Raine is a slave, a gladiator. Known as the Bloody Wolf, he is the champion of all champions in the Empire of Khalid. Ly’Tana is a warrior princess of Kel’Halla and is set to wed the heir to Khalid’s throne, Crown Prince Broughton. When Raine and his new wizard pal, Rygel, accidentally murder the High King, they set in motion events which rapidly spiral out of control. Ly’Tana discovers the true, and violent, nature of her betrothed, a man nicknamed Prince Brutal for his vicious nature, and escapes her marriage.
Brutal will stop at nothing to have her for his wife. To entice his runaway bride into a trap, he brings down and captures her griffin bodyguard, Bar. Ly’Tana vows to have Bar back or die trying, and seeks the help of Raine and Rygel, to free Bar from Brutal’s clutches. In doing so, Raine and Ly’Tana are forced to flee for their lives, hunted by Brutal’s secretive assassins.
Can they escape the hunters and their silent, evil hounds? Can Ly’Tana evade Brutal’s hungry need to marry her and seize her beloved country? Can Raine keep Ly’Tana alive and still save himself from capture and torture? Can they stop themselves from falling in love?
Thus begins the first novel of The Saga of the Black Wolf series.
I loved this book, it engrossed me right from the beginning and didn't really let up until I was able to read the last words on the page. This story is a great work of High Fantasy, with a rich and enveloping world that would rival any that I know of in depth and grandeur. There seem to only be humans in this world, but the different nations and cultures present make it seem as if each nation is a different race of beings, and that adds even more to the story. The author alternates POV between the two main characters, and I believe does so very well, even though the book is written in first person. I think this adds to the book because you will get to see/read the thoughts of the two main characters as they go through each event. She also goes back in time in order to explain what is going on with both characters during a given time frame, which is important for me so that I can find out what is going on and how each event in the novel has a relation to both stories. They do eventually meet and travel together, and it is then that many secrets are revealed, and many bonds are formed.
I really enjoyed reading this book, and whenever I felt that a little back story would be good to have the author had one within one to two pages that allowed me to understand the scene that was occurring. I found that the story flowed naturally and well from one scene to another, and this is accomplished by the use of flashbacks as well as some rather comedic moments of the book, that had me laughing many times. These moments are what make this book so hard to put down, even though there are times when I just wanted to put the book down because I was upset that something had happened or that I thought something was going to happen. And on that note, this book was not very predictable, I found myself wrong about a lot of the predictions that I was making and that kept me interested in the book also, because most things that I was wrong about turned out to be better than what I had expected to happen.
I think the language and details of the scenes are appropriate for this book and an adult audience. There are not many instances of swearing or other foul language but when they are present they are done in a very tasteful manner. As for the battle scenes, they are well done also. The actions flows very well from one encounter to another and gives you the feeling that it is a fluid battle instead of a choppy and forced one. The details given of the battles are also well done, giving the reader enough information to know what is going on while not giving so much grotesque details to make a reader shy away. As for other adult scenes, there are not that many, actually there are only lead up scenes, and never any actual actions are taken. This is good because I don't think this book would have worked with adult scenes in it, the next story I am not sure as much but this book had the feeling of a getting to know the world and characters, and in the next book we would be able to see the personal lives and interactions of the characters in greater detail.
As for the characters, I absolutely loved Wolf, he reminded me so much of myself, that I was able to put myself into his shoes for much of the book. Granted he is much more imposing than I am, but I felt that the cunning and intelligence that he showed were similar to qualities that I posses, only he possesses them on a much greater scale. I found that many of the questions I had at the beginning about him were answered by the end of the story, but I was still left with the hunger for more about him.
For the Character that I hated, definitely Brutal, but as he is the main villain I find that I am supposed to hate him, and that makes it even easier to hate him honestly. As a villain he is very good at what he does, even though I don't like or agree with what he does, but that is how a villain is supposed to act. He is also a great foil for Wolf as they are the complete opposites of each other and the reader can see how they may have been able to be a lot more alike had their upbringings been different.
All in all I greatly enjoyed this book, and I honestly cannot wait to read the next book in the series as the ending has be greatly intrigued, but to find out why you will just have to read the novel yourself. I would like to thank Mrs. Ross for allowing me to read and review this book and I hope you all will read this book and enjoy it as much as I have.
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