Reviews

Mezzolupo by Jay Northcote

chloeinbooksland's review against another edition

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lighthearted mysterious

3.0

I listened to the audiobook and liked it well enough.

the_novel_approach's review against another edition

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4.0

The Half Wolf is a story about self-discovery, about learning your true self, about being who you are. It’s about family and about love. But most of all it’s about accepting the differences that exist between us all.

It’s Jay Northcote’s first dance with shifters, and it was a good one. He built a world that wasn’t so different from our own. There were shifters and there was magic, but other than that, everything was just the same. Because of that it was easy to get in the story. I like it when there is world building in paranormal books, but this worked just fine for me too. In this case we are focused on the main pair, and Quinn discovering things about himself.

In the world that Northcote created, humans know about shifters, but most of them don’t accept them. They are skeptical and often hostile towards them. They are afraid of those who are different and don’t want to have anything to do with them. Of course, there are exceptions to those behaviours. There are those who give shifters jobs and treat them as equals. They accept them and don’t blame them for everything.

I won’t go into the story other than to say it had romance, but it also had action, mystery and one or two fight scenes.

Quinn and Kellan’s relationship progressed rather quickly—just think that the whole book took place in a little over a week—but I can get past that since we are talking about shifters here. They were truly supportive of each other and a great match. Quinn’s self-discovery and the changes he went through were captivating to see. He felt different and he know something was going on, but until the last moment, he couldn’t put his finger on it. My heart broke for his family’s story and for him once he learned of the deception he lived with his whole life.

The secondary characters were well developed and I liked all of them, even those who were hostile towards the shifters in the beginning. In the end they redeemed themselves and changed their minds in a believable way, and only after facing facts. It wasn’t just a change of heart during a discussion. It was a realisation based on events that happened before their eyes. It seemed much more honest and long-term.

Reviewed by Ky for The Novel Approach

haunted_by_humans's review against another edition

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2.0

Definitely not the worst thing I’ve ever read but it seemed pretty rushed and lacked some personality in the characters.

atheresa's review against another edition

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2.0

This was YA even though it was presented as adult fiction with adult MCs. Quinn and Kellan's characters behaved much younger than their 20 years. Their internal thought processes were quite immature. Their world views were very simple. They both referred to their mother figures. Quinn and Kellan's relationship development wasn't deep nor multifaceted.

cadiva's review against another edition

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5.0

When Jay said he was thinking of writing a shifter story I was enthusiastically cheering him on and this book is proof positive that he can turn his hand to the paranormal side of MM romance as well as he does young and new adult.

It's inherently British too, set in the Welsh valleys where it's entirely too easy to believe there really are shifters living among the tiny little farming communities.

It also very much shines a light on another typically British tradition - that of travelling people who follow the routes their families have driven for generations around the country.

By that I don't mean the New Age Travellers, as they came to be known, but the genuine Romani families whose lives have changed little only to exchange a horse and vardo for a pickup and a caravan.

There's also an element of self-discovery, as Quinn begins to feel something's up after meeting Kellan and and having an instant attraction to the shifter.

I also loved that this didn't feel in the slightest bit paranormal outside of the turning into a wolf bit that is! Now by that I mean there wasn't an emphasis on the supernatural fact that these people could turn into wolves. It was just treated as one of those things.

Mostly The Half Wolf is a book about discovering your true self, about falling in love, about family being more than just blood, it's about friendships and fears, about ancient mistrusts and new hopes; it's settling down and digging in roots, and it's about always being willing to listen to the voice inside when it nags you to go out and find your place.

It's lovely and passionate and sweet and emotional and it packs a lot in to a fairly short length. I hope Jay lingers in this world for a while.

The beautiful cover from Garrett Leigh perfectly sums up the delights inside as Quinn awakens in a number of ways.

#ARC provided by the author in return for an honest and unbiased review.

misssleepless's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted fast-paced
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

pauliree's review against another edition

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3.0

Enjoyed but just something about this didn't make me absolutely fall for the characters

alisreads's review against another edition

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2.0

omg what is wrong with me? i should know better and listen to the little voices in my head that keep telling me "pleeaseee alissss just stop reading her books anymoreee, you know what would happenssssss" but i got curious okay? it's warewolf! it's sound hot. and yessss ofc it's were hot ... at first. then i got bored and skimming almost the rest of it. hey! don't judge me, i'm a high fantasy readers too, i can't be statisfied with cheap problems and with the way its ended, so, /shrug/
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