Book Reviews

Book Blurb

He’s handled feral shifters, territorial alphas, and near-death missions. Nothing prepared him for cheekbones and combat boots.

Karl Griffin is a man of rules—keep calm, keep sharp, and for the love of God, keep away from cats. He doesn’t do emotional entanglements. And he definitely doesn’t do Leon Fitzroy—cat-shifter, walking attitude problem, and possibly the most annoying creature alive.

Leon Fitzroy has survived exile, scandal, and being born the wrong kind of cat. He’s not about to fall for a growly, emotionally constipated wolf with a hero complex.

But when they’re stranded together in the wilderness, Leon steps up—because someone has to. And somewhere between the bickering and the incident that neither of them is going to mention ever again, Leon starts to wonder if there’s more to Karl than scowls and vigilance.

What starts as mutual aggravation begins to shift into something suspiciously like feelings. But if Karl can’t stop pushing people away, and Leon can’t believe someone might choose him, they’ll lose more than just each other. They’ll lose the chance to change everything.

 

 

Lone Wolf is the sixth and final book in Strength of the Pack. Each book in the series is a standalone romance with its own HEA, with an overarching plot running through the series.
Content note: This series includes material that some readers may find upsetting. Full details are available on the author’s website (link in the Look Inside sample).

First edition published at Siren Publishing, May 2023. This new edition has been substantially rewritten and expanded with major new content.

Book Review

‘Lone Wolf’ is the final volume in this fantastic series, and what a finale it is! I never read the first edition of this book, so it was a special treat for me to dive into Karl and Leon’s brand-new for me story. A werewolf and a cat-shifter are not an easy pairing, so I was looking forward to seeing what the author did with their relationship. Then there were a few loose ends from the series arc that I was curious about, mainly the fate of the Argents that Christian and Dave found in the previous book… I am glad to report that the author did a great job bringing everything to a brilliant ending!

 

Karl Griffin has been somewhat of an enigma throughout the series. He is a loner, super focused on pack security, and not an easy man/wolf to get to know. There is clearly something in his past that made him behave the way he does, but even though he has been part of the Elk Ridge pack, lead by Alpha Matt, for a wile, he has not opened up – at all! His description of the pack is very true, and it is partly what has made me like the series so much. “A bunch of loners, rejects and people the system had chewed up and spat out, in need of a home and an alpha. And an alpha who hadn’t wanted a pack, but who was too decent a man to turn them away.” For Karl, it is his way or the highway and while it has kept the pack safe despite all the attacks and political machinations in previous installments, it has made him a very lonely wolf. Not that he would admit this!

 

Leon Fitzroy is a cat-shifter, the brother of the queen of the cats (who, paradoxically, is elected), and not inclined to speak to anyone about his past. He was left “like he wasn’t worth the effort” when he was a child, sent away so his cougar pride wouldn’t constantly be reminded of his mother’s “mistake”. Leon’s father was a jaguar and that is, apparently, not acceptable in cougar society. I loved how much he was a “cat” – his movements, obsessive hair care, his independence and sometimes contradictory ideas, and his disdain of wolves and the way they do things jump off the pages. “Wolves, though wolves couldn’t seem to do anything alone. Every decision was dragged through packs, councils, committees, sub-committees. It was never-ending. Talking to wolves was like trying to have a conversation with a filing cabinet.”

 

Even though Karl and Leon are not exactly friends, to put it carefully, there is something about their mutual infuriation that makes it clear that their feelings for each other are volatile and could go either way at any point. Anything might set them off into a mortal fight – or a flaming passion that is very unfamiliar to both of them. Karl notices Leon’s cheekbones and hair routine from the start, while Leon is physically attracted to Karl as well, but he refuses to give in. Until – they both end up chasing some intruders and are forced to deal with each other, their pasts, and their emotions. Perfectly done!

 

If you like the ‘Strength of the Pack’ series and characters, if a hissing cat and a growling wolf trying to figure each other out is your thing, and if you want to find out what the Elk Ridge pack and its members are up to, then you will probably like this novel as much as I do.

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by the author for the purpose of a review.

 

Additional Information

Format	ebook
Length	Novel, 321 pages
Heat Level
Publication Date	05-March-2026
Price	$4.99 ebook, $14.99 paperback
Buy Link	https://www.amazon.com/Lone-Wolf-Paranormal-romance-Strength-ebook/dp/B0GDMJBNSD