Exiled from her coven and torn from the arms of her lover, werewolf prince Lisar, vampire princess Lysandra Romanova-Dracula is lost in the woods of Romania, searching for the elusive location of the mysterious den of wolves. After being separated from Lisar, Lysandra made a pact; find him, and his pack, or die trying. But she doesn’t find the wolves. The wolves find her. After Lisar pleads for her life, the Alpha makes Lysandra a fragile bargain. If she becomes one of them, she will be allowed to live with her beloved Lisar in peace. Fail to do so, and her execution is imminent. When shifters are found murdered within pack boundaries, shredded to pieces by a monster hiding in the shadows, Lysandra becomes a prime suspect. Caught in a dangerous game where one misstep could become fatal, Lysandra has to prove her innocence, and solve the mystery of who has betrayed the pack without becoming a victim herself. Will Lysandra peer through the darkness to see the traitor in plain sight? Or is her love story with Lisar due for a tragic end?"

Thank you to Megan Linski for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for review! All opinions are my own.

I read Court of Vampires back in January and absolutely devoured it! As I've said before, I'm a huge fan of Megan Linski's writing and when the opportunity to read Den of Wolves came up, I immediately accepted. This is the sequel to Court of Vampires and expands upon the war between shifters and vampires as well as the relationship between vampire princess, Lysandra, and son of the Alpha, Lisar. It's fast paced, filled with action, humor, romance, and betrayal, and is an amazing continuation of an absolutely magical series.

Plot:
The book begins with Lysandra lost in the woods and looking for the wolves den. Instead of finding the den herself, the wolves find her. When Lisar pleads for her life, the Alpha of the pack decides that Lysandra must become one of the wolves or die. But things haven't been going easy for Lysandra and Lisar, and when shifters start turning up dead in the den, all suspicion falls on her. Proving her innocence isn't easy, and trying to solve the mystery of who is behind the killings may prove to be fatal not only to her, but her relationship with Lisar as well. This book is a sequel so, as expected, you get to experience more world building and more relationship building with this book. You get to learn more about the pack and see how they live as Lys tries to get them to accept her as their own. There is so much going on in this book but you never feel overwhelmed by the amount of information you're given. It moves very fast but it flows very well and I absolutely loved how much more of the world that you're introduced to in this book. In the first book, you're introduced to Lysandra and Lisar and you spend the entire time in the world of vampires. With Den of Wolves, you get to spend time with the shifters and learn more about their world, and that was something that I was really excited about. While I am more of a vampire person, I do know that Megan Linski is a wolf person, so I knew going into this book that it would be even better than the first. I was right! You get a ton of backstory about how the shifters came to be and even how the war between vampires and shifters began (insert comment about how sleeping in is not always the right answer) and I could honestly feel how passionate Megan Linski was about writing this book. Den of Wolves does a fantastic job at expanding on the already created world and leaves you wanting the next book as soon as you finish the final page.

Characters:
I am absolutely in love with the characters in this series. Lysandra and Lisar are such a fantastic couple and I adore them more than words can say. Something that I just couldn't wait to mention in my review of this book is how realistic their relationship is. Okay, stay with me here because I know saying that a relationship between a vampire and wolf feels realistic makes no sense, but trust me. A very common trope in YA books is perfect relationships. The ones where the couples instantly fall in love and seem to never have any problems/fights ever and are just 100% perfect forever. That's just not realistic and honestly, it gets tiring to read about over and over again. While Lysandra and Lisar are just disgustingly cute together, they also are starting to question things. They fight, they disagree, they defy each other despite the others wishes, and they both start to wonder exactly what they're doing. Are they good for one another? Is what they're doing right or good for their people? Is it good for them individually? No relationship is perfect and I seriously appreciated the fact that these things were addressed in this book. I felt that they really needed this reality check, so to speak, because in the end, it really made them stronger as individuals and as a couple. There were some new characters introduced and old ones brought back and they were all fantastically written. Whether they were written for you to love or to hate, you really get unique characters that are able to stand out and stand on their own. Serghi is probably my favorite side character with Bryn being a close second, and I really enjoyed both of their characters and their development throughout the book. All in all, the characters in this book were able to stand on their own very well and each of the "important" characters had some pretty solid development. You can always count on a book by Megan Linski to have great writing and great characters, and this book is no different.

Writing:
If you're looking for a fantasy/paranormal book with writing that will whisk you away to another world, look no further. I've always enjoyed how descriptive and magnificent the writing is in Megan Linski's books. You're able to effortlessly dive into the worlds that she creates and get lost in them as you read. This is one thing I will always hype up when reviewing a Megan Linski book: the writing is the best part. There's just something about her writing that allows you to just sit back and read with no struggle whatsoever. It's easy to read while still being that beautiful and magical type of writing that you would expect when you pick up a paranormal YA book. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Megan Linski is a magical word weaving wizard!

Obviously, I loved this book. This series is so great for anyone looking for a new take on the very familiar vampires versus wolves battle with a romantic (but still realistic) twist to the story. If you're looking for a new paranormal series filled with vampires, wolves, romance, action, humor, beautiful characters, phenomenal writing, and an ending that will leave your jaw on the floor, then definitely pick up Court of Vampires and Den of Wolves! Also, be sure to keep an eye out for the third book in the series, War of Witches, coming in June!