Rising Reign

The Wolves of Crescent Creek #3

by Tessa Hale

Book 3 in the Wolves of Crescent Creek series. More details coming soon!

Genres: Fantasy, Why Choose, Paranormal, Romance, Shapeshifters, Paranormal Romance, Romantasy

256 pages, Paperback

First published September 24, 2025

About the author

Author of love stories with magic, usually with more than one love interest. Constant daydreamer.

What a FREE novella from me? You can download one via BookFunnel: https://BookHip.com/NWRWMZA

Reviews

[Cheyyleigh]

I feel like every time I read Tessa Hale I can copy and paste my same review on the third book. spoilers ahead.


Okay, I will start with I really like the way that this author starts her series. There is plot, tension and some connection and it had me frothing at the mouth for more to come. The second book always has enough action and at least one hold out mate to keep me going, then we get to book three. Book three for me always feels like it's on fast forward just to race to a finish line and we lose all the tension the insane plot pieces and all the connection between characters and sadly this third book was not an exception.

Wren spends 247ish pages (on Kindle) being in love, training and hanging out at her house after she is rescued from her father's compound. Then there is a big battle sort of at the end that she wins in two seconds, and then the book ends with a "happily ever after yada yada". All I was aching for was some more depth this time. Maybe keep her at her dad's longer? Maybe we don't spend the whole book at the same location and having training montages? or idk not only have one sort of sex scene when she goes into an intense heat? how was that a missed opportunity?

Then as with the other third books our bad guy doesn't get his due justice. The man was essentially Satan. ruined countless lives, including wrens and he just has a heart attack? Maybe I read darker stuff normally but come on. How is that equal balance for all the horrid things he has done? it's not. And the mages! are you kidding? These big bad guys go down in twenty minutes? with no problems? It's just so anticlimactic.

Speaking of anticlimactic let's talk Ender. this argument could be copy and pasted from her dragon series but he sucked for two whole books and wasn't great at the beginning of this one, and no apology really, no groveling. He just kinda says 5 nice sentences and she bangs him and we move on. What is the point of all the tension and back and forth in these books to just not doing anything with it.

Now you may be asking yourself, if you have such strong opinions why do you keep reading her books? Well that's simple! She can start a series like a champ, just they end the same way, and I'm frustrated with the potential slowly burning out. I am sure I will be writing this again on another of her books, and I won't learn a lesson but overall not a horrible book she is still an intriguing and engaging author who has great ideas rolling around in her head. I am just BEGGING for the next series to have some closure that feels like it matches the build up.

[dak]

3.5☆ 🐺💜🗡️🌕

✨𝓁ℴ𝓋ℯ 𝓁ℴ𝓋ℯ 𝓁ℴ𝓋ℯ✨

what a fun series!! i binged these and i have zero regrets hehe it really reminded me of a early 2000s CW show and well i love that shit sooo

i really loved this story + these characters
so happy 𝚠𝚛𝚎𝚗 and her pack got a happy ending it made my heart full 💓🐾✨

⏾⋆.˚“ℐ 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊’𝓇𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓂𝑜𝓈𝓉 𝒶𝓂𝒶𝓏𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒸𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓉𝓊𝓇𝑒 ℐ’𝓋𝑒 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝓂𝑒𝓉. 𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝒹𝒾𝒹𝓃’𝓉 𝓁𝑒𝓉 𝒸𝓇𝓊𝑒𝓁𝓉𝓎 𝓉𝓊𝓇𝓃 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒹𝒶𝓇𝓀. 𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝑔𝑜𝓉 𝓈𝓉𝓇𝑜𝓃𝑔 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓅𝓅𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑜𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝑒𝒶𝓀. 𝒜𝓃𝒹 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓁𝑒𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝒹𝒹𝒶𝓂𝓃𝑒𝒹 𝓂𝒾𝓇𝒶𝒸𝓁𝑒𝓈 𝒾𝓃 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓌𝒶𝓀𝑒 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝑔𝑜”⋆˙⟡♡

also i saw rhys is getting a book and abso - fucking - lutely 🤏🏻🙂‍↕️ i will be THERE!!

