A captivating story told from the perspective of wild wolves, this was a very enjoyable read. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys books written from an animal's point of view. Well done.

There was a huge struggle to get through this book and whereas I usually read a PNR in 3-4 hours this one took me weeks and weeks. I didn't enjoy the characterizations, they felt a little caricature-ish to me as far as the wolf traits and it was very distracting

I've read this book a few times already and for some reason, I still have a hard time writing this review. BECAUSE THE BOOK IS THAT GREAT!!!
When you truely understand what love is what would you do for it.
“Sentiment is what you do for yourself,” he says. “Love is what you do for someone else. "

“You can’t always protect, Varya. Things happen in the world that are beyond even your control. Sometimes all you can do”—he gently pries apart my hands and kisses each palm—“is love.”


"He turns to face me. Ah. Now I know. Now I know why he is alone. Why he has always been alone. And why he will be alone forever. I guess I’d only seen one eye before—the pale, ice-blue one. Never the other. Never the one that is the bright, variegated green of the forest canopy."

"Laws that cannot bend will break. For Victor, the law is dead, petrified and unchanging. He will use it against Tiberius. Against Evie for accepting him into the Pack. Against the human who saved Theo’s life. This is not about protecting the Pack. This is about protecting the Old Ways, which is not the same thing.”

This book. No, this series touched me in a way I can't explain thoroughly. To the point, I actually wrote Maria Vale to discuss it with her after my first reading. She pointed out that one of the things her readers have to accept is that the magic in this wolrd is different and that a happily ever after for the Pack is one for everyone.

** :) ARC kindly provided by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. :) **

I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was suggested for the 2020 list. It was not nominated for the award. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2020/01/2020-reading-list-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

We carry this series, and I bought it for the library. I did not care for the direction the author chose to take the series. I loved the first one, though.

With old and new enemies threatening the Great North, Varya knows as soon as she sees his eyes that she must keep Eyulf hidden away from the superstitious wolves who would doom them both. Until the day they must fight to the death for the Pack's survival, side by side and heart to heart.
This was a pretty good book. The world the author has set up is a bit different from other paranormal worlds, which I’ve appreciated in each book. I liked both main characters, but I really liked Varya in particular. I always love strong female characters and she was no exception. This was a really good conclusion to a trilogy that I’ve enjoyed. I recommend.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This book was released on March 26, 2019.

I did not realize this book was part of a series when I started reading it. My only complaint about this book was that it seemed like I was missing some of the characters’ back story but it turns out that is my fault because there were two books that took place before this one.

You don’t HAVE to read the other two books, because I ended up loving this one all on its own. I imagine, though, that the other two book are awesome, too.

The Last Wolf – The story of Silver (wolf runt) and Tiberius (shifter)
A Wolf Apart – The story of Thea (human police) and Elijah (wolf & lawyer)
Forever Wolf – 5/5
What is it about?

Varya is an arctic wolf and the sole survivor of her pack. She has resettled in the Great North pack and does everything she can to make sure this wolf pack does not fall to the same fate.

Then she meets a wolf with eyes the color of the sky and colors of the earth. In stories of old this portends either the end of the wolves or the beginning, depending on how you tell it. He is a threat; and yet he smells like home.

Was it good?

Yes!! I loved it. I was a little confused because it jumps right into the pack life and hints at stories that happened earlier. I should have realized at that point that there were books I was missing but, I was already too invested to stop reading.

The portrayal of the every day lives of these wolves as they fight to survive against not only the humans on their borders but other more powerful forces that threaten to tear the pack apart, is just breathtaking. I loved the way the history and hierarchy all fit together into a society that feels possible.

I don’t normally read romance and I didn’t realize that this was romance novel at first. I was just excited about the wolves.

The romance was really great. The relationship grew in a natural way and the physical expression was *ahem* interesting, but didn’t overshadow the actual story. That’s just the way I like it!

I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in werewolves, or shifters.

