Trial by Fire ~ Jennifer Lynn Barnes (arc) review

I lost several reviews when my computer broke, now that I have time to revisit the books and give them at least close to the reviews that they deserve: here's the first one . ..


Trial by Fire (Raised by Wolves #2)
EgmontUSA
June 14, 2011
357 pages
add to Goodreads/buy on Amazon

*contains spoilers for Raised by Wolves*

Now the alpha of her own pack, the Cedar Ridge Pack, Bryn is getting used to what it means to be alpha - or what it means to her, at least. Things are different when you're a human tenth grader leading a pack of werewolves - different when you're Bryn.

Everything gets even more complicated when a severely injured teenage boy shows up on Bryn's land. He's not part of their pack . . . nor is he a lone wolf. He's part of another pack and his appearance could bring big trouble to Bryn and the Cedar Ridge Pack. Trouble that it will be up to Bryn, as alpha, to protect the Resiliants and the rest of her pack from.


With Trial by Fire the Raised by Wolves series gets even better.  Readers got to know Bryn and how she, as a human, fit into this world of werewolves, in Raised by Wolves. Now, in the second book, we get to see Bryn as an alpha and her discovering what exactly that means - being just 16 and having to understand what it is to be a human and be an alpha and not ruthless like but still have power and make certain decisions.

The way the relationships from the first novel are expanded and developed was fantastic - especially those between Callum and Bryn & Bryn and Ali. The way Jen Lynn Barnes implements those characters - and their relationships' with Bryn is amazing. They're definitely not typical relationships, but both serve a great purpose for Bryn and also add a lot to the story for the reader.

When reading Trial by Fire it's near impossible to compare it to any other werewolf books - YA or otherwise - because it draws you in so deeply, gets you so immersed in the story, that you can't even remember that there are other werewolf books, let alone what they are.

Jennifer Lynn Barnes is a genius when it comes to her storytelling (possibly in other ways, too - have you read her bio?!). Things come together so well in each of her books/series and yet they're so different from each other. She's an author that I wait with bated breath to see what she'll come up with next.

I love this series and absolutely cannot wait for the next installment, Taken by Storm (and am shamelessly saying now that I will take any opportunity to review it!).

10/10