Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Cry Wolf by Charlie Adhara

3 reviews

galleytrot's review

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  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

FIRST READ: Feb 2023
SECOND READ: Aug 2024
FORMAT: Digital

BRIEF SUMMARY: 
In the fifth book of this contemporary shifter romance/suspense series, it’s three months after Cooper has proposed to Oliver. When Oliver’s ex, Eli, shows up to their new home requesting Cooper’s help with a sensitive situation, the affianced couple find themselves tangled up in yet another murder plot with apparently wide-spread roots – roots in the ruling packs, the rebel packs, the Wolf Independence Party, a certain human scientist, and potentially even the very Trust they work for. Even an old partner from Cooper’s days in the FBI seems to be involved. 

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: 3.75 / 5⭐ 
I couldn’t be more pleased with how Cooper and Park’s relationship has continued to progress and develop in this series, although I feel like they may have peaked in the previous book and stayed on a steady plateau for the span of this one. We do get a fresh peek into an old relationship from Cooper’s past, giving us some retrospective insight that helps to explain his closed-off emotional constipation from the earlier books. 

I’ve got to say that while I was along for the ride for the majority of this book’s mystery, I really did disembark when we got to the climax/big reveal. Out of the five books in the series, this one was the plot I enjoyed the least. But despite the unsatisfying plot wrap-up, the book’s epilogue ended on a very sweet note and I feel so happy to have gone on this journey with these wonderful broken men with hearts of gold. 

TECHNICAL / PRODUCTION: 3 / 5⭐ 
Going back to the plot’s wrap-up, compared to the previous books, this one just felt messy. I’m not sure where things went wrong – whether it was the over-large cast of potential suspects, the political influences pouring into the situation from every direction, the shocking amount of dumb luck that it would have taken to pull off all that was pulled off, the rather baffling character chosen for the big reveal (and how little setup there was to justify the payoff), or some combination of each of these things. 

I will say that, by knowing the trends from the previous books, the moment the character was introduced I clocked them as the killer – not by any reasoning the book offered, but simply because of how innocuous they were on their debut. I jokingly said, “That’s going to be the one,” and I wound up being correct. It would have felt better to guess based on tidbits and hints revealed throughout, but we're not really given much this time around.

FINAL THOUGHTS - OVERALL: 3.5 / 5⭐ 
If you’ve come this far in the series, there’s no reason you shouldn’t read this fifth (and at time of review, final) book of the series. It has nearly all of what I’ve come to love, and while it sets up more to come with some questions left unanswered, I'd say that it comfortably wraps up Dayton and Park’s relationship. 

This work has representation for gay and lesbian sexualities. A good number of characters are not white, and our MC comes from a Jewish family (although this is not mentioned in this fifth book). The author identifies as genderfluid. 

The following elaborates on my content warnings. These may be interpreted as spoilers, but I do not go into deep detail.
This book contains: brief mentions of a past parent’s death; multiple references to the main character’s old injury (disembowelment), and the mental trauma resulting from it; a light panic attack relating to PTSD; violent murders involving disembowelment, poison/drugs; attempted murders; physical violence; gun violence resulting in a death; assault resulting in injuries; drugging/poisoning; stalking, obsessive behaviour; descriptions of a past toxic relationship potentially including emotional abuse and gaslighting; and, animal cruelty (animal testing leading to deaths, the questionable morality of zoos, taxidermy on display, etc.)
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mobooks's review against another edition

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emotional funny mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

the Big Bad Wolf series by Charlie Adhara easily became one of my new favorites! I loved the way that each book built on each other, with werewolf/human relationship tropes and with the feels that Cooper and Oliver develop for each other (and finally accept!). I loved their dynamic and how Adhara wrote them to feel so real, so un-tropey that when the tropes finally snuck in there (human-alpha!?, prophesies!?), I was so here for it! I love the not-quite grumpy/sunshine-ness of Cooper and Oliver. Cooper, our undisputed grump, is indeed just a porcupine that Oliver can't help but try to soothe and reassure. I found Oliver to be such a calming presence, and then Cooper more than rose to the occasion to be that person and support for Oliver. I love that there was no gross "alpha"(toxic-masculinity) posturing in this series!!

Ah! I could go on and on, but I'll stop. I cannot recommend this series enough!
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wanderingtales's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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