Four mates to claim. Three crystals to find. Two realms to unite.
With news of my fiery resurrection spreading through fae communities like wildfire, all eyes fall on me. Am I ready for the battles to come? Um... no, not even close. If only my destiny was as simple as sorting out the horizontal hijinks of four scorching hot mates. That I could handle.
With a rogue fae contingent pulling strings behind the scenes, my life in danger, and a mysterious Black Knight plotting, the only thing keeping my crazy train in the station is faith that the magic that put me and my guardians together chose us for a reason.
* This is book two in a steamy new reverse harem paranormal romance series. Expect sexy polyamorous situations (mmmfm), rollicking action, ongoing storylines, and shifter lovers who find what they need from not only their queen but each other as well. Med-burn, med angst, vivid sexual content and language.*
Note: I received this book from the author and I voluntarily give this review, it is my honest opinion.
Wolf's Soul is the second book in the Guardians of the Phoenix and it was wonderful, I loved every moment especially the ones that had me laughing. Callie is all in when it comes to her mates and she is ready to learn about and protect her new world but the danger is real and things are heating up.
Callie is sassy and funny as ever and she sticks true to her roots, she doesn't let anyone bully her and she calls things how she sees them. However, she isn't mean about it, she cares about everyone so deeply and genuinely, it really sweet to see her care about her mates. Everyone's interaction with Callie is interesting but the group dynamic was a little surprising. What I gathered reading the first book, everyone was Callie's mate and that was it but after reading this I realize that all five of them are mates, while yes Callie is the center focus, the guys are starting to form their own relationships both physically and emotionally and it's strengthening the group.
As the title suggested, Wolf's Soul focuses on Kotah, Callie's wolf. Kotah is a sweet and sensitive person, he has such a claim and healing personality but being fae royalty he has grown up in the spotlight, has a ton on his shoulders, and has to deal with an overbearing family who is very controlling. I love Kotah so much, he is so smart, claim and takes things in stride, he is very respectful even when he isn't treated the best. He is such a cinnamon roll and I want to protect him.
Kotah has finally found the family of his heart, he loves his mates and has found happiness with them but with his father's declining health and Kotah being the heir things are getting serious. The group is feeling the pressure and Kotah is trying his best to keep his family.
Wolf's Soul was excellent, I loved everything about it and the story flew past. There is action, steam, magic, danger, romance, betrayal, mystery, and crazy family drama to say the least. Wolf's Soul had some pretty great scenes, with the sassy, the steam, and the hilarious escapades. I am very attached to these characters and the story is very entertaining. There are two more books in the series and I can't wait until Brant gets his turn, up next is Bear's Strength.
4.8 stars. Hell yes. Things are starting to really look up for these five. I was a little worried at the beginning that it might not. But with everything that happened this, I’m so excited to see how things progress.
I have a strong feeling I know who’s involved with the Darkside. And I have another strong feeling I know where the other crystal pieces will pop up. Im looking forward to seeing if I’m right.
The sex was passionate and fun and sexy. The plot just keeps thickening and evolving and getting more interesting. The characters are all connecting finally and growing into themselves little by little.
It’s fun and sort of wonderful to see. I can’t wait to read more.
Wolf's Soul by JL Madore is a shifter reverse harem romance that I listened to on audio narrated by Lia Holland and Gabriel Thorne. This is the second book in the Guardians of the Fae Realms series.
The book comes with an authors note "Expect sexy polyamorous situations (mmmfm), rollicking action, ongoing storylines, and shifter lovers who find what they need from not only their queen but each other as well. Med-burn, med angst, vivid sexual content and language."
This is the second book of JL's that I have read and it definitely won't be my last. I really enjoyed seeing the bonds between Calli, Jaxx, Brant, Nakotah, and Hawk grow throughout the book. I loved getting all of their points of view throughout the book. It really brought the story to life.
The book does end on a cliffhanger but that wasn't a surprise since it is the first book in the series. I can't wait for the next book Bear's Strength to be released on audio so I can get more of their story.
Lia and Gabriel did a great job on the narration. I look forward to listening to more of their work in the future.
