| Title | : | Wolf Lost (The Wolves of Kismet, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 188 |
| Publication | : | First published September 5, 2019 |
An alpha fractured.
Sawyer Holt can’t go home. The Alpha who has replaced his father wants to use him as a tool to cement his political power, and Sawyer isn’t interested in marrying his father’s murderer.
Dez Sullivan’s leg may never heal from his last mission in Afghanistan, but he’s getting used to that. What he can’t adapt to are the nightmares and the tremor in his hand that the doctors insist is all in his head. Next to that, being a brand new werewolf seems easy, until Sawyer Holt blows into his life. The omega activates his burgeoning wolf instincts in a new way, and they threaten to overwhelm his common sense.
Both men are in Colorado searching for a new start, a new pack, and the safety they’ve lost. Their meeting is pure Kismet.
Wolf Lost (The Wolves of Kismet, #1) Reviews
-
Read it. Loved it.
A shifter romance with a great take on the Alpha/Beta/Omega dynamic, a fantastic plot, great characters, and it all flowed brilliantly.
Dual third person POV, begins when omega Sawyer stumbles into Kismet Pack territory trying to escape his old pack. Desmond, Ash, and Gavin are three alpha werewolves who used to be green berets, but after a mission that nearly killed them are now out of the military, and opening a coffee shop in Kismet, Colorado.
Dez and Sawyer connect instantly and they save Sawyer from his old pack mates. Dez, Gavin, Ash also invite Sawyer to join their pack. But the alpha of Sawyer's pack isn't willing to give up Sawyer. I don't want to give too much away so I'm going to stop now.
There's action, humor, and even some knotting! I loved seeing Sawyer and Dez get their happy ending. I read until I slept, woke up, and finished reading. This is one of my favorite books I've read this year. I'm ridiculously excited to see where the rest of the series goes!
Advanced Review Galley copy of
Wolf Lost (The Wolves of Kismet #1) provided by the
author in exchange of an honest review.
This review has been cross-posted at
Gay Book Reviews. -
This review is for all three The Wolves of Kismet books. I read all of them in the span of 48 hours and had a massive book hangover once I left the Kismet Wolves world behind.
Gavin, Asher, and Dez are not your typical werewolves. They're combat veterans, kind and benevolent; three alphas ruling together and not sticking to the old-school thinking that omegas are inferior and alphas are gods.
The first book focuses on Dez, a wounded soldier, and Sawyer, an omega running from the alpha who challenged and killed his father. Sawyer is the sassy and sweet to Dez's dark and brooding. They have an instant connection when Dez protects Sawyer from the two beta wolves following him. In turn, Sawyer sees beyond Dez's disability and terse nature.
Asher and Graham are next. They grew up in the same cult-like pack with an unhinged alpha who treated omegas like servants. Graham was the pack cook, and a great one at that, until he realized his alpha lied. Ash and Graham are both sunny and adorable, and Graham becomes the best baker the pack coffee shop, The Second Chance Café, has ever had. He and Ash bond over cookies and a shared background.
The first two books follow the same formula, including the omegas going into heat and needing to be rescued.
The third book focuses on Gavin, the true alpha of the group, the wolf who turned himself. I liked Gavin but had a hard time with his guilt and shame. I also didn't like that his relationship with Miles, the town deputy, is mainly off page, with the book beginning once they'd been dating for several months. Miles is frustrated that Gavin blows hot and cold. What he doesn't know is that Gavin has a big secret.
I wish the sex had been less perfunctory; the stories aren't as sexy as I expected. The books aren't very long, and the narrative (dual POV in every case) flows well. There is something immensely satisfying about the comfort of the pack and the way the werewolves form their own family.
I really enjoyed this series! -
It's official, there isn't a story Sam Burns can write that I won't fall in love with.
I love it when someone can give me a different take on shifters and with Wolf Lost, I got just that. When Sawyer escapes from his pack, the last thing he's expecting to find is a potential bond mate and a new place to call home but when he and disabled army veteran Dez meet, that's just what happens.
