Trial by Fire by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

This is the second novel in the Raised by Wolves series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes.

My review of #1: Raised by Wolves.

Warning - This book will contain spoilers from the first novel. Proceed with caution after this sentence!

After saving a group of humans turned werewolves, Bryn has now found herself their alpha, even though she's only human and can't transform like everyone else.

But she set them all free from the Rabid and they decided that they wanted Bryn to be their leader. She's not just human; she has a power that no other werewolf has and they feel safe with her. Devon and Lake, her two best friends since childhood, have also joined her pack, being her guards and protecting her.

Things aren't necessarily going to work out right away though. In fact, because Bryn is human and a female, many of the other alphas don't like what she is doing. They can't do anything about it, though, because they are a democracy and go by rules, rather than judge on their feelings.

The one alpha that hates Bryn with a passion is Shay - who just happens to be Devon's older brother. He is ruling his own pack on the other border next to Bryn's and is definitely trying to get a reaction out of Bryn's pack.

When a werewolf shows up on her doorstep, beaten and bloodied and shifting from human to wolf, Bryn gets her first duty as alpha. Lucas is part of Shay's pack. But Shay tortures and abuses his wolves, so Bryn doesn't want to send Lucas back there.

However, she can't keep him since he is still Shay's wolf. So now she has to figure out a way to save Lucas without going against werewolf rules.

And to top it off, there is a coven in town - a group of humans who have extraordinary powers and are after Lucas. They hate werewolves and follow so such rules that Shay and Bryn have to follow from the werewolf council.

But things are not what they seem to be and Bryn has only a week to figure everything out before she could lose her entire pack. Can Bryn save everyone, including Lucas, or will she find herself without a pack right after she just got them? Read Trial by Fire by Jennifer Lynn Barnes to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
A great sequel to the first novel in this series!

We jump right back into the story following what happened at the end of the first novel, and boy is there no rest for the weary! Bryn just got used to being a sophomore in high school and also being an alpha to a bunch of rowdy teenage or younger werewolves. She has a lot of things to balance.

I don't know what it is about these novels. There's just something different about them that leaves me satisfied but also a little bit disappointed. Don't get me wrong! I really enjoyed both of them and gave them both 4 stars out of 5.

Well, one, there isn't as much romance, which is unique in YA  literature and also a little refreshing.

And two, there is a lot of inner dialogue that Bryn shares with her packmates, so that might be throwing me off a little bit when reading.

And, third, there is just so much in this novel that is unique to any other novel I've read, so many aspects and plot lines that actually go together real well.

So yeah, I liked this novel. We got to see more of Bryn growing up, learning from mistakes, and having to make tough decisions before she's ready for them. But she does it thinking about her pack, thinking about others instead of herself.

I think others who are a werewolf fan will really enjoy this series and that they should pick these up now! There is only one more novel in the series, so I'm hoping that it will end well. And now I'm going to go and read it :)