Cry Wolf

Claimed by Wolves #1

by Romy Lockhart

What happens when the truth is more terrifying than the lie?

My name is Maggie O’Brien, and I’m a liar.

I wouldn’t know the truth if it bit me on the behind. Everyone knows it, and so should you. I did it to make my mundane existence in a boring little town more interesting, and I kept right on doing it because I once I started I just couldn’t stop.

Then it happened. I saw something truly, devastatingly, terrible, and not one single person believed me. By the time the police came, the body was gone. Like it had never been there in the first place. Can you guess what happened next?

Fast forward ten years and I’m back, but it’s temporary. No matter how permanent three handsome strangers are trying to make it. My husband would be so furious, if he was real. Yeah. Turns out you can take the girl out of the town, but put her straight back there and she starts lying her fiery pants off all over again.

I think I’m only just playing a waiting game. That it’s going to be so easy to get through a year in this place. Wrong. So wrong. I should have run when it started happening again. Now I’m trapped, and those sexy strangers I mentioned? Suspiciously new, and seriously obsessed with me.

So now the past has been dug up, and there's nothing I can do to stop something terrible from happening all over again. That’s the trouble with regrets. You only have them once it’s too late.

Cry Wolf is a high heat reverse harem shifter romance. One click today for a suspenseful and steamy read.

Genres: Paranormal, Supernatural

186 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 1, 2020

Reviews

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maggie (FMC) lives in a small village where everyone knows everyone else's business and dont mind their own. She ostracized there for seeing a murder as a child that no-one believes has happened except her. That labels her as a compulsive liar which to be honest she kinda plays up to. Some of the lies actually made me laugh so much! The private d*** one and the grocery stop still makes me giggle. Add to that a fake husband - Theo, A boyfriend - Lukas and a Hot lawyer - Sebastian. 3 very big complications but full of fun and laughs. I didnt know what to expect when i read the blurb but i really liked this book. Its a brilliant read with great characters and plenty of laughs. Bring on book 2

[Brenda Moser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great start to a new series! The author does a fantastic job bringing strong characters in Maggie and Theo and weaves a suspense filled mystery with romance along with the hilarious Maggie. She had me glued to the pages reading right to the end and still left me wanting more with the cliffhanger ending. I loved this book and am looking forward to the next one!

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own and freely given.

[Elvira · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had a great time reading this PNR storyline. The characters are well developed and engaging the storyline flowed smoothly throughout the pages.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Have Coffee Need Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all, I thought this was a stand-alone, boohoo! I just signed up for a series; I don't know how I feel about being drafted into that despite really liking Cry Wolf. Why do all of you authors write series!? Here is some feedback, sometimes we need a one and done.

That said, this book is super good. I love the characters. Maggie O'Brien is a liar--she didn't start that way, but she was pinned to be one and ran with it. When she makes up a fib that she has a husband and three show up, she can't even back peddle because no one will believe the woman who tells tall tales when she starts contradicting herself. And to be fair, these men feel like they are hers anyway, so why shouldn't she keep them?

Oh, Maggie! She's a hoot! I love reading books where the heroes can be a bit of an everyday Joe in bed, and Lukas gets to play that guy at first. Hurrah! Thank you, Romy Lockhart for writing a real guy.

Theo is a charming babe, and I fell for him immediately, he went with the punches and didn't cringe at being introduced as Dick.

And Baz is still a bit of a mystery that I guess I'm not crying over there being a book two regarding more on this mate.

Cry Wolf is a fantabulous fast-burn Reverse Harem, Paranormal Rom-Com. This story has a lot of British slang in it, so you need to be able to deal, but it's worth it for the story; hang in there, this one is hilarious, and the dudes are smexy. Oh, and Maggie O'Brien is bonkers!

