Title: Winter Wolf
Author: R.J. Blain
Genre: paranormal / supernatural suspense / thriller / murder mystery / urban fantasy
Rating: 5 stars
Purchase: Amazon
Review copy provided by Enchanted Book Promotions in exchange for an honest review.
The Hunted Wizard
When Nicole dabbled in the occult, she lost it all: Her voice, her family, and her name. Now on the run from the Inquisition, she must prove to herself—and the world—that not all wizards are too dangerous to let live.
The savage murder of a bookstore employee throws Nicole into the middle of Inquisition business, like it or not. Driven by her inability to save the young man’s life, she decides to hunt the killer on her own. Using forbidden magic to investigate the past, she learns that the murderer is in fact a disease that could kill the entire werewolf race.
Forced to choose between saving lives and preserving her own, Nicole embraces the magic that sent her into exile. Without werewolves, the power of the Inquisition would dwindle, and she could live without being hunted.
Nicole’s only hope for success lies in the hands of the werewolves she hates and the Inquisition she fears, but finding someone to trust is only the beginning of her problems. There are those who want to ensure that the werewolves go extinct and that the Inquisition falls.
But, if she fails to find a cure, her family—including her twin sister—will perish…
Winter Wolf is the second book in a series, and I haven’t read the first one, so at the start, I struggled a bit with keeping the characters apart, and with figuring out what happened before this book starts. But…the book is amazing. Seriously. I couldn’t recommend it enough. It has so much lore, background story, such unique characters, and smooth, fluent writing, that you just have to read it to believe it.
The murder on a bookstore employee throws Nicole in the middle of Inquisition business, which she doesn’t like at all. Guilt-ridden for not being able to save his life, she uses forbidden magic to investigate the past (how awesome is that?) and learns it was a disease that killed him, a disease that could very well kill all werewolves, destroying their species. Nicole must find someone to trust, but in her world, that’s not as easy as it sounds. And saving the werewolves might have disastrous consequences for her. So with a choice that is anything but easy, Nicole is driven onward, having to use forbidden magic to protect herself and others.
The magic part is sublime, and it adds another dimension to this novel. The characters are complex and engaging, especially Nicole. She’s easy to relate to and with quite a few flaws, which makes her appear more realistic. The plot is fast-paced from start to finish, never giving the reader a break.
An amazing read which covers a lot of topics, and will appeal to fans of paranormal, urban fantasy and suspense alike.
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