Witch of the Wolves : A Witch of the Wolves Novel

In Witch of the Wolves, Kaylee Archer’s Victorian fantasy romance, a witch learns the truth about her lineage and is thrust into a lycanthropic power struggle between her father and his second-in-command. The historical setting mixed with a high-stakes family mystery makes for a twisty, compelling and impressive debut. After her mother’s death, witch Cordelia Levine was taken in by her aunt. She spends her days trying to strengthen her magic and working in her aunt’s apothecary shop, which has a covert clientele of supernatural individuals. Her magical talents come from her mom’s side, but she also has a heightened sense of smell, which she assumes is from her father—the only thing she knows about him was that he was a perfumer. But when she’s abducted by werewolf Bishop Daniels and taken to his pack’s estate, Cordelia begins to fill in the gaps in her genealogy. Her father is actually the Alpha of the Albion Pack, Bishop is his second-in-command and Cordelia is a rare hybrid of witch and werewolf. Hoping to ensure his pack remains strong and dominant for future generations, her father reveals plans to marry Cordelia off to Bishop. Thrust into a foreign community with a parent she’s never known and a command to mate with a man she just met, Cordelia fights to maintain her own agency and understand what it means to be a lycan. She eventually finds an ally in Bishop, who has his own ideas for the pack, though his duty and his growing feelings for Cordelia are often at odds. Archer’s world building is enchanting, mixing a historical setting with various supernatural communities. There’s a lot of meat on this particular bone, and the possibilities of future characters and settings feels endless. Both the action and romance move along at a quick, sizzling pace, as Cordelia and Bishop fight tooth and nail against their physical attraction while navigating the growing political tension among pack members. Cordelia’s curiosity, snarky retorts and wryly pragmatic ways of navigating a patriarchal community may resonate with many readers; even the men closest to Cordelia only see her as a tool to be used, and there’s a definite catharsis to watching her defy them. A sequel is clearly imminent; Cordelia and Bishop’s journey is only ramping up, and Witch of the Wolves lays the foundation for plenty of future seductive adventures. Fans of Kerri Maniscalco and Kristen Ciccarelli will particularly enjoy this page-turning debut.