I would recommend this book if you like shifter romances or reverse harems.
This was freaking sweet. The harem/quint still has a long way to go, but they’ve advanced and pulled through. There connection is stronger and really beautiful.
Kotah is still my bae, I really love Jaxx and Brant and Hawk is winning over my heart. Calli is my freaking queen and I enjoy the side characters. Doc, Kayla, Lukas, Mama, etc.
Maybe an incoming spoiler idk?
Btw Kotah and Jaxx is chefs kiss. I hope Hawk and Kotah also get together. The first time Brant was like, "there are five of us, a lot of possibilities", I was like yassss jeje. I just hope all of them get together and are just a big cute family.
I’m excited to see what happens in the next book and what journey, adventures and difficulties the quint has to take on. Now imma go and probably start the next one. Toodles!
The writing style stayed consistent with this installment, which thrilled me. Too often, a great first book is followed by a poorer continuation - this one held true. I still feel like the plot is worn or too familiar, but it’s starting to flesh out and feel truly unique. The characters are diverse and each carries an individuality that can be hard to manage in RH. Very enjoyable.
Medium Burn PNR RH, very adult, MMMMF, M/M present, to be continued ending. First person, multiple POV.
Focus on Kotah’s relationships, with Callie and Jaxx particularly. This reverse harem is not just all the guy’s focussing on Callie, this is a relationship between all of them, and not just the sex (mm, mf, mmf) but the emotional relationships between then each and together.
This is truly shaping up to be a stellar series. The characters are fantastic and the story line is easy to get lost and ensorbed in. Can't wait to see what happens next.
It was better than book two but I’m still not really sucked into this series yet.
The fact that book 1 made the female protagonist “become hotter” after her transformation into a phoenix 🐦🔥 I feel is so stupid… her breasts were larger her cheekbones higher 😆 like come on. Can’t she just be a kick ass female lead character without needing to get hotter? It just felt stupid.
Her sweet 20 year old wolf 🐺 is one of the best characters is empathetic skills really come in handy. Plus from being a virgin in book 1 to letting the cat take from behind he’s really blooming into an equal opportunity lover! His father apparently being on deaths door yet we never see a chapter about them meeting him makes me feel like there’s something going on… was he poisoned? How is he apparently on deaths door when shifters are supposed to live long heathy lives. Either it’s a plot whole or there’s more to this story!
Our bear was my least favourite character in both book 1&2 I know he didn’t trust Hawk but his dislike and going behind his mates back but annoying and toxic.
The cat is an okay character but his mama is just what these other men need, our wolf & Hawk especially right now.
Hawk is my favourite of her mates he finally gave into the mating in this book so we have 3/4 of her guys mated to her and 2/5 crystals. His assistant at work who called herself his fiancée stirred up trouble and I really wish she was killed. I think she’s obviously behind the kids going missing and the fake hawk signatures they have been discovering! I’m curious to find out about his childhood and how he has extra magical abilities… he’s definitely the most interesting character in this book. Better than our female protagonist she really hasn’t done much unfortunately.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Shifters, Fae & Magi/RH MMMM/Enemies to Lovers & Mate bonds
SYNOPSIS (of 5 Book Series): This series is set in the modern world but where the supernaturals hide from the humans. There are 5 Books in this series but it is part of a longer underlying story arc with the first 5 books intended as a self contained story. Years ago there was a civil war in Stonehaven (the Fae world) and fae escaped to the human world before all the portals between the two worlds were closed. There is a prophecy that when the time is right a phoenix will be born with shifter mates from each species (wolf, bear, hawk & jaguar) who will open the gate and reunite the two worlds. This 5 Book series covers a human (Callie) becoming the Phoenix, meeting her mates and their struggle to open the gate against opposition and attempts to stop them. There is a HEA for this group but Book 5 sets up the basis for the next series in the larger story arc.
These books are well written on the whole and well edited. The overuse of the word “Gawd” instead of God got on my nerves a bit though! The heroine is likeable and ballsy but the author, in my view, seems to go over the top in describing her as white trash which label she never really seems to overcome. The MCs are all strong and individual and there is a good amount of world, character and relationship building which means that the story flows organically. There are also some great humorous moments. However, take this as a warning (more detail below) Book 5 (if you get that far) leaves you with multiple unanswered questions and a let down of a climax.
On the sex side, the sex scenes are very hot and better written than a lot of these scenes usually are. There’s a fair amount of MM sex and the amount of sex scenes seem to ramp up as the books go on, especially in books 4 & 5 where I felt there were just too many and ended up padding the books out and sidetracking the story.
I was rating these books as 4 stars up until book 5 which makes me want to revisit my ratings but I won’t. The reason is that the build up was good with a lot of drama and things happening to keep your interest and the plot was constantly moving and developing. That led to a lot of questions and open issues which I expected to be dealt with by the end of Book 5. Unfortunately that was not the case. That, for me, ended up impacting my enjoyment of the series as a whole. After wading through 5 books you expect a strong climax and answers to outstanding questions. That did not happen.
You find out who the Black Knight is in Book 4 but he does not make an appearance until almost the end of Book 5 where he appears briefly and then is gone in a handful of pages. It’s an incredible let down. You don’t get any answers to why he did what he did, where he got his magic, what happened to his other son or why he held fae captive. You don’t find out who was behind all the assassination attempts on the quint or the attacks on Kotah. It was as though an attack or event would happen and then the quint would move on and never bother to discover who was behind it, how the Black Knight always knew where they were or how he managed to do the things he did i.e. the poisoning. For me it was very lazy writing. It was as though the author wanted to throw in all this drama and create tension but couldn’t be bothered to then explain how everything came about. Finally, what on earth was that all about Adahey and Raven? No answers to that either.
In a nutshell, well written and developed , could have been a great series but incredibly disappointing climax. I won’t be continuing with the series as it is just too frustrating.
This was a great sequel to Rise of the Phoenix. The story takes off immediately following the events from book 1. This book focuses a lot more on the building of existing relationships and exploring the complexities that Kotah's mother introduced in the previous novel.
I really enjoyed getting additional insight into Kotah. His character is reserved and it was nice to see him come out of his shell in this book. The romance progression was great and felt true-to-character for the one holdout. I was dying to see how he would get folded into the group and was pleasantly surprised with the results. There were some light elements of BDSM (hinted at in the first novel) that were very well done and I feel that the scene was reflective of what a true BDSM relationship should be like instead of the glamorized abuse that's been popular in other books. Madore definitely deserves kudos for that. There was also a bit of conflict in the harem that I really enjoyed as it added some realness to the storyline. Because of the shifting view points, we know what is really going on, but it was interesting to see the perception of others and how the information that they received was translated.
There was a lot of character development and growth in this story. I think everyone matured some in this book (some characters more than others) and it has started to take a more serious turn towards the guardians responsibilities and what the future will look like. It definitely sets us up for the next adventure and I can't wait! Definitely recommend!
Wolf’s Soul is the second installment in the Guardians of the Phoenix series by JL Madore.
The plot line was rather bumpy this go around. The few climatic moments were more hobbled together than facilitated a cohesive whole. Maybe it’s the nature of the assassination attempts or attacks, and the lack of a concrete source to place blame.
The order in which our guys mate Calli was shocking. I was wholly committed to the premise it would be Hawk. I’m glad it wasn’t, it offered some small twist. While allowing this closed off man to immerse himself in the possibilities of a life no longer alone. Without that there would’ve been more drama and whiny sounding monologuing wrestling with the choice, and how it would undoubtedly affect the rest.
Such a deeper dive into Kohta and Hawk’s sensibilities. You could feel their combined connections deepening. So emotional and all inclusive.
Brant’s deceptive character this book was exhausting. His tight hold on suspicion and negativity seemed forced into the story to offer up more dissent in their efforts to join together. His character hasn’t shown through yet, rather being overshadowed by the more noticeable personalities of the others.
Fingers crossed the ‘Bear’ in the title of the next book will allow us to understand him better.
