Wolf of Fury

by K.J. Pearce, Ashley Olivier (Editor), Lia Ramirez (Illustrator)

Prince Faolan knows two Melisende of Boreas is his kingdom’s greatest enemy and his father will never respect him unless he can bring about her end.

After hearing about attacks on their lands through the use of portals--long thought to have disappeared after the fae lost the use of their elemental powers--the monarchs of the Etesian Isles scramble to discover who could be conjuring them. Meanwhile, Faolan’s father, King Rian, is harboring a generations-old feud and sends his son to Boreas to kill Melisende under the ruse of solving the mystery behind the portal attacks.

Yet as Faolan spends time in the enemy kingdom, he realizes that things aren’t what he had been led to believe and his feelings for the queen shift from hatred to desire.

And now he faces a dilemma, does he follow his head and side with his family or follow his heart and side with the queen?

Genres: Fantasy

430 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 23, 2025

Reviews

[Cara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC from Kendra and right now I’m sitting here in a literal book hangover cause I don’t know what to read next.

This novel had me in a clinch within the first few chapters, there was no escape. I’d put it down but then go back and read more when I should have slept to know what was to happen next.

Either way this book did not disappoint me at all personally, it was not what i expected at all which is what I love so much about this, it’s new and unexpected.

Other than that I’m not going to release any spoilers, just know come release day it’s one to dig your claws into!

[Sheynilmarie Ruiz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received an ARC from the author to give her book an honest review. I loved the concept, the woman in the story being the older, more worldly counterpart to the males young naivety. While the concept was great the execution, in my opinion didn’t hit its target. The stakes for the couple never felt real. For the first half of the book, Foalan’s dilemma of choosing between possibly gaining his father’s respect and killing (or not killing)Meli never felt like much of a conflict since from the very first page he’s calling his father an a**hole.

King Rain, Foalan’s father feels like a stereotypical, one dimensional caricature. If there was a stronger relationship with his father and brothers from the start and for example, we got to see love instead of very aggressive verbal abuse, then it would feel as fraught as the author intended it to be for Foalan.

Meli doesn’t read as if she’s been alive almost a thousand years let alone like she’s been ruling for that long. Her character feels young, easy to anger, and definitely leads with a “fly by the seat of her pants” kind of leadership style that doesn’t correlate with a supposedly seasoned ruler, at least not without explanation.

As far as her and Foalan’s relationship it didn’t feel natural, their growth together goes off vibes and what happens in the other’s perspective rather than what’s said. I understand it’s supposed to be enemies to lovers but the author had the opportunity to make the story deeper and not just Meli being suspicious and outright verbally attacking Foalan 95% of the time which is another reason Meli’s character didn’t really fit her said age.
The spicy scenes had potential, I love a woman who isn’t afraid to be dominant in the bedroom but they felt rushed.

I wanted to like this book, and it felt like all the elements were there but it didn’t hit for me the way I wanted it to. Even though this book wasn’t for me I applaud anyone who takes the very hard step of putting their work out there for everyone to see. It takes guts and I can’t wait to see how Kendra grows as an author.

[Katelynn Seaman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an age gap romance where the fmc is actually the oldest, honestly the age gap was really huge but it worked for them lol. Faolan was sent by his father on a mission to kill Melisende to get her kingdom to come back to theirs. As time goes on and Faolan gets to know Melisende his feelings of hatred towards her change into more. I loved watching their relationship progress.

[Teodora Jiga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kendra guuuuuurl! First off, thanks so much for the ARC, your first book is great, and I am honored to have read it! Having a reverse age gap for once was amazing and Meli is a boss and in charge! Wolf of Fury is definitely heavy on the world building, and at times I wanted to expand more on certain little tid bits that popped up (ie. this fucking cave, Meli's dad, the wolves), buuuuuut I get it. You can't give it all away in the first book hah. The only reason I didn't give it a full 5 stars is because of how quickly Faolan fell for Meli and he never actually tried to kill her, idk why I think that's a bad thing haha, but it felt very insta-love to me. This one will definitely be an epic series that I will very impatiently have to wait for.

[Ebony S · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as an ARC and found it to be pretty enjoyable. It was what I would consider a cute read.
Faolan was written well and I love that Melisende wasn’t a push over. The side characters made the story even better. I’m looking forward to the rest of the story.

