This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.
About The Book
Hilary Mantel meets Sylvia Day: the first installment in a deliciously erotic trilogy, set against the sumptuous backdrop of the scandal-ridden Tudor Court.
England, 1536
Bound to him against her will…
Lord Wolf, hardened soldier and expert lover, has come to King Henry VIII’s court to claim his new bride: a girl who has intrigued him since he first saw her riding across the Yorkshire moors.
Eloise Tyrell, now lady-in-waiting to Queen Anne Boleyn, has other ideas. She has no desire to submit to a man she barely knows and who – though she is loath to admit it – frightens her not a little.
Then comes that first kiss…
It awakens in both a fierce desire that bares them to the soul. But as the court erupts into scandal around the ill-fated Queen, Eloise sees first-hand what happens when powerful men tire of their wives.
Dare she surrender her body and her heart?
My Review
First Impressions
Wolf Bride is a book that I have been meaning to get to. I remember when this book was released, (crazy it’s almost been ten years, it doesn’t feel that old at all) but this book and this series were a big deal. I believe this is when the movies for Fifty Shades were coming out, so the whole sexier historicals were a big thing back then. I wouldn’t exactly call these erotic historicals or even BDSM related at all, but in comparison to historical steam back then, I can see why they were labeled super high steam. However, reading this now, yeah these books were steamier than I normally find in historical’s but not crazy heat, just what you find in most books these days. I will say that I was hooked by this story, and it’s been months since a historical has grabbed my attention like this and I was so in for this one, and the trope of an arranged marriage probably aided that, and the unique set up of the Tudor era. If you are looking for something super engaging, set in a unique era, I can’t recommend this one enough.
Summary
Eloise Tyrell, is a lady of the court, she is a lady maid to Queen Anne and enjoys her time in court. Her father sent her here, and even though there are advantages and disadvantages in court with all the secrets and wanting to protect the Queen in those secrets. When her father arranges a marriage with Lord Wolf, she is stunned when she discovers the intimidating and domineering man she is to be married to, was once the boy she fell in love with as a girl. When he catches her in a kiss with another man, mistrust between them grow. But once they are married, Eloise is determined to make this marriage work, no matter how challenging Wolf might make it for her. At first, it seems like their marriage is just for the alliance, but soon passion rises between them and an abiding love grows. But there are political games happening and Wolf and Eloise will be caught in the middle of them. They will have to choose whom they have trust in and if their love is strong enough to last through it all…
What I Loved
I ended up so in love with this one here, and I am so happy that I did. I was really interested to see where this story would go and it definitely went in a way that I never expected. But this is what I love about Tudor era historicals because at the end of the day, you will get plenty of twists that you don’t see coming. This book is set around the time of Anne Boleyn and her unfortunate demise and yes we definitely see the scene of the beheading which was so fascinating as a lover of history. Most of us know the heartbreaking story of Queen Anne but I really felt like Elizabeth Moss handled these historical moments so well without being too heavy on the historical facts. She implemented it into the romance in a solid balanced way. I will say that the romance itself was super sexy and I really liked that. I am not used to historicals having heavier sex scenes, but I really enjoyed the style in which this one was written. It’s not erotic romance, just steamier scenes. I enjoyed both characters, I just wanted them to make their relationship work. For the majority of the book I was going to five rate this book, however, toward the end, there were lots of secrets and mistrust that grew that I didn’t care for too much and affected my enjoyment of the story as a whole. But I will say that the story is still an impressionable one and I can’t wait to read the other two books in the series. This book has gotten me back into historical reading and it had such a rich tone to the writing. The plot of the story was fascinating, Elizabeth Moss puts her own spin on the historical tale, but is fleshed with the romance quite well. The pacing is steady and engaging, and I found I was so fascinated with how it kept me wanting to read and not put it down.
What I Struggled With
I really struggled with the third act of the story, I don’t think many people will, I just struggled with some of the plot developments that occur between the couple.
The Narration
I really enjoyed this narrator, I am picky about narrators for historicals as some of them turn me off but this one really drew me into the story and I loved the way she handled the tones of the characters and implemented the story as a whole. This definitely won’t be the last time that I listen to this narrator because I was very impressed, as the narrator just kept me wanting to get back to the story.
Overall View
I found Wolf Bride to be a stunning portrayal of a romance. It’s rich in history, authentic without being heavy, sensually portrayed in intimacy, and vibrant in the emotion that delivers in every way!
Book Details
Title: Wolf Bride
Author: Elizabeth Moss
Genre: Historical Romance-Tudor Era
Format: Audiobook
Source: Library
Length: 11 Hours
About the Narrators
Charlotte Anne Dore has been recording audiobooks since 2011, most of which have been historical romances. She has worked in film and television, but she mostly works in live theater and performance, with a focus on historical reenactments, ghost tours, mystery shows, and storytelling.
Book Links
Amazon| Barnes & Noble| Kobo| Goodreads| LibraryThing| Storygraph| Literal Club| Audible
Book Evaluation
Storytelling Quality: 4.5
Story Itself: 4.25
Character Development: 4
Writing Style: 5
World Building 5
Feels + The Romantic Heart 4.25
Pacing 4.5
Plot 5
Narration= 4
Cover Art 5
Ending 4
Book Ratings
Rating of the Book
Steam Level
Simmering cup of tea—soft warm touches and light intimacy
Warmin’ by the fire- a medium level of sexual tension, a balance of sexual and emotional intimacy, lighter on the details in the sexual moments.
Steamin’ up the room -the sexual content is more explicit in the language and tone, heavier amount of sexual scenes.
Blazing fire to the building-The prime focus is the sex scenes, scorching hot, and could burn one. Less focus on the emotional intimacy to the relationship.
Series Order
Lust in the Tudor Court
Wolf Bride-Pub 2013 #1 in the Series
Rebel Bride-Pub 2014 #2 in the Series
Rose Bride-Pub 2014 #3 in the Series
About The Author
I also write historicals as Victoria Lamb, romcoms as Beth Good, thrillers as Jane Holland, and NEW FOR 2016, doggy fiction as Hannah Coates, with a feel-good Christmas novel, BERTIE’S GIFT, out October 2016.
If you have enjoyed my Elizabeth Moss stories, why not try some of my other types of books? My #1 bestselling book is GIRL NUMBER ONE (did you see what I did there?) written under my real name Jane Holland. Do please give it a try if you like my other writing.
I always wanted to be a writer like my mum, Charlotte Lamb. Now I spend my life reading and writing, mostly historical romance but other books too. I live with my large family of noisy kids and animals in a rural corner of South-West England, where I’m a keen walker and gardener with VERY muddy boots. When not writing, I spend as much time as possible outdoors, often with my youngest kids, whom I enjoy home schooling.
What a gorgeous cover! It sounds like these two have a lot of trust issues to work through. So glad you enjoyed it!
I know right? The covers are just so pretty. Have you seen the ones for the other two? Sourcebooks did a great job with the covers when these books came out. Its what drew me to the books in the first place. Yeah they have plenty of trust issues, but not surprising in the setting and time era. Courtly Politics are crazy haha
Stunning review! xo
I love when books stand the test of time. It seems like so many of us are still able to enjoy them.
So glad this was a winner for you 🙂
I got a bit hung up on the heroine when I read this one, but I agree that overall it was a good surprise in a historical steamy romance.
That sounds really good. I’m glad you enjoyed it.