Review- Raised by Wolves

Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Published: June 8, 2010
Publisher: Egmont USA
Source: Fire and Ice ARC Tour

My Rating: 4 Stars

Adopted by the Alpha of a werewolf pack after a rogue wolf brutally killed her parents right before her eyes, fifteen-year-old Bryn knows only pack life, and the rigid social hierarchy that controls it. That doesn't mean that she's averse to breaking a rule or two.

But when her curiosity gets the better of her and she discovers Chase, a new teen locked in a cage in her guardian's basement, and witnesses him turn into a wolf before her eyes, the horrific memories of her parents' murders return. Bryn becomes obsessed with getting her questions answered, and Chase is the only one who can provide the information she needs.

But in her drive to find the truth, will Bryn push too far beyond the constraints of the pack, forcing her to leave behind her friends, her family, and the identity that she's shaped?(Synopsis from Egmont)

I really enjoyed reading Raised by Wolves, I had already heard how good it was and it certainly lived up to my expectations. I got into the story as soon as I started reading it, Jennifer's writing just captured my attention and didn't let go. I'm not sure how to explain it but her writing style just felt really comfortable to me, if that makes any sense.

Bryn the main character is a strong, stubborn and sarcastic girl that was raised by a pack of werewolves since she was four years old. Her family was killed by a rabid werewolf and she was rescued before he got to kill her. She's been trained and marked by the Alpha of the pack and she's learned how to close her mind from the other wolves. Everything is going well for Bryn until one day she finds a boy named Chase that's being hidden and kept secret from her because he was bitten by a rabid werewolf and has turned into a werewolf himself. From then on we get to find out a lot more about what happened to Bryn's family when they were killed, and the secrets that were being kept from her. Bryn gets determined to find the rabid and kill him before he hurts someone else. By doing that she ends up breaking a lot more rules that could end up killing her and finds that she has some really awesome mind abilities that surprise the whole pack.

I really loved how detailed everything is in Raised by Wolves, Jennifer didn't leave me wondering about the backstory or how the werewolves are created because she answers every question you have while reading it. I loved the mythology that she creates, that the werewolves can only be born and that they have to mate with human females because female werewolves are rare, and how very protective they are. The loyalty of the pack to the Alpha was also very interesting to read, they are pretty much forced to obey if they are given an order and they can speak to each other in their minds even when they are not in wolf form. There's only a little bit of romance, not much, but the little that there is between Chase and Bryn is really good. Raised by Wolves was never dull, I had a hard time putting it down to go do some chores. It has a lot of action and adventure with a brave and smart heroine that has become one of my favorite fictional characters, and some really funny lines with Devon that will make you chuckle. Once you start getting close to the awesome ending you won't want the book to finish and if you're like me you'll be wanting to read more from Jennifer Lynn Barnes. Pin It