I read this book over a month ago and it sheer laziness isn’t the only reason it has taken me until now to review it. I still feel like I am recovering. Forever Wolf is the final book in The Legend of All Wolves series (I think!) and not only this book, but this series, has left a huge impression on me. The whole series, but this book in particular, was an emotional ride. I finished this book shedding a lot of tears. And not because something bad happens – although it isn’t quite the HEA you are expecting – but out of pure emotion. I was just feeling so much and it had to escape somehow. I loved it. Any book that has me in that much turmoil is forever stuck on my best-of shelf.

Maria Vale is a burst of fresh air in the paranormal romance genre, she’s taken the concept of werewolves and shifters and turned it on its head to great effect. Her books are paranormal romances with the grit and rich world building of a good urban fantasy series. In fact, I thought this was an urban fantasy series until I saw the blurb for book 2 and realised it was a different couple. For that reason, this would be a great transition series for a reader who likes fantasy or urban fantasy and wants to try out some paranormal romance.

Varya is a character that when I started reading I wasn’t sure I would like and yet her story and her passed really moved me and she quickly transitioned to one of my favourite heroines. I know she won’t be a character that every reader will enjoy. She is fierce, scary and can seem callous. However, her love and loyalty to the pack are plain to see and her seeming lack of empathy is all a matter of perspective. She was a complex and interesting character that I found fascinating to read.

There was also an interesting gender role reversal in this book, Varya had many of the characteristics people love about a romance hero. She was an alpha, she was strong both physically and emotionally and she was tough. Replace that all with ‘he’ and I’m describing a typical romance hero. Alpha females are hugely under represented in romance so Varya was refreshing. The hero Eyulf, was different and would be described as beta. He was a survivor completely ignorant about his Wolf heritage Varya saves when he is injured. Watching Varya and Eyulf together was lovely, he evokes emotions in her that no one else can.

The love story in Forever Wolf isn’t what you would traditionally find in a paranormal romance. Which means that HEA wasn’t what you expect either. But for me, the conclusion of this book was beautiful. It made me cry. It still makes me cry. In fact, I may be shedding a tear right now thinking about it. It destroyed me in the best way.

Forever Wolf also brings the collision of the shifters and the Wolves to its conclusion. This was the only aspect of the story that felt a little bit anti-climatic. Although the tension between the two factions has been building throughout the series it seemed to be over very quickly. However, it was a very satisfying ending despite its speed.

I highly recommend this book and this series, it’s a great twist on the paranormal romance genre and has become one of my favourites. Maria Vale is an author to watch and I can’t wait to see what she does next.

Okay. So I grabbed this up for review and didn’t realize it was the final book in a series. WELL, the series is standalone reads in the same world, I was still good to dive in.

I will say that I completely intend to go back and read the other novels in this world because by the end of this I was SO SAD AND I NEEDED MORE AND I AM STILL NOT OKAY.

Okay, now that I got that out of the way, let us talk about this book.

The theory behind it and the premise of Forever Wolves was fantastic. I loved the idea and the fact that I hadn’t heard of it, or anything similar, before.

Eyulf was just everything. I loved literally every single thing about him and his personality. No complaints. I couldn’t really find one if I tried. He was brave and loyal and just pure.

Then we had Varya. She was such a force. She was passionate and fierce and loyal. She was so loyal.

Devoured guys. I couldn’t stop reading. It was like partially reading someones account of a true history and by the end of it, I am still not sure it wasn’t one of those “based on a true story”, type of reads.

Seriously EPIC!

I have no words at how amazing this book is. I adored this story and that it involved. Highly recommend to everyone to read.

Maria Vale manages to paint these gorgeous stark landscapes with words and populate them with creatures that are more animal than man.

I loved her first book in this series. But I found both MCs in the ensuing books so hard to connect with. Maybe because they were supposed to be wary and distant.

Anyhow I still really enjoy this author’s work and will be sure to keep an eye out for her next books.

