Argentum is the threat that binds all magic … The silver of Miri’s cat charm passed on through the generations. The silver of Jessamyn’s scepter, the source of her illusions. The silver of Quentin’s scrying bowl, forged by Merlin. All intertwine in Argentum.
With Alistair gone a measure of peace returns to P.A.W.S., but Miri is tormented by nightmares. The silver charm that had recently hung around Alistair’s neck is now in Miri’s possession and seems to have taken on a life of its own. And then it mysteriously disappears. Jessamyn seeks help from Quentin, who claims to have repented his past association with Alistair, but can he be trusted? And what of Jenna? The young girl rescued from Alistair’s pack house holds a terrible secret. One that could determine the future of P.A.W.S. The P.A.W.S. saga continues with Argentum.
Debbie grew up in the UK in the East London suburb of Barking. She has lived in Israel, New York and North Carolina and somehow ended up in St. Louis, where she works as a writer, editor and a freelance puzzle constructor of word puzzles and logic problems. She lives with her husband, two very opinionated felines. She believes that with enough tea and dark chocolate you can achieve anything!
Much like many books that skirt the line between MG and YA, Debbie Kupfer's first book "P.A.W.S." was a whimsical tale of a young girl, Miri, who discovers that she has the innate ability to turn into a cat. She no sooner discovers this than she is whisked away to a school in St. Louis where she not only learns to hone her other supernatural abilities, but she meets others kids who are much like she is (and, in the case of one boy, falls in love with him). I love stories like that... whimsical, innocent, and fun, complete with an evil villain for our young heroine to vanquish.
However, in "Argentum", the second book in the P.A.W.S series, the maturity of the tone seemed much more mature than the first one, despite only a year having passed. The thought-to-be-vanquished villain, Alistair, lives on in non-corporeal form, and once again it falls to Miri and her friends to save the day.
In many series of this nature, one where we basically watch the main characters grow from childhood into adulthood (okay, into adolescence, at least), we expect the themes to become more "adult" as it goes along. However, there were a couple of scenes in this book that I found quite disturbing and difficult to read, based on the age of the characters, scenes of violence that I would prefer not to describe.
I will say, however, that the universe that Ms. Kupfer has crafted is one of great complexity, one hidden so deftly alongside our own "human" universe that one might actually believe it truly exists. The characters are well-developed (though I think they could be even more well-developed in future volumes), and Miri is a wonderful main character.
I was anxious to read the book after how much I enjoyed P.A.W.S. and I was not disappointed. The series is an interesting take on the whole werewolf/shapeshifter genre. So many of these stories have the "I've read this before" feeling. But, there is an originality to this story that's refreshing.
Miri and crew are dealing with the fallout from the events of the previous book in their own ways. They have a new infusion of wolves now that Alistaire is dead and a new sense of security. All except for Miri. Since her father's death, she has been plagued with nightmares. Nightmares that suddenly go away when her grandfather's pendant is stolen. This pushed her to learn more about her family history but all she finds are more questions.
We get to see many parts of the story that happened over many years. They all combine to create a world that keeps the reader interested and keeps them guessing. I didn't always feel the chemistry between many of the characters but the story itself was good enough to stand without that. I'd alternate between wanting to slap Jenna, wanting to kiss Danny, and wanting to strangle Andrew. It's a book that plays on your emotions. Josh is my favorite, though, and I hope there's more of him in the next book.
This was a solid follow-up to the first book. It did more world-building, explored lingering sub-plots, and added layers to all of the characters. The story itself felt a whole lot more sinister this instalment which really drove home the menace and legacy of the book one antagonist. It's honestly not something I've encountered before where a past character becomes even worse and more dangerous in retrospect, meaning that if I ever go back and re-read the series, a lot in the first book is going to hit harder.
While it remains a really enjoyable YA series it has such an undercurrent of menace and history that it really stands out. The exploration of the meaning of family and Jewish culture mixed in with everything else I've mentioned makes it a series I will definitely continue to read.
Received a complimentary copy to read and review. I love this series. I couldn't put it down. The characters and the world Debbie has created is great. It has great twists and turns. Miri's story continues. She finds out some interesting things in this one that leads her on a search that has her facing her past to try and find the answers she seeks. This one will appeal to all readers. It's one to add to your TBR list you won't be disappointed. I look forward to reading the next one in the series.
