Normally I don't do this sort of thing. Meaning that I don't usually read the second volume of a series before the first. I didn't know this was the second till after I finished it and searched it up on here.
I really enjoyed the read though the beginning and middle were may favorite, but the ending though really left me dissatisfied. I don't really like love triangles for unless (in my mind) one of 'em is a clear and better match for the heroine. In here though it just seemed wrong like the author was in a rush to wrap everything in a nice neat bow at the end.
Even though I didn't like the way Darien thought Maria as his position, that was just the way he was raised. I felt like with a little bit more time he could have changed and grow to love her the way should wanted and deserved to be treated. Plus even if the way he treated her was how he was raised wouldn't he do just about anything (ie. change his ways) to make want to stay with him?
And although Josef and Maria did have their moments together (in the beginning where he was unconscious and his lips brushed his cheek, that was beyond uber cute) the interaction was limited to only caring for each (tending to each others wounds) other and telling each other there life stories, although not intensional felt really insta-love to me. To me there interaction didn't justify them ending up together. And I hate reading a book so far through to have it end up like that.
I did enjoy reading the book, but the ending really ruined the book for me. It really tainted what this book could of been but now could never be. S.A. Swann Darien is half human, half wolf. He is a mix breed werewolf capable of morphing into either being at will. As a child he witnessed his whole family, his clan of Wolfbreeds burned to death when a band of Polish Teutonic Knights called the Wolfjagers specifically armed for hunting his kind, herded and locked his people into a church and lit a match to mass murder them all. From that day on he vowed to ignore his human half and to slaughter as many people as he could. His wolf persona is angry, cruel, and vicious; he becomes a relentless killing machine.
Josef is a novice monk in training, new to arrive to the Wolfjager Order. Putting the horrors of his past behind him, memories of the Plague that took his family and wife away from him, he chooses a life of solitude to extinguish his pain. Josef is unaware of what the Order hunts, until one day their band is attacked in the forest by a fierce predator who slashes and kills many of their men. Josef himself is critically wounded and is rushed to a nearby German village with the other injured knights to seek urgent medical attention.
Maria is a servant at the German fortress who aids the plight of the Teutonic Knights. She is given the task of caring for Josef, to heal his wounds and calm his fevered mind. As the two begin to acquaint, Josef doubts his monastic vows and is smitten with the raven-haired beauty tending to his soul and injuries. But Maria has a deep secret that even she is unaware of that prevents her heart from opening to Josef’s love. Given a silver cross as an infant by her father to always protect her from harm, she soon discovers that without that cross around her neck, she too becomes a creature unbound and can walk the forest on all fours to prey on the living as a fur-covered Wolfbreed.
This creative mix of werewolf horror and paranormal romance is quite clever showing the author’s talent for ingenuity to pen a werewolf novel with an unusual twist. Set in Poland in the mid 14th century, Swann’s historical tale conjures up atmosphere of both horror and romance that is quite engaging. Well-developed characters, an alternative time period not overly used in fiction, and a plot quite different than the average wolf stories out there, Wolf’s Cross was an entertaining read that I really enjoyed and can highly recommend.
S.A. Swann Wolfbreed was an underrated gem, a blend of historical fantasy and paranormal romance that gave a stark and authentic portrayal of life in the middle ages and the dark side of human nature. It's a tough act to follow, so author S.A. Swann doesn't try. Instead, he takes the setting and crafts a different story, with new characters and a completely different tone. Results are good. While Wolf's Cross does not pack the brutal impact of its predecessor, it is just as good as a story, and in its own way quite a bit deeper.
Read the full review at Lupines and Lunatics. S.A. Swann Definitely not as good as the first one. S.A. Swann Czy doprawdy tak duża jest różnica między wilkiem, który staje się człowiekiem, a człowiekiem, który staje się wilkiem?