There wasn't a bit I didn't like about this new world that Sam's built for her shifters. Wolf society is old fashioned, staid and secret. Wolves aren't known in the wider world, they can be born or bitten, and there's never been a pack with three alphas in it that Sawyer is aware of.
Dez and Sawyer are a great pair. They match each other's temperament perfectly but don't have that instant bond mates thing which can sometimes be an excuse for a relationship in some shifter worlds. They still take time to get comfortable with each other, they still snap and fight and have doubts, but ultimately they're there when it matters the most.
I also really liked that Dez isn't some uber perfect specimen, he has a damaged leg and problems with his right hand, he uses a cane and he can't always be as physical as he's used to being as an ex-Green Beret sniper.
Each of these alpha wolves has something which makes them different from the norm and I can't wait to find out more about Asher and Gavin in their books. The scene with Ash teaching his two bitten best mates about wolf shifter sexual behaviour had me snort laughing.
I picked this book up this morning and read it in one go, I couldn't put it down because I had to see how the threat to Sawyer from his old pack alpha was going to be addressed (brilliantly, if somewhat unexpected as it turns out!) and how the growing connection with Dez would pan out (also brilliantly as it happens 😁 )
A fair bit of humour, one growly alpha, one fairly chilled alpha and one alpha who obviously has a secret he's not willing to let out yet, make the Kismet wolf pack a huge success for me.
I also really liked the pack dynamics of another set of shifters which we get introduced to in this book who are local to the new Kismet foursome and I'm hoping we find out more about the Shane wolves too.
#ARC kindly received from the author in return for an honest and unbiased review -
So, well, that wasn't my thing. I think I have some sort of preconceived notion about Alphas and Omegas but like to think I am open to something new. This, well, I don't really know what this was.
First off, I just didn't get Sawyer. He's our Omega in this story and aside from that, he's not really anything. He doesn't have a talent, Omega like or not. There is no past job. It's like his life up until now is blank. So, there was nothing to him. At least if he had Omega tendencies it would have been something! He's supposed to kind of read as sheltered and from a smallish town or something but then at other times he reads worldly? I didn't get him.
Dez, Ash and Gavin? Even more odd. Ash is an actual born wolf but you can't tell. Dez and Gavin are brand new wolves and you can.
Dez is injured pretty badly. And I am sure we are supposed to read his character as still a capable Alpha but he was not presented like that. Plus, it isn't discussed and he does nothing to make it better. It was a really strange set up. I mean, if this was supposed to be about disability it didn't read right to me. Plus, he does nothing. He doesn't work out. He doesn't do any kind of rehab. Actually at one point he says he'll probably get fat. Ugh. I am guessing wolves won't get fat but still, it didn't make me feel like I think I was supposed to about him.
There is just nothing building this story. They are war Brothers. Dez and Gavin got bit on the last mission. They moved to Colorado and bought a house. Now they want to open a coffee shop. That is it. That is their story. They know nothing about being a wolf even though they have a born wolf with them. Actually, they seem clueless about a whole lot of stuff and it wasn't cute. There was just a lot of looking at each other with I don't know expressions. Um, yes, one of you does know. Speak!
Then the bad guys. That aspect of the story was just ridiculous. There was no reason to keep Sawyer because what was he even bringing to his last Pack? Drama and setup. No meat.
So, I didn't like this. I didn't get it. I definitely didn't feel any romance and to me, it read awkward and strange.
Why do these guys not talk to each other? If I was turned into a wolf and had a born wolf as a bestie I'd be chewing their ear off with questions. Plus, why had they never shifted and why is one of them still not shifting but no one asks why? It was all really weird.
I wish I could blame my dislike on the fact I was in the mood for an all mine, mine, mine, yes, yes, yes type of book but that is not the case here. I just plain didn't like this. -
Dnf @ 63%
Nice start with plenty of action and excitement as we meet Sawyer, a wolf shifter on the run. I very much enjoyed how he meets Dez and his unusual pack of alphas-only.
