Once Upon a Wolf

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Audiobook Review

Angela – ☆☆☆☆☆
For a novella, Rhys Ford packed a lot of story into Once Upon a Wolf and Derrick McClain does a wonderful job of bringing that story to life. The story opens with Zach running for his life – or so he thinks – when confronted by a larger than life black wolf after getting lost while wandering his property. Unbeknownst to Zach, the wolf is actually a shifter who may have gotten ideas of matchmaking when their paths crossed. Unfortunately, Zach’s natural instinct to flee danger and Ellis’ natural instinct to chase prey ends with Zach nearly drowning and having to be rescued by Ellis and his brother, Gibson. But before Gibson has a chance to convince Zach that he was chased by an oversized dog, Zach witnesses Ellis as he partially shifts, taking the situation from bad to catastrophic in Gibson’s eyes. And that’s merely the not-so-fluffy meet cute for Gibson and Zach.

As the first book in a new series, Ford does a very nice job of balancing the world building for her shifters and the romance between Zach and Gibson. Because of how they met and Ellis’ condition, we learn about the brothers and wolf shifters through conversations between Zach and Gibson post-rescue and as their friendship develops. Due to rather extreme circumstances and a sense of loneliness on the part of both men, things seem to progress rather quickly – or so it seemed to me, but I did have some difficulty keeping up with jumps in the timeline because I was listening as opposed to reading the story. Yet, their relationship doesn’t feel rushed because of the outside events that occurred between the time they met and the time they finally consummated their relationship. Between Ellis’ issues and the close quarters of the cabin, Zach and Gibson were forced to get to know one another before any physical intimacy occurred and I think that’s why it didn’t feel rushed. Being as both men were invested in keeping Ellis safe and helping him get better, that added to the foundation of their relationship, making its progression even more believable, in my opinion.

I’m just gonna say it, Derrick McClain makes werewolves sexy. This is not the first wolf shifter audiobook narrated by him that I’ve listened to and the man has a great tone to his voice when the wolves are getting all growly – I don’t know a better way to say it. You know that moment when a story says that the shifter’s wolf is riding the surface, trying to break through? That moment, that’s when McClain infuses his voice with a bit of growl and I can actually envision the wolf trying to break through even as the man fights to hold on and communicate with those around him. For me, it gives his narrative performances in stories like Once Upon a Wolf a bit of an edge over the usual shifter romances by giving the wolf more of a presence in the story. McClain is only one of two narrators I can think of at the moment who bring the wolf out in an audiobook and it’s why I was so quick to sign up to review Once Upon a Wolf. I can only hope that Ford is hard at work on book two and that McClain will return to the mic to narrate it because I cannot wait to find out where Ellis’ journey will take him.


Ebook Review

Veronica – ☆☆☆☆
This was so good. Once Upon a Wolf is only the third shifter book I’ve read and I adored it. Shifter Gibson rescues Zach from the lake after his brother Ellis, who has been in wolf form for nearly two years, chases Zach through the forest.

Gibson is immediately attracted to Zach but there are more pressing things in to worry about, like helping Jack heal and looking after his brother. The romance in this story is between Gibson and Zach; they connect emotionally before the do physically and the sexy times in the story are minimal – the story takes centre stage in this book. For me, the heart of the story is actually the relationship between Gibson and Ellis and it was Ellis who had me in tears.

Once Upon a Wolf is book one in the Wayward Wolves series. I hope that we get a romance for Ellis’ next.


Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free ebook or audiobook copy of Once Upon a Wolf (Wayward Wolves #1) by Rhys Ford, narrated by Derrick McClain to read or listen to and review.

Really liked the story, the concept based on Ellis being stuck as a wolf because his human half was haunted and broken after time spent in the military in a war zone. Gibson has put his own life on hold to care for his brother so when Zach pops into his carefully constructed way of doing things, it's slow going. Zach has some dark spots in his life as well. His family is not supportive, not really a part of his life, and he's still healing from a bad accident. On top of everything else going on with these three, someone is hunting the wolves.

I liked that Gibson and Zach take things slow, really getting to know one another before doing anything aside from some very, very heavy petting. Of course the story is intricate and intense, it's Rhys Ford. I'm anxious to see if Ellis's book is next.

I did not care for the narration. McClain voiced the story with a tone that was intense and urgent throughout and I never got used to it. It came across like a very serious situation at all times, even during down time, and at times some words were enunciated very dramatically. I was exhausted by the end of the book.

This is a lot simpler and a lot less exciting than most of Rhys Ford's novels. I had trouble believing it was the same author. So far, the series looks like "The Werewolves with No Chemistry."

Gibson Keller is a werewolf. He lives a a remote mountain cabin along with his brother Ellis. Ellis is currently stuck in his wolf form, and has been for all of the 2 years since returning from combat. When a were is stuck in his/her wolf form it can be very dangerous. Gibson and Ellis's parents (along with multiple others) felt it best to "put Ellis down" for his own sake and for the safety of others. Gibson refused to go along with that, so he brought Ellis back home to the mountain to the cabin that Ellis built on the Kerller family's mountain property.

