Judith’s review of The Shadow Wolf
On the run from authorities, gutsy Megan Moraine knows shadow wolves like herself have no place in this world. But she’s still prepared to do anything to protect her young charges. That resolve is tested when the trio is captured by Gabriel Robichaux. Everyone knows that Gabriel is a ruthless bounty hunter, a member of an elite group called the Enforcers. Why then is Megan so attracted to her enemy—a wolf who hunts his own people? A wolf whose languid, sexy drawl makes her dream the impossible?
A new novel from this author and one that is filled with tension and suspense, watching a woman and her two twin child cousins try to escape the prejudice and oppression that had become the norm for “shadow wolves” — those shifters who had the ability to become invisible. Deemed abnormal, these shifters had been consigned to an island camp where they were quarantined from “normal” werewolves. Megan has planned this escape attempt but nothing has really gone as it should.
Now Gabriel, an undercover advocate for “shadow wolves” has come to their aide, yet there are still humans and shifters who are after their lives and who are also seeking Gabriel to wreck revenge for deaths they cannot accept–sons and daughters who had become feral and whose existence Gabriel had been ordered to end. This is a story that is never easy, one that has at its core both the budding romance between Gabriel and Megan, but also the never absent issue of how can these three live in a world that has declared them abnormal, broken, unwanted and feared. Gabriel has his own secrets that make complications in their flight from death, but also impinges upon any potential future Megan and Gabriel may have together. The two little girls have learned well that they are different, that their very survival depends on remaining “mum” about lots of stuff in their lives, and are loyal to their older cousin to a fault. As their parents are dead, Megan is their only older relative and she wants to re-unite them with their father in New Orleans, believing that then they would be safe, surrounded by a family and father’s embrace, and able to have a good life instead of the crippling existence in their quarantine situation.
This is not easy reading and is not for those who want a light, fluffy, quick read. It is a novel that pulls at the emotions, is one that the ultimate resolution grows more and more improbably, and which is indeed ended only with some surprising developments. This is the first novel by this author I have read but I was impressed by her expertise and by the overall excellence of the composition of the work. It is somewhat a different kind of paranormal but most of all it deals with the issue of prejudice and how being comfortable with someone who is “different” is so difficult for some, especially when they gain power and are able to enforce their prejudice upon a significant segment of society. It is no different in human society, but the author, I think, has used the paranormal setting to make her point. I was wooed by the love between Megan and her cousins and I was blessed by their loyalty to one another. I experienced deep distress at the rejection of those who should have loved them, and deeply affected by the girls’ questions as to why everyone hated them. Prejudice hurts everyone.
I highly recommend this book to those looking for a paranomal romance that is out of the ordinary and which, while easy to read and told in a very readable style, still deals with some hard issues and entertains while it is educating. This particular issue of this novel also includes another shorter work that was previously released. Thus, there is more here for readers to enjoy.
I give this novel a rating of 4 out of 5
You can read more from Judith at Dr J’s Book Place.
This book is available from Harlequin. You can buy it here or here in e-format.
This one sound really good, and different from other parnormals, I think I’ll try to check it out!!