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I just finished Raised by Wolves AND Trial by Fire (the 2nd in the series) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes and I LOVED them so much! I love strong girl characters in books–strong emotionally, strong in so many ways, and Bryn in Jenn’s books is *strong*, good-hearted, ethical, fighting against oppression, and tries to protect others, even though she’s “only” human (with an added something) among a bunch of much physically stronger werewolves.

I love fantasy, most especially when it’s well written, but I never thought I’d like werewolves. I’ve never been into reading “monsters”, perhaps because I grew up being tortured by human monsters. But a great author can humanize and make us identify with characters who aren’t totally human, and make us care about them, and I quickly came to care about Bryn AND her world.

I’m so glad I finally read this series, and I highly recommend them! I’m looking forward to the next book Taken by Storm so much that I already pre-ordered it on my Kindle. The last book I did that with was Beth Revis’ A Million Suns.

The second book was the perfect book to get me through the exhaustion after my own book launch. I love finding books that pull me into their story world and don’t push me out, books that I look forward to reading and re-reading. It’s such a great feeling.

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Publisher: EgmontUSA (June 14, 2011)
ARC: 368 Pages
Series: Raised by Wolves #2
Genre: YA Fantasy/Supernatural (werewolves)
Book from Publisher*
Jennifer Lynn Barnes's Website | Blog | Twitter
My Review of Raised by Wolves

From Goodreads. Bryn is now leader of the Cedar Ridge pack of werewolves and she's convinced that her pack is different - it's democratic and fair. Then Bryn finds a battered teenage Were, Connor, bleeding on her front porch. He begs Bryn to protect him from an abusive leader; Bryn takes him into her pack.

But Bryn's Were partner Chase doesn't trust the new boy, and the more time she spends helping Connor, the more aggressive Chase becomes. Bryn is not sure if it's jealousy, or Were possessiveness but for the first time she starts to feel suffocated by the bond she and Chase share.

Filled with action, unlikely allies, and deadly conspiracies, Trial by Fire will change Bryn forever. She is soon to realise that to lead a pack of werewolves, she must give in to her animal instincts and become a little less human. And as hard as it's going to be, Bryn is going to have to do it alone.

There can only be one alpha.

Review by Kate
TRIAL BY FIRE, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, strattles the line of YA and adult fantasy/supernatural. As an avid reader of both levels of this genre, this book really takes YA up a notch and brings the gritty truth of the dangers of the supernatural world to light.

I really enjoyed Raised by Wolves so I was thrilled to receive an early copy of Trial by Fire. The first book highlighted the manifestation of Bryn's abilities, but this book put her to the test over and over in her new Alpha status. I really like how Barnes steps outside the box of the typical supernatural wolf, and keeps Bryn as a human girl while still being a part of the pack. I think it's extremely creative and adds a unique element to the series. I think Bryn is a great example of a strong female YA lead.

Even though Bryn is the obvious lead, I felt this book was more of an ensemble piece. More of the secondary characters were fleshed out and I really enjoyed getting to know about all of them. My favorites of course are still Chase (swoon), Devon, and Lake. I loved the dynamic of the pack how they were very close as friends, but when the pack was threatened they still stuck together in their instinctual mind-set as well.

Overall, this was a great sequel for this series. With the added action and suspense, this book is definitely a contender for my favorite YA fantasy/supernatural book this year. Fans of the series will love it!

*FTC Disclosure: I received this ARC from the publisher. I do not receive payment of any kind in exchange for a review. I do not receive monetary compensation from any book links in my review. Display Comments Add a Comment