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Familiar Empire #1
The Missing Wolf
I’m Anastasia Noble, and shortly after moving to college, my life changed forever.
I became a familiar, bonded to a wolf for life and arrested simply for existing. I woke up in the famous Familiar Empire community where I have to learn to bond with my wolf, or I can never leave. Never again see those whom I love.
Bonding is my only option, if you could even call it an option, but add in familiars going missing every week, plus being stuck in a cabin with three mysterious, attractive, male familiars and their maddening animals...this is not going to be easy.
17+ RH
I became a familiar, bonded to a wolf for life and arrested simply for existing. I woke up in the famous Familiar Empire community where I have to learn to bond with my wolf, or I can never leave. Never again see those whom I love.
Bonding is my only option, if you could even call it an option, but add in familiars going missing every week, plus being stuck in a cabin with three mysterious, attractive, male familiars and their maddening animals...this is not going to be easy.
17+ RH
192 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 25, 2019
1922 people are currently reading
929 people want to read
About the author
G. Bailey
175 books4,049 followersG. Bailey is a USA Today bestselling author of books that are filled with everything from dragons to pirates. Plus, fantasy worlds and breath-taking adventures. Oh, and some swoon-worthy men that no girl could forget.
G. Bailey is from the very rainy U.K. where she lives with her husband, two children and three cheeky dogs.
G. Bailey is from the very rainy U.K. where she lives with her husband, two children and three cheeky dogs.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 170 reviews
March 25, 2020
2.5 stars rounded down
So I have come to the conclusion that I am not a fan of G. Bailey. I already knew this but this book has really cemented it. Bailey is an author with so many ideas and wants to get them all on paper. Then as soon as they get on paper she gets bored of that book and moves onto another idea. You can tell they don’t take the time to iron out the fine details. How many books series have they started but not really finished? 15?
Anyways mini rant over. I went into this book with low expectations and was not surprised when it was not the best. It had a lot of technical issues and grammatical mistakes. The world building was terrible and nothing was explained correctly. Also let’s not forget that the familiars are basically in a prison and no one cares. Why are they there? Why are they not allowed to send letters to their family? What even are familiars? Questions we will never get answers to.
So I have come to the conclusion that I am not a fan of G. Bailey. I already knew this but this book has really cemented it. Bailey is an author with so many ideas and wants to get them all on paper. Then as soon as they get on paper she gets bored of that book and moves onto another idea. You can tell they don’t take the time to iron out the fine details. How many books series have they started but not really finished? 15?
Anyways mini rant over. I went into this book with low expectations and was not surprised when it was not the best. It had a lot of technical issues and grammatical mistakes. The world building was terrible and nothing was explained correctly. Also let’s not forget that the familiars are basically in a prison and no one cares. Why are they there? Why are they not allowed to send letters to their family? What even are familiars? Questions we will never get answers to.
March 18, 2020
Beautiful cover art, but the story was kind of stiff and slow for me. Why was the prologue copied and pasted at the end of the third chapter? It was just another reason to skim past it.
DNF at 35%
DNF at 35%
December 27, 2019
I had meant to save this book for the KU Readathon buttttt it was released early and I couldn’t stop myself from starting it. I wanted to like this one more than I did but I felt so confused and didn’t connect to the story at all.
The idea of this sounded so cool. People have animals as familiars. Think the golden compass. And I have always loved that type of story but there’s only a handful of scenes with the MC & her wolf. So I felt like there was a bunch of miss potential.
Also the dialogue was super awkward and I kept thinking to myself... no one talks like that in real life. Sadly I hyped it up too much in my mind & I didn’t get hooked until literally the last page. Hopefully with the sequel there will be some answers because there were none answered.
The idea of this sounded so cool. People have animals as familiars. Think the golden compass. And I have always loved that type of story but there’s only a handful of scenes with the MC & her wolf. So I felt like there was a bunch of miss potential.
Also the dialogue was super awkward and I kept thinking to myself... no one talks like that in real life. Sadly I hyped it up too much in my mind & I didn’t get hooked until literally the last page. Hopefully with the sequel there will be some answers because there were none answered.
March 23, 2020
Okay, so this wasn't my first or second rodeo with D. Bailey, and whereas I've enjoyed her books in the past, this one was kinda disappointing. Please don't get me wrong I enjoyed the storyline greatly, however, I just couldn't seem to connect with the characters as I would've liked. It seemed like the author was in a rush to write this book as I felt it in the lack of details and that's so unlike D. Bailey, from other books that I've read by her. I hope maybe one day in the future she'll get the opportunity to rewrite this book and tweak it to make it better like I know she can.
