Reviewed by Sarina
TITLE: Wolves of Black Pine
SERIES: The Wolfkin Saga #1
AUTHOR: S.J. Himes
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 423 pages
RELEASE DATE: June 30, 2015
BLURB:
An ancient civilization long hidden from humanity is on the brink of chaos and war.
Peaceful for thousands of years, the wolfkin clans are mysteriously losing packmates, kidnapped and killed by unknown foes. Among the dead is Luca, youngest grandson of the two most powerful wolves in the Northern Clans, but he is forced into a half-life, hidden in the far northern wilds of Canada and cut off from his kind. Those who raised him have no idea the creature they harbor in their midst, and name him Ghost. He begins to lose himself over the long years, and though he barely recalls his true name, the one wolf he never forgets is Kane.
Heir to the wolfkin clan Black Pine, Kane is charged with hunting down the traitors who them to the humans. Years fly by, and more wolves are dying. He refuses to give up, and he vows to never again fail another of their kind, as he failed young Luca years before. His heart tells him Luca lives, but his mind tells him that it’s foolish hope, his guilt eating him alive.
Fate and magic change the course of their lives, and the two wolves long separated by the years find their paths intertwining, though the reunion does not come without cost…
150,000+ words, contains graphic sex between men, dubious consent, mentions of abuse. Contains gore and violence. Mature readers only.
REVIEW:
Wow, this was one long read! Due to the length of the book, and the various parts of it, I’m finding a brief overview of the story hard to manage so I’m just going to break it down a little as I progress through my review. 🙂
First off, I really liked the book; I liked the spin on shifters and their origin story that the author provided and it was nice to see more than Alphas and Betas showcased. The first half of the book is, honestly, on the slow side of the equation as the author is both giving out necessary information and setting things up for the rest of the story. I liked how the origins of the wolfkin were told as a children’s story and found the magic associated with it made it more entertaining than some other explanations I’ve read before about shifters so that was nice. This is also where the two main characters meet for the first time before they’re separated and everyone comes to believe that Luca (known as Ghost later) is dead. Fast forward fifteen years and the story really begins in my opinion.
The next part of the book flips back and forth between Ghost and Kane as you see what’s become of them since the attack. I really liked both characters; Kane is probably the quintessential Alpha but he still has his flaws and sometimes needs someone else to point them out to him but then he makes an effort to improve himself. He’s a natural leader but is fully conscious of how easy it would be to abuse his power and quite often wishes he didn’t have the abilities he’s been gifted with. Ghost was the more interesting of the pair in my opinion, however. His life has been anything but ordinary and he sees the world much differently than other wolfkin because of it. Like Kane, Ghost has a great deal of power and responsibility and he finds the idea that he may hurt someone accidentally horrifying. You learn a great deal about the characters and who they really are during this part of the book, and I enjoyed that, but its when they finally find each other again (around 50% in) that the book really got interesting to me.
Pretty much all the action is situated in this last half of the book as well as any and all sexy times. There is also a scene of dubious consent between a pair of secondary characters that some could consider on the border of non-con but it can be skipped easily if that is a trigger for you. While I did enjoy the first half of the book, I have to say that the final half was so much better! You really get into the meat of the plot and I loved watching as the various threads unraveled and the traitors were all brought to light. Things are also being set up here for the sequel, which I’m looking forward to. 🙂
Overall this was a really good book but you do have to be prepared to slog through some slower parts on the way to the rest of the story, which was highly entertaining. The story does end on a happy for now instead of a happily ever after but, honestly, I didn’t mind that at all. There was a lot covered in this first installment to the series and things are set up to go into the sequel beautifully which I’m looking forward to immensely. If you enjoy shifters but want something more than the norm I’d recommend taking a look at this one but be aware that the book is a bit wordy; it was worth the time put into it though!
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
S.J. Himes