An ancient civilization long hidden from humanity is on the brink of chaos and war.

Peaceful
for thousands of years, the wolfkin clans are mysteriously losing
packmates, kidnapped and killed by unknown foes. Among the dead is Luca,
youngest grandson of the two most powerful wolves in the Northern
Clans, but he is forced into a half-life, hidden in the far northern
wilds of Canada and cut off from his kind. Those who raised him have no
idea the creature they harbor in their midst, and name him Ghost. He
begins to lose himself over the long years, and though he barely recalls
his true name, the one wolf he never forgets is Kane.

Heir to
the wolfkin clan Black Pine, Kane is charged with hunting down the
traitors who them to the humans. Years fly by, and more wolves are
dying. He refuses to give up, and he vows to never again fail another of
their kind, as he failed young Luca years before. His heart tells him
Luca lives, but his mind tells him that it’s foolish hope, his guilt
eating him alive.

Fate and magic change the course of their
lives, and the two wolves long separated by the years find their paths
intertwining, though the reunion does not come without cost…

Rating: 4 out of 5

I really liked this book. I liked the setting, I liked the characters (even if there was a little much of The Ace trope going on), and the world-building was sound. All of the parts of a great book are there.

What’s not there is fitting all the pieces together as well as they could. The pacing is problematic, and it can make the book a bit of a slog at times. The best example that comes to mind is in a climactic action scene, we take a break for a page or two of exposition. There’s also a number of scenes repeated twice, from different character’s points of view. I think it comes down to narrative efficiency – tell the story as cleanly and efficiently as possible. I think with a little more editing this could go from a really good book to great book.

These quibbles aside, I enjoyed this book very much and I look forward to reading the sequel.

Oh, and fair warning for those reading for the hot man-on-man sexytime: it’s there, but only gets started 60% into the book. After that the times sexytime occurs starts to get a little ludicrous, but it doesn’t negatively impact the story.

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