Unfortunately the story petered out into a feeling of nothing much happening at all after the first handful of chapters. The focus shifted onto mundane stuff— eating pizza, discussing coffee, talks about how to refurbish the shop, selecting bed sheets. I need more than that to stay involved in a story and its characters, and by the time the first kiss rolled by I had already disengaged. -
This was an enjoyable story. A little too sweet for my general tastes, but I liked it well enough. I was a bit confused by the timeline, though, because it seemed like time passed, but then it would seem like it hadn't in conversation references... not sure what was up there.
-
4.5 stars rounded up.
This was AWESOME!!! Wolf Shifters and Knotting inside! Buy yourself a copy - you won't regret it!
This should be all the review you need, so I'm gonna end it here...
Just kidding. Imma tell you more about this fabulous start to a new trilogy anyway.
Sawyer Holt is an Omega Wolf, running away from his current pack after the new Alpha has challenged and supplanted Sawyer's Alpha father. Forced to choose between running or entering a farce of a marriage to the new Alpha to cement the man's claim to the throne, so to speak, Sawyer decides to run.
The Beta wolves sent to capture him catch up to him in Kismet, CO, a small, somewhat sleepy town. Trying to escape what seems almost inevitable, Sawyer follows an enticing scent into a not-yet-open coffee shop and comes face to face with Dez Sullivan, a Special Forces veteran, who was honorably discharged after a terrible injury, who's also a newly bitten Alpha wolf and possibly suffering from PTSD. Who also just might be Sawyer's fated mate if Sawyer believed in that old wives' tale...
The author has done a fantastic job with the world-building, weaving information about the mythology and the backgrounds of the wolves seamlessly into the narrative, thereby avoiding the dreaded info dump, and takes the reader on a journey that leaves one at once breathless and in awe.
Sam Burns creates characters that feel real. They're not perfect, they have flaws, and fears, and worries, but they mesh and they love and they communicate. Obviously, I expected a bit of a slow burn, seeing how these two had only just met, and Sawyer needed to feel safe to even contemplate a relationship, especially considering that Dez has two friends, Gavin and Ash, who are also Alpha wolves, and whose easy friendship confounds Sawyer at first. The three Alphas trust each other explicitly, and upon seeing Dez with Sawyer in the coffee shop, defending the young man from the pursuit of the Betas, they immediately step in and make arrangements to take Sawyer home with them to protect him.
The first kiss - OHMYGAH!!! And when they finally, finally get it on - whoa, them's some burning sheets.
The story is told entirely in dual third person POV, switching between Sawyer and Dez easily without ever confusing the reader as to who's talking at any given time. There are humorous moments, there are dramatic moments, and there are deeply emotional moments for both Dez and Sawyer.
I absolutely loved this book, and I can hardly wait to read Ash's story and Gavin's story, who, I presume, will each get their own book. Soon, I hope.
Buy this! You won't regret it!
** I received a free copy of this book from the tour organizer in exchange for an honest review. ** -
~3.25 Stars~
Hmm, I suppose 'underwhelmed' is probably the right word for how I feel after this book.
Also this feeling that 'nothing' really happened. Which is odd, because things did happen. But a lot of the scenes that could have been pushed or developed further just sort of fade-into-black.
It's a case of the story is interesting but it didn't come alive for me.
I think it might be because despite the main characters orbiting around one another there was always another pack member around and the discussion centered around the cafe's opening and the multitude of mundane tasks related to it instead of creating an emotional bond between Sawyer and Dez. I liked having this imperfect, wounded Alpha and a strong omega but the relationship simply didn't reach it's potential. They sort of slip into each other's lives and I turned around for one second and bam boyfriends.
Not to forget the immense amount of unanswered questions. So much hinted backstory on the main and secondary characters that's left unexplored.
Lackluster read.
