Being the first book in Lauren Gilley’s new paranormal series, I was super excited when White Wolf finally published. Unfortunately, I couldn’t start it right away but when I was finally able to read it, it was well worth the wait. I was riveted to the pages, hating when I had to put it down, getting more and more immersed as the story unfolded. I’m going to be purposely vague about some things as I don’t want to give too much away.
After the prelude to the book titled The Stalker (which is included in the book), White Wolf starts in present time with homicide detective Trina and her partner Lanny. They were assigned a strange case, which kept getting more bizarre by the minute. It then jumps back to Russia during WWII. This was a dark and hopeless time during Russia’s history, and Ms. Gilley captures that feeling well as she introduces us to Captain Nikita Baskin and his men. Nikita was folding under the pressure of keeping his little family alive, and broken by guilt over the one he couldn’t save. He hated who he’d become but didn’t know how to change his path and keep his men alive. My heart bled for him, especially with how everything played out.
Nikita and his group were Chekists, Stalin’s secret police, who were feared far and wide. At first glance, not a group you would ever believe you could come to love, but I did. Not everything was as it seemed with these men and they won me over bit by bit, despite the brutality they were capable of. Their newest assignment was to help a freaky old man pick up Sasha, who was eventually going to be used as a secret weapon capable of winning the war.
Sasha was everything Nikita wasn’t. Taken from his home and family and whisked off to an unknown fate, he had an irrepressible sweetness and naivete to him that he never lost. He was the light amongst the pitch black darkness of this time. No matter how dire and heartbreaking things got, even when he had to do brutal and violent things, he never lost that.
Their story was slow at first, but as it went on, the mystery and suspense completely pulled me under its spell. Ms. Gilley picked well when she chose Russia as her setting for much of this story. I’ve always been fascinated by the Russian Revolution, the Royal family, and Rasputin, especially when it came to his horribly brutal, seemingly impossible demise. For me, I always felt this time period had a mystical feeling to it, so it was easy to get into Lauren Gilley’s paranormal spin on things.
In fact, I got so into it, when it switched back to the current time I felt like I’d been sitting in a dark room and suddenly someone turned on bright lights. It was so disorienting, it took me a bit to even remember who these people were and what was going on. I do wish this had been told in two parts, with Nikita and Sasha’s part first, then going into current time.
This is not a romance book (although there is a romance aspect to it). There is no HEA, and it ends on a cliffhanger which I tend to avoid like the plague. The story captured me and wouldn’t let me go so I just didn’t care it was missing all the things I crave in a story. It did suffer a bit from being the first book in a complicated series since there was just so much detail that needed to be imparted, but that was easily forgiven. I do feel like I missed out on some huge things but I’m hoping they will be picked up in future installments.
This heartbreaking story is unforgiving in its darkness and at one point left me feeling completely gutted. Never fear though, as Sasha is the beam of light making it all worthwhile. Plus, I know Ms. Gilley has some goodness in store for us in the coming books as it all comes together.
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Top reviews from other countries
"fantasy fan"
They just get better
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 21, 2017Kindle Customer
Can i have more please sir?
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 30, 2018
Debbie
Brilliant start to a new series
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 26, 2017