Aurora is a princess – it’s very important to her that you understand this. Especially when she climbs a hill. That might be in the second book, but she’s very, very proud of herself for walking up a slope.
​
However here we start her story with her engagement to Sebastian, a total a*&hole who decides to impress Aurora with wolf gladiatorial games. Aurora’s like, this is weird, but I guess this is my life now, so I shall sit here and think princess thoughts. When a younger, smaller wolf is set to fight a huge monster guy with a chest so big no one can figure out how he stands upright, Aurora tries to tell herself everyone dies, it’s fine. When the kid is hurt Aurora can’t take it and intervenes – she has her fiancée show mercy and let them go back to their kennels. Sebastian decides it's a wedding present, which works out because the severed head he ordered for her hadn’t arrived yet.
​
Obviously it’s not enough for Wolf Poppy to have saved the pup’s life, now she must go tend to his wounds! She presents herself as a prostitute to fool the guards and get access to help the wolves, soon meeting the pup, Ryan, his top-heavy alpha, baby Tamlin, Callum, and some gross wolves.
​
Callum tells Wolf Poppy how courageous she is, and it’s like, please stop, her head is big enough. They chat a bit, but she has to go when an actual prostitute shows up and Wolf Poppy hears weird adult noises her brain can’t compute. She sees Callum again pretty quickly because he and the other wolves breakout of the kennels and he’s decided to take Wolf Poppy with him. So off they go to the North! He’ll trade Wolf Poppy for the Heart of the Moon, a rock that Sebastian might have that will allow the wolves to change at will. Wolf Poppy’s like, cool, wait, you want me to sleep on the ground? And promptly passes out at the suggestion she doesn’t have a pillow.
Callum takes her to maybe his castle? I don’t remember, probably his castle, because he’s an alpha! I’m a princess! I’m an alpha! Yes, we know, really, you don’t have to remind us every three paragraphs. But I’m a princess! So Wolf Poppy is now living with people who all hate her and would like to probably eat her. She’s cool with it though. She just wants a proper dress to meet the Wolf King, because she’s a princess!
​
When they finally go to meet the Wolf King, dude’s not there, just more alphas. And Callum’s all, whaddya mean he’s not here, and it’s like, it’s okay, Callum, thinking is hard, we all get it. Instead, Wolf Poppy meets a jerk alpha, another jerk alpha, and baby Rhysand, Blake. Blake doesn’t wear a kilt! And we’re told repeatedly he’s the badass of the wolves, but baby Tamlin throws him up against so many walls, it’s like, badass at washing his clothes? How is this dude scary?
So now they have to wait for the Wolf King to agree to whatever hoohaw crayon plan Callum comes up with, but who knows what’ll it be since there’s no way he’ll want to trade Wolf Poppy. While they wait, Callum and Wolf Poppy go talk to Blake to make sure he won’t tell anyone Wolf Poppy is a princess since he seemed to have recognized her. He’s all, fine, now go away I need to buy more black underwear.
​
Wolf Poppy has one demand in order to stay in the castle – she wants her own room! And it should be painted pink and have a unicorn bed. Callum’s like, okay, but you have to wear my collar. Princesses don’t wear collars! Wolf Poppy isn’t thrilled with this idea, but it signals that she belongs to Callum so hopefully the wolves won’t murder her. Booo. She concedes to wear the collar when she realizes she can’t keep telling us she’s a princess if she’s dead.
​
Soon Ryan turns up all bloody – Callum and Wolf Poppy left him with the gross wolves when they fled Sebastian’s castle – with a note from Sebastian threatening to wear a red velvet tux to their wedding if she keeps behaving like this.
​
And now it’s the full moon where all the wolves will change and pee on each other and Wolf Poppy is told explicitly to not leave her room. So of course she leaves her room to go check on someone making weird noises thinking it’s Ryan, but it’s Blake! He’s being a big baby in his room because he doesn’t like to change? I don’t know what his deal is, but he sees Wolf Poppy, tells her to run, then changes into a black wolf and chases her so he can pee on her.
​
Callum eventually shows up as Blake bounds off with Wolf Poppy’s cloak to mask her scent or to cut up for his underwear, who knows, Blake is weird. Callum lays down on Wolf Poppy so she can’t go get herself gobbled up and she wakes up with him naked on the ground. And I’m just like how do you have any circulation in your legs, girl? I guess it’s a special princess talent.
They go back to her room and she tells Callum to bathe her since she doesn’t know how soap works, but weird Blake shows up to ruin Callum’s shampoo treatment to announce the Wolf King needs help!
So Callum roadrunners it out of there leaving a Tiddly-frustrated Wolf Poppy to her own devices. When her collar is stolen by Callum’s stalker, a couple of gross wolves think Wolf Poppy’s their new chew toy. Blake puts his collar on her, and it’s like, girl, the gossip about you would be unreal in the castle.
​
Blake and Wolf Poppy talk about herbs and whatever until Callum finally re-emerges and apologizes for running away without telling her anything, he was just super freaked out by her magic hoohaw. But it’s fine, it’s fine, he read a book and is ready to try to Tiddlywink her without losing control. And it’s like, of what, your bladder? You’re an alpha, get your s*&t together, man. These are not the smartest people.
​
Finally the Wolf King shows up and Wolf Poppy tells him to go f himself with his stupid title. Blake’s like, well, I did tell you to be bold, and off they go to celebrate…stuff! There’s a big ole party and Wolf Poppy gets sufficiently drunk, but it’s a happy drunk, not a crying in the corner drunk, so that’s nice. She dances with Blake and his little hands and blah blah blah. Callum eventually collects her to put her to bed only to wake her up and tell her they’re going somewhere…else? I don’t remember where, but her sassy self isn’t safe there.
​
Road trip! Off they go to his kingdom, so this wasn’t his kingdom, okay. I think, I might have these all backwards. They eventually end up in a tent with pillows and rugs and blankets and it’s like, wtf? Okay, sure you lugged all that around. But Tiddlywinks and now they just love life as they walk around flashing completely innocent forest creatures until Wolf Poppy is just standing and thinking of the shocked look on that poor chipmunk’s face when she hears footsteps. And bam, she’s a princess and really bad at running, so she’s caught by the goons and Blake, who chloroforms her.
​
She wakes up and is lectured by Blake that she’s going to get a choice and if she chooses correctly she’ll live! Sigh. She’s like, I don’t even know, but she’s mad that her herb buddy has kidnapped her and now that one turtle won’t get to see her lady bits.
And she meets the Wolf King, who’s Callum’s brother, James. He’s all, I’m going to offer you a choice! And it’s like, are they worried we forgot fifteen seconds later that Blake said there’d be a choice? And her choice is to marry James or be sent back to Sebastian. She’s like, I’ll take Sebastian, thanks. So James backhands her, and it’s like, Blake really is a twat.
​
Wolf Poppy is strung up in a cell to rethink her choice, and Blake saunters in to do his nails. Just take the deal, god, he tells her. Never! She doesn’t change her mind and tells James, “No deal, let’s go get your fancy rock!”
​
Off they go to get their rock! Wolf Poppy tells James she loves Callum and James is a mean man! He’s like fine, here’s a knife, if you kill Sebastian, you can live in the wolf place and it’s cool.
​
Sebastian’s all, here’s your rock, see you later! And off he and Wolf Poppy go into a carriage as his guards and wolves start to slap each other around. Once alone, Sebastian’s all, blah blah, and Wolf Poppy’s all blah blah. Then she tries to stab him, but she’s bad at stuff, so he knocks the knife from her and it’s not looking great for her until James rams the carriage, knocking them over. Wolf Poppy gets her knife and kills Sebastian only to leave the carriage and get bitten violently by James. Because…I don’t know, I don’t really know why he did that. But Callum finally shows up and he and James dog fight for awhile, but Callum’s losing until Blake shows up and subdues James so Callum can get Wolf Poppy and carry her to, I don’t know, his castle? Wait, no, she wakes up in Blake’s castle? I guess she has a lot of blood, so it was fine to run around with her for a few days.
​
But it looks dire, Wolf Poppy is dying from the bite because she’s half-wolf! Of course she is. You survive the bite as a half-wolf or you don’t! I feel like that applies to a lot of stuff. She’s not doing great, but Blake has an idea! He says blah blah blah, and she’s all blah? and then his life force mingles with Wolf Poppy’s life force and she’s okay! But now she’s tied to Blake, so she can feel whatever he feels, but not really, he doesn’t let her much after this chapte, he “cages” his emotions and it’s like, but…okay. She can feel the physical pain, which they tell Callum, who then promptly tries to choke Blake out. Either Callum has astoundingly bad listening skills or he doesn’t like Wolf Poppy, I’m not sure. Because he does it again soon after.
​
Callum eventually wanders off to do some lunges and Wolf Poppy quickly figures out that Blake planned to save her with the bond so Callum won’t kill him after Callum becomes the new Wolf King.
After Callum is the Wolf King Blake can become the new new Wolf King since Callum can’t hurt him! Sigh, these people.
