Grumpy alpha wolf

Book: Grumpy Alpha Wolf by Ripley, Meg

Reviewed by Your_bookish_fantasy

Rating: 3/5

𝓝𝓞 𝓢𝓟𝓞𝓘𝓛𝓔𝓡𝓢
⚜️𝔻𝕖𝕥𝕒𝕚𝕝𝕖𝕕 𝕣𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨 𝕠𝕗- Grumpy Alpha Wolf by Meg Ripley

𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 Booksprout 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰, 𝐢𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐢 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐦𝐲 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤.

⚜️ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤-
(out of 5 stars, my rating scale is at the end)
🗣 𝗡𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 DC Cole ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📚 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5

🌡️ 𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗲 MF 🌶🫑 / 5 -𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑐𝑘 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑚𝑦 𝐺𝑜𝑜𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑠 𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝑚𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑝𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑚𝑖𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑠

Which books have I also given this same rating? (𝑠𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑚𝑦 𝑠𝑡𝑦𝑙𝑒𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑜𝑤𝑛)

5⭐️ Fourth wing / Bound by inked flame / Anathama / The Lies of Lena / Of silver and Curses
4.5⭐️ Bitten / The Female / Quicksilver / Bride / Lights Out / A Bargain so Bloody
4⭐️ ACOTAR/ Spellcaster / One Dark Window / From Blood and Ash / Phantasma / Butcher & Blackbird
3⭐️We Who Will Die / The Wolf King / Daughter of No Worlds / The Ex Hex

⚜️𝕂𝕖𝕪 𝕀𝕟𝕗𝕠:
Genre- Paranormal Romance

🎧 6 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 03 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀 (I 𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚘𝚗 1.7 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚎𝚍)

📖 322 𝗣𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀

Dual 𝐹𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑟𝑑 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝗣𝗢𝗩 / 𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚘 𝚜𝚝𝚢𝚕𝚎 𝚗𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗

𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲- 4th June 2026 (Audiobook 6th August 2026)

𝗣𝗹𝗼𝘁 or 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿 driven? 𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓇𝒶𝒸𝓉ℯ𝓇

𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗡𝗮𝗺𝗲 & 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗻𝗼- Shifter Nation: Montana Mates #1, interconnected standalone series

𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗲- ℱ𝒶𝓈𝓉

𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲? ❌ 𝒮𝒶𝒹𝓁𝓎 no. Not unique enough. It was perfectly okay while I was listening, but just TWO DAYS after finishing I could barely remember the plot, the characters or even how the story made me feel without going back to jog my memory.

ℳℴℴ𝒹𝓈; 𝑳𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅, 𝑹𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒄, 𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒚, 𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍, 𝑪𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒚, 𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆, 𝑪𝒐𝒛𝒚

𝒟𝒾𝒹 𝒾 ℯ𝓃𝒿ℴ𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈?✅

𝒲𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝒾 𝓇ℯ𝒶𝒹 𝓉𝒽ℯ 𝓃ℯ𝓍𝓉 𝒷ℴℴ𝓀 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓈ℯ𝓇𝒾ℯ𝓈?❌

𝒲ℴ𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝒾 𝓇ℯ𝒶𝒹 𝒶𝓃𝓎𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 ℯ𝓁𝓈ℯ 𝒷𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝒶𝓊𝓉𝒽ℴ𝓇?❌

𝖂𝖍𝖔 𝖜𝖔𝖚𝖑𝖉 𝖎 𝖗𝖊𝖈𝖔𝖒𝖒𝖊𝖓𝖉 𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖘 𝖙𝖔? Readers wanting an easy, low-stress paranormal romance with fated mates, an age gap, best friend’s dad, a cozy bakery, shifters, witchy magic and a straightforward HEA. If you prefer your paranormal romance heavily focused on lore, detailed supernatural societies or a relationship that develops through lots of meaningful interaction, you may find this too light.

