A few years ago, I remember watching a cartoon show on the Cartoon Network where the animals are in a trance, and over and over, they repeat "pretty, pretty, shiny, shiny" while staring at anything that has major bling to it. At the time, I thought it was pretty funny until I had those four words in my head all day long. It is kind of like when you have a verse from a song in your head and you can't stop singing it.

Fast forward to today,

"Survive", "Kill", "Mine", (I could list about 20 words from the book that were repeated over and over again).

Initially the one word sentences were creative. I guess if you want to convey the way a wolf pack thinks, cavemanish (yes I know that is not a word) language is the way to go. But come on, the entire book was like this. After a period time, I felt like I was watching the cartoon show again.

I haven't even started on the characters; the main character Bryn was as annoying as her one word sentences. There is no depth to her. The entire first half of the book is about Bryn and what she wants and how she'll go about getting it regardless of the costs and risks to her people. We can't forget about Chase, he's Bryn's instant "bite me" boyfriend. I wonder if more teenage guys were bitten in the same manner as Chase (can't tell you that manner or it would be a spoiler), would Bryn have the same weird instant bond? Who knows?

I did finish the book and I do admit, the last few chapters were interesting enough that it moved it from a one star to a two star

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Reviewed by Jennifer Rummel for TeensReadToo.com

As a young girl, Bryn lost her parents in a brutal attack. Callum, the alpha of his werewolf pack, brought her into his circle and treated her like a daughter. As the only human in the pack, Bryn has always felt like an outsider.

Until a new wolf, Chase, appears.

Chase wasn't born a wolf. Bryn instinctively knows that she must meet him. As he's locked away for his own protection by Callum, she goes to Callum for permission to see him. Bryn asks Callum, not as a daughter would ask a father, but as a member asking the Alpha. Therefore, she must abide by his decisions and his rules.

He declares that she will be allowed to see Chase if she meets the following conditions: first, she will train until he's satisfied that she can defend herself should the need arise. Second, there will be pack members with her at all times, and these pack members have his authority during the meetings. Third, she must open herself up to the pack bond and become an insider. Finally, she must agree not to attend the next Senate meeting of Alphas.

Bryn, annoyed and confused by some of the conditions, agrees to all of his demands. Once she's allowed to meet Chase, she feels a very strong connection to him. She wants to know what happened to allow the change from human to wolf. As far as she knows, nothing like this has ever happened. She won't rest until she uncovers the truth.

The truth is twisted in a way that combines her past with her present, and once she gains that knowledge, nothing will stop her from taking charge - not even the Alpha's commands. With a powerful connection between her and Chase, her life will never be the same.

Jennifer Lynn Barnes pens an amazing werewolf tale that leaves you breathless for more. Besides the paranormal aspect, RAISED BY WOLVES touches on friendship, loyalty, betrayal, strength, family, and a little romance. It's absolutely perfect, and I can't wait for the sequel.

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I really loved Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes so I decided to go pick up an earlier book from her, I've heard mixed things about Raised by Wolves but decided to give it a read. In general I ended up having mixed feelings about the book. I loved the ending, I thought the rest of the book was kind of ho-hum and boring. I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was decent; nothing especially outstanding but it was well enough read.

Bryn has literally been raised by wolves; she was marked and raised by a werewolf pack after her parents were brutally murdered by a rabid werewolf. Bryn likes to keep her own space and push the bounds in a society that is incredibly rigid and strict. This all comes to a head when Bryn finds that Calem, the pack alpha who helped raise her, is keeping a secret from her. Bryn finds out the secret is Chase, a boy who survived a werewolf attack just like Bryn. Then Bryn finds out the secret goes even deeper than she could imagine.

There were a lot of things I didn't like about the beginning of this book. Bryn was obnoxious, she did a lot of things just to get on Calem's case. I guess typical teenage behavior but it was annoying to read about. Then there was all the times Bryn chants "obey, obey, obey" or "tests her will" against the pack bond. I just thought it was boring and was waiting for something to happen besides watching Bryn struggle between her own identity and the pack's identity.

