Customer Reviews

The Cursed One (Wild Wulfs of London)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As most young woman of 1821 Lady Amelia Collingsworth had very little instruction regarding the marriage bed other than to submit to her husband on her wedding night. However, she never expected her husband, or so she thought, would be trying to strangle her! Amelia valiantly fought back grabbed a sharp object from the bedside table, and stabbed him.

His horse gone lame, and having come to borrow a horse from his old childhood friend, Gabriel Wulf heard Amelia's screams and burst into the room finding Amelia cowering on the floor claiming she had just killed her husband. Before Gabriel had time to investigate, he was attacked and stabbed from behind before his assailant fled. Lady Amelia has had one shock after another but one of the biggest was having Gabriel Wulf, the man she'd seen once and never forgotten, here to rescue her.

Knowing they must escape and he must keep Lady Amelia and the one remaining servant safe from the mysterious wolf like creatures surrounding the house all three embark on foot in an effort to reach the safety of Gabriel's home at Wolfglen. Along the way danger surrounds them and as Gabriel and Amelia's attraction soars, Gabriel fears not only for Amelia's safety from the creatures that pursued them but from the very beast within him and the curse that was his alone to bear.

This was another thrilling and gripping paranormal adventure in the Wild Wulfs of London series (see THE DARK ONE and THE UNTAMED ONE) that has captured my imagination and literally taken my breath away. Hooked from the opening sentence, "Her husband was going to kill her.", this reader was on a roller coaster ride that didn't slow down. Amelia was a marvelous heroine being strong, intelligent and compassionate. Growing up, Amelia got away with being outspoken and rebellious all the while competing with her brother for her father's attention. Thank goodness the lessons of learning to shoot guns and climb trees were all the traits she'd need while running from the monster and protecting herself and the man she'd come to love.

Additionally, Gabriel was wonderfully fleshed out. He had always been the strong sensible brother of the somewhat ostracized Wulf clan keeping to himself and a tight rein on his emotions, knowing full well that the curse of the beast within him would always keep him from dreaming of a shared future with anyone. While unprepared for the well of emotions that Lady Amelia caused him to feel he fought the pull of their attraction. More and more he realized what a remarkable woman Lady Amelia was as she quickly gained his respect and admiration by her strength and determination. Their passion was built slowly making the romance all the more special as they faced the dangers surrounding them.

With gothic overtones Thompson kept the suspense extremely palatable, the romance sensual and delivered a deeply satisfying ending. This was a highly gripping regency paranormal that this reviewer hated to see end and sincerely hopes will be continued with new tales of the Wild Wulfs of London who have not only overcome the beast within but would now be able to call those beasts back to help guard humanity from a new threat. Now wouldn't that be a novel idea! (Hint, hint Ms. Thompson!)

Marilyn Rondeau, RIO - Reviewers International Organization

I loved this book. I love how Mrs. Thompson writes, I can see everything in vivid detail as I read the book.

This wasn't my favorite book in the series, but it was still a great read. The series overall is outstanding and this was a wonderful wrap-up, with wonderfully believable characters. My only regret is that the two short stories (in different anthologies) haven't been packaged together in their own book to complete the collection on my bookshelf.

I was disappointed after the first two books. The rather lurid plot gets off to a good start with Amelia marring Rodger Collingsworth largely to please her parents. He is killed on their wedding night and the shape changer that replaced him attacks Amelia violently. She is saved by a silver letter opener and Gabriel who has stopped by to see about borrowing a horse as his is lame. The only servant left is Mora a young maid who had no place to flee to when the shape shifters showed up and started harassing folks. The shifters drive them out of the house and chase them cross country towards Gabriel's home. Heres where the plot comes apart; the shifters are planing to take over by killing important folks and substituting themselves for the folks they kill. When this doesn't work out they basically pick up their marbles and go home with a "see Ya". Also the shifter who attacked Amelia was hardly sticking to the plan. The reaction to events by the London ton is completely out of place for any time between the 1630s and the end of the Victorian era. If the author had built a fantasy society OK but she really didn't. Lots of other problems major and minor.

