3.75 stars
“Finding the Wolf” by Mell Eight centers around the dragon Nyle (An’nanyle) whose quest to locate Leon, the youngest son of the human king, results in far more than he could ever dream of. Leon, having escaped one kind of captivity, may have to decide if he can cope with an arrangement that will take away his freedom for good.
This gay paranormal tale is the first book in the ‘Dragon’s Hoard’ series and introduces an intriguing world that contains dragons, werewolves, humans, and other beings. I love seeing the contrast between the relative youngster, Nyle, and his older fellow dragons; and the idea of considering a being to be a “pretty” and part of a hoard is a delightfully novel concept to me. The dragons’ names used an imaginative system and I was entertained by analyzing the shortened versions.
Those who are bothered by “insta-love” tales will not appreciate this story, but I liked the bond that formed quickly between the two main characters and it was fun to see them interact in all of their aspects. There are multiple reminders that perception is in the eye of the beholder, and although many of the horrific aspects of negative actions are quickly glossed over, one can’t deny that the dragons can act pretty quickly when they set their minds to it!
As is usual for this author, just enough of this novel world was shared to pique one’s interest, and there are multiple dangling threads in this quick read, but I’m reassured by the knowledge that this is the first novel in the series, so I expect there to be more revelations in subsequent stories and I look forward to reading them.
A copy of this story was provided for review