Holly‘s review of Ascension (Cherchez Pack, Book 1) by Lauren Dane

Kari’s simple life is tossed upside down. She’s hospitalized after a dog attacks her, her doctor kidnaps her, and now a totally crazy man is telling her that not only is he a werewolf but so is she. And not just any werewolf but the queen!


She soon finds out Andreas is telling the truth. Being a werewolf isn’t so bad when your husband stands well over six feet, is hotter than a movie star and richer than one too. It doesn’t hurt that he adores and spoils her, and the wicked-hot sex is icing on the cake. What girl doesn’t like cake?


But someone in the Cherchez Pack keeps trying to kill her. Kari is happy belonging to a big family for the first time in her life and she’s not going to let one wolf with an axe to grind ruin that. Andreas, Kari and the wolves in the Inner Circle unite to end the threat and find the killer. It’s kill or be killed and Kari intends to do the killing.


Reader Note: This book features an explicit encounter between two males and a ménage scene.

I’ve had this book in my TBR for ever and ever. I bought it ages ago because I liked some of Dane’s stuff (I’d just begun reading her then..my love affair hadn’t fully boomed yet) but set it aside because I broke up with PNR. The other night I was in the mood, however, and I’m glad I picked it up. It was a great, quick read.

Kari is definitely the star of this novel. Although I loved her and Andreas together, I felt like he was really superfluous. He didn’t stand out to me in any way. As a matter of fact, I felt like I connected with some of the male members of the pack more than I did him. He sort of just stood around, growling and making eyes at Kari. She did all the heavy lifting.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I actually really enjoyed having the female protag be the center of the novel for once. I really enjoyed the pack dynamics and the overall story. Watching Kari come into her own and find her place in the pack was wonderful.

I did find her transformation from skeptic to believer to happen kind of quickly. She went from TOTAL DISBELIEF to TOTAL ACCEPTANCE too quickly, IMO. Another chapter of her coming around would have helped. As it happens early in the novel I was able to set it aside.I was also bothered by the lack of action in regards to the attempts on Kari’s life. It seemed like no progress was made to find out who was out to get her. I would have liked to see a little more focus on that aspect of the story.

This is a very spicy novel. There’s some m/m action and a m/fm scene, plus a ton of other encounters.

Overall this was a very satisfying read. I’m looking forward to diving into the next installment.

3.75 out of 5

This book is available from Ellora’s Cave. You can buy it here in e-format.