Po pozytywnym zaskoczeniu pierwszą częścią sięgałam po kontynuację z pewnymi oczekiwaniami. Niestety, tym razem trochę się przeliczyłam. Na szczęście tylko odrobinkę. Książka nie jest zła, ale jak dla mnie w porównaniu do części pierwszej wypada słabiej, chociaż okładkę ma już trochę lepszą :)
Tak jak w Wilczym miocie dylematy moralne głównej bohaterki oceniłam na plus, tak tutaj momentami miałam już dosyć łagodnej, cnotliwej i doświadczonej przez los Marii wraz z jej podejściem do życia. Niezmiernie irytowały mnie również przejawy jej podwójnej moralności.
Wątek miłosny oklepany, jeden kandydat jest zły a drugi dobry, a nasza biedna Marysia musi wybierać co jest dla niej w życiu ważniejsze.
Momentami było krwawo, ale niestety tym razem bez atrakcji typu palenie na stosie, raczej zwykła jatka wilkołaka z jego przeciwnikami i to niestety tylko od czasu do czasu.
Mimo tych kilku wad książka wciąga, szczególnie jak ktoś lubi sobie poczytać o wilkołaczych sierściuchach.
6/10 S.A. Swann
S. A. Swann continues to reinvent the werewolf myth in this fantastic new novel set in the medieval world of the celebrated Wolfbreed. Like its predecessor, Wolf’s Cross is unafraid to cross boundaries and break taboos to tell an unforgettable story of romance and adventure that will forever change how you think about werewolves.
Maria lives a simple life in a small Polish village, working for the lord of the nearby fortress. Motherless since birth, Maria has been raised by her father and stepmother. Around her neck she wears—as she has always worn—a silver crucifix, to protect her from the devil. Or so her father tells her.
But when a contingent of badly mauled Teutonic knights, including a handsome and gravely wounded young man named Josef, ask for succor at the fortress, Maria’s quiet and comfortable world shatters. For the knights are Wolfjägers, an order dedicated to the extermination of werewolves, and Maria, unknowingly, is one of the creatures they hunt. Only the crucifix about her neck prevents her body from changing into a lethal killing machine.
When Maria meets Darien, a wolfbreed bent on exacting a terrible revenge on humans, she will learn the truth about herself, and find her loyalties—and her heart—torn in two.
Wolfs Cross (Wolfbreed #2)When I read this I was expecting... well not this. I kept drifting in and out of this book and unable to hold my interest, not even just tugging on it I skipped to the end halfway through and was unsurprised and unimpressed with the ending. The writing wasn't the best and the main characters were are vanilla as you could get. Good for putting yourself to sleep or wasting time and I do mean wasting. S.A. Swann 4,25 sterren - Nederlandse paperback
Meeslepend verhaal over een weerwolf die verliefd wordt op haar jager. Hoewel het verhaal grotendeels voorspelbaar loopt, bleef ik lezen.
Ik vond het aantal bladzijdes helaas net iets te kort, waardoor sommige ontwikkelingen net even te snel gingen (echter niet heel storend). Ik kon me goed in leven in de personages.
Het verhaal wisselt om de aantal bladzijden van verteller, waardoor er wel veel herhaald wordt. Dat vond ik jammer. Van het wisselen en het herhalen (weliswaar vanuit ander perspectief) moet je als lezer persoonlijk houden. Ik vond de herhalingen weinig toevoeging hebben. S.A. Swann This book is a werewolf book in case you didn’t pick that up from the title. After finishing the book I found out this was the second book in a series. 🙄so I guess I will try to find the first one. I listened to the audio version. It was good not exceptional but entertaining. Took place in the 1500’s. So before anything modern. And a lot of superstitions. S.A. Swann Argh. I don’t like werewolves almost as much as I don’t like vampires, sadly. This wasn’t appalling however and I did manage to finish it in the end. S.A. Swann Book wasn't bad, but just not as intriguing as I hoped for. And I really hated one of the characters. S.A. Swann
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