Anyway, even though this wasn't one of her best books I will continue to read the rest of this series with hope in my heart that they're a little bit better and that this book was just a one-off. (fingers crossed)
Overall rating:
3* ~ I like it
Anyway, even though this wasn't one of her best books I will continue to read the rest of this series with hope in my heart that they're a little bit better and that this book was just a one-off. (fingers crossed)
Overall rating:
3* ~ I like it
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January 3, 2020
Familiars are looked at as a sub species in Ana's world and you never know when one will appear. The smallest thing can trigger it and for Ana it was her first day at Uni. She wakes up one morning in a holding room with a note saying to freshen up and a change of clothes.She then goes on to find a whole world she was unaware of. After a very brief introduction she is thrown into a cabin with three totally hot and equally powerful men and their familiars. It is up to her roommates to guide her and train her to bond with her familiar and make it through this crazy world and stay alive. But people start to go missing and we soon see that the boys she was told to trust are hiding something. And who is the caped man that keeps popping up?
In the world that’s created, secrets and questions keep you on your toes throughout it all and waiting with baited breath. The attraction that has been building between Ana and the guys is an insanely slow build- which is a change for G Bailey. But it does make the relationships and the stolen moments they have all that much sweeter. I can not even begin to imagine what is going to happen! That cliffhanger at the end is killing me and I can not wait to read the next installment.
In the world that’s created, secrets and questions keep you on your toes throughout it all and waiting with baited breath. The attraction that has been building between Ana and the guys is an insanely slow build- which is a change for G Bailey. But it does make the relationships and the stolen moments they have all that much sweeter. I can not even begin to imagine what is going to happen! That cliffhanger at the end is killing me and I can not wait to read the next installment.
March 26, 2020
Hmmm. I’m going to reserve judgment till I read book 2. I do like the whole idea of having a bonded familiar.
January 27, 2020
Not bad but not great
I think this book has a lot of potential but it sadly just fell short of the mark. For one, a lot more time needs to be spent on developing the story. We learned next to nothing about familiars animals (in the story they are sometimes referred as the same thing which is confusing), the world they live in, our MC, etc. The MC is also a Mary Sue. She just happens to have volunteered with animals before and she also just so happened to work with the animals the guys have? She is hinted at being important or the bad guy (?) but literally zero development either way in regards to that. There were also some word choice and spelling issues throughout the book particularly with tenses—ex) stood versus standing. I’d also say the first three to four chapters add very little to the story. *Sometimes in British English they say stood instead of standing, but there were additional errors in terms of tenses and spelling throughout. The prologue is basically the first chapter and it felt like a cheap attempt to gain more words.
I did like the concept and some of the hinted at themes, it just fell short of the mark.
I think the author should work with someone on developmental edits and also tell their editor(s) to look out for word choice in particular. Work on creating well rounded characters and making sure some questions have been answered by the end of the book. We learned there are familiars which are super rare and bad things are happening and oh, there’s a guy who hates her and loves her at the same time. There’s a bit of instant love without the commitment—which was just as confusing to me as it is to you reading this.
I’m not sure if I’m going to read the second book or not. I want to see if the author improves this story but there’s nothing to tie all the pieces together—even loosely—after this first book.
Would I recommend reading this book? It’s not horrible but there’s nothing particularly wowing about this story either, so I’d say read this book if you’ve got time to spare. It’s length is deceiving.
I think this book has a lot of potential but it sadly just fell short of the mark. For one, a lot more time needs to be spent on developing the story. We learned next to nothing about familiars animals (in the story they are sometimes referred as the same thing which is confusing), the world they live in, our MC, etc. The MC is also a Mary Sue. She just happens to have volunteered with animals before and she also just so happened to work with the animals the guys have? She is hinted at being important or the bad guy (?) but literally zero development either way in regards to that. There were also some word choice and spelling issues throughout the book particularly with tenses—ex) stood versus standing. I’d also say the first three to four chapters add very little to the story. *Sometimes in British English they say stood instead of standing, but there were additional errors in terms of tenses and spelling throughout. The prologue is basically the first chapter and it felt like a cheap attempt to gain more words.
I did like the concept and some of the hinted at themes, it just fell short of the mark.
I think the author should work with someone on developmental edits and also tell their editor(s) to look out for word choice in particular. Work on creating well rounded characters and making sure some questions have been answered by the end of the book. We learned there are familiars which are super rare and bad things are happening and oh, there’s a guy who hates her and loves her at the same time. There’s a bit of instant love without the commitment—which was just as confusing to me as it is to you reading this.
I’m not sure if I’m going to read the second book or not. I want to see if the author improves this story but there’s nothing to tie all the pieces together—even loosely—after this first book.
Would I recommend reading this book? It’s not horrible but there’s nothing particularly wowing about this story either, so I’d say read this book if you’ve got time to spare. It’s length is deceiving.
January 22, 2020
I wanted to like this book more than I did.. it wasn't bad by any means but compared to Bailey's other books, it wasn't my favorite. Ana is kind of thrown into a world full a familiars and it was so fascinating! The issue I had with the book is that I feel like the familiars weren't explained or explored enough. There just needed to be more with them. I liked Ana and I liked her men and I am looking forward to the next book!
February 8, 2020
Horribly written
The premise of this book isn’t bad. I wanted to like it. But the writing, holy freaking cow. It is so bad. Pick a tense G. stick with it. Though honestly, the lack of consistent tense is probably the best of the issues here. This was a DNF for me. I couldn’t get past the poor writing skills to see any redeeming value in the story.
