Julie A. D'Arcy Author 

 Readers will be pulled in to the story immediately. Ms. D'Arcy has an incredible talent for painting a brilliant world, so rich that the landscape is a character unto itself. She draws upon medieval history and her own imagination to create the society in which her characters live. Magic plays such an integral role in the story and is so well done that one will believe, if only for a little while, that magic does exist in the world.

Though never lacking in action and adventure, the driving force behind the plot is the characters. Keahla is a strong young lady, both physically and mentally, who has lost everything she holds dear. She is not one to sit idly by and let the men have all the fun. She gets right in the thick of things and will not allow anyone, especially the insufferable Radin, to keep her from what she sees as her duty to her home and its people. Radin has no use for magick since it couldn't save his beloved wife and initially resents being pulled into Keahla's time and place in order to defeat the Blood King. Yet he adjusts remarkably well to being a player in the unfolding events and eventually comes to accept his importance to the job at hand. One will see the progression of the relationship Keahla and Radin share and feel the love that grows between them, defeating everything that stands in the way of their happiness.

Some of the most remarkable people found within the pages of Time of the Wolf are the secondary characters. Anayha is disgustingly evil, willing to do whatever is necessary to protect her interests, yet she shows an astonishing tenderness for Brekan as a result of the relationship they once shared, centuries ago. 

There are also Jarl Ballindoch and his son, who share familial ties, though distant, to a certain elf we all know and love from previous books in the series. Also, who can forget Mace, fiercely loyal, even to the point he's willing to venture in to the unknown for no other reason but to protect his lord, Radin.

Be prepared to laugh, cry, rage at the fates, shout in denial, and cheer these beloved heroes... and villains... on to their just rewards. Readers will do all of that, and more, as they fall into the world Julie D'Arcy has created between the covers of Time of the Wolf. As always, it is quite an adventure with one of her novels.

© Kelley A. Hartsell, November 2005. All rights reserved.