Assembly (The Feral Souls Trilogy - Book 2)
The Assembly is no place for a human.
Especially not one standing trial. Surrounded by lycans who’d like nothing more than to see me dead, forced to participate in lethal games and hunted by enemies shrouded in shadows, my world is unravelling. The only thing keeping me sane is the four possessive wolf shifters ready to sacrifice everything to keep me safe.
But when faces from the past return, the fragile trust I’ve built with my wolves is shaken to its core, and all the terrible secrets I once did everything to keep are clawing their way to the surface.
Out of time, I’m forced to make a choice. A choice that might cost me everything.
***Author Note***
Assembly is the second book in the Feral Souls Trilogy featuring possessive wolf shifters, a damaged heroine fighting to escape her past, and slow burn romance packed with raw emotion and sizzling tension.
Pick up Assembly today to discover the second instalment of this intoxicating paranormal romance!
Reviews (189)
This story is worth the wait!
I got almost no sleep because when I started this book I could not put it down. Oh I tried to walk away several times but it was like an addiction you just can't give up. So I sacrificed...or is it a sacrifice if I loved every minute of it? Well you all get the idea.... I don't want to give any of the plot away but I will say that secrets come to light and we definitely get to know Hope's men better. Going to the Assembly went as well as expected, as in it was a disaster in some ways and super enlightening in others. The biggest thing is that Hope no longer keeps her men in the dark...that moment, those chapters were everything. One of the reasons I'm enjoying this series so much is the character development. All of Hope's guys have scars and deep seated issues from their pasts. Then there is Hope who was raised in captivity, made to fear everything, without a sense of worth. I mean she was dumped with the Hunters at 6 years old by her own mother after a life changing event so she was left to believe she was a monster who deserved her punishment. Between Hope and her men's pasts and how it affects them each - well that leaves a wide open gap for misunderstandings. Hope is naive, which is expected, but there are times in this read you just want to shake some sense in to her and this connects me with her men. Despite the shared frustration Hope's reactions and thoughts make sense. She's been a victim all of her life and she isn't just going to wake up one day and is magically better. She's strong and kind and it will take time but she is growing a backbone and in those moments you just cheer her on. Her men are also in need of therapy and bring their baggage into this relationship. Now I've always been in love with Ruarc because he's Raurc, I like the adorable Jason and am slowly falling for Ash. Lucien, however, has terrible foot in mouth syndrome. His past rules him with an iron fist and in trying to protect himself and his family he causes more pain than anyone. But maybe with the truckload of guilt he carries, especially after Hope's confessions, he'll redeem himself. All in all the story is great, the character development is realistic, the developing relationships between Hope and her guys is awesome...so really there's no reason not to rwad this. Erica Woods has written an excellent story that completely grabs you mind and soul because I promise these characters will stick with you long after you've finished.
Ugh
Honestly? This book is total waste of time and money. After 600 pages of nothing happening in the first book, you would expect that the second will provide some real, meaningful plot. And... you would be wrong. You get 700 pages of sniveling, weak, pathetic FMC. There is only so much crying, pathetic whining, always needing to be saved and doing nothing FC, that a reader can stand. This is a book with 50% boring, wimpering FC, 30% excessively long (2-3 chapters) and unnecessary sex scenes and 20% where the FC claims will do something and in the end doing nothing. And let's not forget the male characters - one is always roaring, breaking things and hitting bystanders, one is constantly using dumb jokes, one is cold, abrasive and hurtful and the only one even remotely interesting - not enough to compensate anything. Basically 2-3 weeks have passed in the period of 2 books and the most remarkable thing is the FC escaping her prison in the first chapter of the first book. Totally not recommending this series.
Remarkably Written
This book was worth the slow agonizing wait - Agonizing because the characters are so vividly written, it is impossible not to bond with each one of them and love them. Much like the first book, the second focuses mainly on the relationships between each member, while the story is lost to all the emotional and ups and downs between the members of the pack. Normally, it would be a bad thing, but somehow E. Woods manages to make it feel authentic, despite the repetition in their feelings. After all, people don’t just miraculously overcome trauma in their lives with one soothing moment. Such things takes times, which only lends to the authenticity of each character - allowing for a sense of humanity and realness lost in a lot of books trying to make characters “badass.” My main concern is that there still leaves a LOT of ground to cover, story-wise, for the final book. If it takes 700 pages to cover three to four days, I worry the pacing of the final book will feel incredibly rushed. That, or it will end up being 1000+ pages long.. which I actually would not mind. Despite the slow pace - and my concerns for the final book - this is still highly recommended. It has set the bar for many of the Kindle Unlimited books, soaring above the competition, landing firmly in place with many of the famous paid book series, including Kate Daniels, Mercy Thompson, and even Kushiel’s Dart. With the author’s amazing ability to depict each emotion in detail, allowing the reading to feel the pain and laughter with the characters, this book will leave you emotionally connected with all the characters, even the ones you wouldn’t normally mesh with. Despite the 700 page length, it will go by in a blur as you greedily digest the emotions of each character. Masterfully done. Can’t wait for the third already.