The premise of this book isn’t bad. I wanted to like it. But the writing, holy freaking cow. It is so bad. Pick a tense G. stick with it. Though honestly, the lack of consistent tense is probably the best of the issues here. This was a DNF for me. I couldn’t get past the poor writing skills to see any redeeming value in the story.
February 15, 2020
3-3.5 Dang it how many unfinished series does this author have going on stars... Yea so this has been popping up on my KU recommended feed for quite some time.. at least that is what I was thinking so I was just sure that this must be a completed or at least partially completed series by now. Knowing that I've recently read several series starters by G. Bailey and am sitting waiting on the next in the series to come out made just oh so sure that this must be one of her completed series that I have just missed somewhere. How wrong I was.. I have to stop doing this to myself.
Really intriguing world, and concepts here. The story sucked me right in despite the super fast paced nature G. Bailey has. I think the characters have some great chemistry so far and I really liked where this was headed until that blasted cliffhanger that has left me scrambling in the dust.. OF FREAKING COURSE I HAVE TO WAIT FOR BOOK 2...
I have to hand it to G. Bailey, her writing style is just so easy to fall into the story. I never have any problems picturing the scenes and while I would love to see more depth to her worlds, I never fail to be entertained when visiting. I have been on a binge through her works for a GR "Stalk and Author" group challenge and can't say that I've made a bad decision to run train through her work.
Anastasia, our FMC, gets a crazy surprise on her first day of college as she gets a familiar mark. Familiars are known throughout the world and are all kept in Familiar cities to protect themselves and the outside world because of their crazy connection to their familiar animals and the power they can wield. Tossing her entire life, dreams and world aside Ana is shipped to the nearest familiar city only to discover she is not just a Familiar but her wolf, Shadow is special. Lumped in with a threesome of dudes with similarly special familiars Ana is brought into the fold only to discover quite quickly that things aren't all they seem in this new place, and danger seems to lurk around every corner and it all seems to be coming after her. Only she doesn't know or understand why...
I can't wait to see what is actually happening here. We have just brushed the surface of all the craziness and it chaps my hide knowing I'm going to have to wait to get all the answers I need.
Really intriguing world, and concepts here. The story sucked me right in despite the super fast paced nature G. Bailey has. I think the characters have some great chemistry so far and I really liked where this was headed until that blasted cliffhanger that has left me scrambling in the dust.. OF FREAKING COURSE I HAVE TO WAIT FOR BOOK 2...
I have to hand it to G. Bailey, her writing style is just so easy to fall into the story. I never have any problems picturing the scenes and while I would love to see more depth to her worlds, I never fail to be entertained when visiting. I have been on a binge through her works for a GR "Stalk and Author" group challenge and can't say that I've made a bad decision to run train through her work.
Anastasia, our FMC, gets a crazy surprise on her first day of college as she gets a familiar mark. Familiars are known throughout the world and are all kept in Familiar cities to protect themselves and the outside world because of their crazy connection to their familiar animals and the power they can wield. Tossing her entire life, dreams and world aside Ana is shipped to the nearest familiar city only to discover she is not just a Familiar but her wolf, Shadow is special. Lumped in with a threesome of dudes with similarly special familiars Ana is brought into the fold only to discover quite quickly that things aren't all they seem in this new place, and danger seems to lurk around every corner and it all seems to be coming after her. Only she doesn't know or understand why...
I can't wait to see what is actually happening here. We have just brushed the surface of all the craziness and it chaps my hide knowing I'm going to have to wait to get all the answers I need.
February 9, 2020
It was just alright
This is solidly on the YA side of Paranormal Romance, and it had all the usual tropes associated with books aimed at a younger audience. If YA is your thing, then I think you’ll really enjoy this. However, I picked this up not knowing it was YA and although the premise sounded interesting, it just wasn’t for me.
2.5 stars ⭐️
This is solidly on the YA side of Paranormal Romance, and it had all the usual tropes associated with books aimed at a younger audience. If YA is your thing, then I think you’ll really enjoy this. However, I picked this up not knowing it was YA and although the premise sounded interesting, it just wasn’t for me.
2.5 stars ⭐️
January 2, 2021
This book hooked me from the first page! I was slightly confused at the beginning in regard to what familiars are, but my confusion was cleared up the more I read. I loved how the author is able to pull us into the story and experience what is happening to Anastasia. I'm so curious to see how the relationship with Liam, Alex and Mason will develop.
January 5, 2020
Another exciting series by G.Bailey
I couldn't put the book down, I love supernatural books and enjoyed everything this book had to offer. My copy had a few spelling mistakes but they may have been updated. However that didn't deter from the story and plot development.
I couldn't put the book down, I love supernatural books and enjoyed everything this book had to offer. My copy had a few spelling mistakes but they may have been updated. However that didn't deter from the story and plot development.
