WOLFSGATE by CAT PORTER

“To us then, Justine – the manipulated, the tossed off, the rejected.”

After falling in love with this Authors work in Lock and Key and then being seduced by the Synopsis and Teaser for Wolfsgate, we were eager to get stuck into this Historical romance. It’s been too long since we’ve read a book in this much loved genre and Wolfsgate seemed like the perfect opportunity to remedy that.

Wolfsgate is a story of grief, loss, greed, strength and love and whilst we did enjoy most aspects of the story, there were some issues we found we couldn’t overlook as they impacted our enjoyment of Wolfsgate as a whole.

‘Here he was before her; her tragic howling, lone wolf.’

One of the things we loved immensely were the characters, and in particular, Justine.  Justine is without doubt one of our favourites; her strength, her sassiness, her loyalty, honour and the absolute belief she had in Brandon at a time when he didn’t believe in himself, was commendable and endeared her to us completely. There were times this young lady’s story broke our hearts too. She certainly had some obstacles to overcome.

“Jus, I want to give you so much….But I’m not sure it’s enough.”

Our hero Brandon was gorgeous, strong, dominating and flawed, yet showed a vulnerability that had us sympathising with him and the predicament he found himself in. The nature of his growing love for Justine and the strength they empowered together was breathtaking.

“I wish I could save you somehow, but only can save yourself.”

The story itself captivated us and we enjoyed the concept of heroine saving hero; then hero saving the heroine in return. We had no problem believing in their friendship and eventual love as the author portrayed this aspect of the story beautifully. The story moved us without question.

“You make me feel alive.”

Where the telling fell short with us was the portrayal of the period it was meant to be set in. The setting and tone of the story was crucial. Wolfsgate is set in 18th century England and to allow us to become completely swept up with – and – live the story, we have to feel the authenticity. The author has to make us believe we’re in that moment, that we’re seeing the story and the setting through the characters eyes and sadly, overall, that wasn’t consistent. When reading a historical it’s imperative that we vividly see, hear and feel the era. The spelling, language and dialogue must pertain to the period setting of the story. Sadly in Wolfsgate this wasn’t the case and the disconnection with the setting and era was only exacerbated by American spellings and words used in the incorrect context of that time e.g. someone feeling awesome. When this happens, it ceases to feel like a Historical novel somewhat.

However, there was much we adored about Justine and Brandon’s love story. The writing itself was beautiful. Their story was moving, dramatic, passionate and steamy. We were swept up in their love and we felt their emotions, we just would have loved to have lived through the period setting with them which would have allowed us to be completely swept up in its beauty.

“I feel more like a thousand broken pieces, and I’m not sure what to try to mend first.”
“One thing at a time, Brandon. That’s all you can do.”

***Reviewed from an ARC Copy provided by the author with thanks***