ARC Review: Forever Wolf (The Legend of All Wolves #3) by Maria Vale

Flora Reviews… Forever Wolf by Maria Vale. Book 3 in her wonderfully unique urban fantasy series, The Legend of All Wolves. My thanks to the publisher – Sourcebooks Casablanca – for sending me a pre-publication copy to review.

Read: 2^nd – 9^th March 2019

Publication Date: 26^th March 2019

So what’s Forever Wolf about?

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Forever Wolf is closer to being urban fantasy rather than paranormal romance due to its grittiness and some of the content.

So, what did I like about it?

I’m already a fan of Maria Vale’s books. Her stories are intelligent, graceful and feel professionally researched while being amazingly easy to read. I love her prose and the way she weaves known wolf behaviours, Norse mythology, and archaic languages into her tales.

The books in this series are unlike any I’ve read before.

I love the concept that Maria’s are born wolf cubs and must learn how to wear a human “skin”. Learning how to fit in with the human world rather than being humans who have an animal within. A beast, animal spirit or voice/presence inside that they morph into. A second nature that, as a human, they must resist and fight against.

Our female protagonist, Varya Timursdottir is a werewolf from an extinct pack that inhabited an island the Arctic sea. After being taken in by the Great North Pack when she was younger, she’s earned her position of Alpha Shielder of the 12^th Echelon. Varya has all the personality traits that I look for: Intelligence, resilience, and independence. Despite her feelings of still being an outsider, she is loyal to the Pack. She’s got plenty of gumption as well as a cool wit (albeit unknowingly), a big heart and has a fierce fighting spirit.

My emotions came thick and fast reading Forever Wolf.

There are explicit sex scenes in this story, however, Maria writes them with soul. Lending us insights into the principles of wolf pack behaviour, Varya’s inner dialogue and the growth of Eyulf and Varya’s trust and feelings for each other. I laughed, cried, and howled at the moon with them.

Forever Wolf caught me by surprise with some of the twists and turns peppered throughout the story. However, I’m happy to confirm that there’s no life-or-death cliffhanger at the end. Woop!Woop! (‘cause you know how I feel a about cliffhangers).

So, um, was there anything I disliked about it?

I rated this book 5 stars because I wouldn’t change a thing. Even the more harsh aspects of this story that are hard to read, played an important role to the overall appreciation of the book.

This is book 3 in The Legend of all Wolves series. However, don’t panic if you haven’t read the previous books. Maria weaves any pertinent information seamlessly into this tale. Having said that, please bear in mind that a lot has happened in the previous books. You may miss the nuances of knowing the existing characters and understanding the dynamics of Pack relationships and hierarchy reading Forever Wolf as a standalone title.

So, basically what I’m saying is…

I really loved this book. Forever Wolf has everything that I look for in a 5 star story. It’s packed with adventure, mystery, action, great characters, a little humour and even a sprinkling of romance.

The series could be left here, however, I’m hoping that Maria has more stories to share with us about the Great North Pack.

I’d recommend Forever Wolf to readers who enjoy urban fantasy adventures centred on relationships – both family and romantic.

This series is a unique spin on werewolf tales and feels so much more believable than the majority of paranormal romances, I am completely invested in the Great North Pack and the characters I’ve met so far. The Legend of all Wolves series is an unexpected find and I can’t recommend the books enough.

I hope my review of FOREVER WOLF (THE LEGEND OF ALL WOLVES #3) has encouraged you to find out more? Click on any of the links below to check out the book yourself. Keep reading to find out more about the series and Maria herself.

Thank you for taking the time to read my review of Forever Wolf. This series has firmly put Maria Vale on my favourite authors’ list. Click HERE to see who else made the list.

Flora x