March 27, 2020
Admittedly DNF
The wording and style is off putting. At the 50% mark I still don't have a foothold into this world, everything is shrouded in mystery still, no inclinations of the bigger picture. It wouldn't be so bad if it didn't feel like a ten year old wrote it. The story could be cut in half if the redundancies were eliminated and filler scenes removed. Calling the humans familiars and their animal bonds familiars too is a tad confusing. Should have came up with something else. It's very elementary, as I described it to my teen, corny.
The wording and style is off putting. At the 50% mark I still don't have a foothold into this world, everything is shrouded in mystery still, no inclinations of the bigger picture. It wouldn't be so bad if it didn't feel like a ten year old wrote it. The story could be cut in half if the redundancies were eliminated and filler scenes removed. Calling the humans familiars and their animal bonds familiars too is a tad confusing. Should have came up with something else. It's very elementary, as I described it to my teen, corny.
January 12, 2020
Love the story
I hate that it’s left on a cliffhanger but I’m hopelessly hooked and book two can’t come out soon enough.
I hate that it’s left on a cliffhanger but I’m hopelessly hooked and book two can’t come out soon enough.
January 27, 2020
Interesting concept, great potential. I just couldn't connect with the story enough.
Why repeat the Prologue?
Not enough time spent with the familiars, considering they are a central concept.
Not enough of the Familiar Empire is explained.
Too many secrets and mysteries. Everybody is hiding something and it just feels like they go round in confused circles not telling each other anything. Even when the POV switches it doesn't enlighten us as to what the hell is going on. Nothing is resolved.
I really hate the predictable trope of the overprotective male(s) who treat the female like a mushroom. To supposedly protect her. How is ignorance of danger ever a protection??? Really don't get that concept at all. And it always ends with the fmc running right into the danger.
Cliffhanger ending.
Why repeat the Prologue?
Not enough time spent with the familiars, considering they are a central concept.
Not enough of the Familiar Empire is explained.
Too many secrets and mysteries. Everybody is hiding something and it just feels like they go round in confused circles not telling each other anything. Even when the POV switches it doesn't enlighten us as to what the hell is going on. Nothing is resolved.
I really hate the predictable trope of the overprotective male(s) who treat the female like a mushroom. To supposedly protect her. How is ignorance of danger ever a protection??? Really don't get that concept at all. And it always ends with the fmc running right into the danger.
Cliffhanger ending.
November 3, 2020
I loved the cliff hanger ending. I will admit, it feels a bit complicated in the regards of the three men all love her who she lives with theme. It kinda seems like the author has narrowed down the person she'll end up with, but it's also really hard to see who she even likes? Hopefully future novels clear this issue up.
January 5, 2020
Missed the mark
This book was really frustrating to read. Why? I felt like it failed to properly introduce the world & the characters. I mean I didn’t expect the entire plot and characters’ backstories to be dropped in book one, but this book really needed more than what was written. These authors spent so much time withholding information they didn’t tell us much or answer any significant questions. I should have been getting major intel in a first book on this world, the characters and some information on the plot. I should have been left giddy with excitement and new questions to hook me into being so ready for the next book that I would be preordering and/or setting up calendar notifications for release day. I wanted to be fascinated and intrigued, but was left frustrated. I’m really torn on if I should give the next book a chance. At this moment I’m leaning heavily towards no.
This book was really frustrating to read. Why? I felt like it failed to properly introduce the world & the characters. I mean I didn’t expect the entire plot and characters’ backstories to be dropped in book one, but this book really needed more than what was written. These authors spent so much time withholding information they didn’t tell us much or answer any significant questions. I should have been getting major intel in a first book on this world, the characters and some information on the plot. I should have been left giddy with excitement and new questions to hook me into being so ready for the next book that I would be preordering and/or setting up calendar notifications for release day. I wanted to be fascinated and intrigued, but was left frustrated. I’m really torn on if I should give the next book a chance. At this moment I’m leaning heavily towards no.
December 27, 2019
I’ve been impatiently waiting for this release!!!
I remember reading this book in an anthology a while ago and I couldn’t hardly wait until the author was able to release it and continue the series!! My waiting has paid off because this book was even better than I remember from the anthology. I am always amazed by the originality and creative that G. Bailey is able to craft into her stories. None of her books ever feel like cookie cutter stories because they are all incredibly unique and incomparable.
The world, plot line, and character building are all beautifully created and captured my attention as soon as I started reading it. This isn’t a typical shifter book where the characters shift into animals, but they have animal familiars who they are closely tied to which is unique to read and a good change of pace from the typical run of the mill fantasy novels. The plot line itself was intriguing enough to keep me engaged all afternoon but left plenty of important tidbits in the dark to make sure I come back and read the next book to find out more.
The characters were all easy to love, even Alex and his prickly personality (I love the jerks with complicated pasts). Hugh still has me on the fence about whether or not Ana should trust him as the empire leader. The guys and their involvement with the company who sent the red envelop has me questioning just what kind of ordeal have they got themselves into before Ana came along. The ending and the introduction of Dawn really blew my mind and was far from anything I had expected.