[Micaiah Boyea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved the premise of this book but I was hoping for more with the characters. I didn’t connect with them. I also get really frustrated when people write characters that are hundreds of years old(in this case nearly a MILLENNIUM) but still act like and have the maturity level of people in their 20s. It kinda makes me want to say that maybe you should wait til you’re at least in your 50s/60s to write centuries old characters? This is what really bugged me about Addie LaRue as well. If people in their 80s don’t act like that, people that are several hundred years old won’t either, for the most part. I gotta believe we would figure some things out and just chill by year 300 or so lol. The storyline was ok, although I wish we would have had some more explanation as to why the one kingdom was opening portals. Perhaps that will be in a sequel? This was a decent first attempt, and likely the author will improve as they mature and keep writing. I can’t ever pin down specifically what it is that makes some authors experts at writing or makes their writing styles so effortless to read so it’s really hard to give any constructive criticism. But one thing that was a little bothersome in this book particularly was the dialogue style and flow. It was way too modern for a romantasy set in a primitive medieval- style world with no indoor plumbing. That took away from the ambiance of the book for me. I appreciated that there was a strong FMC that was capable of fighting and also being very compassionate. It’s important we see more well rounded characters that show all sides of humanity and don’t just get stuck on one main characteristic such as “sassy” or “stubborn” and that’s all a woman is and we think that’s what makes a strong FMC. It takes softness to make strength so the author definitely got that aspect right. Overall it was a decent book and had some excitement and intrigue and mystery, so I would want to read the sequel to see how the story wraps up and the reason behind the portals, but I’m not too invested in the FMC/MMC relationship. My gratitude to the author for an ARC🫶

[Autumn · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars and thank Kendra for the arc in exchange for my opinion.

I love love love the reverse age gap, and the inspiration for Faolan. I want to know more about the caves and the wolves, so I’m going to need book two like 5 minutes ago!

Meli is a strong FMC and takes zero bs from like anyone and that makes her an endearing character. While she is the older of the two MCs she still leads with passion first, whether that’s in her furious words, or her kindness and love to her people. She is dynamic and likable.

Faolan- the little wolf is down bad and I’m here for it. I am intrigued to see where his character goes, I am a little nervous about his developmental direction— Not in a bad way) but just because how conflicted he was and doesn’t appear to be after ************ <— no spoilers if you know you know

The romance and spice was nice, it felt a lot like insta love which wasn’t bad at all it was enjoyable. I am just more of a slow burn reader especially for enemies to lovers. It felt more like things “snapped into place” quickly rather than a true enemies to lovers. That’s the only thing I’m deducting a half star for. I would’ve love to see more enemies dynamic or tension between the two.

It’s an excellent first book, the world building was fluid, pacing was consistent and I’m excited to learn more about the magic as the series progresses. I also can’t wait to see Kendra’s writing continue to grown and shine.

[SaraAnneReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

The author was kind enough to give me an ARC, which I quickly read and then purchased a copy of the book to add to my bookshelf.

First, if you ship Manorian, you’re going to love Melisende and Faolan. There is a lot of goodness in this book — reverse age gap trope, he falls first, and an FMC who is dominant in bed —She literally tells him to crawl to her, and can I say amen.

However there are a few things that I feel could have been explored more, in particular delving into the mental health issues that Melisende shows signs of. Without that context, there are times when her actions don’t seem like those of a 900+ year old queen. But her actions make sense in the context of someone dealing with ptsd. The book touches on this, but if someone isn’t carefully reading, it can be missed.

I also would have liked to see more length added to the book because there were times when I felt like it faded to black and left me wanting more. That being said, I’m super aware that could be intentional because the author is planning on going into more detail in the next book.

I want more of Faolan and Melisende. I had a book hangover when I finished this, and that’s always a sign of a good book.

I’m excited to read book 2! And I don’t say that about all the arcs I read. I definitely will be back for the next installment.

[Annette C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Title: Wolf of Fury
Author: K J Pierce
Star: 4/5
Spice: 1.5/5
Trope: Magic Romance, Age gap FMC, enemies to lovers
Review: Faolan knows two things:
Queen Melisende of Boreas is his kingdom's greatest enemy and his father will never respect him unless he can bring about her end.
After hearing about attacks on their lands through the use of portals--long thought to have disappeared after the fae lost the use of their elemental powers--the monarchs of the Etesian Isles scramble to discover who could be conjuring them. Meanwhile, Faolan's father, King Rian, is harboring a generations-old feud and sends his son to Boreas to kill Melisende under the ruse of solving the mystery behind the portal attacks.
Yet as Faolan spends time in the enemy kingdom, he realizes that things aren't what he had been led to believe and his feelings for the queen shift from hatred to desire.
And now he faces a dilemma, does he follow his head and side with his family or follow his heart and side with the queen?

