Stormwolfe (Sons of De Wolfe; De Wolfe Pack, Book 13)


HISTORICAL:  It is 1291, and Thomas de Wolfe, has grown up in the shadow of his well-known father and his older brothers who are amazing warriors.  He is the commander of Wark Castle, and his second-in-command is Desmond de Ryes.  He has been forced into a strategic betrothal with Lady Adelaide, the daughter of Edward de Vauden.  Edward commands a significant force that is important to the security of northern England.  Unfortunately, Lady Adelaide is unhinged.  She professes to be a tempestarii—a storm witch, and she keeps daggers to make shallow cuts on her arms, then spreads the blood on the walls.  Desmond has a widowed sister, Maitland, who has pledged herself to the church for charitable work.  She is passing through, and spends the night at Wark Castle and meets Thomas.  They share an instant connection, but realize nothing can come of it because of Thomas’s betrothal. 

This story is gripping and incorporates stead tension and pacing.  The storyline is uniquely fresh, and the motivations of each character are defined distinctly.  The world created by this author is believable, and described clearly.  It is easy to visualize each battle and scene as it occurs.  It seems slightly incongruous that Lady Adelaide is on her third betrothal at age 15, and that she is capable of the choices that she made when she was even younger.  Nevertheless, her character evokes strong emotions in the listener.

The narrator does an amazing job of keeping these character’s voices separate for the listener, and there are multiple characters needing this distinction.  The voices are believable, yet easy to understand.  This story lends itself beautifully to the audiobook version, and this narrator performs the vocals perfectly in a voice that is a delight to hear.  He is the perfect narrator for the job!

Carey Sullivan