I am, once again, blown away by the story G. Bailey has crafted. She has the ability to weave a story that lets me as the reader to totally lose myself in another world. I am super excited to read the next book in this series!
I remember reading this book in an anthology a while ago and I couldn’t hardly wait until the author was able to release it and continue the series!! My waiting has paid off because this book was even better than I remember from the anthology. I am always amazed by the originality and creative that G. Bailey is able to craft into her stories. None of her books ever feel like cookie cutter stories because they are all incredibly unique and incomparable.
The world, plot line, and character building are all beautifully created and captured my attention as soon as I started reading it. This isn’t a typical shifter book where the characters shift into animals, but they have animal familiars who they are closely tied to which is unique to read and a good change of pace from the typical run of the mill fantasy novels. The plot line itself was intriguing enough to keep me engaged all afternoon but left plenty of important tidbits in the dark to make sure I come back and read the next book to find out more.
The characters were all easy to love, even Alex and his prickly personality (I love the jerks with complicated pasts). Hugh still has me on the fence about whether or not Ana should trust him as the empire leader. The guys and their involvement with the company who sent the red envelop has me questioning just what kind of ordeal have they got themselves into before Ana came along. The ending and the introduction of Dawn really blew my mind and was far from anything I had expected.
I am, once again, blown away by the story G. Bailey has crafted. She has the ability to weave a story that lets me as the reader to totally lose myself in another world. I am super excited to read the next book in this series!
September 4, 2020
Honestly I don't know how so many people liked it. The writing is terrible, like a 10 year old that doesn't speak English as his/her mother tongue wrote it, the characters have no dept, most of the dialogues are awkward and are stated some clashing things ( like the fact that Ana says that she can't cook to save her life, then she magically can bake cookies or make spectacular meals). I read another one of her books that started a series and it looked the same: it doesn't happen anything in like 300 pages, the characters become close friends in days without some moments of real connection, the world where they live is barely explained and then, in the last 3 pages, finally some action happens . The idea of familiars was interesting but it needed more development, it felt like the author desperately wanted to do another series with the least effort possible. She created the perfect MC, decided the number of brooding hot guys, their names, made them mess around a little, threw the final cliffhanger (I wouldn't be surprised if each of her books finished with one) and then proceeded to print the thing without even reading again to see if anything needed corrections (and a lot of things needed them).
January 9, 2021
Great story, needs help in execution
Very wonderful idea and world. Very frustrating wishing to push it into the next level and execute it with better form and flow. Why isn’t Ana asking why? Why isn’t she learning about her new self. What is this world she’s been pulled into and holy balls why doesn’t she care to figure it out?
Very wonderful idea and world. Very frustrating wishing to push it into the next level and execute it with better form and flow. Why isn’t Ana asking why? Why isn’t she learning about her new self. What is this world she’s been pulled into and holy balls why doesn’t she care to figure it out?
December 9, 2020
Struggled to finish. Do not buy.
This book was incredibly hard to finish. I am not a fan of the author’s writing style. It seemed very undeveloped where the author has to tell you everything that’s going on instead of showing the reader. So it feels like the author is telling you every single little thing without describing stuff to you to. I am so confused by this book. Was this supposed to be an Academy book? It just doesn’t make any sense you have absolutely no feel of your surroundings. The reader just gets plopped into a world with absolutely no explanation. Instead of feeling like it is purposefully vague it just feels like this whole book was not well thought out. I still do not understand the whole familiar concept. This did not feel well hashed out. I think that the writer needed to spend a little more time explaining the whole familiar process. Especially those of us who read paranormal themed books We are used to familiars being the animal partner to a character. It’s confusing that both the animal is considered a Familiar as well as the human character. One of my biggest gripes was there’s no bonding. You do not get a sense of any closeness to both the human familiar and the animal familiar. As the reader I really wanted to see the development of bond between the two. Instead, it feels like they spend more time apart. For a team who heavily rely on each other especially if one dies the other dies I just don’t understand why there isn’t more bonding, learning, and magic. For a very magic based book there’s no magic. This was by far the most disappointing issue. If she was a dog owner I’d take her dog away, it almost feels neglectful.
Again this just was not a well thought out book and I do not know how this got past editors. I really try not to be too hard on reviews but this just felt like a middle schooler was writing this. The concept and the idea is really great it’s the follow-through that is completely lacking, and lacking in a way where it’s confusing. You just don’t understand what exactly is going on and peppered in with weird dreams. I love the idea of this book and I think the idea could be somewhat fresh, but it’s lacking in detail, and explanations. There is a way to be mysterious and vague so as to lead you into wanting more, but this author has not developed this skill. This book is just too undeveloped. What I did like about this book was the idea and that it told the story from some other character views, but even then it wasn’t very often. Will I read this series? Maybe if I was so bored And wanting to put my mind through mental gymnastics. This was not worth the time that I wasted, this book should not have even gone to print whoever her beta readers are should have been a little more truthful.
Plain and simple this book needs a re-write.
