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A review by booksafety
Wolves of Black Pine by SJ Himes
5.0
Book safety, content warnings, and tropes down below.
He wanted to go home. Trouble was, he didn’t remember where it was, or who was waiting for him.
I could probably talk about this book for-fucking-ever, so I’m gonna try to keep it short. I’m pretty sure I’ve found my new favorite fated mates/soulmates book, as I can’t think of anything coming close. It’s 496 pages long, but I was dreading finishing it already at 50%. I kept rereading my favorite scenes and interactions as I went, and I wouldn’t mind just reading the entire thing again right away. Thankfully there’s a second book I can start.
This was just way different than anything I’ve read, and a fab take on soulmates. The first time Kane and Luca (later called Ghost) meet, Luca is only 5 years old and already a massive flirt and just a charming kid. Kane is 30 years old, and neither of them have any idea they’re fated. They are then (by power of external fuckery) lost to each other for a long time. The story following that is pretty much just epic.
He sighed, remembering how silly the little cub had been, sneaking looks at him under his lashes, a flirt at five years of age.
We get a lot of different POVs, which I absolutely loved. There was never a moment where I was left wanting to know what a certain character thought, because the author included it. I also think multi POV brings something really special to a story if it’s done well. I especially adore seeing the main characters from a side character’s point of view. It’s like we get to know them better and in a way that isn’t colored by the other MCs love for them.
Ghost got nervous, whining, and looked up at Kane. His alpha cupped his muzzle and ran his thumbs over his eyes, soothing him, making hushing noises.
What made me want to read the book initially was the fact that Luca is stuck in his wolf form for a long time, and I’m pleased to say this was done super well. Luca is very powerful and intelligent, and his mate and friends definitely help, but as you can imagine, not living as a human from age 5 to 19 affects a person, lol. I believe we’ll see even more of this in the second book, but saying that he isn’t the best at navigating tricky social situations is an understatement. It’s very endearing, even if he does create sticky situations, lol.
If you’ve ever read a shifter romance where you felt there was a lack of cuddling, growling, possessiveness, time spent in shifter form, all of that jazz, then look no further. I kept rereading scenes where Luca and Kane interacted both shifted and not, because all of the touching, kisses and cuddles had me dramatically swooning like a 1950s Hollywood starlet.
ALSO. If you’ve read any of my reviews previously, you might have spotted that I often say ‘so and so was forgiven, but my unforgiving ass will never forget’: Behold, a book with a damn decent redemption arc for a side character. His behavior, his trauma and background, how he started to change when someone showed him some kindness and understanding, and just gave him chance? *chefs kiss*. That’s how you do it.
There was quite a few typos, and I didn’t even care. It was still the perfect story for me.
Just pretend like you didn’t see me say I was going to keep it short.
⬇️ Blanket spoiler warning ⬇️
⚠️ Tropes & tags ⚠️
Wolf shifters
Werewolves
Alpha
Shaman (wields magic, healer)
Sort of captivity
Raised as a pet
Age gap
Fated/soulmates
Found family
Size difference
Mind link/mind speak
Virgin MC
Telepathy
Slow burn
⚠️ Content warning ⚠️
Explicit sexual content
On-page non-con scene (no MC involved)
Captivity
Gun violence
Graphic violence
Child injured in shooting
Gunshot wounds
Death of side characters
Misogynistic side character
Drugging and sexual assault of children (off page)
Anxiety attacks
Facefucking
Injured MC
Bigotry
Death of a small animal
On-page killing
⚠️Book safety ⚠️
Cheating: No
Other person drama: No. Kane’s best friend used to be his lover, but they never touch again after the MCs meet. Absolutely no drama.
Breakup: No
POV: 3rd person, multi POV
Genre: Urban fantasy romance, M/M
Strict roles or versatile: Strict roles
Main characters’ age: 44 and 19. (Wolfkin have a very long lifespan. It’s not an extreme age gap in their world.)
Pages: 496
He was excited, and he kept trying to make them hear him, but the humans acted like he wasn’t speaking at all. Luca tried to tell them his name, and that he was lost, and that he wanted to go home, but neither one of them heard him.
He shrugged off the memory of the lost cub, and sent a brief prayer to the Great Mother that Luca was at peace, wherever he was.
“Why does it hurt so much? I barely knew the cub. He’s dead, he must be, but it hurts, as if he’s waiting for me to save him, and I just gave up on him,” […]
You can find most of my reviews on Instagram as well: https://www.instagram.com/booksafety?igsh=MWZ3azhkdDc2Y2ludg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
He wanted to go home. Trouble was, he didn’t remember where it was, or who was waiting for him.
