Wolf Girl by Leia Stone

Synopsis

"When my parents were banished from Wolf City before I was born, I thought there was no way I would ever live in a pack again. Cuffed, with my shifter magic bound, I was forced to go to school with witches in order to keep my true nature from coming out.

Then I met him.

Sawyer Hudson.

The Alpha's son was visiting Delphi Witches' College and spotted me. He took one look at me, and an hour later, I was being pulled out of school, taken into Wolf City and leaving my parents and everything I knew behind.

It's the Alpha's son's selection year, the year he must pick a mate, and every female aged 18-22 must be in attendance.

I've landed myself in the middle of Werewolf Bachelor, and just when I think I've got a handle on things, Sawyer releases my cuffs, unbinds my magic, and sees what I really am.

The problem is, I don't know what this creature is that I transform into. It's not an ordinary werewolf, that's for damn sure."

About the Book

Wolf Girl, the first book in the Wolf Girl series, follows protagonist Demi Calloway as she's introduced to the lifestyle of wolves in Wolf City after her parents were banished before she was even born. Moving to Wolf City, starting a new school - a new life - is something Demi never dreamed she'd have the chance to do. And now, after meeting the Alpha's son, Sawyer Hudson, her whole life has changed.

This book adds a whole new perspective to the werewolf genre. Most books that you'll find out there - particularly on Wattpad - are hardcore romance Alpha meets girl storylines. Stone twists that idea around and adds a new story to the cliché. Instead of the controlling, sometimes aggressive alpha claiming the girl, we have the alpha's son and a tradition that they must uphold so that he can find his mate. Personally, I find that this story feels less forced than others out there. The book isn't solely focused on the romance that consumes the story. Instead, it's more open. We get to watch as Demi starts her new life, adapts, learns and makes new friends. There are multiple stories instead of just the one. I'd rate the plot at 6/10.

Initial Impression

I've always been very skeptical of werewolf novels. Most of the stories are the same. So when I started this one I went in thinking it was going to be pretty much the same dominant alpha, new female omega or beta storyline. I was wrong. In most cases, the alphas are written as controlling, dominant, they know what they want, and don't even get me started on how they're written to be extremely sexy. Wolf Girl was different, and I soon came to realise that.

When we first meet Sawyer, the alpha's son (a werewolf book that isn't actually focused on the alpha is a nice change), we realise that he's different. He isn't controlling, he doesn't know exactly what he wants, he isn't over-sexualised. He's...normal. Honestly, I found it refreshing, and it's what prompted me to keep reading the book.

The Characters

There are many characters introduced to us in this book. But let's focus on the two main characters so that we don't spoil anything significant on you guys.

• Demi - Demi is our protagonist. She's spent her whole life wearing magical cuffs that keeps her wolf from coming out. Because of this. she's never shifted. Demi is strong, though she's curious about where her parents came from. She's always wondered what it was like in Wolf City - to be free from her chains. Though I say this, Demi is also a conflicting character. She hates the idea of Werewolf Bachelor - what she calls the tradition where the alpha's soon dates and then chooses his mate from a pool of girls - yet she always finds herself whining over Sawyer. Though Demi is a strong female lead, this isn't the case throughout the entire book. More often than not, she finds herself in situations where Sawyer has to come to her rescue, portraying her as more of a damsel in distress. Furthermore, Demi always worries about whether Sawyer will still like her whenever she finds out something new about herself. Many people, including myself, will find this annoying. A character that is more concerned about how a guy might see her and feel about her instead of finding out the truth about herself, is quite annoying.

• Sawyer - Sawyer is the alpha's son. He's actually a very likeable character - nothing like what you might read in other werewolf books. He is sweet, caring, loyal, trustworthy, though he does have a little bit of a temper when someone he loves is hurt or in danger. He values friendship highly and isn't the snob you may expect him to be. He's actually quite a refreshing character - probably one of the more favourable ones too. Personally, I quite liked Sawyer, though his cousin was definitely my favourite character!

Each character has their own personality, though they aren't as well developed as characters from other reviews I have done. For the first book of the series, I am satisfied to a certain extent, though I do feel that they could have been developed a little more so that the readers could feel truly connected to them. Due to this, the characters are 5/10.

The Writing

Wolf Girl is written in first person perspective. The writing is nice and easy to understand. Told from Demi's point of view, we only get one perspective throughout the entire book. Because of this, what we learn and what we see is limited - we only know what Demi learns and feel how she feels. It's a great way for the author to enable the readers to experience first hand the situations that the protagonist finds herself in, and connect to her on a deeper level. Personally, I prefer the third person perspective, but I did enjoy reading the book from Demi's point of view. I enjoyed the writing, so my rating is 7/10.

The Atmosphere

This is a tricky part to talk about within the book. Demi moves to her new school for wolves in Wolf City, so the atmosphere is bound to be different from where the story first started. I can see where the author tried to do this throughout the book, but I didn't feel like it changed much. As it's supposed to take place in a city where magic is real, it doesn't feel very different or magical from the real world. In fact, the only real magical things that I thought different were the vampires and how the wolves shifted on campus. My rating for the atmosphere is 4/10.

Logic

As the book focuses on werewolves and the magical world, the logic is bound to apply differently. Because of this, not much can be said about the logic. The wolves have their traditions that are logical to them but may not be to humans. The only thing that I would say is not logical is the fact that even though Demi doesn't know what she is, she's not exactly too pressed to find out. Instead she spends most of her time worrying about whether Sawyer likes her and what he thinks of her. Logic is 6/10.

Intrigue

There is definitely a level on intrigue in this book, especially towards the end. Many historical events start to come to light and a lot of questions that you have are answered. However, the book ends on an eventful cliffhanger that might make you want to pick up the second book straight away. You'll ask many questions throughout the book; why were Demi's parents banished; what is Demi; who will Sawyer choose etc, and most of those questions will be answered. The end of the book however, will leave you with so many questions, you may get a little frustrated - especially if you do what I did and read the book weeks before the second book is released!

Thankfully though, I can say that the second book of the series, Lost Girl, will be released on February 26th, 2021! Stone did a good job at keeping the questions coming and maintaining my interest. I give it a 7/10.

Enjoyment

There were parts of this novel that I enjoyed more than others. I enjoyed the different storyline from other books in this genre. Though I didn't particularly enjoy how much Demi whined after Sawyer. Overall though, the story was refreshing and enjoyable to read. For those of you who do enjoy stories focused on werewolves, Fantasy and Romance, you'll enjoy this book, too. It's not a very long book - I finished it in 3 days - so it's the perfect book to sit down and read if you're looking for a relaxing evening. Though it's not the first book I'd recommend to other readers, I'd still recommend it nonetheless. Since I enjoyed this book when I didn't expect to, my rating is 7/10.

Overall Rating

Wolf Girl was a pretty good book, I must admit. It surprised me.

So here is my overall rating:

Wolf Girl by Leia Stone receives a total of 6/10 and 3 stars.

Enjoy the read!