This book was incredibly hard to finish. I am not a fan of the author’s writing style. It seemed very undeveloped where the author has to tell you everything that’s going on instead of showing the reader. So it feels like the author is telling you every single little thing without describing stuff to you to. I am so confused by this book. Was this supposed to be an Academy book? It just doesn’t make any sense you have absolutely no feel of your surroundings. The reader just gets plopped into a world with absolutely no explanation. Instead of feeling like it is purposefully vague it just feels like this whole book was not well thought out. I still do not understand the whole familiar concept. This did not feel well hashed out. I think that the writer needed to spend a little more time explaining the whole familiar process. Especially those of us who read paranormal themed books We are used to familiars being the animal partner to a character. It’s confusing that both the animal is considered a Familiar as well as the human character. One of my biggest gripes was there’s no bonding. You do not get a sense of any closeness to both the human familiar and the animal familiar. As the reader I really wanted to see the development of bond between the two. Instead, it feels like they spend more time apart. For a team who heavily rely on each other especially if one dies the other dies I just don’t understand why there isn’t more bonding, learning, and magic. For a very magic based book there’s no magic. This was by far the most disappointing issue. If she was a dog owner I’d take her dog away, it almost feels neglectful.
Again this just was not a well thought out book and I do not know how this got past editors. I really try not to be too hard on reviews but this just felt like a middle schooler was writing this. The concept and the idea is really great it’s the follow-through that is completely lacking, and lacking in a way where it’s confusing. You just don’t understand what exactly is going on and peppered in with weird dreams. I love the idea of this book and I think the idea could be somewhat fresh, but it’s lacking in detail, and explanations. There is a way to be mysterious and vague so as to lead you into wanting more, but this author has not developed this skill. This book is just too undeveloped. What I did like about this book was the idea and that it told the story from some other character views, but even then it wasn’t very often. Will I read this series? Maybe if I was so bored And wanting to put my mind through mental gymnastics. This was not worth the time that I wasted, this book should not have even gone to print whoever her beta readers are should have been a little more truthful.
Plain and simple this book needs a re-write.
May 6, 2023
The idea of this book is interesting, but the way it’s written ruined it.
The beginning was confusing and annoying because a scene is shown and then, I didn’t realise until the same scene is repeated, the next chapters go back in time. It was useless as nothing new is shown. The book should have started without that scene at the beginning, or it should have started from that scene with no going back in time.
I really liked the idea of there being familiars and I was looking forward to reading about the familiars bonding with their animals, but none of that’s shown. Anastasia finds out she has a wolf, Shadow, and she’s supposed to train to properly bond with him. Apart from one short scene, there is no training. Anastasia goes to work (she’s training to be a nurse), she watches movies with the guys she’s living with, sometimes she goes out with Raine, and Shadow appears sometimes and then goes off to hunt or something.
Anastasia goes to live in a new place (the familiar community in Scotland), but it doesn’t really show her getting to know the other people living there; it’s like they are all instantly friends. Her connection with the guys she’s living with is instant, even though Alex isn’t welcoming. Anastasia and Raine are instant friends, but it’s very superficial as they don’t really do anything together apart from going out a few times.
It felt like the plot wasn’t really thought through. At the beginning Anastasia asks Liam or Marcus (I can’t remember which one) about what all of their animals are, but they don’t tell her as they want to make it a surprise. Alex’s animal is a secret for a big part of this book, but couldn’t Anastasia just look at his hand to see what the animal is?
There is a sort of ‘plot twist’ at the end, which seemed forced and out of place.
This book could have been good, but there is absolutely no development when it comes to the plot or relationships. While I’m kind of interested in finding out more about the mystery guy, I’m not going to continue with this series, and since it’s the writing that bothered me, I probably won’t try other books by this author.
The beginning was confusing and annoying because a scene is shown and then, I didn’t realise until the same scene is repeated, the next chapters go back in time. It was useless as nothing new is shown. The book should have started without that scene at the beginning, or it should have started from that scene with no going back in time.
I really liked the idea of there being familiars and I was looking forward to reading about the familiars bonding with their animals, but none of that’s shown. Anastasia finds out she has a wolf, Shadow, and she’s supposed to train to properly bond with him. Apart from one short scene, there is no training. Anastasia goes to work (she’s training to be a nurse), she watches movies with the guys she’s living with, sometimes she goes out with Raine, and Shadow appears sometimes and then goes off to hunt or something.
Anastasia goes to live in a new place (the familiar community in Scotland), but it doesn’t really show her getting to know the other people living there; it’s like they are all instantly friends. Her connection with the guys she’s living with is instant, even though Alex isn’t welcoming. Anastasia and Raine are instant friends, but it’s very superficial as they don’t really do anything together apart from going out a few times.
It felt like the plot wasn’t really thought through. At the beginning Anastasia asks Liam or Marcus (I can’t remember which one) about what all of their animals are, but they don’t tell her as they want to make it a surprise. Alex’s animal is a secret for a big part of this book, but couldn’t Anastasia just look at his hand to see what the animal is?
There is a sort of ‘plot twist’ at the end, which seemed forced and out of place.
