The Ultimate Sacrifice by B.L. Maxwell and Nic Starr

This second book in the Four Packs series following four werewolf packs dealing with a deadly disease as well as rising tension between the packs was such a sweet and fast paced fated mates-story!

In the first book, we got to meet Marrok from the North Territory pack, who was trying to find a cure for his friend Grady in the East Territory pack but ending up falling in love with the son of the Alpha, Zander, on the way. In this book, focus is on Grady and his fight against the disease (a genetic disorder called ‘The Slow Death’, TSD) and on Max who has been urged to move from his West Territory pack to be a donor to Grady.

This book could definitely be read as a standalone, but I loved the added dimension with getting to see a lot of Marrok and Zander and the overall story with the increasing pack rivalry that continued to build to a potential huge showdown in the final installment.

The story is told in dual POVs from Grady and Max, and was so sweet and heartwarming. Grady has come to terms with his fate to die young in the TSD when at last a donor, Max, is found to match his rare blood type. Max on his hand, is not very happy at first to be told by his Alpha to give up his life as a lawyer in the West Territory and move to the North to be a lifelong donor, but accept his fate to save Grady’s life. What he didn’t expect though, was the effect Grady would have on him, nor to find out during the first transfusion that Grady was his fated mate.

Compared to the first book that had an enemies-to-lover plot and more tension, this book was much lower on steam and angst, and focused more on the slow-burn romance and character dynamics in the midst of the rising tension between the packs. Max was such a sweetheart in the way he wanted to protect Grady and allowed him to fully recover to find out about the mate bond himself when being able to shift again. But eventually, the scheming of his own pack is revealed and Max is forced to choose between his family and the Alpha’s orders, and the love of his life.

Just like the first book in this series, it was a quick read, but with a great world building, a thrilling story with a nasty disease and pack drama, and well written characters that kept me interested and entertained all the way through. I definitely want to keep reading this series and follow the story of the characters I’ve come to love, as well as getting to know new ones in the other packs too!

Thank you so much to Gay Book Promotions for the ARC and release tour invitation! All opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Rating:
4 stars

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Author info:
BL Maxwell
Nic Starr