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A review by booksafety
Wolf of the Northern Star by SJ Himes
5.0
Book safety, content warnings, and tropes down below.
“Ghost likes hugging. I like that he likes hugging. I just wish he would contain his hugs to me,” Kane grumbled. “Why does he have to hug every male wolfkin he knows?”
I’m so thankful I read this saga. I’ve been in a big reading slump lately where I’m still reading every day, but it feels like a chore. These two books are the first ones I’ve really had fun reading in what feels like forever. This book deals with basically everything that was left open after book 1 (except for one thing), mainly dealing with the traitors/bad guys and Kane and Ghost defending their soulbond. I also absolutely adored seeing Ghost and Burke become good friends. So darn cute.
I enjoyed the first book more, but this was still a very good second book. Kane and Ghost are as sweet as ever, and I loved to see them become more secure in their bond. Another cool aspect was seeing more of how Ghost struggled with human things and the human world. Wearing clothes is still an issue (and leads to funny moments), he drives in a car for the first time as a human since he came back and almost pukes on everyone, he can’t read, etc. Silly human things like eating slowly and with cutlery, waiting for things, human laws and so on, seems like unnecessary things to Ghost. If you know this meme, that’s Ghost to a T in literally any situation:
He was still not used to having conversations and talking to others, no matter the species, and his habit of getting up and leaving when he was bored was rude, or so said Cat and Glen.
Gerald’s redemption story continues to be beautiful. His story was the parts of this book that made the most emotional. It was like someone punched me right in the solar plexus when he finally had it out with his dad.
“I forgive you, Father,” Gerald had whispered, voice heavy with the weight of his tears. “I can’t forget. I won’t forget being regarded as less, as useless. But I can forgive you. I must. I don’t want to be like this anymore. I hate who I became while I tried so hard to be what I thought you wanted.”
There’s still a couple things left unfinished for the overarching plot, so I’m really hoping there will be a third book, and that it will be about Burke and his HEA. He sure deserves it.
Couldn’t recommend this series more.
⬇️ Blanket spoiler warning ⬇️
⚠️ Tropes & tags ⚠️
Found family
Established couple
Werewolves
Wolf shifters
Soulmates
Alpha/shaman pairing
Age gap
⚠️ Content warning ⚠️
Explicit sexual content
Graphic violence
On-page killing
Whipping of a side character (on page)
Death of a small animal
MC falsely accused of a crime
Captivity
Gun violence
⚠️Book safety ⚠️
Cheating: No
Other person drama: No
Breakup: No
POV: 3rd person, multi POV
Genre: Urban fantasy romance, M/M
Strict roles or versatile: Strict roles
Main characters’ age: 19 and 44 (not a crazy age gap for wolfkin).
Pages: 355
Glen got up from the couch at the first knock on the cabin door […]. He finished chewing his breakfast, glad he swallowed before surprise made him choke. He certainly wasn’t expecting a naked Ghost to walk past him with a smile and a cheerful wave. Glen gaped, then found his wits. “Hey, buddy.” “Hi, Glen.” Ghost scampered to the couch and jumped on the cushions, dropping to his knees and flopping over. Glen closed the door, charmed by the odd yet sweet behavior of the young creature he helped raise. […] “I know you’re not used to being human yet after all these years, buddy, but maybe you can practice. I’m not used to seeing a naked man lounging about where I plunk down my own ass.” “I hate clothes,” the kid grumbled, his plump lower lip coming out in a pout. “I can tell. It’s weird for me though. I raised you, so that’s like you’re my kid. I don’t need to see my grown kid’s junk flapping about.”
“Guilt eats at us. It weighs us down and lies to us, too. We think there is nothing on the other side of grief. How can there be anything on the other side of such pain? Combine guilt and grief, you’re trapped in a never-ending cycle of pain. Guilt creates more grief, and grief fuels our guilt. No matter how long we live, we are still mortals, and we suffer for our mistakes. […]”
You can find most of my reviews on Instagram as well: https://www.instagram.com/booksafety?igsh=MWZ3azhkdDc2Y2ludg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
“Ghost likes hugging. I like that he likes hugging. I just wish he would contain his hugs to me,” Kane grumbled. “Why does he have to hug every male wolfkin he knows?”