The second book ends up feeling more like a filler novel instead of a continuation book further building up the fae world. It aims towards giving space for all those humping scenes.
The storyline about disappearing faes had potential but it never moves from this shallow exploration to add questionable side to Hawk or have this sorta distance between the guardians. It briefly mentions them before they are doing something else or having their doubts cleared in a completely non-impactful way. The whole prince thing was under-utilised, it doesn't showcase more of the fae world or even have this conflict of being a guardian vs fae ruler taken seriously with those barely there scenes interacting with Kotah's mom. Truly by the end, nothing actually resolves to call it a win for the guy does it?
The bigger plot about the phoenix and the crystals thing almost seem to be forgotten before the crystal just pops up magically..how anti-climatic. The characters don't have anything added for depth even Kotah who had the opportunity to showcase more personality stays on a one dimensional wavelength.
It's clear in the second book that this series is just going to be more humping than a story with how minimally it treated the important elements of the plot.
It’s not a bad book premise but I feel like some better fine tuning was needed. Several grammatical errors and sentence structure fails took away from this read. Also, this just didn’t feel like a full book just a continuation novella. I don’t know exactly how to put this but I thought it was odd that when the second gem was found the reader was made to feel like there was something wrong, some sense of unease felt by this quintet or whatever when all it was, was that they found the crystal. It just seemed odd that their senses were off? Also I feel like hawk’s personality is so Christian grey that it’s a little plagiarized. The whole “ I’m not a hearts and flowers, my tastes are very singular “ then having some traumatic upbringing ect. Idk I think there are ways to give that type personality to a character without the feeling your reading someone else’s book. There’s something about the way this book was written that I can’t put my finger on where it doesn’t feel like this is an actual book. Idk the over 4 star reviews did not make sense to me.
Kotah may be young but he’s the quint’s resident genius and surprise, a Prince. He’s part innocent, part sage. As the heir to the realm, he is expected to take over his father’s duties sooner than he expected and hoped. He would much prefer to play with the quint, run as a wolf, and indulge in his scholarly activities but he was raised for duty. The quint is determined to protect their young wolf and give him the life he wants. His innocence is refreshing but a little bit of a mystery. How is someone raised in the court surrounded by intrigue and so pure? I know he spent his childhood secluded with his sister and has been in school for the last few years but he spent plenty of time with his dreadful parents and the court. His weapons teacher was cursed, so he knows politics and revenge. How is he untouched by the world? I love how the quint surrounds him with love and protection but I am not crazy about the pedestal of perfection they have placed him on. He’s a kid still, that’s so much pressure. No one is that perfect, not even their little wolf.
The 2nd installment in the series. We met Calli and her four fated mates in the first book, this next book talks mainly of the first of the fated mates, Wolf. These mates are also her guardians and are set to save the fae realm as a prophecy has predicted.
Wolf is an omega empath and very young in comparison with the other males in this harem. He is the first Calli mates with, the jaguar second. We also find out that he is part of the Royal Family of his pack and in line to become Prime after his father passes. A role he does not relish.
Bonds become stronger with 2 of the males now mated with Calli but so does the intrigue. As she gets stronger, the more her enemies are keen to get rid of her. However, her enemies are also of the fae realm and her appearance has meant their illicit ongoings are coming to light.
Bear suspects that Hawk is not all he seems and start an investigation into him. Will this harem work together and help save the fae realm?
