"The Alpha's Mate Who Cried Wolf" is a werewolf sensational story packed with traditional fantasy tropes, twists, and hints of romance thrown in for good measure.
The plot starts with a blast (and we mean "blast" literally). Astrid gets severely beaten by her dad while attempting to excuse herself for her mother's death, for which her father deems her liable.
Soon after, Astrid describes what her everyday life is like. She lives the life of a "regular" girl trying to make ends meet. She works at a diner which, unbeknownst to her, is run by a fellow werewolf. She then meets Ryker, who presents himself as the Alpha of a "pack." He claims her as his mate and begins to portray a "possessive" attitude towards her.
At first, he's extremely rude, contrasting with her boss' demeanor. His attitude changes somewhat after learning that she's hurt, and he starts acting kinder towards her. Aside from Ryker, there's another man after her who's later revealed to be the CEO of a company.
In the course of the story, Astrid meets certain characters who slowly introduce her to sorcery and the werewolf's world. As the story progresses, she's increasingly drawn towards Ryker, who she sees as an escape route from her abusive foster dad.
Readers would expect several cliffhangers both at the beginning and ending chapters of the book.
One enticing aspect of this relatively short novel relates to how the characters are introduced and fleshed out throughout the plot.
Many novels suffer from having overly one-dimensional characters with not much development. Here, however, Ford does an excellent job of shedding light on each character's multiple flaws while also extolling their redeeming values, save for a few occasions. Notwithstanding, she does so bit by bit.
She's the "heroine" of the novel. Initially, she's a submissive woman coping with an abusive and toxic environment. She later develops into a powerful she-wolf capable of defending herself quite well.
Ryker is a handsome but "ferocious" guy who gets overly protective of Astrid upon learning more about her, whereas he originally treated her rudely. Since he's an alpha wolf, he conducts himself in a manner Astrid finds uncanny and inconsistent with how humans would behave.
It's quite challenging to pinpoint chapters that stand out from the rest. The second chapter builds a lot of tension and gives us some clarity as to how the story will develop moving forward. Particularly noteworthy is the scene where Ryker punches the wall, as well as the dialogue both main characters engage in during those brief violent moments.
Things get even spicier midway as Astrid's identity is unveiled. While these events are expected, the way they're presented is guaranteed to keep the reader emotionally invested.
Jazz Ford currently lives in Geelong, Victoria, Australia, with her three children and husband. She used to work as a personal care worker, but now she writes full-time. She is the author of various novels, such as "The Lycan's Daughter," "Love, Vogue and the CEO," and "The Alpha's Mate Who Cried Wolf" (currently under review). She can be found on major Social Media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter.
"The Alpha's Mate Who Cried Wolf" takes place in what appears to be modern real life. Astrid leads a "normal" (for lack of a better term) human life, with many of the problems of physical abuse that some unfortunate women face nowadays.
The central theme that the novel tries to drive home is accepting ourselves as we truly are, regardless of what others perceive of us. It ties quite well with the love story that later unfolds.
But the novel also touches upon other concepts such as the patriarchal system, the "alpha male" (as implied by the book title), and "empowerment," all of which appear consistently as the reader flips through the book's pages.
The entirety of the novel is presented in a first-person perspective, and we see all events from Astrid's point of view. It reads almost like a diary of sorts but with a bit more elaborateness than what we usually encounter in regular memoirs.
In general, the writing style is awfully easy to digest by the "regular Joe." The novel is written in standard modern English, and there's not much in the way of hard-to-grasp idiomatic expressions or specialized language to struggle with.
As it stands, the book is in its "finished" state, meaning no more chapters will be added. Nevertheless, you can stay tuned for a possible sequel or prequel in the future.
Apart from those we already mentioned above, you could read "The Alpha Mate and the Vampire King" and "The Alpha King's Mate," also available on GoodNovel.
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