[Brittany Ferraro]

This isn’t goodbye this is simply see you laterrrrrr🥹😭 no literally because these books are definitely going to be comfort reads for me. They’re super easy to fall into, laid-back, and bingeable in the best “TV show marathon” kind of way.

In this final book, Wren finally dives into her relationships with all five men and we’ve all been waiting for this moment. Especially to have Ender on his KNEES hehe I knew I’d love his grovel.

I listened on audio, and because it wasn’t full duet narration( this is an All-Star cast, though ) I did find myself questioning who was who sometimes since most of the chapters were from the FMC’s POV. So, for my reread, I’m going to pick up the physical copy so I can highlight, annotate, and really soak it all in.

One of my favorite parts of the series is the found family, not just with Wren and her wolves, but also with the people in town. It gave the whole book such a cozy, heartwarming feel. Everyone had each other’s backs, and it tugged at my little heartstrings in the best way.

The conflict in this book did wrap up a bit quickly, I do wish there was a little more depth there I was waiting for this big AHHH moment you know? But I still did enjoy it!

This series is full of complex characters with a lot of trauma which I love because I’m always here for breaking down walls and watching characters grow. Plus, Wren is a total baddie, and that’s always a win.

Overall, this series was just such a fun ride. I loved the characters, the setting, the mate bonds, and that big happy family energy. Finishing it was so bittersweet, but in the best way.


I will say I wish we dialed it up on the group scenes👀 but maybe that’s just me being greedy😂


Also we have a new character introduced and I fear he’s just my type🤭 give me moreeee

[JustALittleBookishh]

WTH did I read... Yet again Tessa Hale pulls out the same derivative BS that is in all of her books. Every single one of her books has the same formula! Furthermore it ENRAGES me that all of her books are less than 250 pages. Yet she drags out a book that could be wrapped up in a single book, but makes us wait six months between each book that is less than 250 pages!!! Plus EVERY single book ends on the same cliffhanger, with the main girl getting F*CKING KIDNAPPED by some random villain that everyone thought was dead!!! Do yourself a favor and read something other than this cesspool of a book!
✔️ Main girl is fragile and weak
✔️ One of her mates is an Grade A douche nozzle that hates the girl and refuses to accept her as a mate until the very end of the book.
✔️ Mean girl humiliates main girl because she wants one of her mates
✔️The main girl gets a cute nickname that always has the word Little in it. This is in case the reader forgets how "tiny" she is.
✔️ Girl is the most special girl that ever existed and has a special power that only comes around every 1000 years
✔️ She is constantly in danger from rivals who want her power
✔️ she is kidnapped or injured at the end of each book
✔️ one of the mates is nearly mortally wounded
✔️ Her mates always have to be touching her
✔️ she has a super special secret that she hides from her mates. This secret will inevitably come back to bite her in the ass.
✔️ She is in heat every freaking page
✔️ Every eating scene has to be erotic. Main girl cannot enjoy food without moaning like she's in a porno and arousing all of her mates
✔️ Every time she "fights" she ends up being gravely injured.

If you've come to the end of this arduous list, then congrats you have singlehandedly read all of Tessa Hale's books!

[Hannah Lee]

This whole series deserves 5 stars. I read all three books in two days because I couldn’t put this story down.

The only thing is that I feel like we got a lot of each mate individually, but I would’ve liked to see more of everyone together as a pack.

I need Rhys’s story yesterday and can’t wait to read it next year!!!

[Emily]

3.5 ⭐️
A fun why choose werewolf romance

[Krysta ꕤ]

3.5 ☆

”To me, Wren was everything. Savior and peace. Understanding and my ultimate resting place. She was simply…my soul’s missing piece.”

a quick, binge-able series but i do think this finale was the weak link. everything moved a little too fast, so some of the scenes felt anticlimactic. im so happy that Wren and her men all have their completed bonds now though. Rhys 100% stole the spotlight in this one, he came in clutch so many times & i loved his personality immediately. it’s making me anticipate getting to his spin off even more.. especially since i have the arc!

