“It’s good to read outside one’s familiarity zone” is
oft-quoted advice. Usually, it means to try something darker, grimmer, and
grittier than usual. But when I’d had my fill of dark/grim/gritty/depressing
tales about sociopaths I really didn’t care about, I happily agreed to take a
look at Samaire Wynne’s new wolf shifter novel. I dove into it without
preconceptions and soon found it to be not only romantic in the best sense but also
delicately layered.
Cameron, a foster kid about to age out of the system, is
thrown into the world beyond the mundane when a puppy falls from the sky. I
know what I’d do—everything I could to save it! In Cameron’s case, although it
takes her a while to realize how she’s done it, this involves reaching
out with a magical talent she had no previous idea she possessed.
Despite being forced to grow up too quickly when faced with
an uncertain future, Cameron is still half a child. She has some, but by no
means all, of the skills she’ll need to survive in the outer world. She’s got
the grades but not the money for college; her foster parents do their loving
best but cannot afford to keep her once she passes the age cutoff. The author
perfectly captured Cameron’s loneliness and insecurity about the future and
transforms it into loving protectiveness. In bonding with the puppy, Cameron
places the welfare of another before her own, an essential step in growing up.
As Cameron encounters the puppy’s wolf shifter pack and her
first terrifying encounter with the Nightmare Fae that are now stalking her,
she embarks upon a journey into a new world of reincarnating wolf
shape-shifters and magic. Much of what she learns comes from the wolf shifter
pack. She struggles to define and understand her place among them. Often, their
unqualified acceptance of her is puzzling, as are the gaps in their
explanations. Later, it’s revealed that the shifter pack recognizes Cameron as
a rare, immensely powerful Moon Fae, which is why they treat her with reverence
and take on the responsibility of her education. Like a reader faced with too
much exposition, Cameron is handicapped in her ability to understand it all at
once, but even more so to put together the new relationships with her changing
abilities—and her rapidly evolving identity. Being a normal human teenager is
difficult enough, not knowing who you’ll be or what you’ll feel from one day to
the next (thank you, hormones!). Added to that, Cameron as a Moon Fae is
changing—awakening, as the title indicates. As the story progresses,
Cameron matures in her understanding of her new world and herself.
Underlying the supernatural elements and slow-burn romance
is a beautifully rendered portrait of a family-of-the-heart, and I think this
is what gives this story its emotional depth. As Cameron herself puts it:
Me, who had fleeting connections to a dozen foster parents; me, who had never had a real family; me, who had just two black trash bags to hold every last bit of my life and belongings when I moved from foster family to foster family. I had finally found a family that cared about me. And the monsters had risen up, camouflaged in the most devious, deceptive way, and had descended on us and ravaged them.
The world of the Meridian Pack is an interesting blend of wolf
shifters, fae, reincarnation, fated mates, teenage sexuality, nightmare
menaces, action, and rational discussion. The author draws a distinction
between wolf shifters, shapeshifters who transform into the form of a large wolf,
as opposed to werewolves (as in the Underworld movies) and which appear in Book
2 of The Meridian Pack series. One of the more fascinating aspects of wolf
shifter lore is the rate of aging; handsome Asher appears to be in his 20s, a
little older than Cameron, but is in fact only much younger, with predictable
and sometimes humorous consequences.
Although there’s plenty of dramatic (and romantic) tension, Awakening Fae: A
Fated Mates often has an almost cozy quality. There was plenty to keep
me turning pages but not enough to compel me to stay up all night. As I was
puzzling this over, I attended a webinar about what keeps readers engaged. One
thing that stood out for me was the importance of how the author makes you
feel. That is based in the consistency and reliability of the reading
experience, conveyed through the implied contract between author and reader. The
author says, in effect, “In exchange for your time (and your trust), I promise this
kind of story.” Part of this offer is conveyed through authorial voice, but
pacing, character development, and more subtle aspects of story-telling are
just as important. In order to repay the reader’s trust, the author had better
come through. Wynne’s strong, sure command of these elements means the reader
can relax into the story journey, knowing that whatever the ups and downs of
dramatic tension and plot twists, the reading experience will unfold as
promised, consistent and true.
Fans of Wynne’s other urban fantasies will love this one. It’s also a great place to start, especially if wolf shifters, fae, and coming-of-age stories are your jam. It's available now here and on Kindle Unlimited.
A longtime Californian, you can find her skulking about in southern
Virginia. If you were to visit her at twilight, she might serve you flower tea
or butter whiskey on her back deck. If she excused herself and strolled into
the forest, you might be tempted to wander after her. Past a stream, you’d see
a stone well at the edge of her property, and you might hear voices coming from
deep inside.
If you were to trip and tumble down the embankment, you
might be stolen away by faeries keen to offer you a cookie or a bit of mead in
a flower cup.
And if you were to drink it, you’d awake to find that a
hundred years had passed...
Next Monday, I'll be interviewing Samaire here on my blog. Don't miss it!
No comments:
Post a Comment