Add title review of Argentum by Debbie Manber Kupfer Argentum (The P.A.W.S.Saga Book 2) by [Kupfer, Debbie Manber]
**** stars Overview This is the second book in Debbi Manber Kuyper’s P.A.W.S. Saga, and it begins where book 1 finished. It is a tale of shapeshifters, werewolves and animagi. P.A.W.S. is the place where these beings live. There are many such places all over the world. Werewolves are humans that have been infected with lycanthropy, and are forced to become wolves at the full moon. Animagi can change their shape at will into an animal, while shapshifters require a charm passed down through families, and originally made by Merlin himself. In this second book, we take up the story where the eveil werewolf, Alistair, has been destroyed. Or has he?
Blurb Argentum is the thread that binds all magic … The silver of Miri’s cat charm passed on through the generations. The silver of Jessamyn’s scepter, the source of her illusions. The silver of Quentin’s scrying bowl, forged by Merlin. All intertwine in Argentum.
With Alistair gone a measure of peace returns to P.A.W.S., but Miri is tormented by nightmares. The silver charm that had recently hung around Alistair’s neck is now in Miri’s possession and seems to have taken on a life of its own. And then it mysteriously disappears. Jessamyn seeks help from Quentin, who claims to have repented his past association with Alistair, but can he be trusted? And what of Jenna? The young girl rescued from Alistair’s pack house holds a terrible secret. One that could determine the future of P.A.W.S.
Story I found the story to be as immersing as the first book. Miri’s growing romance with the shapeshifter, Danny, whose alter ego is a large Maine coon cat, plays a big part in the story. There is also a mystery about how her friend Josh’s mother has a photograph that looks like one she has of her grandmother when she was young. The story, I found captivating and wanted to know more about the whereabouts of Miri’s second charm that had belonged to her grandfather, and who took it. Was the dead Alistair influencing events? And how could this be?
Characterisation. The characters in the book are realistic. They all have their good and bad points, just like real people. Perhaps they did not develop as much as they could have, but then there are 5 books to get through. Perhaps they will be changed by the end of the 5th book.
Writing. This is the weakest part of the book. While the style is easy to read, I found a number of grammar mistakes that should really have been discovered and corrected in the editing stage.
Conclusion All in all, in spite of the grammar errors, the story is good, and so I decided to only remove 1 star from my review.
**** SPOILER ALERT **** AUDIBLE EDITION: The Big Bad Wolf is Back!! 'Argentum: ( The P.A.W.S. Saga - Book 2 )" takes a decidedly darker tone than the initial book in this series. Not that, that is a bad thing. Kupfer does a splendid job of world building and character development as the author weaves in quite a few surprising twists into the tale. I enjoyed the book quite a bit and will be diving into book three as soon as I post this review. While I do recommend both this book and this series, I would caution against this book for younger readers due to some of the mature content of the book. Q: Can Miri solve the mystery of the link between herself and Sarah's grandmother? Q: Can Miri overcome the lingering evil of Alistair? A: Grab this book, read it, and find out! Now let me change gears and talk about the narrator. It was nice hearing more of the excellent work that George Sirois has delivered with every book that I've heard him narrate. He brings the characters and the story to vibrant life! His audio production work was, as usual, top shelf! I look forward to hearing more of his narration in the future. In the interest of transparency: I was given a review copy of this book and I am voluntarily sharing this review. It is my own honest opinion
This is the seventh book I have read/listened to by this author and I am enjoying this series. There are unique elements to the stories. I like the shapeshifter and wereanimal variations. Having listened to many of the short stories prior to this one, I found it enhanced the listen since I had some background info going into this book. While Miri tries to figure out the writings in a book Argentum, we learn even more background info. ———
This is the first book I have listened to by this narrator ( George Siri’s ). I hope he improves his audio quality, it’s like he’s in an echoing , metal tube. His style is so I still know being read to due to the emphasis he puts on words. He does however add performance to the book by adding emotion and accents / variations in character voices.he does the bad guy father well. ———
There are described sex/rape scenes and also tame teenage relations, there is described violence, and discussion of violence against children. No swearing. ———
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily left this unbiased review. Please feel free to comment on whether you found my review helpful.
