gratifying to read something that flatters your intelligence.
And, of course, Fox is always intensely romantic without being soppy. I never think of Hallowe’en as a romantic event. It is more about a celebration of the dark side of humanity, about the thin line between good and evil. But Fox contorts that premise, making it more about the line between known and unknown, and about the possible joy of embracing that unknown rather than fearing it.
I’d love to see a novel-length treatment of “Wolf Hall,” but only because the characters are so interesting for the brief time we see them that I would love to get to know them better.
By Harper Fox
Four stars
I suppose one could say that not everything Harper Fox writes is as good as everything else she writes.
But I’ve never read anything by her that I didn’t like. The worst of her writing is better than most of what’s out there.
This short Hallowe’en novella (or long Hallowe’en story) is just the sort of thing that proves to me Ms. Fox’s skill as a writer and as a storyteller. While I often find novellas and stories frustrating because there’s just not enough in them, I find that Fox manages to create short works that are satisfying and fully formed.
“Wolf Hall” is a perfect, shivery Hallowe’en treat. A rich chocolate truffle of a story, in which the humans are monsters and the monsters are human. As usual, Fox draws us in with mortal frailty, with unhealed wounds. David Bell is the unlucky victim who blindly stumbles into the lair of something unearthly and unknown—only to discover that what he’s found is better than anything he’s known before.
Fox also doesn’t belabor things or attempt to over-explain. By avoiding such heavy-handedness, the reader is forced to actually fill in gaps with his own prior knowledge of the more and manners of paranormal fiction. This is what I call subtlety, and it is surprisingly gratifying to read something that flatters your intelligence.
And, of course, Fox is always intensely romantic without being soppy. I never think of Hallowe’en as a romantic event. It is more about a celebration of the dark side of humanity, about the thin line between good and evil. But Fox contorts that premise, making it more about the line between known and unknown, and about the possible joy of embracing that unknown rather than fearing it.
I’d love to see a novel-length treatment of “Wolf Hall,” but only because the characters are so interesting for the brief time we see them that I would love to get to know them better.
November 22, 2014
I love harper's style, I love her plots I love her writing. I just didn't feel this was her best work.
It felt a little rushed, ambiguous, lacking. Starts beautifully, in true Ms Fox style, and I know it's a short story but it just didn't work for me.
This was a 2.5 marked up to 3 stars, but I can't wait to read her next full length novel.
(Sorry Harper, just not a good one).
It felt a little rushed, ambiguous, lacking. Starts beautifully, in true Ms Fox style, and I know it's a short story but it just didn't work for me.
This was a 2.5 marked up to 3 stars, but I can't wait to read her next full length novel.
(Sorry Harper, just not a good one).
i-ll-return-mayhaps
November 30, 2014Not to Harper's usual standard.
Meh!
Meh!
November 10, 2014
Okay. I gave this a five-star rating at first, and then had to drop it to a four-star. The reason is clear for me. I finished the book, and like other reviewers, was not happy with the ambiguity of the ending, unless this, in fact, becomes a series. Let me put it this way: I lost track of time reading this book at work, and actually forgot I was at work. It has a good foundation, but needs more growth to become a five-star. It should really be a series, and expound upon the characters of the Devlin family, as well as the protagonist, David Bell. I was riveted by thi book, but it's like when you're starving and your main course ends up as small as an appetizer and that's all you get.
November 4, 2014
I am a huge fan of Harper Fox, but this story didn't impress me.
Basic premise is 1)very common and overused in romance fiction - not even Harper Fox with her amazing prose could have saved it.
2)poorly delivered after great opening scene - this scenes seemed detached from rest of the story. From the moment David gets to Wolf Hall, story gets this...surreal and weird feeling where you are supposed to wonder what's real. Only you're not because check point 1)
I love she writes these Holiday shorts, but this is not even close to originality and quality of Tyack and Frayne series.
June 13, 2019
First book of Harper fox! I love shifter genre so it caught my attention. As the story starts you would be waiting for a shifter to make an appearance. But only after to story picks a good momentum do the wolf comes into the picture. It's a nice 'read'/listen!
Narrator: This is the first time I have heard narrator Tim Gilbert's work. Dialogue delivery and voice variations are good.
(RomP)
Narrator: This is the first time I have heard narrator Tim Gilbert's work. Dialogue delivery and voice variations are good.
