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The Cursed Wolf

Author's Name:

some_cryptid

Reviewer:

sky_is_limit

Review Type:

Full

Full Review:

The Cursed Wolf is about... well as the title says. Though we don't get the gist until just about the end of the story. The book opens up to introduce the main character named Ryan. From the start we get the "not like other guys" vibes from him. He's a bit cynical, nothing wrong with that - if anything, I think a lot of him is just realistic. My first impressions of him are that he's a loner, doesn't have many friends and the one he does have, they kind of have an odd relationship. Those are just my impressions from chapter one. Let's move on, though.

How is the plot? I want to say that I love the idea. Most werewolf stories I've read are the basic ones you see around i.e. find mate, runt of the pack, alpha, etc. So, I think the concept is unique with our werewolf, Alex, being tied down by a curse. I think the concept is very original, but I do think there are flaws on how it's executed.

My main issue is that it moves at a very unique rate. The opening was a good start with introducing werewolves through the friend, Jane. Nothing wrong with that. What follows is the intro to Alex as he moves into the dorm with our MC. Somehow, the MC gets flustered when put on the spot and tells his classmate that he's dating Alex. This then turns into a fake dating scenario. It is a bit cliche, but cliche is a thing that doesn't really go out of style. I think the main issue is that the fake dating is used as a plot device but actually does nothing for the plot. It's used as a way for the two main characters to grow closer, but it feels unnecessary. It feels like this idea was used because it's a popular plot device, but there's no substance to back it up. Ryan could have easily insisted to Travon that him and Jane weren't a thing because he's gay. Rather, he told him a lie about fake dating. They continue the charade because Alex wants girls to keep away from him, but we only ever see one instance of females actually coming up to him which is at the party. Nothing else, so I feel they could have easily grown closer just by being roommates then friends.

Shortly after the fake dating, they begin a real relationship. Again, there's nothing to back it. They move much too fast in my honest opinion because I just could not see the two of them logically falling for each other after five minutes of knowing each other. There's no sense of plot building because they don't even really get to know each other throughout the whole story.

So for plot, I don't think you sustained it well. There's a huge disconnect between the actions and what the story is actually about.

Moving onto the characters, I think for the length of the story, the appearances could be a bit more. Jane is a secondary character, but she obviously is important to the plot. Her appearances feel too light in my opinion. I think if you were to build more on her friendship with Ryan, her death could also be a little more impactful. Where it stands, her death doesn't hit me like I feel it should. As I mentioned earlier, her and Ryan's friendship is weird. Why? Ryan comes off as the guy who doesn't want to show how much he cares for someone.

I would have loved to see a little more growth in that aspect before Jane died. Half the time, they were insulting each, so it was hard to tell if their friendship was actually genuine. I loved the time when Ryan tried to reassure Jane when she had her nightmare. That made it seem like they were closer than they appeared. Then he finds her in the library and completely invalidates her feelings and tells her to get psychological help? Ouch.