Review: Wolf Marked by Veronica Douglas

Wolf Marked
(Magic Side: Wolf Bound #1)
by Veronica Douglas
Publisher: Self-published
Publication date: July 30, 2021
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Rating:

Werewolves are hunting me down.

I was just an ordinary girl waiting tables in a small-town bar. I had no idea magic was real. That was, until I backed my car over a werewolf a couple times.

In my defense, the wolf was trying to murder me, and I was all out of mace.

Now I’ve got a cult of rogue wolves on my heels, and the only one who can protect me is Jaxson Laurent—the Chicago Alpha.

He suspects I’m special and can’t take his eyes off me, but the problem is—he’s the sworn enemy of my family. Every time we get close it feels like something is going to rip out of my soul, but the heat between us is irresistible.

With danger around every corner and wolves howling in the night, I need to master my magic and stand my ground, or I’ll be dead before the next moon rises.

Savannah was just your typical girl until one day two people come out of nowhere and attack her… with claws coming out of their hands. Terrified and not sure what is going on, Savannah escapes town and seeks refuge with family she has never met before. Family that just so happens to be sorcerers. Which I guess technically makes her a sorcerer as well. In a world full of spellcasters, zombies, werewolves, and who knows what else, Savannah needs to do all that she can to stay alive and figure out who’s hunting her.

I will admit that this story did start a little slow for me. Which is off since it starts off with Savannah being attacked by deranged werewolves. I think, for me, it was because I hadn’t quite formed a connection with Savannah or Jaxson. It took me a while to get a feel for them. However, as the story continues you start to get a sense of what’s going on and form a deeper connection with the characters.

The world the author created is very rich. It’s not just about Savannah being a sorcerer and Jaxson being a werewolf. Oh no. There are demons that pop up and wreck havoc on the pack. There are sorcerers out there doing blood magic, and kidnapping people. I don’t want to go into too much detail, but this story felt a lot like a Patricia Briggs story. It was not simply one facet, but rather multiple pieces moving at once.

With all that being said, I am very disappointed that the story just ends. There’s no real conclusion. We still don’t know who the bad guy is or what they want. Instead, I had more questions than answers when I finished this book. Like, is Savannah’s family really as bad as everyone seems to think? What kind of magic does Savannah hold within herself? Does she ever harness her power? There were just a lot of things that I was left wondering.

Wolf Marked is a good story filled with rich world building. It’s got a lot of danger and mystery, with just a hint of romance budding in the background. I do wish we got more answers out of the fist installment, but that’s just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.