Maria Vale - Forever Wolf

Legend says his eyes portend the end of the world...or perhaps, the beginning...
Born with one blue eye and one green, Eyulf was abandoned by his pack as an infant and has never understood why, or what he is...
Varya is fiercely loyal to the Great North Pack, which took her in when she was a teenager. While out on patrol, Varya finds Eyulf wounded and starving and saves his life, at great risk to her own.
With old and new enemies threatening the Great North, Varya knows as soon as she sees his eyes that she must keep Eyulf hidden away from the superstitious wolves who would doom them both. Until the day they must fight to the death for the Pack's survival, side by side and heart to heart...

Comment: It's been three years since I've read the second installment in the Legend of All Wolves series by author Maria Vale. This is the third and while there wasn't a lot of specifics I remembered, I had an enough general idea to simply follow what was going on.

In this third story, the protagonist is Varya, who came from a decimated pack, to the order of the Great North., which made her feel confident in her position. Varya isn't alpha but her "shielder" duties practically make her so. One day Varya finds a lone wolf hidden in a den and helps treating his wounds, which happens often enough they slowly start talking and his story is as heartbreaking as Varya's. However, she knows he would never be accepted by the Pack and keeps his identity a secret. In the meantime, their enemy Augustus Levereaux is upping the tactics to take control of his grandchildren and, ultimately, of the Pack too. When things reach an impossible point, Varya decides to act, but what kind of price will that require...?

For those who aren't familiar with this series, in this world mrs Vale has created, wolves are able to turn human but they aren't human. This is a very important distinction because while we, the reader, recognize human like traits and expectations, the characters are more often guided by their animal instincts even if/when they show those human features too, such as the feelings and emotions behind many decisions.

This said, the first two installments offered an interesting but flawed world and my biggest issue was that the fine balance between the wolves' instincts and their "humanity" wasn't obvious enough and I've finished both books with the sense that something more should have been included, as elusive as it sounds now. Well, in this book protagonist Varya is considered a distant, kind of aloof wolf and we must glimpse her "human" side by her decisions and how she adapts her reactions to the situations taking place,as well as her caring for the other wolf she knows the Pack will not accept.

I think the wold dynamics and lore were established well enough. The author doesn't info dump but the narrators (always in first person) give the reader enough to understand how the Pack works, how is organized and who is who in all the hierarchies. There's a lot of imagination but also a lot of academic information mixed up to make this world a fantasy but close enough to reality. And credibility, consistency in how the characters act and behave in this world.

This means that, while we wish these stories to be romances, and having romantic elements, the base of the main story line isn't one. I'll say that, personally, that is how I still see it in part; once a romance reader, if the element is there, there's no way to ignore it. However, this book is definitely not a romance and not only because protagonist Varya doesn't start an obvious relationship with her ill wolf, Eyulf. The intention and the drive of the characters isn't romance oriented, everyone has other concerns and their state of mind doesn't see the romanticism of it, even between mates.

All this to say that while I liked the story, while I've felt engrossed in the characters' lives and their dynamics and I've liked Varya more and more as the plot developed, I still feel incredibly frustrated and annoyed at the end of the book. The author chose a path for Varya and Eyulf that feels so... unnecessary. As if the choice was a matter of stating a point, of using a tool to originate a reaction in the reader, as if it had to be a karmic/whimsical kind of situation, when it wasn't that necessary in the big scheme of things. I feel so terribly annoyed... but I can see why some readers found it to be poetic.

In regards to plot situations, namely the confrontation with the enemy, all this is more or less solved, and in a slightly easy way if I think about thr worry it caused in the other isntallments. I can suppose the author had planned for three books and this was quite the end... but since there are two more stories, perhaps those will not include an external enemy and will be more about the pack's structure.

I did like to see the previous protagonists and their "place" in the Pack, though, and how hopeful that makes me for the next two books, which I will read at some point.

Grade: 6/10

Maria Vale - A Wolf Apart

When the Great North Pack is on the verge of falling apart, Pack wolf Elijah Sorensson wants to give up on his successful life in the human world to return home. But the Alpha says no--Elijah must continue to play his role to protect the Pack from those who want to destroy it.
Knowing he needs strength by his side, he seeks out human Thea Villalobos, a woman he's admired from the moment he met her. He hopes she can help him break through his human shell before the ailing wolf inside him dies, and before the Pack is betrayed again. But can Thea accept who and what Elijah really is?

Comment: This is the second story in the Legend of All Wolves series by Maria Vale. I had to go and check my comments on the first book, that I had read in 2020, of which I only remember I wished it had been better, but it turned out this book stands well on its own. 

In this second book, the focus is on Elijah Sorensson, he is a lawyer and a link of the pack in the Outlands, meaning a wolf who lives mostly in Skin, the way they designate their time as humans instead of wolves. However, it's been years trying to adhere and sticking to human behavior, doing all that is necessary to keep the lie, to keep up appearances and Elijah is tired. He feels he should challenge for alpha, so he can finally let go of Skin and just live with the Pack. Things are getting harder for him until the day he meets Thea Villalobos but she is human, which means although he cherishes these new feelings he's having, after so long enduring other humans he can't stand, he also knows she won't be accepted by the Pack. But is there any other option, what can Elijah do?

I had to check my comment on the first book but that ended up not mattering because I barely remember Elijah from the basics, and what I remember is that he wasn't a great guy. Well, in this book the author did a wonderful job maintaining that notion, for Elijah was, for most of the book, a character I didn't like. I understand the idea was to highlight his frustration and tiredness and disillusionment over what he feels has been a sacrifice for the good of the Pack, but for me he isn't likable until 75% of the book more or less.

I also get he isn't human, he doesn't have to comply with human subtleties and awareness, but the fact he behaves in such a cold and detached manner, increasing his attitude as a cold man and difficult to please and only accepting others in specific ways (womanizer, manipulative) really made it a chore to keep reading and I felt like not going on more than once. I persevered because I hoped the romantic interest would provide a much needed balance for him.

Thea is a unique woman, she is clearly a lover of nature and simplicity...I think the reasons why she lives almost out of the grid are a bit far fetched, but her personality certainly suits Elijah and what we know of his ways and such. I think their relationship could have been portrayed better, because the amount of scenes between them before and while they were getting closer feels too simple for the apparent huge task that is is, in the end, of them being able to stay together. I feel the important parts or perhaps more clues and scenes with them bonding would have helped to reinforce this, and I think this wasn't enough.

This way, when they risk staying as a couple, as mates, it's a little disappointing because I felt too long was wasted on setting the vibe Elijah had to be redeemed and should be so, instead of showing us scenes where this was happening. It also felt as if Thea just accepts some things too quickly or not as well informed as she could - and I don't mean the finding out he is a wolf. In fact, this part, as one could imagine close to the end of the book, was probably one of the best elements of the story for me but wasn't enough to make me think of the book as great as a whole.

To be fair, I do feel a little sad over the romance. I suppose the author intended for mystical or destined, even when the characters don't think of themselves in such a whimsical way, but I do miss something more tangible to their personalities and characterization, so that I could connect with them more easily. I could accept the challenges they face and so on, since the world building remains as special as in the first book, but the characters, in their uniqueness of not being human, just don't act in such a compelling way as I'd have liked.

This, added with a few details that could be explained better (why doesn't Elijah explain his tiredness to his pack members?) made for a story I wasn't always that interested in. I liked it from a certain point on, it's true, but some sections were truly annoying.

Grade: 7/10

Maria Vale - The Last Wolf

For three days out of thirty, when the moon is full and her law is iron, the Great North Pack must be wild.
If she returns to her Pack, the stranger will die.
But if she stays...
Silver Nilsdottir is at the bottom of her Pack's social order, with little chance for a decent mate and a better life. Until the day a stranger stumbles into their territory, wounded and beaten, and Silver decides to risk everything on Tiberius Leveraux. But Tiberius isn't all he seems, and in the fragile balance of the Pack and wild, he may tip the destiny of all wolves...

Comment: I'm a fan of shape shifter stories and in the paranormal genre this is the theme I prefer the most. However, these stories usually go towards certain paths that aren't always as great as I would imagine but after having heard so many positive reviews on this book from different sources, of course I felt curious enough to try it myself...

In this book we discover a new world where shifters exist in secret through the care and the secret of centuries, especially since a certain pack went to America in the 17th century to run from those who wanted them dead.

This story is set in the present and focuses on Silver, a smaller wolf who is considered the weakest of the pack and she knows she won't have many opportunities to go higher in the hierarchy but she feels content to be part of the pack.

Wolves can turn into humans, so called "skins" so they can have a disguise for who they really are but deep down their behavior within the pack borders is closer to the animal they are instead of their human side. 

A being they can't stand is the shifter, someone who is half wolf, half human and who can more easily live as human. This story starts the day a shifter asks the pack for help and Silver accepts his request, to try to be a team in the pack or to be exiled if they don't succeed. Can Silver overcome the odds and be the wolf she knows she can be?

This was a fascinating story, that is true. I had a good time reading and I was curious to see what would happen the next page. I think the pack dynamics make sense in this world and I think the plot was predictable but still executed well, especially because of the little things the author did to make it a different type of shape shifter novel.

The problem for me was how difficult it was to empathize since most characters really showed a very small amount of human traits.

The narrator of this story is Silver, we get everything from her POV. She is a delight, that's for certain because she is a little naive when it comes to some interactions outside of pack behavior. We can understand she doesn't have such a high opinion of herself unless it's related to her knowledge of pack dynamics, pack history... but in relation to others she feels she can't measure up because she has a lame leg, is smaller, can't as easily get a human look... I obviously was rooting for her, because it's always very special to see someone considered inferior somehow to find inner strength and happiness.

Silver does manage this by pairing up with Ty, the hero. He is also very complex, has a secret and a disadvantage by not being pure wolf but I think their relationship developed at the right pace, in the right way for two people who have issues trusting what they don't know well. They were both brave and I liked how they did act as if they were a team, but when they were trying to prove themselves for the pack and later, when a battle of sorts was on going.

I think all the details about the pack and the character's actions were interesting, well executed, the explanation and characterization of what is a pack in this world also felt were well thought.

It's a pity, then, to think the characters are always a little distanced from the reader. It's not the fact one has to read between the lines or that some information is given in the amount necessary for that situation and other things come up later, this makes the story addictive and compelling to keep reading.

However, it's almost as if there's a certain tone in it, as if we are reading about an old tale, about things that cannot be recovered in the present, as if it's a fable. It feels as if these characters could all just disappear and nothing besides the idea of them would remain. I suppose I'd have liked the tone of the story to be more inclusive of happiness, of light scenes, of a bigger grasp on what makes those people special for one another. When they are human, it's like it's such a chore, such a hardship. I can understand why but this means it's difficult to have proof they are really following their feelings. They act so much like wolves, the rational acceptance of their human side is just too slim.

I suppose I'd have liked them to be more like the wolves in series where they are accepted, where the relationships are more complex than the basic wolf instincts.

There's a plot, actually, on going as well. It's related to the land where the pack is and the neighbor proprieties. I know this is here to explain why some scenes in the end happen the way they do but, personally, I think they could be easily avoided. 

There's so much complexity already in the notion of this world with shifters and wolves in it, extra stuff is just distracting and over the top dramatic. 

I expected more, I confess. I liked it for many details but still... I'll read the next one one day. At some point.

Grade: 7/10