I don’t know where to begin about how disappointed I was in this follow-up to Las Wolf Standing. I wanted to sink back into the world of the blood runners but I found myself reading a cheesy, fairly lame romance with a little action thrown in. This book is more romance heavy than the last book and it suffers for it.

There are two glaring items in this book the reader should be prepared for: 1) The heroine is awful and 2) Not enough of the other blood runners. I will try to talk about each without hopefully giving too much away. I’m going to start with the second one since it basically sums it up. The first book introduced to this community of blood runners and you got a real connection to the group. That is gone in this book. Jeremy seems exceptionally isolated from the blood runners and the lack of fun and family is a downer for me in this one.

Now the heroine. Good Lord save us from stupid heroines. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what Jeremy saw in this idiot. Jillian is portrayed in the first book at the pack’s intelligent, mature spirit walker (aka witch). She is not that. Her character lacks maturity, courage and on a basic level some serious knowledge of the pack she is bound to. Her mother and sister put her to shame and you wonder why the pack or Jeremy choose Jillian.

The narration was from fine and I hope the third book in the series makes up some territory. ( )

I've enjoyed this trilogy enough to wish there were additional ones coming our way. ( )

Jillian Murphy is the Spiritwalker for the werewolf clan, a witch with powers of healing and sight, the person who blesses births and deaths. Supposed to be important to the clan but the clan leaders allow her to be challenged by werewolf women. Mostly for her sin of falling in love with Jeremy Burns, a half-breed were/human who has become a full member of the clan after serving with the Bloodrunners for a number of years. They fell in love and then had a huge row, not helped by lies from a lot of people in their lives.

10 years, TEN, of abuse from your clan, I'd leave. Sorry, it's too long to keep healing the idiots and trying to be nice to them. I'd leave them to their own devices and get the flock out of dodge, find a clan that were a bit more sane and settle down with them.

Jeremy needed to get a grip, oh looks I was a good boy and only had sex, it didn't mean anything, but sex with you means something, hello mixed signals, goodbye. What you didn't talk to ME for ten years? Ever hear of letters? Email? Remembering my birthday by leaving me flowers to tell me you were thinking of me? No?

Yes, they eventually make kissy face and get it together but their background is a bit weak and they just didn't quite work for me. I have to wonder about the eye-candy cover model, he appears to be quite hairless for a were. I'd hate that waxing bill. ( )

Great werewolf series. I love the emotion and the characters that Rhyannon Byrd developed through the three books. I really wanted the series to continue. ( )

Maybe it's the Nocturne format but I just couldn't buy into this werewolf story. i wasn't interested in any of the characters or the politics, it all felt a bit paint by the numbers. Tortured hero, check, misunderstood heroine, check, failure of trust check, sexual tension - not bad, but not sizzling. Also, Jeremey as the heros name, not so heroic. And Jeremey and Jillian - too twee for words! So Jillian is the spirit walker of her group of wolves, apparently a very important position which doesn't stop every female wolf from challenging her to a duel to the death and every male wolf just standing by and letting that happen. So already I don't like or care for the wolves. Jeremey is a half breed (half were, half human) and despised by the full bloods. Another reason not to like this particular bunch of wolves. And Jillian sacrificies Jeremey time and again for the wolf group. So not much respect for Jillian either. I started to skim, read the last 50 pages, let it go. I've read several Rhyannon Byrd's now and while her blurbs always sound exciting, her actual writing/characterization never quite works for me. I've not read one of hers I love yet. ( )