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary advance copy of this book.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/2 stars
This story stars a young woman who provides a humorous take on a pathological liar. I laughed out loud multiple times at her antics. The men who stumble across her path are immediately included in her mess but handle it swimmingly. A first book in the series and I cannot wait to read more.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC from the author thru Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving my review. First off, this is the beginning of a rh series and ends with a cliffhanger. Although i usually do not do cliffhangers, if the writing follows like this first book then this was worth it. Maggie is something else. She had me laughing out loud at times. She is perfect for this book. She got more than she bargained for, but she shouldered it and gave some back when she could. When her men come along she wonders if she now has more than she can handle. There is something else she has stirred up that is determined to do more harm. I really look forward to the next book in Claimed By Wolves series.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Riley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a bingeworthy tale with a creative plot, lots of terrific characters, and plenty of sizzle. It ended up being nothing like what I was expecting, which is always a refreshing change. The ending was a sfn cliffhanger, but it could also be interpreted as simply a vaguely mysterious ending instead for everyone who hates cliffhangers. I highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys paranormal suspense and steam.

I received a free copy of Cry Wolf, but that did not affect my review.

[SEng · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the start of Maggie’s story. She has told so many tall tales that no one believes her when she witnesses something terrible. Now when her men show up it gets even better. I enjoyed the suspense and humor in this entertaining story. I can’t wait to see what happens next. I received an arc of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Jeanne Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the 3rd book I've read written by Romy Lockhart; she has done a great job at writing a good book; I can’t wait to read more of her books.

The story line caught my attention at the very beginning and kept me interested throughout the entire book.

I received a free copy of this book via booksprout and I’m voluntarily leaving a review.

[Danielle Marlowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cry Wolf was a good story, the plot was written well, the characters were strong. Maggie's journey had it's ups and downs but she was a fighter, she was something else.
I enjoyed this story, looking forward to reading more.
Thanks, Romy Lockhart. Good work :)

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars
This is an incredible book and only the start of Maggie's story. It is well written, crafted with descriptive storytelling. There are unexpected twists and turns, mystery and steamy chemistry. This is a unique twist on the 'boy who cried wolf'. I am very excited that this is a trilogy.

[Reader03 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A woman finds herself surrounded by three men who are more than human. I voluntarily received this book for an honest review.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story so much, and I will say I was taken totally by surprise at the plot. Maggie was funny and open and very adorable in an adorkable way. I love how her mouth kept getting away from her.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Truth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story was great at being unpredictable and it kept me on my toes reading. It ends in a cliffhanger and while I hate cliffhangers, this books was really good.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (11/24/2020)! 🎁

[Irene Kiew · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is currently free (19 July 2022). The sample seemed interesting even though the blurb was weird (a person who just can't stop lying?). So I bought it and read it.

Throughout the whole story, something really bugged me about Maggie. I can't put my finger on it, but she feels... off. I mean, she sounds traumatised by the incident that happened when she was eight years old, and how ever since then, the whole town has vilified her for lying about what she saw. Yet she continues to lie all the time, even trivial lies for no good reason. It's like she didn't learn her lesson: constant lying will make people disbelieve you when you actually tell the truth.

The other thing about Maggie is that her reactions just aren't believable. So she's attracted to this hot guy who comes along, and decides to sleep with him. He goes "You're mine" and it doesn't at all worry her or raise any red flags. He talks about "claiming" her and she still ignores it. He even tells her to say that she's his and she says it! Why would she do that, when she thinks it's just casual sex and scratching an itch? You can't even put that down to "sex talk" cos that's definitely not the usual type of stuff a hookup would say in bed!

Then she's so freaked out about them not using protection that she goes and gets the morning-after pill... but keeps allowing herself to be distracted from taking it, and in the end decides not to take it even though she doesn't know the guy from Adam, she doesn't have a steady job, she earlier didn't think she was ready for a kid. What the hell, Maggie? This part of the story felt choppy, like the author was trying to show how Maggie was changing and starting to accept certain things even before knowing about wolf shifters or accepting the mate bond. But the change was too abrupt with no good reason for it.

All the guys insist that she's their fated mate and suddenly she tells them that they don't need to fight over her, because she has never been a one-man woman anyway. This came out of left field. In her thoughts, she never considered being with all of them at once. I feel that if she really was not a one-man woman, she'd have imagined or longed to be with all of them before this even became a possibility. She'd have thought something like, "Three hot guys hitting on me, this is the dream, wouldn't it be wonderful to have that triple deliciousness in my bed?" But she never thinks that. So it was again choppy. It really felt that she was only open to take them all on is just because it's convenient for the story to make her that way.