Conflicted- I have a lot of feels.
First, let me say that overall, I enjoyed Assembly, reading it into the wee hours of the morning while masterfully pretending to be asleep every time it seemed like my boyfriend might wake up and catch me. That being said you do have to prepare yourself for a few things: 1) The pacing. For a 700+ page book, very little time actually passes, so it feels a bit like the Drums of Autumn book in Outlander where you're spending so much time in this world, but you find it's barely been a week. 2) The will she/won't she continues for most of the book. Hope is traumatized, blames herself, and has a mix of a white knight complex (wanting to keep the guys safe) and that dangerous guilt whispering that she doesn't deserve the life her pack wants to give her. Because of this, and some of the guys own issues, we are still in that holding phase where (this isn't what I'd call a spoiler, but I'll warn you that I'm about to say something specific about the plot) she doesn't clue the guys into her backstory until about the last forty (that's an approximation) pages of the book. Do I think that hesitance fits Hope's character and the narrative that Woods has been creating? Mostly, yes. Does it also irritate me a tiny bit that there are so many festering secrets for most of such a huge book? Yes. You need to go into this with that patience of knowing that yes, there will be drama. Yes, there are still MANY secrets, and yes, there is 1000000% a link between the two. 3) Although we're at the Assembly, we don't actually finish the assembly. This event will continue in book three, and there's a lot still to come. One thing that Woods does very nicely in Assembly is her focus on the relationships. Hope has moments with each of the members of her pack, and although we do have a bunch of different events going on throughout the plot, I think that this book is more about getting them to the emotional places and relationship goals they needed to reach to handle some of the bigger events that are to come. All of that being said, now that you are forearmed, here's what I thought. There's some interesting character growth, and the benefit of the pack's POVs is definitely felt very strongly. While Ruarc is very steady (for all that he's also a reactive alpha mess lol) and Jason is still a bit hesitant, self-deprecating, and not ready to dig into all of the darkness in his own life, Ash and Lucien are taken to task in book two. Both of them are forced to confront some aspects of themselves, and we get to see more vulnerable sides to each of them through the peeks into their minds, with Hope as the catalyst. We get to learn more about what Ash is and why he's different from the others, get to "see" him smile a lot more, and as the distance between him and Hope diminishes, we get to really understand even more why he's the respected alpha of their pack and swoon-worthy in his own right. Now... Lucien. He earns the hot mess express award FOR REAL. He's up, he's down, he's hot, he's cold, he's vicious, he's vulnerable, he's a total dom, and he's all torn up inside. After book one, I knew the man had a lot of feelings, but dear god, he goes through the wringer possibly more than even Hope does because feelings and vulnerability are just so darn alien to him that he doesn't understand how to healthily process. Prepare for a lot of push and pull with him, but by the end, I think that Assembly will be marked as his turning point where we can start to more consistently see the better side of his nature and how he can be a real partner to Hope instead of changing his feelings fast enough to give her [us] whiplash. There's something that's almost adorable in his total puppy dog confusion over how he reacts/how she interprets his words and actions, though there's no excusing the fact that he has a great deal of a$$hole moments in 700+ pages. Hope is slowly taking steps to healing. Really, we've still got a very long journey there because the poison that she's been dealing with alone isn't purged until the very end, so even though we are seeing some of her confidence and self-image being slowly repaired in the little moments where Jason, Ruarc, and Ash show her what she means to them, she still a wholly fragile being. I do like her, and Woods does a nice job of making me want to both empathize and sympathize with her, but her strength is definitely a quiet one that she's not yet quite unearthed at this point. A big change up from book one is definitely the steam level. We've got one-on-one scenes, sharing scenes, a little bossy bedroom antics, and moments for each of the guys to have their own intimacy with her at whatever level they're ready for. So, even though there are a lot of other ways that their relationships are very slowly moving along, the physical aspect kind of ignited and took off. I'm not mad about it, and the scenes were well-written and enjoyable to read, but I was surprised at the contrast of the pacing here compared to book one. Though Assembly was not without its faults or aspects that might not be 100% my taste (because I wouldn't say that Woods has done anything wrong. The nature of a review is not so black and white as that, right?), I think that Woods did a lot of good character work, some great relationship building and recovery, and I'm looking forward to seeing if book three picks up the pacing since we've got some of the secrets out of the way and an unexpected appearance at the end of Assembly that promises more drama to quickly come.
