Silver Nilsdottir, with her bum leg, is still considered a runt: her future is bleak, her romantic prospects nil; it would be no great loss is anything harmful happened to her. That's why her Alpha sent her to inquire about the armed and wounded man who had just stepped into the Pack's Clearing. Tiberius Leveraux is an enemy, a wolf shifter, but more than that: he is also half-wolf, a lone wolf. If Silver is willing to accept him into the pack, and they make a good impression, together they can claim their rightful place in the Great North Pack; if not, Silver is exiled forever.

A word of caution to begin with: THE LAST WOLF is far from your standard paranormal romance with sexy shifters. It is violent, gory, bloody, and to be honest, in some places, I found it downright gross. If you don't mind your heroine happily crunching away on the bones of the bunny she just killed, you won't have a problem. The prologue was full of promise: in 1668, the Alpha Ælfrida opted to sail to the Colonies with her Pack when humans started to take over and deplete the British wilderness. The tone was lyrical, the author's knowledge of Norse and Old English myths and language evident, and I was ready for an inspiring read. Alas, it was very short-lived, as chapter 1 is set in today's world in Upstate New York, and the tone shifted (no pun intended) to cold, dry, and impersonal; further poetic musings were almost reserved exclusively for the sex scenes, which were particularly lovely, by the way. While I admit being sensitive to certain writing styles, I couldn't comprehend where the elegance of the prologue had gone. On the other hand, maybe the author felt it didn't suit the modern Pack's gruesome feeding habits: the wolves must eat what -- and who -- they kill. Otherwise they're meatless omnivores; still, Michel Tournier can do it.

THE LAST WOLF is more like "Three months with the Great North Pack" than anything else. We are treated to lengthy descriptions of the contents of various buildings; the mating and breeding habits of the wolves; in short, the Pack's daily life. I would have preferred to follow Ælfrida's voyage to America and how the Pack settled in America. Also, I wonder if there is a certain unspoken rule or stigma attached to shifters coupling when in animal form -- or if it is merely a pretext to steamy sex scenes as we expect them -- but given the fearless worldbuilding of THE LAST WOLF, the sex between humans seemed a bit odd. In spite of all my misgivings, character development was stellar, especially for Silver. Maybe those wolves were just too realistic for me, and I better stick with my usual charming and more politically correct shifters. While I, personally, did not find the world of THE LAST WOLF appealing in the least, Maria Vale presents a decidedly different view on wolf packs and shifters.

Book Summary

Debut author Maria Vale’s extraordinary writing and world-building combine to create a spectacular fantasy paranormal romance

PARANORMAL FANTASY ROMANCE

It is under the Iron Moon and the watchful eye of her Alpha that Silver Nilsdottir takes her first unpromising steps into adulthood. But as a lone runt with a crippled leg in her wolf form, Silver is facing a life of endless submission.

Then Tiberius Leveraux stumbles wounded into their territory with a plea for protection. If Silver is to make a real place for herself, she must fight for Tiberius—her only chance at ever having a mate. And in the end, she is forced to shield all of them, the Pack, the land, and the man she loves, from ancient enemies.