I offered to review this audiobook because I am such an an avid reader but also almost exclusively audio due to my schedule. Because of this, and the fact that a bad narrator can destroy a great series, I can be very critical of narrators. Especially when books have a single narrator required to speak with different voices for multiple characters. Most cannot do it without having some errors where they use the wrong 'voice' for the wrong character. George Sirois does a great job in narrating all voices this book. It was a very enjoyable listen and I didn't have any issues distinguishing between characters.
As to the story, I am not one to give a lot of specific story details since I feel you should read the story for that. However, I will say that it is book 2 in a were/shapeshifter series with great characters and continued story line. The author does a great job of keeping the series interesting. You won't be disappointed if you give it a try!
I received a free review copy of this audiobook and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The only reason for the low stars on the book is the narrator. I received a free copy of the audio book in exchange for an honest review. First I felt Phillis Fisher who narrates the first book P.A.W.S. did a much better job and I really enjoyed the book. I did not care for George Sirous narration of Argentum, personal preference. Unfortunately the sound quality has a slight echo, very tinny and I has to slow down the speed to 0.85x to have a more enjoyable experience, the reading was too fast. Now on to the book. It's a bit darker than then her first book. If you have problems with rape and sexual abuse this may be a hard book to read or listen to as one of the characters is sexually abused by Alister, no surprise there he's an evil jerk. The story continues with lots of magic and shape shifting. Wolf shape shifting is the main theme throughout plus trying to figure out and interpret the book called Argentum, with Hebrew writing, that was given to Miri. A lot of evil ensues with Alister and anyone connected to him. Lots of drama, the story continues on to the 3rd book. Drama, mystery, magic, shifting, evil, sums it up.
I’m really enjoying this series. I am not usually one to enjoy paranormal books, but I really like these so far. This author keeps her characters much more human than many shape shifter have been in my experience, maybe I’ve been reading the wrong books... This book jumps around a bit in time and I had a hard time following those jumps at times, I do think this is partly due to listening rather than reading since I can’t see the breaks on the page. There are two instances in the book where sexual acts are mentioned in more detail than I think is ok for teens, not much explicit detail, but I think it would have been better if handled differently. Other than that I enjoyed the book. The narrator is good, a few places that felt to me like funny places to have emphasized with voice inflections, but I understand my own interpretation does not always match that of others.
I definitely think some of the scenes and topics are too dark for children. It would be more suitably categorized as YA.
Miri continues to uncover the mysteries and abilities of her heritage. More details are revealed about how everything is woven together.
While some of the topics are dark, they are pertinent to the storyline, and Debbie Manber Kupfer presents them well. I’m looking forward to seeing where this series goes.
George Sirois did a fine job with the narration. There were a few audio inconsistencies, but they were minor and didn’t distract too much.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.
I like the story line, it continued where it left off in the first story, with no gaps, it helped fill in some gaps that you were left wondering at the end of the first book. Loved seeing the new twists the book went through.
Narrator had a good voice, rose and fell, they did change tones a little with different characters, only downside is, he sounded like he was in an empty room with his voice slightly echo-y.
I received a free review copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I was so looking forward to this book after P.A.W.S. Debbie doesn't let you down. The storyline with all the twists and turns continues with the believable interesting characters. It is a book you won't be able to put down. You have Miri's story continued as she seeks answers as she searches her past.You continue with shape shifting capabilities and more on the cat amulet. The author has done such an amazing jobwith this continuation you will not be disappointed. I am so glad I got this book. The narration is done so well you at time feel that you are in the story. I recommend this book.
Miri now has both charms, the original charm from her omama and the charm from her opapa she retrieved after killing Alistair. The charm from her opapa is going to cause her serious problems in this story. The young lady who is also a wolf shifter and was impregnated by Alistair in the last novel will have a role in this story as well. Is the threat from Alistair really gone? I enjoyed this book, but they switched narrators from the first book and I did not care for this one as much. I recommend this story. I was given a copy of this story in exchange for a honest review,
Argentum: P.A.W.S., Book 2, my fourth read from author Debbie Manber Kupfer. A well-written enjoyable 7-hour 3-minute read. After reading P.A.W.S. #3 & #4 I'd obviously missed something so I went back to the beginning. If I'd read these books first there's no doubt in my mind I would've continued on. George Sirois’s narration adds to this unique book's enjoyment. I look forward to the 4 Tales from P.A.W.S. as well as P.A.W.S. #5 "I received a free Audible review copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review." (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018).
