Shin Splints, Anyone?

Yes, that's right -- shin splints that have finally arrived following the 2-mile hike at the Muir Woods outside of San Francisco. In all my life I have never experienced this particular difficulty and I can tell you that I would have preferred to have missed out!! Just another indication that I am truly "out of shape" (in more ways that that, to be sure). So I spent the day with my nose in a book -- Friday is usually my "day off" but because of my aching legs I took Thursday this week. I was also a bit fatigued due to all the driving during the early part of this week -- I forget how tiring it is to get in the car and go, go, go.

So in deference to the ole shins, I read Christine Warren's Wolf at the Door (The Others #1). I had finished her Fantasy Fix series recently so moved on to this book. I seem to like staying with an author's work if I like it, and I do like Warren's style of writing and her evident sense of humor. In fact, she seems to have a very dry wit that comes through in many of her characters.

I am definitely going back and re-reading this book. Not because I think it is one of Warren's best, but because as I read so quickly, there is just a lot in this book about the politics of the world of Others that is involved, fascinating, and not easy to assimilate when speed reading. I like books with this kind of depth, but they require just a bit concentration and I just didn't feel well enough to put out that kind of mental energy.

I can say without equivocation that this is a very well-written novel, with strong characters, interesting interaction between the main personalities, some new characters who are interesting and purely evil, a broader look-see into the politics of the Council of Others, and on and on. Of course there is sizzling romance and once again Warren brings two species together as mates--that indefinable something that "clicks" between two individuals and seems to remove attraction to all others. I find it fascinating that werefolk can manage to find a "mate-for-life" and be consumed and satisfied with such a choice, but humans still struggle with finding one who will with whom to be content. (Just a little side comment, don't you know.) As has been common in Warren's stories, the relationships in families are not always easy, and I think she may be telling us that even in the world of Others there are still those push-pull kinds of interactions between parents/children, siblings, etc. that are uneasy, difficult, are at the very least, burdensome.

Warren has certainly put a lot into this first book of a series and I think those who enjoy the world of the Others and paranormal romance in general will find this to be a fascinating read. I give it a rating of 4 out of 5.