4.5 Seriously Impressed Hearts!

The title is so appropriate, for this is beyond any shifter book I've ever read, and it was quite the fabulous refreshing BR with Sara!

I don’t know if I can do this story justice but I’m gonna try…

What one has to know first is that this is a world where werewolves obviously exist. They’re a government experiment gone wrong decades ago and the age old debate did come up as to what to do with this new subset of humans with extraordinary abilities but potentially scary ones at that. There’s unfortunately now a very strict divide between “species” and once a person goes werewolf, they are pretty much separated from their human life and brought into the fold of a pack. Werewolves are basically second class citizens - highly monitored, regulated, and restricted as they pose a perceived danger to the masses should one go rogue. To keep them in line and to insure their safety, a pack’s alpha is basically conscripted to serve the government in any nefarious ways they deem necessary, using their deadly skills in the name of national security.

Knowing that, this book starts off with Ward. He’s desperately trying to find his newly shifted daughter Ava. By law, she is no longer legally his and has been unfairly taken away from him to an unknown destination to be raised by her “own kind”. Well fuck that. Ward is not going to give up that easily. His daughter is the only family he has left, and he is determined to be a part of her life, regardless of the fact that it’s basically unheard of for a human to live among werewolves. Luckily, he has a friend in high places that helps Ward track Ava down, and once he arrives, he staunchly refuses to budge.

Enter Henry. He’s Ava’s alpha, and though he knows Ward’s presence is probably the best thing for her, especially since she has yet to shift back to human and is slowly failing to thrive, his first inclination is to say no because it’s against the rules and Henry always follows the rules. Ward’s presence and how he came to find Henry’s pack puts all of them in danger, shining an unwanted spotlight on Henry as he essentially takes the “blame” for this breach in security.

With pressures and demands coming at Henry from all directions, the last thing he needs is to feel attraction to the newcomer. However, he can’t deny that Ward’s tenacity and bravery grounds him like no other, and though Ward was never something Henry ever imagined he could obtain, he sure is something Henry wants. In turn, Ward feels the same attraction and hesitation. Henry is prickly and intimidating but his consideration and care for all of those under his protection cannot be ignored. Ward realizes Henry is admirable in his acceptance to be an instrument for the government to use and abuse, taking their shit over and over for the good of the pack, sacrificing his happiness, his soul. If Ward can give and get some measure of comfort with Henry, he’s going to try his darnedest to do what feels right by him and what he starts to feel is now his pack too.

Perhaps as a warning, this isn’t a fluffy shifter romance. It’s so much more.

This had grit, an urgent seriousness to it. Life isn’t pretty nor kind. Responsibility weighs heavily, and it takes every ounce of willpower and determination and obligation to survive the unfairness of it all. Perhaps though, finding someone special to care for and to be cared by, can ease that burden. For those that need to know, the doling out of yummy bits between these two are small and far and few between. However, the gradual build and the UST are palpable and oh so strongly felt, and despite the low smexy level, this still kept my avid interest. Have no doubt though, I would’ve hungrily gobbled up more if given.

I obviously loved this. I want Cari Z to write at least 10 more books in this compelling complex world she has created. She better, because I have to know the fates of Tennyson and Davis!! Puh-leeeeasse don’t leave me hanging!!!

Like I said. Unique and wholly captivating. It sucked me in, caught me, and wouldn't let go. Very very highly recommended!

Thanks to the author/publisher for a copy in exchange for a honest review

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Off the Beaten Path is the story of Ward Johannsen, a physics professor, and Henry Dormer, an alpha werewolf. The book is told in first person from both Ward and Henry’s pov.

4.5 Stars



First, I’ll start my review of the cover. I like it, although I’m not sure who the male cover model is. I’m thinking it’s Ward when he first sets off for the werewolf compound to search for his daughter. I don’t remember how old he is in the story, but he looks older on the cover than I imagined he would look like.

