The Maiden and the Werewolf
Taylor ManningParanormal romance
Available from New Concepts Publishing
June 2004
| Kira's grandmother, the woman who raised her, is dying. While gathering herbs for her, three wolves surround her. She's sure she's going to be attacked but a silver wolf jumps in front of her and she hears a voice in her head telling her to run, that he'll protect her. She gets back to her home and tells her grandmother, Amma, which produces a strong reaction from her. Amma begins telling her about her parents, the fight being Light and Darkness, and also that Kira and her parents were basically werewolves. Kira refuses to listen to it, even after the appearance of two strangers, Skarp and Valgard, make Amma very upset, upset enough to continue her story. Kira is becoming a woman because the herbs she was given to stop that have no longer been administered, and that fact is attracting male werewolves, from both the Light and the Darkness.
The Werewolf and the Maiden at first seemed to be a spin on Red Riding Hood, but was an entirely different story. The short story was very well-written and I'd have honestly loved to know more about this particular werewolf culture. Kira seemed like a genuinely sweet girl, but she was so insistent that not only did werewolves not exist, but if they did, they were unnatural, that she annoyed me. She accepted her mate, but then turned from him once he showed her the truth. The characterization of Kira was filled out, but the secondary characters had no personality shown. Even a little would have been acceptable in a such short story. I enjoyed the writing and was intrigued by the beginning story, but wish this characterization had been better. I still consider Taylor Manning's books auto-buys, as the overall writing was pretty good.
Overall rating:
Reviewer: Tara Black |
