Gosh, I keep having to start my blogs with “Sorry it’s been so long since I last posted!” This one is no exception. I had a relative staying at my house for two weeks, so you know how busy things can get with house guests. But – don’t go away! – I have more to offer you than blog neglect excuses. How about a book recommendation?
I briefly mentioned this one in my 2017 wrap-up post, but since today is the release day, I’m mentioning it again. First, some backstory. Several months ago, my agent sent me an email asking if I’d read a debut author’s book for the potential of a “blurb” which means a promotional endorsement. Now, you don’t know this, but my agent sent that request with a decline already written up since (1) I usually don’t read over half of what I’m sent because I don’t have the time and (2) of the half that I read, I don’t get through most of them because I am the pickiest author EVER when it comes to handing out promotional endorsements. Not only do I have to love the book to give it an official “blurb,” it also can’t hit any of my personal auto-reject tropes, and there are many. No, I’m not listing them because it’s my baggage as a reader and I don’t want to imply that books that have one or more of these tropes are “bad.” They’re not. They’re just not my cup of tea.
You might be getting an idea of how few books I blurb with all these disclaimers, and you’d be right. It’s maybe one a year at most. On top of all this, I got into a reading slump last year where even favorite authors of mine couldn’t hold my attention for an entire book. So, although I agreed to read THE LAST WOLF because it had been a while since I’d said yes to my agent about this sort of thing, I was convinced that it would get a reject from me. I even started it with the oh-so-ambitious intention of reading one chapter so I could tell my agent that hey, I’d tried.
Cue me starting the book with that terrible attitude…and then reading for hours, until my husband went to bed with a muttered “Guess you’re really enjoying that book.”
I was. I finished it in two sittings, which is damn near a record for me of late. THE LAST WOLF is about – you guessed it – werewolves, but it’s done in a way that felt fresh and unique even though werewolves are not a new topic. When I finished it, I immediately sent an email to my agent that said “I LOVED this! It’s so much better than the werewolf story I wrote. I’ll send you a quote once I get over being so envious of the author!”
I’m glad I get to write this post because by comparison, my quote sounds pretty dry and unexcited. I don’t know why publishers won’t print first reactions on covers. Mine would have been something like “Squee! I loved this book! Seriously, you gotta try it!” Guess they don’t consider that professional enough ;).
All that said, here are the details for THE LAST WOLF by Maria Vale, which is one sale today. As you can tell, I really recommend it. I’m not alone in my admiration, either: Amazon picked it as one of their best books of the month and Booklist gave it a starred review.
For three days out of thirty, when the moon is full and her law is iron, the Great North Pack must be wild.
If she returns to her Pack, the stranger will die. But if she stays…
Silver Nilsdottir is at the bottom of her Pack’s social order, with little chance for a decent mate and a better life. Until the day a stranger stumbles into their territory, wounded and beaten, and Silver decides to risk everything on Tiberius Leveraux. But Tiberius isn’t all he seems, and in the fragile balance of the Pack and wild, he may tip the destiny of all wolves…
The Legend of All Wolves, book one.
Order: Amazon, B&N, iBooks, IndieBound
Leave a Reply