But there aren't many shifter stories out there written as well as Wolf Lost . So onward with hopefulness that the next book is better. -
I initially gave this 4 stars, but I'm sorry, bumping it down, because the more I keep thinking about it, the more I realize there just wasn't enough world building, IMO. I'd have loved more details about Dez, Gavin, and Asher, how Dez and Gavin got turned and werewolves and became alphas, how Dez got injured (was it before or after he got bit, for instance?) or actually, how the whole alpha thing even worked in this 'verse. Did they know Asher was a werewolf before they got turned, or did he "come out" after they got bit? Where did Dez get his money (I think his dead grandfather?), why did Gavin grow up rich, but now isn't? There were little tidbits rationed out here and there, but not enough to make me feel like I got a full backstory. Maybe in future books?
-
Loved this!
It was am unconventional approach to shifter lore and I loved it. I liked that the issues didn't immediately vanish and that the angst was kept to a bare minimum.Dez and Sawyer were great together and really complemented each other perfectly.
Our secondary characters were great with Ash being a sweetheart and Gavin the big tough tough guy.
My only wish for this book was to have it be longer! *pouts* -
3.5
Nice, sunny and angst-free tale with a down-to-earth view on some of the shifter myth like mate, knot and omega. The right book for an afternoon in the park while enjoying the last sunrays of a late summer day ... enjoyable enough that I can turn a blind eye on self-lubrication ;) -
Ash, Gavin, and Dez are a pack. Two bitten werewolves and one origin. An unusual pack because all three are Alpha. But they are friends and military mates forever. Now the three of them are settled down at Kismet, Colorado and try to start a coffee shop.
When Sawyer enters their space, distressed and anxious, they take him in. Still, a very unusual pack because Sawyer is an Omega.
Sawyer is on the run, his father who was Alpha of their pack was killed and the new Alpha wants to marry Sawyer. A conservative pack where Omega doesn’t have a will of their own. Sawyer can’t live like that, so he ran. This vicious Alpha wants Sawyer back at all costs.
Sawyer was driven to this new pack by a delicious strong scent, who called for him.
As a new shifter little does Dez know about mates and heat. But Sawyer scent speaks to him. Both Dez and Sawyer feel strongly attracted to each other. Dez has an inability which holds him back, luckily Sawyer is more forwarded.
Sawyer’s old pack is lurking for him, and it’s a real threat.
-“If this isn’t every omega’s dream, I don’t know what is,” Sawyer said, his voice breathy and higher than usual.-
I’m a lover of Wolfpack, shifters, scents, Alpha’s and Omega’s stories. This one was a lovely, kind and original one. I was so charmed by these wolves and their dynamic. Besides that it was a witty and fun read, I laughed loudly in a room full of people, that’s something special I can say.
It was also endearing, sweet... chocolate sweet, just like someone’s scent.
See grumpy Dez being playful is something to watch! To see Sawyer, as a sexy seducer pur sang, play Dez was just delicious to view.
A very animated story, it had an engaging way of storytelling. Every move, every gesture, every thought, and every sexy step was worth reading. It had all the feelings and all nicely balanced.
So much fun with the four guys, they were delightful. Oh, let’s not forget Desi, who has an indelible and important place in this story LOL.
A recommendation worth! -
Great start to the series!
This was great! The blurb didn’t do it much favour. It sounded more bland than it is especially because it’s a pack of 3 alphas! Oops 🙊 but yeah... I thoroughly enjoyed this! Can’t wait for the next book please! 🤩 -
3.5 Stars
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DNF 44%
This book was one of the worst cases of “too much tell and not enough show” I’ve ever encountered. Combined with utter boredom, I simply could not go on. -
3.5 stars
This was adorable! I enjoyed it a lot, even though the main couple never really talked about their relationship, and it had some of the most boring, uninspired sex scenes I’ve ever read. The whole found family thing is really well done here.
There’s a ton of unanswered questions and the world building is shit but hey. It was an easy breezy read. -
A
Joyfully Jay review.
3.75 stars
Wolf Lost is the first book in Sam Burns’ Wolves of Kismet series and I really liked the set up here. I was interested in the combination of newly made wolves and with born werewolves and I enjoyed the scenes where Dez and Gavin are learning various wolfy ways. I also liked the camaraderie among the three best friends and the way they made their own unique pack. Dez and Sawyer are sweet together and though they fall pretty fast, I did like them as a couple and appreciated how they balance each other out. The story is pretty low angst, despite the looming bad guys, and there is a nice sense of sweetness to the book. It takes place in an omegaverse type world of alpha, beta, and omega wolves and there are some traditional elements, like omegas going into heat, but no mpreg.
Read Jay’s review in its entirety
here. -
expected way too much from this.
-
What I adore most about Sam is that, even when I am struggling to read books from beginning to end (currently in the middle of 6), I can absolutely DEVOUR her stories in one sitting. Every.Time.
Her flow is flowy, her characters charactery, and her plot is extra plotty.
I FLOVED Dez & Sawyer.
I love a good grumpy character and a sassy pants to counteract them and these 2 NAIL IT.
Dez is adorably grumpy (most of the time) and Sawyer, our run away Omega, is his perfect counter-balance.
I love this unusual and small pack in Kismet. 3 alphas and a runaway Omega, like, whaaat??
And I 100% cannot WAIT for Asher's story. I am curious who this wannabe baker, coffee maker's mate is going to be :D -
I devoured this book in one sitting. It was a wonderful, easy read but the characters and world were deep enough to be satisfying. I really enjoyed how the author flipped the omega and alpha trope, with a pack made up of three alphas and an omega who isn't treated like a delicate flower.
Though this book plays on the alpha/beta/omega trope, there is no mpreg. That was a refreshing change from many shifter stories out there now.
The author sets up a familiar yet fresh world, with lots left to discover. I can't wait for book 2! -
3.5 stars
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3.5 stars
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Okay, I’m all on board for this series and already can’t wait for the next book. From the excitement of the opening scene I was hooked—I liked the author’s take on the traditional werewolf lore, , and the fact that one of the main characters—an alpha no less—has something that makes him not “whole”.
Sawyer’s character was easy to love from page one as an omega on the run looking for refuge. I liked that he wasn’t painted as weak or submissive just because he’s an omega. As for Dez, he seems to have embraced his alpha status quite easily, even as a newer wolf. While I would have been fine if a true mates insta-love situation had happened, I did appreciate that the author didn’t go that route and allowed them more time over which their relationship could develop.
A few other things that I thought worked well here, and that will easily carry on through the series—that Dez and Gavin are bitten wolves who are alphas, learning about being wolves from Ash (who is a born werewolf); that Gavin is the “alpha alpha” of their little three-wolf pack; and that they are all alphas within one pack, something apparently quite unusual for their kind. There are so many possibilities with these ideas. Some are explored here in Wolf Lost, but these will all be able to carry over into the rest of the series.
My only nit pick was the confrontation near the end with Sawyer’s former alpha from his home pack. There was a pretty good amount of buildup concerning that alpha, and when it came right down to it, there really wasn’t much of a clash and things were tied up pretty easily.
Overall, I really enjoyed Wolf Lost and am giving it 4.5 stars (yep, that nit pick is the only reason it isn’t a full 5). I think fans of paranormal romance—particularly werewolves—will definitely enjoy this story. My interested is definitely piqued for more, and I can’t wait for Gavin and Ash to get their own books. This story is meant for readers 18+ for adult language and sexual content. -
This was a nice read .... the characters were nice, the romance was good - even when I could have done with a bit more tension.
There was no real angst.
I would not have minded if it had been a bit more but it was a nice read and I really enjoyed it.
It was kind of the right book at the right time.