⚜️𝕊ℙ𝔼ℂ𝕀𝔼𝕊 𝕀ℕ 𝕊𝕋𝕆ℝ𝕐:
💋 Humans
🧙‍♀️ Witches
🌕 shifters

⚜️𝕊𝕡𝕚𝕔𝕖 𝔽𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕤:
😍 Insta Love/Lust
👩‍❤️‍👨 Fated Mates
🫦 Opposites Attract
🌡 Yearning, Angst, Tension
💀 Forbidden romance
🧐 Age Gap
💋 Steamy open-door romance

⚜️𝕋ℝ𝕆ℙ𝔼𝕊
🔮 Prophecies and Mysteries
🪄 Magic
🧸 Found family
🍭 Sunny v Grumpy… apparently 😂
🧐 Age Gap
🧩 Forced proximity
💪 Alpha Hero
🐺 Fated mates
👨 Best Friend’s Dad
🏘️ Small Town
🧁 Cozy Bakery
🔮 Tarot / Witch Magic
🐉 Dragon Hatchlings
🐺 Pack Politics
💞 Interconnected Standalone

✨ TᕼᗴᗰᗴՏ ✨
Fate • Family • Friendship • Duty • Acceptance • Belonging • Age-gap relationships • Pack loyalty • Prejudice • Starting over • Magic • Choosing happiness

📝Cliff Notes Review-
This was perfectly okay while I was listening, but two days later I could barely remember the plot, characters or even how the story made me feel, which rather says it all. On paper this should have been made for me: fated mates, shifters, magic and a supposedly grumpy Alpha, but Cole wasn’t particularly grumpy and I didn’t get enough of Nia and Cole actually bonding to feel the emotional payoff. The supernatural world had some really interesting ideas, but instead of exploring them I was left wondering whether I’d somehow missed an earlier book. An okay 3 ⭐️ gap-filler that I don’t regret listening to, but I’m glad I didn’t buy it.

⚜️𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑫 𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒓, 𝑳𝑰𝑺𝑻𝑬𝑵 𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒕?⚜️(𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑡- 𝐵𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑜𝑟 𝐴𝑢𝑑𝑖𝑜?)
I don’t think reading this physically would have improved my experience because my biggest problems were with the actual depth of the story rather than the performance. At just over six hours, the audiobook made this an easy book to slip between heavier reads without requiring much concentration.

⚜️𝔸𝕦𝕕𝕚𝕠 𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨:
DC Cole narrates the audiobook solo and did a perfectly good job of keeping the story moving. I had the audio sped up as normal and didn’t have problems following the narration itself.

This wasn’t one of those performances where I finished and immediately added the narrator to my must-listen list, but I also don’t have anything particularly negative to say about it. The narration wasn’t what held the book back for me.

In fact, I think audio was probably the best format for my experience with this story. It was pleasant and easy to listen to while I wanted something uncomplicated between bigger books.

😥 𝕎𝕙𝕪 𝕟𝕠 𝕗𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕤?
Nothing ruined it. Nothing particularly grabbed me either.

I love fated mates. I love shifter stories. I love magic. I LOVE a grumpy man. On paper, this should have been awesome.
But first things first… WHERE WAS MY GRUMPY ALPHA?! 😂

Cole wasn’t particularly grumpy. He seemed more shocked, conflicted and completely at a loss about how he could have Nia in his life without upsetting his daughter or disrupting everything around him. That’s perfectly fine as a character, but the book specifically sold me a grumpy Alpha/sunshine witch dynamic, so I kept waiting for the emotional payoff from that trope and it never really arrived.

My much bigger problem, though, was depth .
The story kept introducing things that made me think, WAIT… tell me more about THAT , and then merrily wandering away from them.

Nia isn’t simply a witch. She’s a lynx shifter AND a witch .
I’ve read plenty of shifter romances and that immediately caught my attention because combining shifter biology with magical abilities isn’t something I encounter constantly. Where does that come from? How does her magic interact with shifting? Is it hereditary? Is it unusual? How do other supernatural groups view someone who is both? What are the rules?

I wanted the lore. Instead… next subject. 😂

And considering this is book ONE of Montana Mates , I expected considerably more foundation for the supernatural world. There are different shifters, witches, packs, magic, dragons and supernatural abilities, but I never felt as though I properly understood how the pieces fitted together.