(RomP)
July 13, 2019
2.5 stars!
December 29, 2021
I loved this brief but unique little story and loved the narration. However, the end left me hanging. Is there going to be a follow-up?
August 15, 2021
Likeable short novella about a man who gets lost in the countryside while trying to escape a dodgy ex, and meets the youngest son of a family of shapeshifters. Romance ensues, but it's the ending I found most interesting. David's experiences cause him to make a decision that's bound to have significant repercussions for his life and future, but he feels bound to do it anyway because it's the right thing to do. I have to admit, I was expecting that plotline to be dropped, for his past actions to be excused by his present character, but that doesn't happen. I don't suppose that the book needs a sequel, but I'd happily read it if so, as David's journey is more interesting to me than the romance or the whole shapeshifting thing. Speaking of the shapeshifting, Fox takes an interesting tack there as well, with a lot of the focus of the middle part of the novella on what it means to not be a werewolf - I'm being vague, so not as to spoil things - but this didn't really have the follow-through that it might have done, I think.
Still, a likeable book. I've got another of the author's about the place somewhere - I bought them both at the same time - so I'm looking forward to reading that one.
Still, a likeable book. I've got another of the author's about the place somewhere - I bought them both at the same time - so I'm looking forward to reading that one.
January 20, 2015
2.5 rounded up to a 3. The writing, as always, was good (atmosphere, turn of phrase). But the story itself was weird. It left me a bit perplexed. I love Harper's stuff, and I'll read it all, but this was not my favorite thing of hers. It's nice to see an attempt at a unique perspective when it comes to the paranormal aspects of the story, but I had a hard time following what was going on--the mythology was murky and I don't really get it, even in retrospect. Also, the first part of the story with Burdo was only tenuously connected to the second half. Baffling. Just kinda baffled all around.
June 4, 2024
Re-read June 2024 (Fox is always worth re-reading); first time was when it came out.
Would have welcomed more time with these characters, but this is deliciously ambiguous in its supernatural element and maybe that would have been lost if Fox had stretched it into a novel?
Would have welcomed more time with these characters, but this is deliciously ambiguous in its supernatural element and maybe that would have been lost if Fox had stretched it into a novel?
February 16, 2015
2.5 stars. Unfortunately, after a promising start, this story became too chaotic and rushed for me.
May 5, 2017
I was pulled right into the story and thoroughly enjoyed the ride. It starts out with a gritty, contemporary vibe. The main character is David Bell, a young man trying to build a better life for himself. But his troubled past, in the form of a criminal ex-boyfriend threatening blackmail, is determined to drag him back down and keep him down.The story takes place on All Hallows Eve, a night when the veil between worlds is at its thinnest. After a violent altercation with his ex, David flees for his life into the night and into the wild countryside beneath the full Blood Moon. It is here that the story subtly begins to shift toward a more gothic atmosphere and touches on fairy tale elements. The transition is gradual and handled beautifully by the author. Exhausted and near freezing, David encounters a pack of animals, strange voices in the woods, and Lowrie Devlin, a charming young man who invites him back to his home, Wolf Hall,where things may or may not be exactly as they seem.
Now, I’ve read reviews where some have claimed the story was too ambiguous and left too much up to the readers imagination. I disagree. I like that some things were described with broader brushstrokes rather than belabored with detailed explanations. It adds to the mystical quality of this Halloween tale. I like that some details were left up to the reader to draw their own conclusions about certain events. It makes the story more personally satisfying, in my opinion.
For me, the overall theme of this story is about transition. The ever-changing cycle of life. From childhood to adulthood, from friend to enemy, from boy to man, from man to beast. From a dead-end past to a better future full of possibility.
Now, I’ve read reviews where some have claimed the story was too ambiguous and left too much up to the readers imagination. I disagree. I like that some things were described with broader brushstrokes rather than belabored with detailed explanations. It adds to the mystical quality of this Halloween tale. I like that some details were left up to the reader to draw their own conclusions about certain events. It makes the story more personally satisfying, in my opinion.
For me, the overall theme of this story is about transition. The ever-changing cycle of life. From childhood to adulthood, from friend to enemy, from boy to man, from man to beast. From a dead-end past to a better future full of possibility.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 79 reviews