[Christi]

Rising Reign is the 3rd and final book in the Wolves of Crescent Creek series and ahh I loved this so much! Wolf shifters, fated mates, why choose, touch her and die vibes. This was action-packed right from the start and I ate it up!

I loved being back with Wren and her mates (Kingston, Brix, Ender, Locke, Puck)and after seeing where they left off in the 2nd book’s cliffhanger, I was so excited to see how it would all play out in this conclusion! We jump right back into the action from page 1 and I was hooked the whole book. Loved Wren and her guys, the “ink me” moment, Princess the cat, Hera, when the humans find out about them being shifters 🤭, Rhys! Very excited for what’s coming next from this author, her why choose always hit!

As always, highly recommend grabbing the audios for this author’s books because they are top tier and a fantastic ride! This series has a full cast narrating the characters: Vanessa Moyen, Connor Crais, Jason Clarke, JF Harding, Teddy Hamilton, and Shane East. Sooo good!

I received an audio ALC, all thoughts in this review are my own.

[Jessica]

I am obsessed with everything Tessa Hale writes, and this was the perfect ending to the series!! The heroes would literally destroy the world to protect the heroine, and we had some pretty cool training scenes in here. We had so much more of other fun side characters as well, and I loved how they interacted with our main characters. (I'm looking at you, Rhys 👀) This was such a satisfying and action packed ending and I am dying for a vampire story from Tessa! I can't wait for next year!!

[Tatiana]

I’ve really enjoyed the Wolves of Crescent Creek series so far, but unfortunately Rising Reign fell flat for me as a finale.

The story picks up with a promising setup—high stakes, danger, and emotional tension—but the payoff fizzles fast. The rescue from the Red River Crew happens almost immediately, and Marcelle’s “death” is reversed so quickly it barely lands. From there, it’s 50% of the same repeated emotional beats: each mate spirals, pulls away, and then comes back after the exact same “we’re stronger together” pep talk. Rinse, repeat.

New characters like Rhys and Clara get thrown into the core conflict with barely any setup, and when the final battle arrives, it’s rushed and underwhelming. Big bads are defeated in a blink, mates are saved again, and we get a heat scene that’s so glossed over it barely counts. For a trilogy with this much build-up, the lack of consequences and true emotional climax really let me down.

I wanted more grit, more payoff, and more earned resolution. Instead, it felt like a lot of potential—wasted.

[Melanie (mells_view)]

This was the perfect ending to the Crescent Creek series. All the evils Wren and this pack have experienced and they finally battle it out to their HEA. We are introduced to a handful of new characters who I adored, but what really shines is the pack becoming complete and all members figuring themselves out and what role they play in their bond.

The voice actors did amazing as per usual and truly loved that it’s a full cast. It just makes the story feel so much richer because in my mind it’s almost a movie.

If you enjoy why choose, shifter romance, or supernatural being romance in general with easy to follow plot and suspense, then you will enjoy this series!

Side note: I am absolutely hoping Tessa gives us a little story about a certain nosy vampire. Please please 🙏

AVAILABLE NOW!
*ALC

[Booked up]

A Satisfying Completion to the Wolves of Crescent Creek Series

If you love wolf shifters, alpha heroes, fated mates, and a good why-choose romance, Rising Reign delivers everything you're craving. It's the perfect palate cleanser-short, punchy, and guaranteed to leave you clutching your pearls while whispering, "more, daddy!"

What makes it even better is the multi-POV storytelling. You get to step inside each character's head, which adds depth and makes the fast-paced story even more engaging. It may be a quick read, but it's packed with spice, heart, and just the right amount of drama to wrap up the Crescent Creek saga in a way that's both satisfying and addictive.

If you're looking for a steamy, bingeable read with all your favorite shifter tropes, this is definitely one to grab.

[Books &Chaos]

I don’t even know how to properly explain how much I loved Rising Reign. I am SO obsessed with Tessa Hale’s books, and this one was no exception. I completely binged this book and absolutely flew through it. I genuinely did not want to put it down.

The audiobook was also really well done and made this such an easy book to get completely lost in.