Polyamorous spicy shifter romance, looking forward to reading the rest of this series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This series just keeps getting better. I loved Kotah so much from the very start of book one and he just proved to be even more lovable here. Even if the book continued its shifting POV (which I really liked as it allowed me to see inside everyone’s heads) this still felt like it was Kotah’s book. And seeing more of his family life and what helped shape him into who he is made me love him more. I could see clear progression of the quint relationship and strengthening of their power together which I appreciated, and I also really liked the overall flow and plotting of this book. There were more twists. More questions. And I want to get my hands on the audiobook of book three to get some of those answers. The narrators both did an excellent job and I loved how well they did with different tones and accents for all the characters. I absolutely felt like they heightened my enjoyment of this story. 🎧The Flock🎧
I really love that Kotah was able to shine in this book, I adore his character and the growth in confidence is honestly lovely to witness. Calli is less bad-decisions and foot in mouth in this one too and her growth was also nice to witness. Jaxx was steadfast and lovely, Brandt definitely needs to mend fences and I’m happy that the next book appears to be his time to shine. And okay, I relent a little on the Hawk is the worst crusade. He did sufficient apologizing and panicking and setting things right in this one. I actually like the dynamic growing between them as well as between Hawk and Kotah. Again I really love Kotah’s character and his role as an omega really balances out the major alpha vibes from the others.
I also like this book overall a bit better than the first. It was much easier to follow even with all the moving parts and we get so much more information about their world.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
First I will say, I’m enjoying this story enough to continue onto the next. Second, the communication between the characters is really pleasing.
Kotah is so sweet and I love the growth of his relationship with Jax. It did bother me in the first book because I felt it was fully for the enjoyment of Callie. But in this book when they came together it was more genuine. But then the author cut the scene without finishing their connection, their mating bond. And no emotional aftercare is given either. Also, it’s not clear if either of their scents change now they’ve cemented their bond. And honestly, I expected his mom to comment on it, heck either of their moms, since one would be mad and the other overjoyed. In the end the mating felt gratuitous versus significant and I find that bothers me.
Also, I feel the Black Knight’s identity is obvious- but I doubt they’ll uncover it quickly.
My rating system * Didn't finish, would not recommend ** Finished book, but would not continue to read series or author *** Enjoyed book, will read more by same author **** Highly enjoyed, addictive read can't wait to get to next one ***** Phenomenal book, usually only given 1-2 a year.
This series was between a 3 and a 4. The storyline was excellent, I downloaded the next book immediately. The author did an excellent job of giving the five main characters differing personalities. It's never made sense to me that other RH have all male alphas, or that a polyamorous group of 3-4 males and one female would consist of only M/F sex. That being said I was disappointed that five such diverse personalities had nearly identical voices that I frequently could not tell whose POV I was reading. Same catch phrases, same overly emotional inner monologue
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
It's really frustrating because the author can write really well, the writing is engaging the story is interesting and the characters are likeable. Also the sex scenes are really good. However everything just flashes by at breakneck speed. You don't have a moment to feel tension in tense moments, the drama happens and is then over just as quickly. There is absolutely no need to separate these books, they have no cliffhanger. Its one continuous story, so breaking them up this way is just a blatant money grab and is incredibly frustrating. As mentioned I get on Kindle unlimited. I will continue the series as I am somewhat invested. But I so wish the author would revisit the speed as the talent is there and its being wasted.
So there wasn't much progression with the plot, but we did see a lot of improvement on the relationship among the quint. I, for one, love the fact that this isn't just your typical four males on one female RH. This is a mating between all five people. Male on male love, male on male on male on female love... All of it. All the combinations, but I appreciate the fact that Madore doesn't just cover the sexual aspect of the relationship, but the emotional parts too. The healing of past trauma, the acknowledgement of past conquests, and the emotional growth and connection of the pack. However, I look forward to more on the actual plot in the future books. Four out of five stars to Wolf's Soul.
Title: Wolf's Soul Author: J.L. Madore Format: Audio Narrator: Lia Holland, Gabriel Thorne Genre: Romance, RH, Paranormal (shifter - Jaguar, bear, hawk, wolf, phoenix) Standalone: No - Start with book one to get to know how these characters come together. Part of a Series: Book 2 of Guardians of the Phoenix POV: Calli, Jaxx, Brant, Nakotah, Hawk Steam Level: Hot at times 5/5
Wolf's Soul is the second book in the Guardians of the Phoenix series. In it our quint is getting to know each other, secrets are revealed and their bonds are tested. The mystery and steam is heating up. I'm officially hooked and cannot wait to see what happens next.
I received this audiobook for free from Audiobook Obsession and Pink Flamingo Productions. This is my honest and voluntary review.