I could probably talk about this book for-fucking-ever, so I’m gonna try to keep it short. I’m pretty sure I’ve found my new favorite fated mates/soulmates book, as I can’t think of anything coming close. It’s 496 pages long, but I was dreading finishing it already at 50%. I kept rereading my favorite scenes and interactions as I went, and I wouldn’t mind just reading the entire thing again right away. Thankfully there’s a second book I can start.
This was just way different than anything I’ve read, and a fab take on soulmates. The first time Kane and Luca (later called Ghost) meet, Luca is only 5 years old and already a massive flirt and just a charming kid. Kane is 30 years old, and neither of them have any idea they’re fated. They are then (by power of external fuckery) lost to each other for a long time. The story following that is pretty much just epic.
He sighed, remembering how silly the little cub had been, sneaking looks at him under his lashes, a flirt at five years of age.
We get a lot of different POVs, which I absolutely loved. There was never a moment where I was left wanting to know what a certain character thought, because the author included it. I also think multi POV brings something really special to a story if it’s done well. I especially adore seeing the main characters from a side character’s point of view. It’s like we get to know them better and in a way that isn’t colored by the other MCs love for them.
Ghost got nervous, whining, and looked up at Kane. His alpha cupped his muzzle and ran his thumbs over his eyes, soothing him, making hushing noises.
What made me want to read the book initially was the fact that Luca is stuck in his wolf form for a long time, and I’m pleased to say this was done super well. Luca is very powerful and intelligent, and his mate and friends definitely help, but as you can imagine, not living as a human from age 5 to 19 affects a person, lol. I believe we’ll see even more of this in the second book, but saying that he isn’t the best at navigating tricky social situations is an understatement. It’s very endearing, even if he does create sticky situations, lol.
If you’ve ever read a shifter romance where you felt there was a lack of cuddling, growling, possessiveness, time spent in shifter form, all of that jazz, then look no further. I kept rereading scenes where Luca and Kane interacted both shifted and not, because all of the touching, kisses and cuddles had me dramatically swooning like a 1950s Hollywood starlet.
ALSO. If you’ve read any of my reviews previously, you might have spotted that I often say ‘so and so was forgiven, but my unforgiving ass will never forget’: Behold, a book with a damn decent redemption arc for a side character. His behavior, his trauma and background, how he started to change when someone showed him some kindness and understanding, and just gave him chance? *chefs kiss*. That’s how you do it.
There was quite a few typos, and I didn’t even care. It was still the perfect story for me.
Just pretend like you didn’t see me say I was going to keep it short.
⬇️ Blanket spoiler warning ⬇️
⚠️ Tropes & tags ⚠️
Wolf shifters
Werewolves
Alpha
Shaman (wields magic, healer)
Sort of captivity
Raised as a pet
Age gap
Fated/soulmates
Found family
Size difference
Mind link/mind speak
Virgin MC
Telepathy
Slow burn
⚠️ Content warning ⚠️
Explicit sexual content
On-page non-con scene (no MC involved)
Captivity
Gun violence
Graphic violence
Child injured in shooting
Gunshot wounds
Death of side characters
Misogynistic side character
Drugging and sexual assault of children (off page)
Anxiety attacks
Facefucking
Injured MC
Bigotry
Death of a small animal
On-page killing
⚠️Book safety ⚠️
Cheating: No
Other person drama: No. Kane’s best friend used to be his lover, but they never touch again after the MCs meet. Absolutely no drama.
Breakup: No
POV: 3rd person, multi POV
Genre: Urban fantasy romance, M/M
Strict roles or versatile: Strict roles
Main characters’ age: 44 and 19. (Wolfkin have a very long lifespan. It’s not an extreme age gap in their world.)
Pages: 496
He was excited, and he kept trying to make them hear him, but the humans acted like he wasn’t speaking at all. Luca tried to tell them his name, and that he was lost, and that he wanted to go home, but neither one of them heard him.
He shrugged off the memory of the lost cub, and sent a brief prayer to the Great Mother that Luca was at peace, wherever he was.
“Why does it hurt so much? I barely knew the cub. He’s dead, he must be, but it hurts, as if he’s waiting for me to save him, and I just gave up on him,” […]
You can find most of my reviews on Instagram as well: https://www.instagram.com/booksafety?igsh=MWZ3azhkdDc2Y2ludg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr