In “Falling Silver” by A.M. Ross, we meet Karina Redfeather, a successful artist, who is in love with a werewolf named Simon. Whether Simon returns her feelings, she doesn’t know. What she does know is that the pack of wolves he runs with are being hunted by a group of men armed with silver and naming themselves hunters. And that an old enemy of the pack, a mad wolf who embraces his bloodthirsty nature even in human form, has finally caught up to them. With enemies on all sides, Simon and Karina must try to protect those they care about while containing the wolf within.
I haven’t read many modern werewolf stories, but this one I got drawn into. The worldbuilding here is actually quite interesting, as the mythology goes beyond the traditional monster on the full moon werewolf tale. The staples, such as silver being their downfall, are there. In this world, though, there are actually four types of werewolves. Earthwolves, Waterwolves (like Simon), Firewolves, and Airwolves (who transform on the new moon rather than the full). Each type of wolf has slightly different characteristics that differentiate them from the others. This made the book quite interesting to dive into.
The plot was engaging, especially as more of the characters’ personal motivations started to come out later in the book. Although it does move too fast sometimes, and occasionally left me feeling like things were being glossed over when I would have wanted them fleshed out.
Some of the characters I would have liked to see fleshed out more, personally. Simon, for example, I had a hard time getting behind simply because I felt I didn’t know enough about him as a person. His mortal enemy, the hunter Adam, is actually more interesting in a lot of ways (despite being misinformed about a lot of things). Karina, as the other main protagonist, was easier to root for, but I had a difficult time caring about the romance between them that much. The romance feels a bit arbitrary to me, as I didn’t really understand why they liked each other, just that they did.
I rate this book at three out of five stars. Fast and exciting in places, it’s a fun, quick read for fantasy fans.