At this point, Tessa Hale has officially earned automatic-read status and I will read anything and everything she writes!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Tropes ✨:
Found Family
Fated Mates
Reverse Harem
Paranormal Romance
Protective MMCs
Touch Her and Die

[Tarynrose]

4.35✨️

Oh, how I love Tessa Hale.

This was such a good end to the Trilogy.

Seeing our characters work through all the trauma and worries they had throughout the series was amazing. And getting to see them happy was even better.

A certain character in this book has me wanting more!! Iykyk😌

I'm sad this Trilogy is over, but I am so excited for what Tessa has next! If you haven't already, please start this series because you won't regret it.

Thank you so much, Tessa Hale, for the ARC🩷

[Sarcasticpageturner]

4.5

This was easily my favorite book in the trilogy! Watching Wren finally find her home and the people she truly belongs with made this such a satisfying conclusion. Her gift is incredibly powerful, but what made it stand out was how relatable it felt. The way she carries the emotions and burdens of others is something many readers will connect with.

Puck officially claimed the top spot as my favorite character. His humor, loyalty, and heart brought so much life to every scene he was in. I also loved the addition of Reese and how seamlessly he fit into the story.

This trilogy is one I would absolutely recommend, especially on audio. The full-cast narration brings the characters and emotions to life in a way that makes it hard to stop listening. A fantastic ending to a binge-worthy series!

[likelythinkingofdragons]

4⭐
Definitely my favorite of the trilogy.
This one was action-packed from start to finish, had a genuinely hateable villain, a fun ensemble cast, and enough spice to keep things entertaining without it completely overtaking the plot.
Overall just a really solid final book.
I’d definitely recommend this trilogy if you want a full fantasy story arc — battles, romance, villains, found family vibes, all of it — but don’t want to commit to giant books full of dense world building and endless setup. These books are short, fast-paced, and get straight to the point.

[Marissa.Reads]

4.5⭐️ This has hands down been my favorite series from Tessa Hale, and the conclusion to Wren and her mates story was perfect!

Wren has lived her whole life of the run, and it felt so good to finally see her being able to live happy and free in this book. I can confirm I did pick a favorite, and of course it was Ender the broody, and tortured Cat Daddy!

These books are short, fast paced reads, with fantastic found family, fated mates, and we even get a vampire in this book. I love that the next series will be his story because he has me so intrigued! I don’t want to spoil anything because these are such short, quick reads. If you like wolf shifter romance this should definitely be in your TBR!

Thank you so much to Tessa Hale for the gifted copy in exchange for my honest review, I’m so grateful to have been part of your journey with this series.

[Taylor Jefferson]

2.5

I'm bummed. I enjoyed book one. It wasn't anything groundbreaking, but I thought it set up a series I could lose myself in for a few days. As it went on though, I was bored and frustrated. Books two and three had a bit of action in the beginning to deal with the cliffhanger from the previous book and action at the end. The middle was filled with Wren building or healing her relationships with her men, but it was missing something. Their emotional heart to hearts felt cringy and cliched. Ultimately, I was unsatisfied by the resolutions to the obstacles they faced to being together.

Brix was billed as this dark character who would never let anyone touch him till Wren, but they moved into lovey dovey territory very quickly. We are told he is dark and has issues but no time is taken to delve into them. He randomly freaks out in this book by the thought of having kids but after a 10-minute conversation with Wren and some spice everything is hunky dorey.

Kingston, after spending the last book avoiding Wren because he had a momentary lapse in judgement about her character, claims her in the first part of the book and that's it. We are happy and once again after a quick conversation and some spice everything is fine.

DON"T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON ENDER!! Even though he knows he treated Wren poorly he continues to do so for almost an entire book because "that's just the way he is." And she lets him. At one point he was talking to another character and they ask him if he has apologized and he says yes. WHEN??? Had I had a drink in my mouth I would have spit it out. No real remorse, no grovel. UNBELIEVABLE!

Puck was fine and Locke was my favorite.

Another issue, these guys are a supposed to be bad ass mercenaries whose name strikes fear but there was barely any mercenarying (that's a word!) And Wren is a super rare hybrid wolf caster who does almost no casting. It felt like the author wanted to give them these cool identities but dedicated no effort into making them real or relevant to the story.

