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Wolfsbane
Evelyn is most definitely not a werewolf. Sure, some people may call her that, but she prefers the term Thayne, what she and the rest of the species call themselves. They’re not the ones you need to worry about, though. Those are the Acendani, wolves who can turn human. Pure instinct laced with human cruelty, and all signs point to an uprising within the ranks.
When Evelyn discovers a former classmate, Josh, being attacked, she intervenes at the cost of exposing what she really is. Because she broke the cardinal law of the Pack, keep the secret at all costs, she is tasked with protecting him while the Alpha investigates the breach in the Peace Accords and the possible civil war between the species that may follow. Keeping him alive may be hard, but following the custom of not getting involved with a human may be harder.
When Evelyn discovers a former classmate, Josh, being attacked, she intervenes at the cost of exposing what she really is. Because she broke the cardinal law of the Pack, keep the secret at all costs, she is tasked with protecting him while the Alpha investigates the breach in the Peace Accords and the possible civil war between the species that may follow. Keeping him alive may be hard, but following the custom of not getting involved with a human may be harder.
- GenresParanormal
236 pages, Paperback
Published August 1, 2016
About the author
Grace Faolian
1 book6 followersGrace Faolian just released her debut novel, Wolfsbane, in August of 2016. She is currently working on a YA Fantasy. She lives in Phoenix, with her husband and two cats.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 14, 2017
Grace Faolian’s “Wolsbane” is surprisingly tame compared to the usual werewolf tale that paranormal fantasy fans are used to, but it certainly delivers on likeability for its characters, its unique perspective of “werewolf” culture, and its fantastic final scenes. Faolian’s family of “Thaynes”—humans who possess the ability to shape-shift into wolf form, are the self-appointed guardians over human beings and monitors over the “Ascendani”—actual wolves who are able to alter their natural form to appear human. Whereas the Thayne are primarily human and have all the abilities and feelings of humans, the Ascendani are beasts driven by the need to predate on humankind. This is the world that poor Josh, a former classmate of Evelyn (Faolian’s heroine), stumbles into when he is attacked by the latter and almost killed after a 60 year period of relative peace and tranquility between the two species. Josh comes to learn of this world and finds himself caught up in an oncoming conflict between the two groups.
Faolian’s foray into this new culture of human-wolf vs. wolf-human is an imaginative divergence on standard werewolf fare, presenting the Thayne as seemingly ordinary, everyday people who just happen to live an alternate lifestyle, as opposed to the Ascendani who seem to fit more easily into the mold of common Lycan lore and mythology. Like any other tale with a cause, “Wolfsbane” has its lessons to teach. We see one in particular when Josh moves in with Evelyn and her family so they can tend to his wounds and provide protection until Evelyn’s mom, the leader of the Thayne, can determine the reason for the vicious attack. We seem to empathize with Josh when he sees how the Thaynes, who live a similarly structured lifestyle to our own—except at feeding time, of course—are not so different from any other family. Of course, Josh’s attack is a sign of a much larger issue—a plotline which Faolian succeeds in introducing and developing with incredible detail and suspense. The author’s perspective on Evelyn and Josh’s growing affinity toward one another makes “Wolfsbane” more of a paranormal romance than a horror story. But the dramatic final chapters and Faolian’s interpretation and restructuring of the standard werewolf culture—which is presented in the same manner, over and over again, in so many other novels dealing with this subject—is keenly astute and fascinating.
“Wolfsbane” does have its issues with spelling, grammar, and sentence structure, and the author may have benefited from the use of a professional editor or beta reader. However, these issues are negligible compared to the smooth flow of this story and the incredible imagination of its author. All in all, I found “Wolfsbane” an exciting and absorbing read, and I hope to see a sequel coming out soon!
Faolian’s foray into this new culture of human-wolf vs. wolf-human is an imaginative divergence on standard werewolf fare, presenting the Thayne as seemingly ordinary, everyday people who just happen to live an alternate lifestyle, as opposed to the Ascendani who seem to fit more easily into the mold of common Lycan lore and mythology. Like any other tale with a cause, “Wolfsbane” has its lessons to teach. We see one in particular when Josh moves in with Evelyn and her family so they can tend to his wounds and provide protection until Evelyn’s mom, the leader of the Thayne, can determine the reason for the vicious attack. We seem to empathize with Josh when he sees how the Thaynes, who live a similarly structured lifestyle to our own—except at feeding time, of course—are not so different from any other family. Of course, Josh’s attack is a sign of a much larger issue—a plotline which Faolian succeeds in introducing and developing with incredible detail and suspense. The author’s perspective on Evelyn and Josh’s growing affinity toward one another makes “Wolfsbane” more of a paranormal romance than a horror story. But the dramatic final chapters and Faolian’s interpretation and restructuring of the standard werewolf culture—which is presented in the same manner, over and over again, in so many other novels dealing with this subject—is keenly astute and fascinating.
“Wolfsbane” does have its issues with spelling, grammar, and sentence structure, and the author may have benefited from the use of a professional editor or beta reader. However, these issues are negligible compared to the smooth flow of this story and the incredible imagination of its author. All in all, I found “Wolfsbane” an exciting and absorbing read, and I hope to see a sequel coming out soon!
September 29, 2016
YA/NA isn't normally a genre I read, but I adore werewolf books so I have this one a shot. It was fast paced and had a good shot of thriller in it along with the romance.
December 26, 2016
I was pleasantly surprised with this book! This is definitely a case where you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. The plot took off right from the start, Grace didn't play games with a prelude to the story or give you unnecessary information. The romance between Evie and James wasn't overdone and was quite cute, actually. I really hope the author intends on writing a second book featuring Evie as developing into an Alpha.
July 5, 2017
Well written, ending a bit predictable
This was a good book. It was well written and had an interesting storyline. The characters were introduced in a skilful way and there was enough intrigue to keep the readers attention. The main gripe I have with the book is the ending was very predictable and a little rushed. It it were handled better, I would have go enough it 5 stars.
This was a good book. It was well written and had an interesting storyline. The characters were introduced in a skilful way and there was enough intrigue to keep the readers attention. The main gripe I have with the book is the ending was very predictable and a little rushed. It it were handled better, I would have go enough it 5 stars.
October 31, 2016
The book immediately jumps into the plot on page 1. There's no page after page of winding up to what's happening in the story, which I liked. There are two different werewolf species in this book, which was a nice change. The pack dynamics are also interesting. Without giving too much away, I enjoyed seeing how Josh and Evelyn dealt with learning more about each other. It's not heavy literature by any means, but it was a fun read with humorous parts.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews