Silver Mine is book two in the Takhini Wolves series by Vivian Arend. I did not read the first book in the series but I had no trouble jumping into the series at this point.
Shelly is a shifter who has never been able to shift into her wolf form. As a result, she was treated terribly by her pack growing up. She left her pack to live on her own and became a veterinarian/shifter doctor. She is back in her hometown, ready to face her home pack and determined to fit in. Her human sister supports Shelly’s decision and will do whatever she can to help her.
Chase is a crossbreed shifter who can take the form of a wolf or a cougar. The problem is, he can’t control the shift and never knows which form he will take. He’s chosen to live in the isolation of the bush away from civilization and he is the unofficial leader of a pack of outcast shifters who don’t fit into the structure of shifter society. Once a year he must come to town in search of supplies and various items for his “pack”.
When Chase and Shelly meet the chemistry is hot. But Shelly is not interested in becoming involved with a shifter. Chase wouldn’t mind exploring their attraction while he’s in town but Shelly has made herself clear. When chase receives an injury that won’t heal after an attack by another shifter, he seeks out Shelly’s help. It’s very unusual for a shifter to not be able to heal themselves and Shelly wants to solve this mystery and find a cure so they set out into the bush to find the shifter that injured Chase.
During their journey Chase and Shelly get to know each other and their chemistry continues to sizzle between them. Once they arrive, they discover there is trouble and the pack is agitated. Danger is near and it could have something to do with cat that attacked Chase and his mysterious wound.
Shelly came back to Whitehorse determined to find a place in her pack. Instead, she finds a place among the outcast pack; a sense of belonging. I liked that she doesn’t give up everything to be with Chase, and Chase is not forced into completely changing his life either. They find a way to be together, but I had to wonder exactly how long their relationship will be able to survive since they are not mates. I have to think there is trouble ahead for this couple if one of their natural mates should come into the picture. I’m not exactly sure how I feel about that. On one hand, I like that this relationship is not tied up in a tidy bow, but on the other hand I really liked this couple and dread any trouble that may come their way in the future. We’ll have to see.
At the point where the mystery was solved and everything was coming together, I was a little surprised when Chase was getting all the credit for saving the day, when I felt it was really Shelly who deserved more credit. She’s humble and was eventually acknowledged but I felt her role as the heroine was fell into the shadow of Chase’s role as the hero.
The secondary characters are entertaining and engaging, and I was particularly taken by Frank the bear shifter. Bear shifters are portrayed differently than other shifters in this series and Frank is a character I’ll be on the lookout for in future books. I’m intrigued by Shelly’s sister Caroline and her Alpha lover Evan’s relationship. Who doesn’t love the pack alpha right? I assume they got together in the previous book although they are not the hero and heroine, so I’m planning to read the first book to learn more about them.
Silver Mine is sexy, sometimes funny and I enjoyed the mystery although I felt like Shelly got short-changed on her part in bringing it all together. I look forward to going back for the first book as well at future books in the series.
Rating: B
Silver Mine by Vivian Arend
September 11th 2012 by Samhain
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About FV Sophia
So the fated mate trope exists in this world but the h/h aren’t mates? Hmmm. I think I’d have issues with that.
Why because you worry the fated mate might show up?
Yes, exactly. But also because of what the fated mate trope usually means. It’s possible that this book plays it differently, of course, but most books have fated mates being the be all end all of connections. I’m not a huge fan of it because I don’t enjoy how it’s typically used to shortcut a believable connection between the h/h, but if it exists in the world then I’m uncomfortable with the thought that their non-mate relationship is less than what they’d have with someone else. It’s just not romantic for me, I guess.
Yes I get that. I do like the fated mate trope because I like the security of it. But I feel terrible for characters that can’t “love” until they find their mate. We’ll see how it plays out in this series.