I also found Bryn's love at first sight thing with Chase to be incredibly annoying; I do understand it was for a reason and was explained later in the book. Early on though there was a lot of eye rolling going on; I hate it when two characters have an unexplained heated attraction to each other instantaneously. That and I didn't really like Chase all that much; he just wasn't there for Bryn early on in the book.

There were some things I really did like. The idea of having a "normal" girl being raised by werewolves was unique and interesting. The last third of the book was also incredibly interesting. I am not going to talk about it much because I don't want to spoil it. But especially when Bryn's best girlfriend joins the story things get crazy and surprising. I ended up really liking how the story turned out and was impressed with how nicely everything came together at the end of the book.

Overall, because of the spectacular ending, I think this ended up being an okay book. There wasn't much world building though and I didn't really click with any of the characters. I didn't like Bryn or Chase much and I thought their relationship was a bit, well, too love-at-first-sightish for me. The pacing was a bit off as well; the first half of the book moved slowly and all the good stuff happened way late in the story. I probably won't be reading anymore books in this series. Fans of werewolf urban fantasy might find something here to like, but I would recommend this strictly for the teen crowd...it didn't have much appeal to me as an older reader.

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A human in a werewolfs world, Bryn is a very unlikely heroine. However, that is exactly why she is so amazing! While she has been taught how to fight by the Alpha, Callum, she doesnt need a set of canine teeth and claws to win her battles. Bryn is one witty, sarcastic and intelligent young lady and she uses her brains to bring home the win! Throughout the story, Bryn discovers just how unique she is and the reader begins to realize that Bryn is fantastic just the way she is. Bryn is sarcastic, independent and doesnt like to be told what to do, even by Callum. And if you know anything about pack life, disobeying the Alpha leads to a severe can of whoop ass

The supporting characters, Bryns friends, allies and superiors, were all fantastic! I love them all. Bryns BFF, Devon was quirky, humorous, gorgeous and completely loyal to Bryn. His penchant for talking in Shakespeare-like speak had me in stitches. Who ever heard of a werewolf drama geek? Love this guy! Lake, one of only 2 female purebred weres in Bryns pack, is also Bryns close companion. She is fierce, loyal, passionate and funny as hell. She also has an affinity for guns and delivers one of my favorite lines in the book (see below). Callum - Alpha, Bryns savior and resident bad-ass - was also very likeable. He is very strict with Bryn but you can just feel the compassion and love he has for her. When the shit hits the fan about halfway through the story, Bryn discovers things about him that tears her world apart. However, I personally never lost faith in Callum. :) Ali, the other human female in the pack, is Bryns adoptive mother and has been raising her since she came to the pack at age 4. Ali is very protective of Bryn and makes a drastic move to protect her when the the storyline explodes into chaos. The fights between these 2 are very realistic, and the love they feel for each other is something to be cherished. Oh, and I cant forget the twins! I dont think Ive ever read anything as cute as baby Katie in wolf form!

And then theres Chase. The connection between Bryn and Chase was, literally, electric. I felt like I was transported into their intense, emotional bond and I almost felt embarrassed for prying on what was a very personal union. The scenes where Jennifer describes these two becoming one, feeling each others emotions, reading each others thoughts, entering each others dreams and seeing through each others eyes, was nothing short of brilliance, in my opinion. Their relationship transcends this world, seriously.

Ive read two of Jennifers previous books, Tattoo and Fate, which are cute, fun YA books about 4 girls who get temporary tattoos and are suddenly part of this magical, mythological world. However, Raised by Wolves is light years apart from those books, in terms of maturity and writing skill. Jennifer has really grown as a writer and it really shows in this novel. It is eloquent, fierce, humorous and touching as hell.

This book, in essence, is excellent. You have an unlikely heroine with a seemingly impossible goal who takes dramatic action to obtain it. She is faced with dreadful opposition yet she still emerges from the fight an improbable winner. It definitely surprised me with the storyline, and I was hooked when certain events began to unravel.

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