This book could have been good, but there is absolutely no development when it comes to the plot or relationships. While I’m kind of interested in finding out more about the mystery guy, I’m not going to continue with this series, and since it’s the writing that bothered me, I probably won’t try other books by this author.
January 19, 2020
Missing Wolf is everything I've come to expect from G Bailey. This author excels at creating intriguing fantasies with suspenseful (albeit cliffhanger) endings that keep me on the edge of my seat and eager for a sequel.
Anastasia is just a normal girl starting college, until she becomes a familiar. In this story familiars are individuals who are bonded to an animal (sort of a Golden Compass vibe), and only make up a very small fraction of the population. When this change occurs, Anastasia is taken from her life as she knows it and brought to a familiar compound to bond and train with her animal, a wolf named Shadow. But Anastasia is no ordinary familiar, she is an ancient, and thus is forced to live with the only other ancients... three quite attractive men.
While I did enjoy this story and the general plot, something in this book was just a bit lacking to me. I didn't quite connect with it as much as I had hoped to. I wished we learned a little bit more about the powers of a familiar and how the bond works, but as with previous series by this author, I'm sure more answers will come as the series continues.
Missing Wolf is a great start to a new series that seems very promising. I just hope with the next book we get a greater understanding of what seems to be an interesting new world. I look forward to learning more about what familiars really are and how Anastasia fits into the Familiar Empire. And after that cliff hanger I definitely need some answers!
Anastasia is just a normal girl starting college, until she becomes a familiar. In this story familiars are individuals who are bonded to an animal (sort of a Golden Compass vibe), and only make up a very small fraction of the population. When this change occurs, Anastasia is taken from her life as she knows it and brought to a familiar compound to bond and train with her animal, a wolf named Shadow. But Anastasia is no ordinary familiar, she is an ancient, and thus is forced to live with the only other ancients... three quite attractive men.
While I did enjoy this story and the general plot, something in this book was just a bit lacking to me. I didn't quite connect with it as much as I had hoped to. I wished we learned a little bit more about the powers of a familiar and how the bond works, but as with previous series by this author, I'm sure more answers will come as the series continues.
Missing Wolf is a great start to a new series that seems very promising. I just hope with the next book we get a greater understanding of what seems to be an interesting new world. I look forward to learning more about what familiars really are and how Anastasia fits into the Familiar Empire. And after that cliff hanger I definitely need some answers!
April 19, 2020
I really enjoyed the idea of a Familiar Empire - these are not shifters, they are people with connections to animals, some new and some ancient. Those powers are terrifying to the general human population and has spawned a form of captivity. Familiars, as both the magical animals and the people bonded to them, are called, are sent away when the 'mark' forms, to the Familiar Empire.
This place, or one of them at least, is a vast and sprawling Kingdom where Familiars can learn to bond, train and even earn a living at mundane and normal tasks. It's meant to be beautiful, and truly would be... if it wasn't ripe with danger itself. There is a mystery lurking and no one is talking.
Which brings me to the first of my issues with this novel.... "I am keeping secrets for YOUR OWN good". It's a trope, it's stupid and I'm tired of it. This FMC obviously can handle herself, somewhat, or would if SHE KNEW WHAT THE HECK WAS GOING ON! Second problem? No one knows what is going on, not even the reader. I don't know if this is going to be cleared up in Book 2, but this read like an invitation to a riddle, yet the clues dropped are more confusing than illuminating and left me frustrated. It's like half the scenes were edited out. Third issue? Not much of one, really, just a person dislike.... that prologue. I really do not like prologues that are just excerpts from part of the story, that can be an ad, not an intro. *sigh*
This place, or one of them at least, is a vast and sprawling Kingdom where Familiars can learn to bond, train and even earn a living at mundane and normal tasks. It's meant to be beautiful, and truly would be... if it wasn't ripe with danger itself. There is a mystery lurking and no one is talking.
Which brings me to the first of my issues with this novel.... "I am keeping secrets for YOUR OWN good". It's a trope, it's stupid and I'm tired of it. This FMC obviously can handle herself, somewhat, or would if SHE KNEW WHAT THE HECK WAS GOING ON! Second problem? No one knows what is going on, not even the reader. I don't know if this is going to be cleared up in Book 2, but this read like an invitation to a riddle, yet the clues dropped are more confusing than illuminating and left me frustrated. It's like half the scenes were edited out. Third issue? Not much of one, really, just a person dislike.... that prologue. I really do not like prologues that are just excerpts from part of the story, that can be an ad, not an intro. *sigh*
December 29, 2019
Has a golden compass vibe to it.
This is university age which is my favourite age group but not my favourite series or book or anything since im not a massive fan of the mystery mystery mystery vibes especially when the mystery is fairly obvious and the lack of it being discovered is just dragging to the plot for the sake of drama. A pet peeve of mine. But i give first books a pass unless i despise them since they have to establish a world and character and all the good stuff and yeah hoping the second book knows what its doing and doesnt treat its readers like theyre thick in the head. Im no agatha christie and most of the time i enjoy having some mystery element to the story if done well. Wish there was more time spent on the animal side of the familiar stuff and wish the mystery wasnt constantly cut off or kept getting more twisted and dramatised... i mean come on the best thing about this book the familiar person bond and we see fuck all of it and just get strung along in a tangled web of mystery that is obvious af. Which i dont mind obvious mysterys okay tangled is one of my fav disney movies and even 3 year olds know whats up but being treated like its some grand reveal super serious mystery when it isnt is frankly a bit patronising and more frustrating than fun.