This book will obliterate you in the best way
Erica Woods knows exactly how to keep you on the edge of your seat, in your feels, not to mention your attention. There's a reason this beautiful woman has amassed such a following and, frankly, she's more than earned it. The world she has crafted is one you'll never want to leave, once you start reading her books you will never want to stop. The wait for this was well worth it and, although the wait for the third book will be agonizing, there is no doubt in my mind that it too will be worth waiting for.
Book hangover!
This is the biggest book hangover I ever had! I am absolutely in love with her writing style! Her writing makes me slow down so I can enjoy the experience of it. My face is sore because of all the emotions that just played over my face while I read the whole book in one sitting. It took a long time to read because I kept flipping back and rereading so many scenes, just to experience them again. Ugh, it was amazing and exhausting and I want to do it all over again right now. The character development definitely moves forward for every single character and especially fast (and up, and down) for Lucien's character. The reader gains more backstory from more characters. Even though I would say book 2 is definitely another slow burning plot line like book 1, I felt the steamy scenes were more medium burn and they did NOT disappoint! Her relationship with each guy definitely speeds forward and there are so many roller coasters for some and I wanted to throttle and cheer on every guy throughout the entire thing. There was definitely some shouting out loud at the text! I keep thinking back on if there's anything that disappointed me and honestly I can't say that there was. There are definitely questions I wish got answered, including new ones! The plot line doesn't move very far, but it kind of feels like everything is being set up for the conclusion and I just can't fault it, especially without book 3 out yet. The relationships are definitely a bigger focus in this one and I have no problems with that what so ever! So many funny scenes, and sweet scenes, and hot scenes and I enjoyed every single one. Yes, there is a cliffhanger, but I mean, didn't you expect that? I personally love cliffhangers and unanswered questions in series because they feel like a puzzle and I WANT to solve it so bad! I highly recommend having a group or someone to freak out together with about this series.
Definitely worth the hype
I was someone who found Hunted in early 2020, and fell in love immediately with Hope’s story and proceeded to stalk Erica on social media shortly thereafter. Between the fb group and all the Amazon reviews, it’s pretty clear Assembly had a lot to live up to and in my opinion it definitely delivered. And this is coming from someone who normally hates bully romances (luckily for me it’s only a thing with one of the guys) but she writes her characters so well that it barely even bothered me. A lot more “happens” in this book compared to Hunted plot-wise(not that it ever bothered me in Hunted) and it was really satisfying to see Hope grow and struggle in this book. Actually I would have liked the pacing to be a bit slower in the beginning 1/3 so it didn’t feel quiet so jarring after just rereading Hunted, but that might be a symptom of my late night speed read. The end-in true Erica fashion-has another heart wrenching cliff hanger but with the quality (and quantity) of writing Erica produces I am more than okay with waiting another year for the last installment. (Actually I’m dying inside but I guess I have to be okay with it)
SO GOOD!!!
I'm exhausted emotionally... and semi-sated. Won't be fully sated until we get book 3. Assembly picks up right where the first one (Hunted) drops off. We get to dive even deeper into these character's heads. I really enjoy how Erica manages the multiple POV in this series. Each character's voice is so clear that I never struggle with who is commanding which chapter. You will want to hug them and strangle them and pet them and shake some sense into their thick skulls and then do naughty things with them. Hope is definitely growing more backbone, though I wish she wouldn't be so foolhardy. I wanted Lucien to feel like a jerk for the way he treated Hope in Hunted, and I was not disappointed. Ruarc and Jason deserve all the belly rubs their wolves can handle. And Ash impressed me even more in this book than he did in the first one. I didn't want it to end, and I eagerly await book 3.
Amazing Second Installment
I think this book was a great addition to the series. The characters developed wonderfully, especially Hope as she becomes more confident. I love her relationships with the guys and how, even in a fantasy, the relationships aren't perfect and the characters have to work on them. The plot was amazing and I can honestly say that I was not expecting quite a few surprises that happened. I laughed (usually because of Jason), cried (quite a few times for many different reasons), held my breath (the suspense was killing me), and wanted to scream (because "males" are frustrating). That, to me, constitutes a good book. I absolutely recommend.
Dragged a bit but was good
I was frustrated with the ending of book one because right as we were finally going to get answers it ended. So I was so ready for book to. However book two seemed to drag on and on. Only adding more questions instead of finally giving some answers. We didn’t start to get answers until the very end and even then the one big question was left unanswered and we were left with more questions. I enjoyed the book but the lack of answers and the drawn out mystery was to long and irritated me. I found myself wanting to just skip ahead and find the answers then go back and read. Also trigger warning for sexual assault.
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