I actually had to double-check whether I’d somehow started halfway through a series because I genuinely thought I’d missed information from earlier books.
That’s not how I want to feel during the first book of an interconnected standalone series.

Then there was the romance.
Fated mates are one of my favourite tropes, so I have absolutely no problem accepting an immediate supernatural connection.

But the mate bond can explain why two people are drawn together . I don’t want it to replace the relationship.

Nia and Cole simply didn’t spend enough meaningful time together for me. I wanted conversations. Banter. Little moments. Emotional intimacy. Learning about each other. I wanted to understand why these two people would choose one another even if fate hadn’t already filled in the paperwork.

Instead, I got attraction and fate, but not enough relationship .

By the time we reached the declarations and HEA, intellectually I understood that they’re mates and they’re in love. Emotionally? I wasn’t there with them.

🌍 𝕎𝕠𝕣𝕝𝕕 𝕓𝕦𝕚𝕝𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘, 𝕨𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕡𝕒𝕔𝕚𝕟𝕘:
This is probably where most of my problems originated.

There are actually loads of interesting ingredients here. Nia is a lynx shifter witch from Salem. Cole is the Alpha of a wolf pack and the local police chief. We have different supernatural species, magical abilities, tarot, pack politics, dragon hatchlings and a supernatural community existing within a small Montana town.

That’s more than enough material to create a fascinating paranormal world. But I wanted the book to stop and let me explore it . Instead, I often felt as though we jumped from one life event to another. We’d begin settling into a scene, then suddenly we’d be somewhere else or it would be the next day. A couple of times I genuinely had that little audiobook panic of, Wait… did I accidentally skip a chapter?

The same thing happened with the descriptions. Some things received plenty of attention while other things I actually wanted to visualise or understand seemed to pass without enough detail.

The wider supernatural system particularly needed more foundation. This is book one of Montana Mates, so I expected it to establish the rules of this corner of the world. Instead, I felt as though everyone else already had the handbook and I’d accidentally missed orientation day.

The weird thing is that I liked the ideas . That’s why it’s frustrating. Give me the lynx witch lore! Give me the pack history! Explain the magic! Tell me how these different supernatural species coexist! Tell me how unusual Nia actually is!

There was potential sitting everywhere, but the story didn’t dig deeply enough into it for any of it to stick.

🧝‍♂️ ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤:
I liked Nia . Her combination of lynx shifter and witch immediately made her interesting, and I liked her personality, her friendship with Brianna and the idea of her starting this completely new chapter of her life by moving to Montana to open their bakery. Her magical abilities were probably one of the things I most wanted the book to explore further.

Cole was… fine. And I think “fine” is unfortunately the problem. He’s older, attractive, an Alpha, a police chief and Nia’s best friend’s dad. Those ingredients should have created a character with enormous presence.

Instead, two days later I’m struggling to remember much about him beyond those facts. He wasn’t the grumpy Alpha I was expecting from the title and marketing. He was more uncertain and concerned about everyone else’s reactions to the relationship. Again, nothing inherently wrong with that. It just wasn’t particularly memorable.

And while I liked Nia and Cole together , I needed much more of them actually interacting.

A review I agreed with said that if these two hadn’t been fated mates, they probably wouldn’t have ended up together, and that’s exactly where the emotional problem sits for me.

Fate introduced them. The relationship still needed to convince me.

The side characters actually helped make the world feel more alive, and I enjoyed the different supernatural characters and the dragon storyline. But even there I sometimes felt potentially interesting conflicts were resolved incredibly quickly.

⏳ 𝕎𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕚 𝕣𝕖-𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕠𝕣 𝕣𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕕?
Reread? ❌ No.
It’s only been two days and I’ve already forgotten large chunks of it, so I can’t imagine deliberately rereading it unless a future interconnected book somehow made this one important.

Recommend? Selectively.
If someone wanted a comfortable, relatively easy paranormal romance with fated mates, a cozy bakery, age gap, best friend’s dad and some cute supernatural elements, I could absolutely see them enjoying this more than I did.

