Tome Thursday: Wolvenguard

 

Hello everyone!

 

And welcome back.

 

As you can see, we're more on track this week with the blog posts and everything, so hopefully I don't derail again in the coming weeks as work gets busier.

 

But that aside, do I have a treat for you!

 

BookSirens just remains the gift that keeps on giving, and it keeps supplying me with absolutely wonderful stories to read, or in this case, continuations to the series that I started on there.

 

Sarah Westill, as well, is an author I never would have picked up otherwise, yet here we are, seven or eight books in, and I'm still just as much on the edge of my seat now as I was when I picked up Wintersfall way back when at this point.

And the story keeps getting better with each new book in the series!

Guardians of Sziveria is a really, really riveting read, and I highly recommend it, which is why tonight we're taking a look at its newest installment: Wolvenguard.

Links to previous related posts (in chronological book order) can be found at the bottom of the page, as per usual!

Now at this point, we all know about a cataclysmic event that sets the world back thousands of years, sometime in the future, and that eventually, survivors start forming nations again in a new, much more brutal and colder world afterwards. Sziveria being one of those nations, we get to stick around it after the strong talents have already become inherited traits to be passed down through Gen-Heirs, and right now? Well, we're working on a mystery that started way back in the first book.

See if you remember, Wintersfall featured Katria and Sean, and Katria's mother and sister were killed when she was young, which prompted her to join the guardian teams and try to track down the assassin who took half her family from her.

Now, Lucianna Castien is doing the same thing, because HER mother and brother were ALSO assassinated, and she was taken to be used for the nefarious purposes of the V Alliance. Having been rescued and returned to Sziveria, she, too, has joined the guardian teams, actually Sean's team (Katria's husband) and is working behind their backs with some information of her own.

This is where our story begins, when the lot of them descend on Deklan Ralston's house, assigning him with the job of not only finding the wayward girl who went off on her own, but to also track down and bring back a dangerous fugitive thought to be very high up in the Alliance: Joel, Sean's older brother, and a sexually very depraved person.

Deklan accepts and heads off to New Columbia, where he does, in fact, find Cia, who was caught by Joel and tossed into a concrete cell after the Wolvenguard was spotted advancing on their location. With two of his wolves and the rest of his team in hot pursuit of the train their convict is on, Deklan remains behind with just one wolf (Izia) and survives some sort of ash bomb that the uninhabited zone dumps on top of their heads by being thrown into the concrete bunker with Cia.

They get out of there and start making their way back to civilization, during which time Deklan admonishes the girl for running off, explaining that teams are there for each other through thick and thin, and that the Alliance SHOULD be a concern for her, as guardian, rather than just the single-minded focus on the assassin she has.

 

... he also panics when learning she's full-blooded Ruthenian, which, to his half-blood status and the beast master position he holds, means he can form a bond with her that will mate them for life and be irreversible.

 

Cia actually unknowingly starts to form one, and Deklan's forced to explain certain things to her that her parents sort of neglected to share of their own accord, which makes things doubly delicious because Cia WANTS him, and not just as a passing fancy. She saw him at a party and wanted him then, too, but the more she gets to know him now, the more she wants more.

 

Deklan's wary because she's only nineteen to his thirty (among other things) and they focus on reuniting with his team and going after Joel, who tricks them into following a decoy while he tries to finish what he started with Cia, though luckily Izia alerts Deklan something's up and they get there on time.

 

It's during these back-and-forths that Deklan also figures out Cia's genetically enhanced talent isn't being used properly, nor is she being trained to use it properly, because she freezes during any adrenaline rush, rather than uses it to her advantage, so he makes plans to help her with that once they return ... which of course gets complicated when someone takes a shot at Joel, Cia runs off willy-nilly to get them, and Izia gets hurt in the aftermath trying to protect her.

 

But hey, at least they get home in mostly one piece, right?

 

Yeah, right.