If you loved this, I get it. It is incredibly consumable. It's a popcorn novel, but as my issues with the series piled up, I couldn't put myself into a place where I could let go and just enjoy.

[M.L. Burns]

Overall a cute series. I know someone told me this isn’t omni but it felt more like that in this book than a shifter. CW show,
Complete.

[Elizabeth]

Enjoyed the wrap up of this story. Everything felt tied up. Got to meet a lot of fun new people in this part of the series and enjoyed the found family vibes! The super natural inclusions in everything made this really magical ! Great wrap up.

[Andreana Buckenberger]

Finished this series off because of a readathon. Didn’t hate it, but definitely didn’t love it.

[Laura (lady_h_reads)]

ARC/ALC Review
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
“Nothing can keep me from you now, Kitten.”

There is light in the darkness! Wren and her mates earned their HEA, but boy, was it hard-fought. An absolute binge read, I consumed it in one day. I needed to see how they would overcome attacks from all sides.

Rising Reign was Ender's redemption arc. I didn’t know how he was ever going to get over himself and give in to his need for Wren. But when he FINALLY expressed his true feelings, I cheered. I did appreciate that Wren didn’t automatically bond with him. He still had some growth to reach the point where he deserved her. Grovelling and actions prove stronger than any hollow words.

The rest of Wren's mates continued their sweet ways. Brix remained my favorite. Give me the severed heads of my enemies, and I will fall head over heels in love!

Book three really brought on the heat. Expect lots of spice mixed in with the action: MF and sexy group time. Just wait till you get to CH 40... 🥵🥵🥵

This was a co-listen and read between the audiobook and ebook. The book is amazing in its own right, but even better in audio. The narrators knocked it out of the park. I am always impressed with Vanessa Moyen's performances, and each of the male VOs were perfect for their assigned MM. Vanessa Moyen, Connor Crais, Jason Clarke, JF Harding, Shane East, and Teddy Hamilton are an all-star cast.

Thanks to Tessa Hale for the ARC and ALC.

[Emma | books_emmallion]

Rising Reign is the third and final book in the Wolves of Crescent Creek series and it follows Wren, who has been on the run from her evil father, and her mates in their fast paced and action packed journey to solidifying their pack and mating bonds.

As usual, Tessa does a fantastic job with her why choose shifter romances and every main character has a unique personality and voice throughout the series. Each member of the Arcane pack grow and heal with and for each other.

I'm making my way through Tessa Hale's backlist (1 series left!) and I am just utterly obsessed with the worlds she creates.

Thank you so much Tessa and team for the ARC! I can't wait for everyone to read this epic series and for what's coming next!!!!

Also tysm for that epilogue.*chef's kiss*

Read if you love
🐺 enemies to lovers
🐺 wolf shifters
🐺 why choose
🐺 fmc in peril
🐺 fated mates
🐺 touch her and d!e vibes
🐺 found family
🐺 cliffhangers, but the series is complete!

[Britney ☆]

They worked HARD for this ending and I'm so glad Wren and her boys finally got it 😭. They have been through so much together and they deserved this.

I loved that it started right where book two left off. It always makes it that much easier for me to get back into a series when the transition is seamless. I loved this series so much and I'm sad to see it end but I'm so happy they got the ending that they did. Definitely one of my top shifter series.

[Maddie Vaters]

4⭐️

Another amazing Why-Choose series for the books! Now I am super toxic and always enjoy the tension and resistance between the characters that usually happens in the first couple of books, so typically the ending when they’re all happy isn’t my favourite. I mean, I do want a HEA…I just also want vast amounts of them resisting each other (bonus points if one of them is mean and then has to grovel🤭). Tessa Hale however always keeps me on my toes because she really has us WAITING for these groups to solidify. I’m not mad at it though😌 Anywho, this was a great ending to the Wolves of Crescent Creek series. I love a large why choose group and bonus points for fated mates who resist their bonds. I literally gobble that shit up every time. This ending gave me all the happy feels for Wren & her mates plus makes me curious if we’ll be getting any spin-offs with some of the characters we were introduced to!