Faolan craves acceptance and respect from his family, but finds his assigned task impossible to complete. He becomes even more confused when he starts receiving that respect more openly while in his sworn enemy’s camp.

Meli has had centuries of dealing with it...incursions, fighting, wars, betrayal, and assassination attempts! So she has no time or patience for this man-child...this little wolf... Then she discovers the gods have a very warped sense of humor.

Love the insights having the POV from both main characters, it deepens the relationship you have with them. Throw in the feisty banter, multiple conflicts, and elemental magic.

[Lady Wolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

So we start off a little flat with character development but as the story progresses this improves. The first smut scene was a little forced but the second one was chef’s kiss. I did wish there was a little more dimension to both the MMC and FMC. Faolan was 90% kind of a push over and a simp and I wish he had just a little more of a backbone whereas Meli is VERY reactive and I wish she was a little more cunning considering her age. I also wish the writing guided the reader through the emotional developments more instead of the characters stating things like “now I am in love” like a check in the box. The world building was really good in terms of the geography. I wasn’t ever confused when locations were described I would have liked to know more about Faolan’s mother I feel like there is more to that story than is being revealed. This was overall a fun ride and I’m excited for the second book to know WTH is going on with the portals. I HAVE A MIGHTY NEED.

[Sara Selvaraj · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a fun and interesting read and definitely scratched an itch for a fated mates story. I am a little concerned about the problem of authors creating complications and unnecessary plot twists in order to keep a story going in the future. Not only enemies to lovers, but fated mates AND some level of chosen ones AND special magic. All in the first book. And this isn’t meant to be a knock, just reality, the writing was clearly from an inexperienced author. Certain descriptive phrases were used repetitively enough that I noticed them while reading casually and stylistically the writing was basic. I enjoyed this read and will be reading the sequel, it was what I wanted in many ways, and my rating viewing the work as a whole still stands.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Faolan craves acceptance and respect from his family, but finds his assigned task impossible to complete. He becomes even more confused when he starts receiving that respect more openly while in his sworn enemies camp.
Meli has had centuries of dealing with it...incursions, fighting, wars, betrayal, assassination attempts! So she has no time or patience for this man-child...this little wolf... Then she discovers the gods have a very warped sense of humor.
Love the insights having the POV from both main characters. Throw in the feisty banter, multiple conflicts, elemental magic and magic portals and you have a book that draws you in and leaves you wanting more. Cannot wait for book 2!

[Benjamin Waffles · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got an ARC copy, and am pretty new to romantasy - the spicy bits still makes me blush. This was a lot of fun! Got sucked in and really didn't want to put it down. Now I'm frustratedly waiting for the sequel and the first one isn't even out yet.
Solid world building and really sympathetic main character of a strong, mature woman trying be manage kingdoms run by jerk men while not losing her principles. The young man feels believably lost and impressionable, too, which is funny. Also very nice lgbtq support.

[MichelleLynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked up a copy at a local indie author book event and was hooked immediately at the fmc being a 900yo queen and the mmc being a 30 something yo prince torn between wanting to live up to his asshat father's expectations, and just wanting to carve his own path in his life. It lived up to its hype and reeeally picked up in the second half 😍

aaaand now I'm itching for the next book to come out. 😫🥹 Kendra, HOW DARE! 🤣🫶 Excuse me while I drink gallons of spiced orange tea while waiting for Revenge of the Raven 💖☕️🫖

[&#x1f4da;Brandy&#x1fabc;]

Picked this book up at a book fair, because I like giving new authors a chance. Unfortunately I’m not digging the dialogue in this book. It’s a fantasy book and I find it weird for the female characters father to say “are you thick?”. What year is this book supposed to take place in? That just totally pushed me out of the book.

[Camille Arr]

# books ?
Book 2 edits per insta

[Lorena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the world and magic system. Compelling story that I read in 2 1/2 days Ending satisfying but left me wanting more. Stayed for the story and characters. Great premise!