Zach is a bit of an awkward loner. He's trying to rebuild his life after a car accident that nearly ended it. He recently bought the old B & B that is nearby to the Keller's mountain cabin. As he's walking through the woods one winter night he spots Ellis (VERY large and very scary-looking black wolf) and skedaddles. Well what happens when you run from a predator? You spark it's hunting/chasing instinct. Ellis chased Zach, Zach ends up tumbling down a hill into the nearly-frozen lake. Ellis howls Gibson's help, and Gibson comes running to pull the hypothermic Zach out of the lake.

Back inthe cabin Gibson has done all he can to help Zach, but he's still unconscious. The storm outside is freaking out Ellis. Gibson has his hands full, and then things get even worse. Zach regains consciousness just in time to witness Ellis trying to shift back to his human form. In a matter of minutes Zach sees the furry black brute that he thought was going to kill him turn into a man and then turn back into the black hound from hell. Gibson- "you got some splainin' to do".

This novella differs from most wolf-shifter romances in that their's no "true mates" or insta-love. Instead we have a sweet story of a slow-building relationship between 2 ordinary guys (one of which just happens to have the ability to change into a wolf). The fact that the romance was not the typical "fated mate" shifter story threw me a bit at first, but it WORKS.

This is, from thescuttlebut I've heard on facebook, the first of a new series. It's an interesting take on what's in the past few years has become a fairly popular sub-genre in M/M romance. These wolves don't seem to live in packs,but they are able to recognize others who carry the shifter gene (some are simply carriers, where the gene doesn't manifest). Those two simple facts give any author, especially one as imaginative as Rhys Ford, the ability to take this series anywhere. The characters in future books can be ones we've already met, but wouldn't have to be. Also, any sequel(s) could potentially the take place anywhere (Antarctica is out, though - it's not fair to scare the poor penguins).

I'm looking forward to seeing where this might go next, and with who. But even aside from that, this book is a quick little read that stands solidly on it's own two feet - or it's own four paws, as the case may be. Bottom line - 5 stars out of 5.

Viele wissen vermutlich, dass ich nur wenige Gestaltwandlerbücher lese, da es nicht wirklich mein Genre ist. Aber bei Rhys Ford musste ich eine Ausnahme machen, und was soll ich sagen? Ich wurde nicht enttäuscht. Obwohl „Once Upon A Wolf“ eine Kurzgeschichte ist, bekommen die Charaktere genug Zeit, damit man sie näher kennenlernt, was gerade bei Kurzgeschichten oft zu kurz kommt.

Gibson und Zach treffen sich zum ersten Mal, als Zach von Gibsons Bruder, Ellis, durch den Wald gejagt wird und schlussendlich kopfüber in einem See landet. Ellis lebt seit ungefähr zwei Jahren in seiner Wolfsform. Gibson rettet Zach und bringt ihn zu seiner und Ellis‘ Hütte, wo Zach hinter das Geheimnis der Brüder kommt, da er einen missglückten Verwandlungsversuch von Ellis beobachtet.

Die Geschichte ist relativ ruhig und eher eine Einführung in die Serie, so nimmt auch Ellis einen großen Platz darin ein. Was ich persönlich überhaupt nicht schlimm finde, da Gibson und Zach trotzdem genug Zeit bekommen, dass man sieht wie sich ihre Beziehung entwickelt. Alle drei Charaktere sind sympathisch, aber am meisten hat es mir wirklich Ellis angetan, den die Dämonen des Krieges verfolgen, weshalb er sich seit zwei Jahren nicht in einen Menschen gewandelt hat. Gibson kümmert sich liebevoll um seinen Bruder und wünscht sich nichts mehr, als dass sich Ellis endlich wieder wandelt, die Dämonen hinter sich lassen kann.

Ich möchte auch noch die beiden Nebenprotagonisten Martha und Ruth, ein lesbisches Pärchen, hervorheben, die sich wunderbar in die Geschichte einfügen und einfach toll dargestellt sind.

Dennoch gibt es einen kleinen Minuspunkt, so wird zwar ab und zu von den Familien von Zach und Gibson gesprochen, aber irgendwie bleibt dies eher wage. Ich hoffe, das ändert sich vielleicht im nächsten Band, da ich darüber definitiv mehr erfahren möchte. Auch das Ende ging mir ein wenig zu schnell, da hätte ich mir ein, zwei Kapitel mehr gewünscht.

Alles in allem aber ein wirklich wundervolles Buch, das ich uneingeschränkt empfehlen kann.

PS: Ich finde das Cover wirklich schön und für die Geschichte mehr als passend. Das Auge isst ja doch ein wenig mit.