Wolf Play

I figured this guy was one of three things: A psychopath; some kinky old guy with a case of obsessive anal compulsive disorder; or the hottest person I would ever meet - Mark, shortly before meeting Hawk for the first time, in a chapter fittingly titled as “The Mistake”.

Wolf Play by H. A. Kirsch starts in a simple manner. While browsing the personal ads from a leather-community app, Mark encounters the profile of “Hawk”. No face, only a list of things he would or would not do. Mark messages him and they decide to meet, but things turn sour after he discovers that this sexy, rough leather dom is a wolf. Having a problem with them because of childhood trauma, Mark decides to keep his distance, but the next day he wakes up to another message from Hawk. Will he ignore it, or will he willingly throw himself to the wolves?

Now, when it comes to the actual plot, that's pretty much it. They meet, they keep on meeting, and a couple of chapters later the book is over. The main conflict in this story is between Mark and his feelings—what he wants and doesn't want, the latter being any kind of wolf in his life—yet my main issue with Wolf Play lies exactly in how this “conflict” is handled, or barely handled at all.

On one hand, Mark, our human protagonist, is wolf-phobic. This is clearly shown in his inner dialogue, yet as fate keeps on throwing more and more wolves at him, he just... goes with it. This can be explained in part because, just as how a specific event in his past led to him not liking wolves, that same event also led to him feeling that he “deserves” everything that happens to him. Now, this could be a good personal conflict and exploration, but the fact that he almost always goes with the flow when it comes to wolves takes pretty much all of the weight of what is supposed to be the main conflict of this story and a core part of his personality. The only times where his dislike of wolves actually mattered were at the very beginning when he first meets Hawk, and right at the end after Hawk finds out what happened. And to be honest, the latter could have easily been rewritten so as to have the same events and just a slightly different reason for them.

Now, while this may sound like I didn't like this book, it's not the case. I loved the interactions between Mark and the many wolves in his life (especially Hawk, who quickly grew on me after the first or second chapter). The sex scenes were for the most part hot, though be mindful that there is one rape scene in this book. And, also, the supporting cast was likable.

All in all, Wolf Play is a good quick read at only 68 pages. However, I believe that this book deserved to be longer, especially when taking into account the themes it's trying to explore.