I thought it was weird how the guys approached her, with Theo and Lukas especially coming on so strong. The rings thing was never explained. Then she's in danger and the three men do a spectacularly poor job of protecting her. Never have three wolf shifters been more useless. Which honestly made me lose respect for them and feel that they were not worthy mates.

I did not like the twist. I thought it was again too convenient and sudden, when nothing had been hinted at in the story before. More choppiness: She had never been sexually attracted to him, but suddenly they're mates? It's also kind of icky because she thinks of him in a sort of nurturing way, like a big sister. They weren't exactly friends, either!

And let me just rant about the beach! Anyone who has experience with the beach would know that sand shifts very easily, moved by sand or wind or someone making sandcastles. It's not a place where you should try to hide something that you don't want people to find! What kind of idiocy is this?

In the end, I felt that Maggie was not very smart and had no self-preservation instincts. I disliked her as a protagonist. If she were a real person, she'd come across as inauthentic, like she's trying so hard to put up a facade that we don't get to see who's the real Maggie. She's aimless and doesn't have any goals except to settle her parents' estate as fast as possible so she can get out of this small town asap. She knows there's something fishy about how her parents died, but doesn't bother to investigate their deaths or try to piece together what happened. She lies even when she knows it's detrimental to her, but she doesn't try to stop the self-destructive behaviour. She talks about living on savings and not having much money, but never sits down to look at the pub's accounts to see if it can generate enough income for her -- especially after she agrees to stay for a year. That would have been the first thing I'd check, especially if I'm worried about my savings running out! She's just a very vapid and silly character, and since the book is entirely in her POV, the story was ruined for me.

[Nia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a giggle and gave me some feelings.

Maggie has been shunned by her small village as a liar since she saw something awful as a child and it's impossible not to feel sorry for her until she forms instalove bonds with three dashing shoulders - the lack of conflict between meeting them, bedding them and them teaching her the truth about their identities is the only thing stopping me from rating this book higher. I need me some conflict.

What I particularly enjoyed was the supernatural cosy mystery element of the book, it may well encourage me to follow the rest of the series.

[Autumn Miller ~ autumnbookreads · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book took me an embarrassing amount of time to get through, despite it being short and the plot being relatively simple. I think I just struggled to connect. Like, I enjoyed the romance, but at times it felt cheesy and Insta-lovey. The villain plot line I didn’t care about at all and I was skim reading by the end. Overall, I got what I went in for but there wasn’t enough to keep my interest for future books.

[Tobyann Aparisi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book on goodreads for an honest review.

Wow, really wow! I was blown away at this story. Rich characters and a truly well written plot. I found this refreshing and exciting and difficult to put down. I look forward to more from this author as I really enjoy her voice in this story and how well she put this story together.

[Heather Bane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is book 1 of the Claimed by Wolves series. This was a good start for the series. The storyline was interesting and the characters are well developed. I would recommend reading.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Bianca M · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok

I liked the overall plot of this book but it felt like I was reading off of one of those chapter by chapter apps instead of a novel. The writing is choppy and while I liked how this book ended, I probably won’t read the rest of the series.

[˚•—S—•˚ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve enjoyed other books by this author, and I thought the concept sounded interesting.
It was not what I expected. She was not a cumpolsory liar. The pacing was off. The relationships just went from strangers to soulmates and accepting that and the paranormal stuff without any talk or thought.

[Dew · Rating 1 out of 5]

Meh

This book is written using idiomatic Irish or Scottish English in the first person. The author uses a conversational tone in which the fmc addresses the reader as “you”.

[Vicky Ott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed this book!! I cannot wait for the next book in this series. It was really interesting and I have it in a list to watch for upcoming books.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cry Wolf

Wow!!! What a gr8 story. I became so wrapped up in this story that I couldn't put it down. I recommend this read. 5 Thumbs up

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable and insta-everything/gothic/shifter/RH/murder mystery read.

[Romy Lockhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cry Wolf is the first book in a completed steamy and suspenseful reverse harem shifter trilogy.