Claimed by J.R. Ward

After taking a break from J.R. Ward and the BDB series since The Shadows, I was curious enough about her new series featuring shifters/wolves. However, it still takes place in the same world as the BDB. In this latest series, we're introduced to two new characters: Lydia Susi and Daniel Joseph. I found them relatable and different from Ward's past characters. Lydia was passionate but frustrated about her work as a researcher at Wolf Study Project due to various problems including an incompetent director, the building of a luxury spa resort next to the wildlife preserve, poisoned wolves, and a murder case that might lead directly to the wolves. In contrast, Daniel had his own secrets and was portrayed as someone who moved around a lot and never planned on sticking to one place for long. Lydia was attracted to him since the beginning but kept her distance because they were worked together.

At times, I felt like the romance between Lydia and Daniel took a backseat to the mystery behind what was happening to the wolves. There were intimate glances and certainly chemistry between the two but it took some time before they finally got together. It was definitely a slow burn that kept getting stronger and stronger towards the end. I did find it interesting that both characters had secrets since Daniel was keeping a major one from Lydia. As always, Ward has a tendency to focus on the world-building and this took the center stage as she provides us background and context through multiple points of view. It was also nice to see character cameos from the BDB series including Xhex and John, Qhuinn and Blaylock, as well as Rhevenge and more. It made me want to catch up to Ward's original series and see what was happening to its characters.

In the end, Claimed had plenty of twists and shocking revelations that will have you excited for more to come from this series. This book also had plenty of twists and shocking revelations that will most likely contribute to the overall world of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Although the romance took awhile for me to be invested, I still appreciated that slow burn between Lydia and Daniel. They were strangers that eventually turned into friends and lovers. I did thoroughly enjoy their love story and thought their scenes together were very sexy. I'm a fan of those intimate glances and moments when characters catch each other's eyes and then look away. I look forward to seeing what J.R. Ward has in store for this series next!

*This ARC was generously provided by the author and publisher for an honest review*

Rating: ★★★★☆