Boy, this book really pulled me in. I didn’t want to put it down, and when I had to, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. The blurb does a thorough job of explaining the plot so I won’t go into it much. This is a slightly dark read, at least for me it was because I don’t read dark stories, and because of how the werewolves were oppressed by humans as less than. Also, there’s the power challenges within the group. Plus, the ordinary human type of problems like adjusting to a new living situation. Werewolves were created for use by the military, but eventually the humans feared the werewolves and now keep them on compounds, except when the alphas are needed for special assignments. And the alphas often come back exhausted and deep into their wolves, or suffering PTSD. It’s a dangerous life for them. They can either be shot, or caught by the enemy, or shot by the guardian that supervises each compound.

There were a lot of subplots happening which were all dramatic by themselves. The subplots were used to demonstrate that since Henry was absent for so long because of his deployments, the pack was missing guidance and things were getting out of hand. The author skillfully wove all the conclusions of the subplots together so there were no dangling ends.

I loved the characters. The author did a great job of making each character distinct and carrying that voice through the rest of the story. Ward was a smart man. He realized he needed to be helpful and get along with the alpha and the pack in order to stay in the compound with his daughter. He had a sense of humor, and a calmness about him that settled Henry whenever he was on edge. Ward was also a bit frail. He had bad asthma where he had to always carry an inhaler with him. The one thing I don’t understand is why did the author make Ward so short? He’s only 5’6”, which is shorter than the average male in the United States. Was it to say that despite Ward being small, he was still a strong person inside? Because that’s not the message I got. I got the message that in order to present the frailty of Ward’s conditions, he was written as short. Ward could’ve been tall, or of average height, frail, and still needed his inhaler. Instead, the author created the image that small people are weak or sick. I didn’t like that. The book model makes Ward look like he’s in his late-thirties or early forties. I got the impression that Henry was maybe in his late twenties. Maybe their ages were mentioned but it must have been brief because I don’t remember them. I loved Henry’s sister Sam. She was strong, and sneaky, lol. She loved her brother a lot. Henry was a strong werewolf and leader who originally was a gentle soul, but once he became alpha he was forced to change. Unfortunately, once Sam married, he really didn’t have anyone to support him as much as Sam used to do before her marriage. At least not until Ward came along. Ward seemed especially capable of handling Henry, and I think it was because Ward used many of the same techniques he used to deal with his daughter Ava, and his students. I think my only quibble about the characters is I don’t feel like there was enough background about Ward. His part in the book was mostly about the here and now, very little about his past. Also, very little about Sam and her husband. I feel character background was a little lacking.

It's been four years since this book came out and I’m really hoping that there are more books in this series. Someone asked a question about the book to the author and they did mention that they were interested in continuing the series. I don’t know when the question was asked so don’t know if any progress has been made on the next book or not. I’d love to read about what appears to be a relationship that’s developing between Tennyson, the doctor, and Davis, Ward’s friend. I’d also like to read more about if Davis helps transform the military’s used of werewolves, and how society changes for the better. I’d especially like to see Henry return to his art, maybe to help calm him when he needs it. Maybe use Ward as a model. That could lead to some fun banter and other things, *wink*.

I did find a few grammatical errors, but they weren’t enough to distract me. I found Off the Beaten Path thoroughly engrossing and would definitely read follow up books if/when the author writes them. I want to give this book 4.5 stars because I didn’t care for the correlations between Ward’s height and his illnesses. But since Goodreads doesn’t allow half stars, I’ll give it 5 Stars since this was a highly entertaining read.

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4.5 stars

Oh I liked this a lot.
An interesting take on werewolves. ( )

I like the writing but I don't like the plot. That's on me though, I just don't seem to enjoy dystopian stories. At all.. ( )

Excellent story! This had an intriguing story line that really kept me engaged. Ward is a human father who ended up having his daughter taken away from him when she shifted into a werewolf. It took him a few months to find her, but when he did he made sure to be there for her. Henry, the alpha, wasn’t sure about Ward at first, but they both had Ava’s interests in mind. They came together slowly, but they were great when they did. Ward provided strength to Henry. I really liked the resolution, and wish we could have more. There was a hint of a Davis/Tennyson connection, and I’d love to read more in this universe. ( )