This is university age which is my favourite age group but not my favourite series or book or anything since im not a massive fan of the mystery mystery mystery vibes especially when the mystery is fairly obvious and the lack of it being discovered is just dragging to the plot for the sake of drama. A pet peeve of mine. But i give first books a pass unless i despise them since they have to establish a world and character and all the good stuff and yeah hoping the second book knows what its doing and doesnt treat its readers like theyre thick in the head. Im no agatha christie and most of the time i enjoy having some mystery element to the story if done well. Wish there was more time spent on the animal side of the familiar stuff and wish the mystery wasnt constantly cut off or kept getting more twisted and dramatised... i mean come on the best thing about this book the familiar person bond and we see fuck all of it and just get strung along in a tangled web of mystery that is obvious af. Which i dont mind obvious mysterys okay tangled is one of my fav disney movies and even 3 year olds know whats up but being treated like its some grand reveal super serious mystery when it isnt is frankly a bit patronising and more frustrating than fun.
October 28, 2020
TLDR: Overall, I feel like I have more negative things to say than positive, however, I'm going to finish the series. It's not a perfect read, but interesting and quick enough to stick with.
There are some points where I didn't understand what they were saying/it didn't make sense grammatically, but I think it's because I'm a dumb American and this takes place in Europe lol. An example of this is: "I don't trust them or feel safe here anymore. I don't think I have ever done." Again, it probably just bc I'm American, so heads up to American readers, there will be a lot of confusing sentences that you'll probably be rereading a few times.
I was also confused... like, are the people the familiars or the animals? The answer, I guess, is both? But it seemed that the human had to lead the animal, so it would make sense if the animal was the familiar and the human was called something else? At this point, I may just be nitpicking but I was genuinely confused at first. The little irritating things happen at the beginning of the book, so I almost DNF'd it, but I'm glad I didn't. It's good enough for me to get Kindle Unlimited and read the second one. Heads up, it ends with a massive cliff hanger.
There are some points where I didn't understand what they were saying/it didn't make sense grammatically, but I think it's because I'm a dumb American and this takes place in Europe lol. An example of this is: "I don't trust them or feel safe here anymore. I don't think I have ever done." Again, it probably just bc I'm American, so heads up to American readers, there will be a lot of confusing sentences that you'll probably be rereading a few times.
I was also confused... like, are the people the familiars or the animals? The answer, I guess, is both? But it seemed that the human had to lead the animal, so it would make sense if the animal was the familiar and the human was called something else? At this point, I may just be nitpicking but I was genuinely confused at first. The little irritating things happen at the beginning of the book, so I almost DNF'd it, but I'm glad I didn't. It's good enough for me to get Kindle Unlimited and read the second one. Heads up, it ends with a massive cliff hanger.
March 25, 2020
It was her dream to go to university and become a nurse, follow in the footsteps of her mother.
But then the unthinkable happens, and everything she knew and loved is stolen from her.
Everyone around her is a stranger. Nothing is as it was.
Can she accept her new life and prosper or will she give in and wither ..?
Oooohhhh what a fantastic start to a new series!
I want to be a familiar with an awesome big as a house (ok slight exaggeration) animal best friend!
Anastasia takes everything in her stride and I really liked that about her. There were no sulks or strops or temper tantrums, which I must admit I did expect *chuckles*
Her new housemates oh me, oh my they are enough to make any girls heart race!
Grumpy and sullen, friendly and enthusiastic and last but not least the guy who takes the middle road. I dont know which appeals the most!
The intrictate bonds that are forming between the four of them might be slow building but for them it's right. You cant rush perfection!
I thoroughly enjoyed this from start to finish, and I can't wait to both have more of the bigger picture revealed and to see what happens with the boys!
But then the unthinkable happens, and everything she knew and loved is stolen from her.
Everyone around her is a stranger. Nothing is as it was.
Can she accept her new life and prosper or will she give in and wither ..?
Oooohhhh what a fantastic start to a new series!
I want to be a familiar with an awesome big as a house (ok slight exaggeration) animal best friend!
Anastasia takes everything in her stride and I really liked that about her. There were no sulks or strops or temper tantrums, which I must admit I did expect *chuckles*
Her new housemates oh me, oh my they are enough to make any girls heart race!
Grumpy and sullen, friendly and enthusiastic and last but not least the guy who takes the middle road. I dont know which appeals the most!
The intrictate bonds that are forming between the four of them might be slow building but for them it's right. You cant rush perfection!
I thoroughly enjoyed this from start to finish, and I can't wait to both have more of the bigger picture revealed and to see what happens with the boys!
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