[Alina Fuchsia]

3.5⭐

Я не знаю яку оцінку мені треба поставити. Тому що я не можу не порівнювати цю серію з попередньою. Мене стільки всього розчарувало. Я навіть не знаю з чого почати. Починаючи від схожості героїв з попередньою серією, закінчуючи аналогічними поворотними сюжетами. Можна було стільки всього вигадати. Задіяти у фінальній битві своїх друзів драконів. А по ітогу ми отримали серцевий напад😂🙈
Кінгстон. Наскільки він мені подобався спочатку. І як він трохи скотився в плані того, що він бляха АЛЬФА!!! А поводився як побите цуценя.

Я навіть не можу виділити улюбленця((( Дракони мені все таки сподобалися більше))

[Jenny Marshall]

Rating: 3.25

Fun conclusion to The Wolves of Crescent Creek series. This was a quick and easy read to see if Wren and her mates were able to get their happy ending. I will say that the series started out a lot stronger than where it ended up for me. The last two books felt like the plot was missing quite a bit and some parts felt rushed overall. Personally, I feel like the series could have been condensed down to two books overall or even just one!

[Katie]

In Rising Reign, we are left with the aftermath of the end of book 2, which, in case you forgot, everything is terrible🫠.
💙
I don’t want to spoil anything, but this is a fast-paced, short and sweet book where everyone has their moment (yes, even sweet bb Ender) AND we are introduced to multiple new characters 👀. TH is excellent at differentiating our characters and ensuring they all have their own voices and personalities within the story. I love the way they all have their pasts and find their healing in each other. The guys’ love for Wren is so beautiful, despite who her family is and what her father has done to them. They love her for who she is and we love to see it 🥹🥹🥹.
💜
I was lucky enough to receive an ALC and I absolutely recommend the audio for this series. @voicedbyvanessa , @connorcrais , @jasonclarkereads , @j.f.harding , @narratedbyteddyhamilton , and @shaneeastreads are truly an all-star cast of narrators. They perfectly embody the characters, and they also perfectly embody each other when they are voicing the other characters 🤭❤️. This book was full of emotion and I wholeheartedly felt it from each of the narrators. 10/10 recommend going the audio route for this series!!!
🩵
Thank you so so much to the author for allowing me to read early with an eARC, ALC, and a physical copy?!? I am such a lucky girl. Thank you for this wonderful series! I can’t wait to read the next one 👀👀
💙

[Annmarie]

⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3 stars)
🌶️🌶️ spice

Book 3 of The Wolves of Crescent Creek series

The final book in the series — and okay, it was an easy, fun read with spice and all that, but by this point, the story started to feel very samey. I honestly felt like I knew everything that was going to happen before it did.

It wasn’t bad — just predictable. I’d say the series overall sits at around 3.5 stars for me, but this book specifically? A 3-star read. I caught myself skipping parts, getting distracted, and even putting the book down a few times, which isn’t a great sign.

That said, I’m still glad I finished the series. It wasn’t amazing or life-changing, but it was a good, quick set of reads with a bit of heat and a familiar rhythm.

Would I recommend it? Maybe.
Would I read it again? Nope.
How would I sum it up? Predictable, spicy, and just okay.

[✨Gretch✨]

This was the perfect ending to a great series. Normally the ending of a series leaves me wanting more because I feel like there are things that had been left unresolved, or simply brushed over, but Tessa didn't disappoint with the ending of this book and series!

This book picked up right after that cliffhanger ending of book 2, and we started out with a bang, and kept the momentum going the whole book. I really enjoyed seeing Wren and her mates, (all her mates because one of them finally got his head out of his ass...) and even though they went through some hard times in this book, they also had happy times as a group, and it was so heartwarming to see.

The conclusion of this book was everything I wanted it to be. Epic fights, some close calls, and of course justice. It was beautiful to see Wren's dad get what he deserved finally. The epilogue was my favorite part because we got to jump forward in time and see how Wren and her guys are doing. I won't spoil anything, but it was beautiful, and so deserved for all of them.