The Wolves of Midwinter is a BEAUTIFUL story!

Another one of my reviews from PT! I had the honor of reading an advanced copy of Anne Rice’s The Wolves of Midwinter (Wolf Gift Chronicles #2) and man, what an absolutely beautiful story!!! – Jena

The tale of THE WOLF GIFT continues . . .

In Anne Rice’s surprising and compelling best-selling novel, the first of her strange and mythic imagining of the world of wolfen powers (“I devoured these pages . . . As solid and engaging as anything she has written since her early vampire chronicle fiction” —Alan Cheuse, The Boston Globe; “A delectable cocktail of old-fashioned lost-race adventure, shape-shifting and suspense” —Elizabeth Hand, The Washington Post), readers were spellbound as Rice imagined a daring new world set against the wild and beckoning California coast.

Now in her new novel, as lush and romantic in detail and atmosphere as it is sleek and steely in storytelling, Anne Rice brings us once again to the rugged coastline of Northern California, to the grand mansion at Nideck Point—to further explore the unearthly education of her transformed Man Wolf.

The novel opens on a cold, gray landscape. It is the beginning of December. Oak fires are burning in the stately flickering hearths of Nideck Point. It is Yuletide. For Reuben Golding, now infused with the wolf gift and under the loving tutelage of the Morphenkinder, this Christmas promises to be like no other . . . as he soon becomes aware that the Morphenkinder, steeped in their own rituals, are also celebrating the Midwinter Yuletide festival deep within Nideck forest.

From out of the shadows of the exquisite mansion comes a ghost—tormented, imploring, unable to speak yet able to embrace and desire with desperate affection . . . As Reuben finds himself caught up with the passions and yearnings of this spectral presence and the preparations for the Nideck town Christmas reach a fever pitch, astonishing secrets are revealed, secrets that tell of a strange netherworld, of spirits—centuries old—who possess their own fantastical ancient histories and taunt with their dark, magical powers . . .

Ugh!!! I fell in love with Reuben when I read The Wolf Gift, and I think I just fell all over again. Not in a swoony way. Nothing like that. I just love his view of the world.

Ok, The Wolves of Midwinter was MUCH different than I anticipated. As with any Anne Rice novel, it still has that warm romantic feel, even more so due to the timing of the story (I will explain that more below), but I didn’t feel that Midwinter was as focused on action as The Wolf Gift was. That being said, this was not a bad thing at all. The story is plain and simply enchanting. It’s not often that I throw the word ‘magical’ around, but that is exactly how the Wolf Gift Chronicles feel, especially Midwinter.

The timing of the story that I referred to is Christmas. The book kicks off at the beginning of December and is focused around the celebrations and festivities surrounding the holiday. Although it’s absolutely nothing like any traditional Christmas story, it still made me want to retreat to a reading nook with a blanket and mug of hot cocoa.

The Wolves of Midwinter was an amazing addition to this series. I just adore the cast. Obviously, Rueben is fantastic, but Felix and the rest of the morphenkind have this mystical vibe about them that I love to read.

Technically speaking, Midwinter was spot on – good story flow, excellent character development, the mystery aspect was very well-written, and I love that it was not a duplicate of The Wolf Gift.

Overall, I am giving The Wolves of Midwinter (The Wolf Gift #2) a solid 5 stars! Anne Rice is just amazing. Her descriptions will have you completely lost in the story while the rest of the world just melts away. As I said in the beginning of this review, this story is just…..magical.

I have included purchase links for both books down below!