This is a continuation of the PAWS story. Somehow Alistair survived in spirt. I wonder if he is really gone now. This story was written to give more of the backstory than the first book did. The story was great, well written and informative. The narration was ok, could have been better. I am looking forward to the next story. I am wondering what will happen with the child and if they will catch Andrew for the double agent he is.
I got a copy of this audiobook from StoryOrigin for free for an honest review.
This sequel to P.A.W.S. was great. Unlike the first book, I would not recommend this as a stand alone as there are issues unresolved at the end, and you should really read P.A.W.S. first. The characters are wonderful, and the the storyline original. I received a free copy of the audio version of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I listened to this book through audible. I had a hard time getting into this story. The narrator was ok but some of his reactions didn’t match the story and seemed echoing throughout. The story and characters are well written but not enough going on to draw you in and keep you hooked. (I received this audible book for free and am leaving a voluntary honest review)
I have to say that this was a great book and I really did like this book with this author's useal writing style and so on and this is my opinon. I have to say that I recommend this book to almost everyone as it has all the things you would want in a book like this and this is my opinion. I receieved this book for free thru an Advanced Review Copy, ARC, with an honest review freely given.
light horror shifter bad guy empire saga Firstly this book is for mature readers due to a rape scene. The story was detailed and intense, often dark . Recommended for readers that like dark shifter series. Good sized 8 hr novel. l thought the narrator voices suited the differing characters .
I felt this story was interesting but a little long winded, wish author made the story a little deeper, though it is right for YAs. Still I enjoy the story.
This book starts off exactly where the first ended. Again the author does a wonderful work of weaving an amazing story. The characters are developed more in this installment like we get to know more about Jessamyn , Quentin, Sahara who is Josh's mom, Josh's grandfather and all the family connections ( though the characters themselves have yet to connect the dots. Even Lilith shows a better part of herself in this book. There are a few more characters whom I can't mention without spoilers. All in all a very clean , well narrated and constructed book. It has paranormal, romance and urban setting all wrapped in one. I am onto the third book now.
Let me start by saying that I really loved this story. It's a continuation from PAWS which I really really enjoyed. In this one we follow along with our main character Miri and her friends at the St. Louis PAWS Institute as she discovers new secrets and goes back up against old foes. There were a few things in the book that I would consider mature content and they kind of took away from me being able to fully enjoy the story and brought it down to a 3.5 star rating for me.
Miri is a great lead character she is very strong and I enjoy watching her grow as the story continues. Her supporting characters add to an already solid story. We learn more magic, secrets, and history behind a few more of the characters and I thought this really helped my reading experience. It gave me a depth that I sometimes find lacking in books. The characters were also really developed and mature and that always gets extra points in my book. It didn't happen frequently but as I said there were a few points in this book where I really had to push myself to continue just because of some of the content, once I pushed through though, I was able to get back into the story with ease.
I read book 1 and really enjoyed it, but to me this book was even better. We see a little more history of some of the main characters, which is a good thing because it helps to understand them a little better.
In this book, Alistair has been destroyed but still lives on. Miri is living her life at the school still trying to figure out her relationship with Danny, her past, and her future. The school still provides a safe haven to those lost or running from the once evil but now gone (but, not really) Alistair.
This book was a lot more action filled in my mind and was a very fun and interesting read. I really enjoyed it. Definitely a great follow up to a great first book. I look forward to reading more from the P.A.W.S. institute...Stormi
This is the second book I've read in the P.A.W.S. series and like this one just as much as the first!
The story picks up right where book 1 leaves off. We follow Miri as she figures out what to do with the silver charm that Alistair left behind. She has nightmares and questions that torments her until the charm mysteriously disappears and back into the hands of her uncle. The leader of PAWS (Jessamyn) seeks help from Quentin (a Wizard and former lover), who claims to have repented his past association with Alistair.
And what of Jenna, Miri's friend at PAWS? The young girl who was once held captive by Alistair, is carrying a terrible secret: she's preggers with his child. Miri can feel/sense evil within the unborn baby. While Miri battles internally of telling Jenna exactly what she's carrying, she still wants to be her friend and have Jenna experience the joys of being pregnant.