In The Wolf (The Black Dagger Brotherhood: Prison Camp #2), as the Black Dagger Brotherhood (BDB) searches for the old Glymera Prison Camp’s new location, Lucan, one of the prisioners there, is forced to make business with drug dealers in the human world to survive. It is then that he meets Mozart’s (the head of the criminal enterprise) right-hand, Rio, and falls in love with her, despite knowing that he cannot get involved with her for the basic reason: she’s human and he’s a Vampire/Wolf. What Lucan doesn’t know is that she’s an undercover cop looking to break up the business and put them all in jail.

Both Lucan and Rio are the same: determined, stubborn and with firm purposes. Lucan feels that he doesn’t deserve someone like Rio, and not because of the differences between the species. Shunned by his wolf peers for being half-breed, they are the reason he ended up in prison—they put him there. For her part, Rio is a cop for a reason. His family was destroyed thanks to drugs, and she always wanted to do justice to her family and others like hers.

Together they have spectacular chemistry; sexual attraction is palpable. Likewise, the emotional bond between the two is noticeable, especially when their personal values and ideals are shaken as they fall in love with each other. This is a decent and pretty good couple, especially since the author tends to create singular couples in this Universe. BDB fans will understand what I’m talking about.

Being a story that involves human crime scenes of all kinds, we see again Detective José de la Cruz, Butch‘s former co-worker. Yes, the Boston Red Sox fan vampire (well, not even vampires are perfect *Aisha rolls her eyes*). José is about to retire from the force in this book and he has another encounter with his former buddy (they had a few since Butch’s “disappearance” from the human world). Interestingly, we don’t see the vampire directly in the story, but through José himself and Butch’s roommate, Vishous. I have to admit that this caught my attention because Butch and José have unfinished business and it feels like this is a farewell between old friends—apparently a farewell, because Ms. Ward can surprise us with anything and is capable of rescuing José from retirement whenever she wants. You know how things are with this saga, hehehe—so it was to be expected that we would get to see Butch’s point of view. The fact that the author didn’t go down the logical line adds points to the story.

Buuuuuut, because there has to be one, what are you doing with Vishous, Ms. Ward? It seems that the author hates V (in fact, she has mentioned that she has a hard time writing about the genius vampire) and she wants the whole humanity to hate him as well. IT’S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. PERIOD. Yes, you love Vishous or you hate him, there’s no midterms about that. That said, he’s such a complex character that sometimes makes you feel that not even the creator herself has managed to fully decipher him, making him look ridiculous in her attempt to do so—or, at least, this happens since she wrote The Thief (BDB Saga’s 16th book). I think that’s why I love him so much. This time, thank heavens, V’s intervention in this story wasn’t laughable, apart from the fact that it finally seems that he has managed to have his own closing. After all, it wasn’t just Butch and José who had to pull it off. This Ménage à Trois had to walk this path together. Did I said I LOVE VISHOUS already?

The story is well written and I find this book was better than Claimed (Lair of The Wolven, book 1, another BDB spin-off). It hooks you right away, it has a perfect rhythm and it doesn’t suffer from having scenes written for the simple fact of filling pages. All the details are well taken care of and nothing is left to chance.

Overall, it’s been a very good story that has answered questions left hanging by The Jackal (Book 1). At the same time, it brings new questions that leave you intrigued, looking forward for the next book of this spin-off of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.

About the Book

Release Date: November 16, 2021

ASIN: B08VJM2J8D

Published By: Gallery Books

Series: The Black Dagger Brotherhood: Prison Camp #2

Genre: Paranormal Romance

eBook, 429 pages

Return to the sizzling glymera’s prison camp in this dark and sexy second novel in the new Black Dagger Brotherhood Prison Camp spin-off series from the #1 New York Times bestselling author J.R. Ward.

In the next installment of bestselling author J.R. Ward’s Prison Camp series, things get steamy when Lucan, a wolven forced into bartering drug deals for the infamous Prison Colony, meets Rio, the second in command for the shadowy Caldwell supplier, Mozart. After a deal goes awry, a wolf with piercing golden eyes swoops in to save her from certain death. As shocking truths unfurl, Rio is uncertain of who to trust and what to believe—but with her life on the line, true love rears its head and growls in the face of danger.

About the Author

J.R. Ward is the author of over thirty novels, including those in her #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling series, The Black Dagger Brotherhood. There are more than 15 million copies of Ward’s novels in print worldwide and they have been published in 25 different countries around the world.
After graduating from law school, Ward began working in healthcare in Boston and spent many years as Chief of Staff of one of the premier academic medical centers in the nation. She lives in the south with her incredibly supportive husband and her beloved golden retriever. Writing has always been her passion and her idea of heaven is a whole day of nothing but her computer, her dog and her coffee pot.