Good characters badly flawed plot.

Sadly, book three of this series fell flat for me. The heroine, Amelia, who was introduced in the first two books and seemed interesting there, was much too flighty, self centered and one dimensional in this book. She was a odd partner for strong, intelligent Gabriel. I also found the storyline implausible and I wanted more time devoted in the book to reuniting the brothers and their families, which we do not see till the very end of the book. All in all, I wouldn't recommend this book.

2 stars.

Ms. Thompson's Wild Wulfs of London is dark, sexy, and enthralling...she writes incredibly wonderful and complex hero's that sucks you into their world. The passion in her words show on the pages and will keep you reading until the wee hours of the morning. THE CURSED ONE is a terrific wrap up to the series. Her consistency in storytelling tells you she's the real thing. I recommend buying all her books in the series because once you read one, you'll want to read them all! Historical paranormal fans won't be let down because her world building is both believable and entertaining.

THE CURSED ONE is a magnificent wrap up to the Wild Wulfs of London series. THE UNTAMED ONE and THE DARK ONE were the first fabulous entries in this Regency werewolf series. I adored each and every one of them. All three books are permanently resting on my keeper shelf. I'm hoping for more. :)

This latest book, THE CURSED ONE, is dark and scary and deliciously wonderful. It is the perfect gothic read. Make sure you're comfortably burrowed down in your favorite chair because you won't want to get up until you've finished the very last page.

Ms. Thompson is an engaging storyteller. Her characters are vivid and the intriguing plots are full of twists and turns.

Don't miss this series!

I'm a pushover for seguels and this one did not disappoint. Ms Thompson keeps the story and characters alive and though to many this would just have been another werewolf story, to me it was another fantastic and refreshing read that ended all to soon.

We first saw the connection between Gabriel Wolf and Lady Amelia, in "The Dark One," the first in the Wild Wulfs of London series. Now, we've finally gotten the payoff. Lady Amelia has married Roger Collingsworth and is about to start her honeymoon at his country estate when she is attacked in the bedroom. At first she thinks it is her groom, but the voice is a growl and the hands violent, so she fights back. It just so happens, Gabriel stops by on his way to Wulfglen. Despite injuries he is nursing from an earlier conflict, he steps in to save Amelia.

The two have never met, but had caught a glimpse of each other on a London street, months earlier. Each left a lasting impression on the other.

It turns out the man attacking Amelia wasn't Roger, but some kind of shapeshifter. It seems the woods are teeming with them. All the staff at Collingsworth's estate have fled except for one young maid named Mora. When Gabriel finds Roger's body in the stables, he realizes that he, Amelia, & Mora are the only ones at the home to fight off the monsters (which Mora calls Wargs.)

If you compare this book to "The Dark One," this one has much more in the way of supernatural. That first book was romance with a touch of paranormal, where this one is the other way around. There is romance, but I feel like it got a little overshadowed by the action as Gabriel tries to get the two women through the woods to his home for safety. As they sidestep danger, the two fall in love... which Gabriel tries valiantly to fight because he is cursed to turn into (essentially) a werewolf on the full moon once he gives his heart to woman. He's a fairly good hero, but I've never been a fan of Amelia. She is trying so hard to be ahead of her time...tough, smart, shocking. But it was too much. She still came across as soft and spoiled to me, despite her eventual realization that (gasp!) servants are people too.

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I did like the very end. It was great to see all the brothers and their families together. And the Epilogue lets us learn about all the babies. It wasn't until I did some research online that I found Sterling's story in an anthology. So here's a list to where you can find all the other brothers' stories, if you didn't catch them all: Armond- "The Dark One (The Wild Wulfs of London)," Jackson - "The Untamed One (Book 2 of The Wild Wulfs of London)," Sterling - "Midnight Pleasures," and Merrick - "Love at First Bite." Enjoy!

4 stars.

Wonderful conclusion to the Wild Wulfs series - you won't be disappointed! Now if it was only available in Kindle format...