Book 2 was just as enjoyable as the first. I really enjoy reading about the deepening bonds between not only the FMC and her men, but between the men as well. Kotah remains my favorite, and Hawk redeemed himself enough that I took the effort to remember his name (Baron) is not really Hawk. One thing I really enjoyed was the way the author included tales from childhood, that can be considered normal. This installment has done a great job in world building and relationship building. Cali the no longer normal human women is starting to come into herself and she seems to be ready to take the Fae world by storm. She knows she has a purpose and she wants to succeed. I cant wait to see what she and her guardians do next. On another note, Baron seems to be ready to take his head out of his bum!
Book two in the Guardians of the Fae series. While I don't feel like the story is progressing greatly, it does progress. Still an overwhelming preoccupation with the sexual nature of the "Quint" bond, with a good measure of vulnerability to strengthen our sense of connections.
This story somewhat focuses on Kotah and his preparation to assend to Fae Prime at his father's passing. But each member of the Quint has a role to play, and there are a few additional characters to increase the Pride they now claim. And there is an underlying evil yet to be sussed out.
Easy to stick with. The fundamental story is interesting, with some pros and some cons... on to book three.
I like that this book actually gives the characters chances to be happy together. Like they have the moment when they can have an impromptu getting drunk together session, and can skinnydip in a waterfall, but even these events help drive the plot forward. While hawk is still kind of rude and on the outskirts hes softening a bit and it is coning forward how much hes taking care of the group even if it is behind the scenes. I still love the character of kotah hes so sweet and kind and loves all of them, and the situation hes been put in sucks. While the romance and plot is good, the fact that there are so many challenges and threats they are facing feels daunting and is stressing me out. Glad there are 2 more books for this to get sorted.
This was my second read through and I was entertained as the first read through. Lots of movement within this book. The multi povs are great, they give some detailed insight into each character and what makes them tick. I’m glad they the final member of their quint is finally starting to accept and open up to the idea. I had the same suspicions of who might be the leader of their rebel Black Knight group. I wonder if it’s as obvious as I think it is. It feels like it’s all connected and pointed towards a tall, long legged, blue black hair Beauty of an assistant. We will see how it all plays out.
So I saw the cover of the first one and put it on my Christmas list. It's a good storyline. When I finished the first one, the story wasn't over, but I wasn't left like...grappling in anxiety to start the next book immediately. I have to remember to go back and review the first one but kindle makes it easier. I really like that I can tell the difference between the guys, and it took me a bit to warm up to Hawk, but I'm starting to love him. Brant was a bit of a sh!t in this one and I did a lot of frowny faces that my husband laughed at. 4 ⭐ And off to the next one!
This was much better than the first, and I have to say, Hawk is growing on me. He and his preferences are very Fifty Shades, but I was kind of pleased when he decided to embrace the group.
I do still feel like there is not too much in the way of a storyline, I've finished the book, and if I'm honest, I can't really remember what happened.
The spice was spiccccyy 🌶🌶🌶 although it felt like there was more of that than an actual story. And again, why frickety frack? Nope, I can't get on board with that.
The character development was good, and I do love our little quint. Moving onto book #3!
I’ve now realized that short is just kinda the theme, but I’m not mad at it, you know? Not a lot of filler and the sex scenes are DEFINITELY nice, would I have liked to know more about Kotah, Jaxx, and Calli mating on the training room floor? Yes, but I’m interested to see what Kotah can pull outta Hawks.
Definitely glad I read this one I cannot wait to see how their relationship grows and can I just say again how much I LOVE Nakotah??? Like he is so sweet I just want the best for him and happiness and all things that are good. He deserves.
Okay I read the first book entirely because of the author's Urban Druid books and had NO idea what I was getting since I didn't even read the blurb. This is way different and though lacking Anderle's hilarious style it still has some humor and lots of warmth. This is a reverse harem story and I am falling in love with these guys. Though the MM parts are not flowing naturally for me, the sex is hot. I feel the author is depending a bit too much on the mating bond to power the inter-relationships where a bit more time on character development would serve her better.