Forever Wolf (The Legend of All Wolves, #3)
by Maria Vale
I am sorry to have missed the prior books of this series, the myths of this story is quite unique. I found that the language and ideology of the Wolf (werewolf) culture to be an interesting twist on the nature of the old legends. The author does a great job making a stand alone book in this story, that hints at the prior books but they are not required to understand the story or connect with the characters. The book shows the nature of sacrifice and duty, the Alphas of the Wolf pack have a duty to protect, to guide and to discipline those beneath them. In this story it is that duty that causes the characters to sacrifice everything for those they love. It is a great twist on the genre to read this story and see a new perspective to the Werewolf mythos. I really like the characters and even the villain has more depth to his character then other similar books. Congratulations Maria Vale, I hope to get other books from you in the near future.

I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley but all opinions provided are my own.

I’ve got that anxious, excited feeling I used to get in English class because I was bursting with stuff to say, and it’s about Maria Vale’s Forever Wolf. This isn't the first time I've thought this about one of her books: I’ve never read a romance novel like this before.

Forever Wolf is the third in Vale’s The Legend of All Wolves series, and it’s beautiful. It’s also the darkest book in a romance series that doesn’t shy away from the dark.

The first thing to say about the plot is that this is a shifter romance, about wolves.

Our heroine Varya is a shielder—a position of esteem—in the Great North pack. She journeyed to the pack alone after all the wolves in her former pack died, and to her, the pack is everything. She’s known for upholding order, even when that devotion doesn’t exactly win her any friends.

But then she runs across an injured wolf, Eyulf, and on him she smells her old home. She has a connection with him, even as she knows that there will never be a place for him in her pack. But is there a place for him with her?

Vale’s books have lots of action, if you like that sort of thing.

I do.

But you also need to know that Vale's a gorgeous writer. The pack, the place the pack inhabits, the outside world, it’s all fantastically rendered. Throughout each novel in the series, she shows how pack can offer home, stability, and community, but how its very nature can be inclusive, sometimes leaving no place for outsiders like Eyulf. It also often requires great personal sacrifice, even as it gives much.

​Sometimes in romance, the reader is made aware of the tremendous odds facing the main characters, but semi-miraculously, those odds are surmounted in the final pages. Vale does something different, something that I think is braver.

​Not every problem is miraculously erased or overcome in her books.

Make no mistake: she writes romances and her characters do end up together, but not always in the ways you’d expect. In that way and others, Maria Vale writes paranormal romances that feel really realistic. Sometimes—a lot of times—we don’t get unqualified happy endings.

Parts of Varya and Eyulf’s story might make you slightly sad; there might even be some disappointment or frustration.

But on balance, Forever Wolf reminds us that there’s no discounting how huge love is, how it can buttress us up even as we’re facing huge change or loss.

No, Vale’s books aren't joy-filled romps, and you’ll probably feel like your heart is breaking at least once when you read one, but they are books that are absolutely suffused with love. Are you reading them yet?

Want more shifter romance? The Naptime Writer also recommends Nalini Singh Psy-Changeling series; Kresley Cole Immortals after Dark series.

Q: what's your favorite shifter romance?

Maria Vale’s The Legend of All Wolves series is a unique entry in the broad and popular world of shifter romances. No one would define it as cute or fun, so if that’s the kind of paranormal romance you want, you’ll have to look elsewhere. But if you like a meaty story full of gristle to chew on, you’ll want to dive into this enthralling Scandinavian inspired tale of the men and women who’ve survived and thrived in a world where humans have taken over the role of apex predator. In Forever Wolf, the inevitable clash of man and wolf threatens the Pack and an unlikely pair of outcasts may be their only salvation.

Varya survived the decimation of her Russian arctic wolf pack through her own grit and determination, making her way as a juvenile to the Great Northern Pack on the eastern seaboard of North America. There she has risen in the ranks to the position of Shielder for the twelfth Echelon (one of the fourteen echelons, or age groups, among adult wolves) of the Pack. She is a watcher, a wolf who knows hardship and the need to be on guard at all times, a need she vainly tries to instil in those around her. Most of them don’t know what it’s like to fight for survival every day – but she hasn’t forgotten.

One day on patrol, Varya comes across an injured wolf with a familiar smell – the crisp, cold scent of the arctic. Nursing him back to health, it’s clear why he was cast out as a pup. This white wolf has one blue eye and one green, the prophetic signs of the one who will bring about the end times. Named Eyulf, he doesn’t know why he was abandoned, only that he has wandered far in his quest for survival. Varya knows she must keep his presence hidden or superstitious wolves of her own pack will seek to destroy him out of fear. The Pack is in danger from many enemies, with humans and shifters threatening their very survival. Is Eyulf the harbinger of doom or the key to their salvation?

Though the series story arc builds from The Last Wolf and A Wolf Apart, it is possible to read Forever Wolf as a standalone though it will be more thoroughly appreciated if you’ve started the series at the beginning, since the events of those two books are what has led to this finale. Still, the author does an excellent job of introducing the characters, setting and unique terms for her worldbuilding so that a new reader can catch up. I won’t rehash the sequence of events that have brought the Pack to the position they are in now, nor try to explain too much of the complexities of this world except to say that it’s gritty, bloody and compelling. This particular story is told by Varya, so you get the viewpoint of a female who is a hardened survivor, one who feels more comfortable in the body form of a wolf but has the mind of a human while understanding where she fits in the Pack and her duties to it.

As werewolves, Varya and her Pack have no choice but to turn into their wolf forms during the Iron Moon, a three day period that occurs every month. It’s important that they are in human form when the shift starts: if they are already in wolf form they will remain trapped in that form as forever wolves, losing their humanity. For this reason, the Pack takes great care to never shift into wolf form too close to the Iron Moon, and puts precautions in place for their safety when they are at their most vulnerable.

Shifters are different. They are not bound by the Iron Moon and can shift back and forth at any time, though many prefer to remain in human form permanently as they believe it to be superior. But in training themselves out of having to shift during the Iron Moon, they have also affected their ability to breed. Recently it’s been discovered that a female werewolf impregnated by a male shifter is able to bear live pups, and as this looks to be the only way the shifters will be able to have children, their current leader is intent on forcing the Pack to come to their aid. He’s not above extortion and threats to do it.

This conflict leads to an intense and action packed story, all while Varya and Eyulf are forging a friendship that becomes something more. For the good of the Pack, Varya performs mating duties with the Alpha of her Echelon, but as she and Eyulf grow closer she has difficulty weighing what she really wants against her duty. There are some love scenes between Varya and Eyulf that are very intimate and emotional, cementing their bond. But the romance is less of a focus in this story versus the previous ones in the series, and the ending is… well… can I say it has an HEA with an asterisk? It’s not the ending I expected (but rest assured, Varya and Eyulf end up alive and together), and I’m still parsing through my feelings about it. However it’s absolutely a fitting ending for the series, for the Pack, and for the many secondary characters. I’m particularly fond of the wolf pups who make several appearances.

It’s hard to do justice to a series that is so rich in detail, characters and setting. The third and final act of the Legend of All Wolves series is definitely one I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to readers who enjoy paranormal romances with the caveat that you’ll appreciate it more if you read the earlier books first. Forever Wolf will not be easily forgotten.

This review has been posted at All About Romance and feedback updated with the link.

Maria Vale's The Legend of All Wolves series is a unique entry in the broad and popular world of shifter romances. No one would define it as cute or fun, so if that's the kind of paranormal romance you want, you'll have to look elsewhere. But if you like a meaty story full of gristle to chew on, you'll want to dive into this enthralling Scandinavian inspired tale of the men and women who've survived and thrived in a world where humans have taken over the role of apex predator. In Forever Wolf, the inevitable clash of man and wolf threatens the Pack and an unlikely pair of outcasts may be their only salvation.Varya survived the decimation of her Russian arctic wolf pack through her own grit and determination, making her way as a juvenile to the Great Northern Pack on the eastern seaboard of North America. There she has risen in the ranks to the position of Shielder for the twelfth Echelon (one of the fourteen echelons, or age groups, among adult wolves) of the Pack. She is a watcher, a wolf who knows hardship and the need to be on guard at all times, a need she vainly tries to instil in those around her. Most of them don't know what it's like to fight for survival every day - but she hasn't forgotten.One day on patrol, Varya comes across an injured wolf with a familiar smell – the crisp, cold scent of the arctic. Nursing him back to health, it's clear why he was cast out as a pup. This white wolf has one blue eye and one green, the prophetic signs of the one who will bring about the end times. Named Eyulf, he doesn't know why he was abandoned, only that he has wandered far in his quest for survival. Varya knows she must keep his presence hidden or superstitious wolves of her own pack will seek to destroy him out of fear. The Pack is in danger from many enemies, with humans and shifters threatening their very survival. Is Eyulf the harbinger of doom or the key to their salvation?Though the series story arc builds from The Last Wolf and A Wolf Apart, it is possible to read Forever Wolf as a standalone though it will be more thoroughly appreciated if you've started the series at the beginning, since the events of those two books are what has led to this finale. Still, the author does an excellent job of introducing the characters, setting and unique terms for her worldbuilding so that a new reader can catch up. I won't rehash the sequence of events that have brought the Pack to the position they are in now, nor try to explain too much of the complexities of this world except to say that it's gritty, bloody and compelling. This particular story is told by Varya, so you get the viewpoint of a  female who is a hardened survivor, one who feels more comfortable in the body form of a wolf but has  the mind of a human while understanding where she fits in the Pack and her duties to it.As werewolves, Varya and her Pack have no choice but to turn into their wolf forms during the Iron Moon, a three day period that occurs every month. It's important that they are in human form when the shift starts: if they are already in wolf form they will remain trapped in that form as forever wolves, losing their humanity. For this reason, the Pack takes great care to never shift into wolf form too close to the Iron Moon, and puts precautions in place for their safety when they are at their most vulnerable.Shifters are different. They are not bound by the Iron Moon and can shift back and forth at any time, though many prefer to remain in human form permanently as they believe it to be superior. But in training themselves out of having to shift during the Iron Moon, they have also affected their ability to breed. Recently it's been discovered that a female werewolf impregnated by a male shifter is able to bear live pups, and as this looks to be the only way the shifters will be able to have children, their current leader is intent on forcing the Pack to come to their aid. He's not above extortion and threats to do it.This conflict leads to an intense and action packed story, all while Varya and Eyulf are forging a friendship that becomes something more. For the good of the Pack, Varya performs mating duties with the Alpha of her Echelon, but as she and Eyulf grow closer she has difficulty weighing what she really wants against her duty. There are some love scenes between Varya and Eyulf that are very intimate and emotional, cementing their bond. But the romance is less of a focus in this story versus the previous ones in the series, and the ending is... well... can I say it has an HEA with an asterisk? It's not the ending I expected (but rest assured, Varya and Eyulf end up alive and together), and I'm still parsing through my feelings about it. However it's absolutely a fitting ending for the series, for the Pack, and for the many secondary characters. I'm particularly fond of the wolf pups who make several appearances.It's hard to do justice to a series that is so rich in detail, characters and setting. The third and final act of the Legend of All Wolves series is definitely one I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to readers who enjoy paranormal romances with the caveat that you'll appreciate it more if you read the earlier books first. Forever Wolf will not be easily forgotten.Buy it at: Amazon/Apple Books/Barnes & Noble/KoboVisit our Amazon Storefront

It’s not often that I’m left at the ending of a story or series just staring at a blank screen, totally speechless with no clue how to convey to other readers just what an amazing story I just read is, without giving away important things, but to hope that they will want to go on this journey as well. And, frankly, FOREVER WOLF has left me speechless.

I strongly believe that The Legend of All Wolves series needs to be read in order – and now you can binge read it one after another. There are so many nuances, details that if you try to really grasp the underlying story and message out of order, well, you’ll miss the whole thing… in my opinion.

