Dead Wolf Walking

by Sydney Presley

FROM POPULAR GAY ROMANCE AUTHOR SYDNEY PRESLEY The crows cannot be ignored… Jon had moved away from Northchurch because the crows had come, bringing havoc with them. He’d left behind the love of his life, Vince, and they’d agreed to live together once Vince’s mum passed away. Much as Jon would have loved to have stayed near Vince, he couldn’t. He was the bad wolf, the dead wolf walking, the one the crows had come to take away. Vince had missed Jon this past year, but the time had gone quickly, what with him caring for his mother and working full time. The local farmer, Mr. Potter, had given Vince bad news, though, and Vince had had to contact Jon. There was no other way forward. The crows had come again, and Jon was the only one who could make them go away. Or was he? With the birds dropping from the sky, Northchurch was set to be bathed in trouble again—deaths, too, if the last episode was anything to go by. Jon had to face a hurtful fact, though—as if his painful childhood hadn’t hurt enough. His mother was someone he’d vowed never to see again, yet here he was, back in Northchurch, presented with a task no son should ever have to face. But the crows had spoken, and Jon was powerless to ignore their needs…

Genres: M M Romance, Paranormal

73 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 16, 2017

About the author

Sydney has always enjoyed writing. “There’s something about losing yourself in another world, where the real one ceases to exist and all your dreams and wishes can be placed on the page—dreams for a better planet where love isn’t questioned but accepted by all.”
When Sydney isn’t writing, there’s plenty of reading to be done. “I can’t imagine not reading every day. It would be weird not to have a book to hand because I’ve always had one nearby. Life without reading isn’t something I’d like to contemplate. The thought brings me out in hives.”
Sydney lives in a peaceful area where the hustle and bustle of the city doesn’t figure. “I left city life years ago. Too stressful for me. I prefer listening to the swish of leaves on the trees instead of tyres on tarmac. The twittering of birds instead of the chatter of people. Alone time to reflect and ponder is a must. A small portion of every day spent by myself is vital to my sanity and soul.”

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a new author and although the blurb is vague, I thought it might be interesting, different to what I usually read.
However, there wasn't really any story. Its a strange book. It could have been so much more.
2.5 rounded up.

[Joyfully Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Joyfully Jay review.

3.75 stars

So, this was a slightly chilling story with some interesting paranormal/supernatural bits. Jon thinks he’s alone in his plight as a werewolf, well excepting his mum, but he’s not. There is a community of weres here and it seems like they are just now learning of one another. Even though Jon and his mum have no love lost between them, it’s still hard for Jon to turn his back when he knows her life is forfeit. That was an easy plight to connect with, as was the deep longing between Jon and Vince due to their forced separation. For me, this book read either like it was a sequel, or the beginning of something new, because its beginning and end are both rather abrupt. I was a little confused about the dying crows and their impact, at first, but the descriptions soon became the most interesting part of the story and I read in dread of any new omens. It’s a short book, and the pace is rapid, so I finished it quickly. I could see reading on, especially as we don’t get a lot of the romance/love between Jon and Vince, here.

Read Veronica’s review in its entirety here.

[TracyG. · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

I like this author, the storyline is always weirdly good. This one was very different from anything I've read before.

Listen to the Crows... how true was that!
Wolves are all around some good some evil. The evil must go, be eradicated leaving only the good...

Wow is my only thoughts on this one. It's a short novella packed with a brilliant plot that was fascinating from the very beginning right to the last page.

[Liza · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just finished this and I really wish it had been fleshed out more. The concepts of the wolves and crows was so interesting, but without any real history or context, it was a little confusing. This really felt like half a story, a prologue or the middle of another book. I definitely would have rated it higher if I had had more information about the characters and their history.

[Shelby · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were some great ideas in this one and if you factor in that it's more of a novella I enjoyed it. But it does leave a lot of details about the world unfilled in. Having Jon and Vince already be a couple separated by circumstances makes the romance work well within the short length here. I liked these guys. Their relationship with Vince mom was super sweet as well. I wanted things to get better for them. Jon definitely had a rough time of things growing up.

The paranormal elements here were interesting but as I said previously, not very well filled out. More like they were only partially explained. I'm not sure if this intended to be a series or not, but I would hope that in a later book we'd get more details of the werewolf society and how it all works.

Still all in all I enjoyed reading this story as I went. It was only as I got to the end of the story that I was left feeling a little bit wanting. While reading I was hooked in.