If they’re coming specifically because they love grumpy Alpha heroes , though, I’d probably warn them to lower that particular expectation.

And if they’re a lore goblin like me who starts asking annoying questions the second someone introduces a LYNX SHIFTER WITH WITCH MAGIC , prepare to be left rattling the cage demanding answers. 😂

🪧𝔽𝕚𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤:
This wasn’t bad. That’s actually the easiest way to explain it.
It was okay. Good, even. Just nothing exciting.

I enjoyed myself while I was listening. I finished it without struggling. There were characters I liked, supernatural ideas that interested me and a romance built around several tropes I normally adore.

Without looking it up to jog my memory, I genuinely struggled to tell you the plot, character names or even exactly how the story made me feel.

What I did remember was thinking, I’m glad I didn’t buy this.

It was an absolutely fine audiobook to fill the gap between books, and sometimes that’s all I need.

But considering this contains fated mates + shifters + witch magic + an Alpha + age gap + best friend’s dad + supernatural creatures + supposedly GRUMPY MAN , this should have been practically genetically engineered for me.

Instead, it just… passed through.

The biggest missed opportunity was the world itself. Nia being both a shifter and a witch immediately made me want history, rules and lore. The different supernatural species made me want to understand how this society works. As book one of a new interconnected standalone series, I expected those foundations to be laid here.

Instead I genuinely wondered whether I’d accidentally picked up a later book and was expected to already know everything.

The romance needed the same extra breathing room. Don’t just tell me they’re fated mates and therefore destined for one another. Make me fall in love with them falling in love.
That’s the bit I missed.

I don’t regret listening. I’d cautiously try Meg Ripley again if another premise really caught my attention. But I won’t be buying this one, rereading it or thinking about Nia and Cole six months from now.

𝐹𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑚𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑢𝑔𝑔𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠;

𝕋𝕚𝕜𝕋𝕠𝕜
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𝕄𝕪 ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕊𝕪𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕤:
⭐️ DNF

⭐️⭐️
I managed to finish it but it was rubbish. I won't keep a physical copy and won't recommend it, but it's a shame as the plot could have made a good book in another author's hands

⭐️⭐️.5
It was OK. I wish I didn't start this one as it didn't do it for me as I struggled to read it. It had an interesting premise that fell flat but I had to see what happened in the end.

⭐️⭐️⭐️
I don't regret reading it, and I will read the next one, but this one did have a few flaws. [These could be repetitive writing, gaps or plot holes, better character growth or world building, areas needing more detail]
Generally, the book lacked depth and became confusing. The plot resonated with me even though it annoyed me on the whole.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
I'm glad I read it. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to the right people, but I wanted more! Sadly, it's easily forgettable with a few issues I just couldn't overlook/get past.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Good book! I loved it, but... I needed more! I really did enjoy it, but it had a few parts that needed more detail or added history/background or lore. But that's because the story or characters were memorable, and the plot was strong with brilliant twists. I would re-read if I needed to catch up for the next book and would recommend.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Great book! I truly wish the story had been thought about more, or the author had been given more time as this book is so close to brilliance! I will likely read again and will definitely be recommending it to all!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
WOW! Absolutely amazing book! Well written with great characters and a plot so memorable that it will stay with me. I will definitely read this again, I will be recommending it and sharing it with the whole world! Also- I NEED A PHYSICAL COPY!

🔥⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🔥
This is my God level tier. The book must be perfectly memorable. Even after reading 50+ more books, I will remember character names and emotions along with the plot. If there is a special edition, then I need to own it! If there is a conversation on books- I'm talking about this!

SPICE SCALE:
🌶️– segsual language and a little on-page action / fade to black

🌶️🌶️– a lot of segsual language and some on-page open door action, may be occurring a couple of times

🌶️🌶️🌶️– a lot of explicit action and dirty talk, occurring frequently with 2/3 lurvers

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ – super graphic and explicit, occurring 4 or more times, can be more grey and taboo themed.

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ – Kinks and Fet!shism, explicit and super graphic. It is likely to be tushy play, toys, playrooms, and more

Read full review on ARC Library