It took me a while to really warm up to Varya, and to be completely frank I’m not sure that I ever really “loved” her character. I admired her fierce loyalty and her ability to care for and let Eyulf in, both to herself and her Pack. Varya is considered the most fierce and devoted of her Pack, and many rightfully fear her. To see even a glimpse of another side of her was intriguing. Eyulf is such an amazing character, abandoned, not knowing who or what he is, survival has come close to an ending for him until Varya rescued him. Now he needs to learn how to live in an unfamiliar world… and fight for the survival of Varya’s Pack as well.

If you’ve read the entire series then you will have a strong sense of coming full circle, understanding that the Laws of the Pack work only when the tradition they are based on are understood and held sacred.

There really isn’t much more I’m comfortable saying that might not give away details that you should really experience for yourself. So I’ll close with this thought… FOREVER WOLF brings The Legend of All Wolves to a conclusion that is rich in tradition and details, a feeling of having experienced something mystical and damned good storytelling experience. If you love Shifter Romance or Paranormal Romance give yourself the treat of this series – you’ll find a world well worth diving into.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

In Forever Wolf, Maria Vale brings us back the world of the Great North Wolf pack where she once again showed readers a different perspective in the Wolf -shifter trope. There is both simplicity and complexity within this books which makes them so fascinating and endearing. Forever Wolf deals with a lone wolf that was taken in by pack who by all accounts should have been left to die. Instead she becomes The Shielder of the 12th echelon, Vanya follows Pack Rules, the very ones that would have left her to die and of which she adheres to and distrusts any changes to it. But when she meets another of her kind, she must decided whether to live her life alone despite being part of the pack or to seek the very thing that might destroy her. I can never get enough of Maria Vale’s Great North Pack and Forever Wolf just continuously feeds the addiction to it.

Legend of all Wolves #3, Oh My Gosh this book! There is so much I love about this book and this series. The narration, seeing the pack through Varya's eyes and seeing the transition of her feelings about them at the beginning of the book to the end of the book. How in depth the wolf's history goes especially with the norse mythology. Each of the characters past and present it was easy to connect with them, with it being in the first person POV you get to hear all the internal conflict. Varya despite her devotion to the pack and her Alpha still feels like she's not part of it, referring to the pack as "them" not "us" because of what happened in her past she's not letting herself get emotionally attached she doesn't feel she deserves it. She follows the pack laws and enforces them, she doesn't care that the other wolves are afraid of her she uses that fear to her advantage but when she discovers a lone wolf on their territory a white wolf who knows nothing of the pack and their laws she finds herself bending the rules for him. She feels a deep connection to him not just because he's an arctic wolf like her it goes beyond that, but the fact that he has two different colored eyes has her keep him hidden from the pack. But he's not the one the pack is worried about the shifters are at it again, this time bringing in the threat of human hunters. But Varya steps up to the plate and helps protect the coveted pups among other things. I really hope this isn't the end of the series but it did have definite closure elements in the epilogue.

Overall, I loved this book. It has the kind of ending that really made me cry. This whole series is something to behold.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for an advanced readers copy of this book. I wanted to read this when I saw Kirkus reviews give this a starred review. Although, I am usually very thorough I missed that this was the third and final book in a series. For the most part I completely lost and I am learning these paranormal fantasy/romances are no longer something I am interested in reading. The one thing the author did was add a lot of folklore which I really did like. However for me and my tastes this one could have been a miss for me.

Forever Wolf is the best and most emotional book of the series for me. I still feel emotional when I read this quote:

Listen to me. Look at me. Love me. Make life with me.

After having read the first two books of The Legend of All Wolves series I considered Forever Wolf to be a comfort book to me. Reaching the end of the story, I realized how true that was.

Forever Wolf's storytelling has an Old World mixture of Viking, Inuit, and Native American feeling to it. Life seen through the souls bonded to nature and each other. If you've read the first two books you NEED this one! And if you haven't read them yet I would recommend starting from the beginning and reading them as a whole to get the full emotional experience of Forever Wolf .

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book, so I could give an honest review.