And I really want to read the stories of Ash and especially Gavin -
3.5 rounded down
Love a shifter book and this was a fun and relatively quick read. I enjoyed the pack of Alphas and their bond, and I also appreciated seeing an Alpha with long-term, potentially even permanent, injuries, as that's not something common in the genre. Given the somewhat shorter length, I did think pacing was off a bit at times, and some stuff was overly glossed over--we don't learn *how* Dex is filthy rich despite growing up poor until nearly the end of the book which was annoying, and I still feel like 3 dudes who have zero interest/experience with coffee deciding to open up a coffeeshop on a whim and not getting any kind of help/practical advice was a bit nonsensical. The whole thing felt a little underdeveloped but I still enjoyed reading and am looking forward to the next books. -
3.5 stars - I was given a copy of this book to read and review for Wicked Reads.
A sweet shifter romance with a little bit of action and a good bit of heat, this is an entertaining read. I enjoyed the characters and I liked their world.
Sawyer and Dez make a sweet couple. Dez and his unusual pack provide Sawyer with the protection and sense of belonging he needs while Sawyer helps Dez work through his feelings about his disability. It’s not a complicated relationship - the fated mate thing makes for a fairly instalove connection - but the two characters work well together.
The world building here relies completely on a mashup of familiar shifter tropes. It’s not necessarily a bad thing because my brain didn’t have to work too hard to keep up with the story but it is a highly predictable read.
Ultimately, this is another shifter romance. It’s an easy read full of likeable characters but it’s not terribly original or memorable. I liked the story and I’m happy to read the next books in the series - but I probably won’t remember to seek them out. -
Meh... is really all I have to say...
I’ve had this author on my to-read list for some time but just haven’t jumped in till now.
While I enjoyed this as a short mindless read (I like those a lot) I always hope there will be something else to draw me in. Some humor maybe? Some sass?An enemies to lovers trope? A taboo-ish mpreg? Anything at all really to add to the ABO world. Unfortunately for me this was just flat and didn’t call to me.
I honestly couldn’t connect or care for any of the characters. There was probably more renovation talk in this book than actual plot... maybe I understand that the author is trying to build the world for the future books, but it really took away from this one IMO. -
3.5 stars
Rep: M/M romance, disability rep -
WOLF LOST was a good read and my first omegaverse book though it doesn't perfectly follow the omegaverse tropes and instead does some things differently. I really liked the setup of three alpha wolves in a pack together and the interesting dynamic of one born wolf and two bitten wolves. I also liked Sawyer's fire and how determined he was to live the life he wanted.
The middle does slow down a bit as it gets into the details of the guys renovating the coffee shop but it does pick back up toward the end. Though I'm very unclear on why they chose to open a coffee shop when they had no experience with it or really even a heightened interest in coffee. Also, what happened to turn the other two into wolves? The incident in Afghanistan is hinted at but never really explained and I kept waiting for some revelation that just never came. Overall, WOLF LOST was interesting but I'm not sure that I'll be continuing with the series.
Content Warning: Dez has a damaged leg from a military/werewolf attack and he's still dealing with some PTSD surrounding the incident; references to past abuse in packs that are more traditional in their alpha/omega expectations -
Wolf Lost es ese tipo de novelas que suelo leer para pasar el rato y que nunca defraudan. Es una obra MM relativamente corta, la trama es bastante lineal y simple, pero fue fresca y entretenida. Incluso, me reí varias veces. Sí, fue un poco cliché y no hubo un gran plot twist, pero me gustó. Creo que esto debo atribuírselo a los personajes.
No son muy complejos, pero tampoco tan planos, creo que están en un intermedio de bien y ok. Además, me simpatizaron a primera vista y por eso continue leyendo. Los personajes principales son muy agradables. Swayer y Dez son buenos personajes, quizá les faltó un poquito mas de quimica, pero tampoco estuvieron tan mal. Por otro lado, Gavin y Ash me interesaron muchísimo. Casi podría decir que me gustaron un poquito más que Dez y tienen más potencial como protagonistas masculinos. Incluso, estoy interesada en leer sus respectivas novelas cuando se publiquen.
Por lo tanto, pienso buscar algún otro trabajo de la autora, ya que esta fue la primera novela que leo de ella. Logró que leyera Wolf Lost de un tirón, así que le daré otro voto de confianza.