 

Not even a day in, a couple of thugs ambush Cia in her own home, attempting to kill her, but Izia again alerts Deklan something's wrong so he arrives on time to save the day, at which point (when it becomes obvious Cia's a primary target now the Alliance knows she won't join them) he takes her and her father to Wolvenguard with him, knowing she'll be safe there since nobody can get past his three wolves.

 

And of course, that's where things start blossoming between them for real as he helps her deal with a massive thunderstorm and she admits that she suffers severe PTSD - but equally, that she's old enough to make her own choices, and wants to be his arch guardianess AND his mate, which entails wearing his beast master tattoo on her back as a mark for others to recognize for the rest of her life.

 

Deklan's resolve is weakening, and he promises to contract with her, but that they'll have an actual promise ceremony first, because he insists she'll miss it otherwise, and then that gets pushed to the side while they figure out her training, where he explains to Kevin (a man we remember from Raiventon) that he's going at her talent all wrong.

 

Because Ruthenians were basically lab-created back when the world still functioned, pre-cataclysm, their genetics work differently than those of the rest, and while Sziverians who have talents have involuntary responses to them, using them without thought, Ruthenians can access them - or not - completely voluntarily, so they only have to figure out what exactly Cia feels during an adrenaline rush so she can recognize it for later on.

 

So Deklan helps her with a game of hide and seek, and she finally understands her talent the way she ought to - and understands herself. With her father providing a simplified marriage contract, she goes to Deklan that night and they consummate their bond, after which he introduces her to his large family (parents, matchmaking grandmother, and ten siblings, all).

 

At this point, the group has also managed to decode some books Cia nabbed from Joel in New Columbia, and found a comprehensive list of names that FINALLY has them a step ahead of the V Alliance, and includes the name of the assassin that's been plaguing everyone.

 

Would you look at that?

 

When the situation becomes dire as Delanee, Deklan's sister, gets caught in the assassin's crosshairs and Ryan Voklane, of all people, vows to keep her safe, it's time to step it up a notch, and Sean's team, with Deklan and Cia in attendance, track him down. Cia lures him into position; but it's Katria who makes the killshot, and their enemy is finally, truly dead.

 

At this time, we're also introduced to a young man who helps them navigate the Old City ruins that I'm convinced has a part to play in upcoming books, and oh also, did I mention Cia bonds Izia as well? That's right, because of her bond with Deklan and her Ruthenian blood, she gets a bond with a wolf all of her own, and with the assassin gone, the focus now turns towards Delanee and Ryan.

 

And besides, Deklan and Cia have earned a rest, not to mention the potential to start a family of their own, something Deklan desires deeply, am I right?

 

FIN

 

Aww yeah bby!

I'll admit I was impatient. Deklan steals the show the second he first appears on-page and starts bopping about as the Wolvenguard. So seeing his book was next in the lineup made me swoon slightly (and for probably hair colour reasons my HC for him is Sam Heughan. Double swoon).

So he's a sure thing. Cia has to grow on you a little but, in the author's defense, she makes it very clear the 19 year old starts at one point and ends on another. Her growth is noticeable and lovely, and I also enjoyed reading about how she tackles the plethora of obstacles placed between her and Deklan. The reality that he's a beast master AND more than 10 years her senior isn't just glossed over, but actively discussed and challenged.

I'm also thrilled we get more of Ruthenia through these stories now, really digging into the rich culture of the world the author's building for us.

We finally get closure for Katria and Cia both, but with an introduction of plenty new young players on scene now that our original cast is pretty much paired up and happy.

But we still have the V Alliance. And we have yet to see Voklane happy - or figure out what the heck he even IS. And HIS book is next.

I can't wait!

So if you haven't yet jumped into the world of post-cataclysm, alternate universe, genetically inherited gifts and happily ever afters with a nefarious, overarching plot nipping from the shadows, what are you waiting for? Come and meet the Guardians of Sziveria! They love, they fight, they defend, and manage to crack jokes.

What's not to like? 10/10 recommend! 

xx

*image not mine

Levkaseon - Wintersfall - Raiventon - Kynhaven - Asherwick - Ericksen - Survaine