The Wolf Pipeline

All My Favorite Wolfy Recs PLUS a Free Zine Download

Last year, inspired by the initial mainstream success of Bride by Ali Hazelwood, which introduced contemporary romance lovers to the joys of knotting, I shared some of my favorite wolfy recs on Instagram. I wanted to make the rec list approachable for newcomers as well as seasoned monster lovers, so I grouped the MCs by where they fell on the “Wolf Pipeline.” The Wolf Pipeline is an entirely made-up spectrum of “wolfness” I developed to help categorize the varied wolfy MCs found across the genre. Now I’m bringing the Wolf Pipeline to life in a new zine featuring even more wolfy recs and lots of knots.
Skip the Rec List, take me to the zine download

Phase 1: Crescent Moon

This is where to begin if you’re just thinking about dipping your toes into Wolfy Romances. These MCs stay human for most of their story, and do not use their wolf form for any *ahem* extracurriculars. I’m talking about fucking, okay, they only fuck in human form. Though some of these MCs also retain their knot in human form and use it, it’s not a requirement, so I’ve notated the list below with 🌡️s to indicate which books include knotting.

1. Bride by Ali Hazelwood 🌡️

2. A Werewolf’s Guide to Seducing a Vampire by Sarah Hawley

3. Howl by Allegra Hall 🌡️

4. A Breath of Fresh Air by Allegra Hall 🌡️

5. Accidentally Wedded to a Werewolf by Isabelle Taylor 🌡️

6. That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf by Kimberly Lemming

7. Wrestling with Werewolves by Hazel Mack 🌡️

Phase 2: Gibbous Moon

Honestly, even though I read across the whole spectrum of wolfiness, this is my favorite, and it sadly seems to be the rarest. In this phase we get the best of both worlds; the MC has both a human and wolf form and likes to fuck in both of them. I love this trope so much that I coined the acronym FSF (Fully Shifted Fucking) to denote it. I am always looking for more books like this, so if you have a rec, please drop it in the comments.

1. A Wolf in the Garden by Allegra Hall 🌡️

2. Howl for the Gargoyle by Kathryn Moon

Phase 3: Full Moon

In this final phase, the MCs are fully wolfy and have no human form. They have knots, fur, tails, snouts, and all the wolfy senses and primal urges accompanying them. You can expect a serious dose of breeding kink and primal chase scenes in these books, and if you’re lucky, you may get a cute little tail wag, too.

1. Muscles and Monsters by Ashley Bennett 🌡️

2. Ensnared by the Werewolf by Lillian Lark 🌡️

3. Bred by the Wolfman by Lyonne Riley 🌡️

(If at this point you’re still wondering what a knot is, hello and welcome! I’m so glad you found your way here. I’ve got some bad news and some good news. The bad news is I’m not going to explain knotting to you. The good news is my friend Trinity just posted her knotty rec list here on Substack AND went into the details for you. You won’t want to miss her list and all her other educational posts.)

Zine Download

Below you’ll find the download link for The Wolf Pipeline zine. I used an entirely digital process for this zine: I pulled inspiration from this book from my childhood, used free stock images, and built it all in Canva. I say this so that you know that you, too, can make your own zine! It’s easy and fun, and I highly encourage you to try it.

Wolf Pipeline Zine

19.5MB ∙ PDF file

Download

The file is in A4 format. When printing on 8.5 by 11, you’ll need to size to fit and trim the excess blank spaces before folding.

Download

Here’s a link to folding instructions and a great intro to zines.

Thanks for reading to the end. Drop your wolfy rec in the comments below or just let me know if any of these are currently on your TBR.

Find me here: Instagram / Storygraph

Editor’s note: LOL “editor” whatever its just me, I am fully aware that there are many more phases of the moon and I’m only using three of them and the reason for that is I make the rules.

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