House of Wolves by. Casey L. Bond | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️💫

Title: House of Wolves (House of Eclipses, #2)

Author: Casey L. Bond

Format: eBook (kindle unlimited)

Pages: 458

Publication Date: 11/19/21

Categories: Romance, Fantasy, Duology

Hunt the shadow. Guard the flame.

Noor is the new Aten of Helios, having wrenched the kingdom of the sun from her treacherous father’s hands. Citali stood with her sister against him, and rejoiced when he died at Noor’s hand… But he did not go quietly. 

He poisoned the thoughts of their older sister, Zarina, who believes that Noor is not who she claims and was never supposed to be Aten. As Zarina flees the temple to determine her next step, she encounters, then attacks, Citali. 

Beaten and left for dead, Citali’s cries are heard by the Wolven of Lumina. In a flurry of fur and fang, Beron rushes to her aid yet fears he arrived too late. With what would have been her dying breath, Citali whispers a secret that changes everything. 

Pleading to Lumos – the god of the moon – for a way to save her, Beron is provided an answer that comes at a steep price. Citali will become Wolven. The two bonded together for a lifetime. Despite their tumultuous past, Beron helps hone her new strength and senses, a primal passion now surging through her veins. But can the two stop fighting one another and work together to hunt and destroy the darkness spreading over the sands like a plague of locusts? Or will the sands of time run out for them both?

Content Warning:

I hate to say I struggled through this one, but I did and I don’t know if it was a mood reader thing. I enjoyed the first book of this series and then look at the cover of this one? Honestly this series has the best book covers!

I liked that this was from Citali’s perspective because after the cliff-hanger ending from book one, I really wanted to know her story. And we definitely get to know it. Citali goes through a transformation. She was hateful in book one and then we get to know her secrets, her motivations and her past. I started to like her and it was nice seeing her befriending Beron’s pack, Chase and Holt, Beron’s wolves in his pack are so much fun. I’m glad Citali has a found family with Beron and the pack, plus her relationship with Noor grows and strengthens.

The romance is a slow burn…too slow for me. I needed more of Citali and Beron together or more scenes where they have chemistry because he’s a wolf. I was expecting much more between them but in the second half of the book they are mostly separated. And then of course, they are mates…fated mates are such a hit or miss for me. I wanted them to be mates, but I just wanted more intensity between them. Also I wanted more from Beron, I felt like we didn’t learn anything more about him than from what we know from book one.

I’m not sure the part where she separates from Beron and her family worked for me. I felt like it took the story in a direction I wasn’t expecting and I lost interest even though Anubis seemed like a somewhat interesting character. I was afraid it was going to turn into a love triangle, and at the end of the book no less, and I was just not feeling it. It wasn’t a love triangle but still…it seemed like it was going there.

Why you should read it:

• Citali’s character growth and transformation
• if you like slow burn romances, this one might appeal to you
• good world building

Why you might not want to read it:

• the romance lacked intensity and chemistry
• some characters lacked depth

My Thoughts:

I struggled through this one sadly and took me awhile to read because I kept putting it down. I did enjoy Citali’s journey, but some parts just didn’t work for me and I wish there was more romance. For a duology though, I think it was a good conclusion to the series.

📚 ~ Yolanda

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Quotes From the Book

“You deserve to love and be loved in a way that supersedes reason and expectation. That ventures far beyond tradition, and lays outside the bounds of the experiences of others.”

House of Wolves by. Casey L. Bond