I’m so thankful I read this saga. I’ve been in a big reading slump lately where I’m still reading every day, but it feels like a chore. These two books are the first ones I’ve really had fun reading in what feels like forever. This book deals with basically everything that was left open after book 1 (except for one thing), mainly dealing with the traitors/bad guys and Kane and Ghost defending their soulbond. I also absolutely adored seeing Ghost and Burke become good friends. So darn cute.
I enjoyed the first book more, but this was still a very good second book. Kane and Ghost are as sweet as ever, and I loved to see them become more secure in their bond. Another cool aspect was seeing more of how Ghost struggled with human things and the human world. Wearing clothes is still an issue (and leads to funny moments), he drives in a car for the first time as a human since he came back and almost pukes on everyone, he can’t read, etc. Silly human things like eating slowly and with cutlery, waiting for things, human laws and so on, seems like unnecessary things to Ghost. If you know this meme, that’s Ghost to a T in literally any situation:
He was still not used to having conversations and talking to others, no matter the species, and his habit of getting up and leaving when he was bored was rude, or so said Cat and Glen.
Gerald’s redemption story continues to be beautiful. His story was the parts of this book that made the most emotional. It was like someone punched me right in the solar plexus when he finally had it out with his dad.
“I forgive you, Father,” Gerald had whispered, voice heavy with the weight of his tears. “I can’t forget. I won’t forget being regarded as less, as useless. But I can forgive you. I must. I don’t want to be like this anymore. I hate who I became while I tried so hard to be what I thought you wanted.”
There’s still a couple things left unfinished for the overarching plot, so I’m really hoping there will be a third book, and that it will be about Burke and his HEA. He sure deserves it.
Couldn’t recommend this series more.
⬇️ Blanket spoiler warning ⬇️
⚠️ Tropes & tags ⚠️
Found family
Established couple
Werewolves
Wolf shifters
Soulmates
Alpha/shaman pairing
Age gap
⚠️ Content warning ⚠️
Explicit sexual content
Graphic violence
On-page killing
Whipping of a side character (on page)
Death of a small animal
MC falsely accused of a crime
Captivity
Gun violence
⚠️Book safety ⚠️
Cheating: No
Other person drama: No
Breakup: No
POV: 3rd person, multi POV
Genre: Urban fantasy romance, M/M
Strict roles or versatile: Strict roles
Main characters’ age: 19 and 44 (not a crazy age gap for wolfkin).
Pages: 355
Glen got up from the couch at the first knock on the cabin door […]. He finished chewing his breakfast, glad he swallowed before surprise made him choke. He certainly wasn’t expecting a naked Ghost to walk past him with a smile and a cheerful wave. Glen gaped, then found his wits. “Hey, buddy.” “Hi, Glen.” Ghost scampered to the couch and jumped on the cushions, dropping to his knees and flopping over. Glen closed the door, charmed by the odd yet sweet behavior of the young creature he helped raise. […] “I know you’re not used to being human yet after all these years, buddy, but maybe you can practice. I’m not used to seeing a naked man lounging about where I plunk down my own ass.” “I hate clothes,” the kid grumbled, his plump lower lip coming out in a pout. “I can tell. It’s weird for me though. I raised you, so that’s like you’re my kid. I don’t need to see my grown kid’s junk flapping about.”
“Guilt eats at us. It weighs us down and lies to us, too. We think there is nothing on the other side of grief. How can there be anything on the other side of such pain? Combine guilt and grief, you’re trapped in a never-ending cycle of pain. Guilt creates more grief, and grief fuels our guilt. No matter how long we live, we are still mortals, and we suffer for our mistakes. […]”
You can find most of my reviews on Instagram as well: https://www.instagram.com/booksafety?igsh=MWZ3azhkdDc2Y2ludg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr