How to Run with the Wolves

Howl at the Moon, Book 5

De: Eli Easton

Narrado por: Matthew Shaw

Zeus loves his job on the Mad Creek search and rescue team, and his inner Saint Bernard is finally being used to his full potential. When he sees a mysterious and wild-looking quickened - a dog shifter - at an earthquake site in Alaska, Zeus is compelled to investigate.

Zeus falls hard for the primal beauty of Timo and of Alaska itself. Both call to his deep canine soul. But the Qimmig pack’s laws are as harsh as the Alaskan winters, and Timo is out of his reach.

Timo’s pack of dog shifters left their Inuit village generations ago and have lived wild, ever since. Not trusting the “one-skinned” and with their numbers dwindling, the Qimmig are on the verge of extinction.

Timo is shocked to discover a whole group of “two-skinned” working as a rescue team, and he is particularly fascinated by Zeus, a gentle giant. He senses what Zeus feels for him, but it’s forbidden.

Can Mad Creek save this lost quickened clan? Perhaps, if they can learn how to run with the wolves...

©2019 Jane Holmes (P)2020 Jane Holmes

Wonderful

Such a great story and characters. I love this while series and really hope there will be more!

Old Beginnings

Zeus has not felt like he totally belongs. Timo has been trying to stretch his wings too. An emergency leads to an encounter that changes both of their lives forever. In the process the lives of their packs are changed as well. Both men are strong and stubborn. Timo has a lot of tradition to reconcile his feelings. I hope we will get to see more of Alaskan pack. And I so want Yuki's mate to have a healthy pup. Listened to the Audible version. It was so well done. I would never had got the names right.

My favorite series

I love this series, the narrators voice, absolutely everything! I found Eli's work back in January and since then I've been looking forward to the release of the newest addition of the Howel at the moon series💖 I listened to the first 4 books again before listening to this one and it's just as good to listen to the 2nd time- the story and characters are so sweet and Eli is really good about setting up plot points /staying consistent with little details from novel to novel which brings the whole town to life! I hope there's more to come with the series, but I've also fallen in love with all of her work in general 😊💖

The start of something new

How to Run With the Wolves is the last instalment in the Howl at the Moon series. A series I’ve been completely in love with for about five years now. I’m sad to see it end, because I’ve truly had a wonderful and quirky time in Mad Creek. It’s brought me many, many smiles over the years and they have been books I’ve come back to again and again when I needed some extra smiles in my life.

This time we meet Zeus, a St Bernard shifter who’s happiest on his own out in the woods. He’s not fond of crowds and enjoys the simple things in life. So when he’s offered the chance to be a part of the Mad Creek Search and Rescue team he eagerly accepts, not knowing it would change the direction of his life forever. On an assignment in Alaska he meets Timo, a husky shifter from a struggling Alaskan pack. The two are immediately fascinated with each other, and in order to help his pack out, Timo follows Zeus back to Mad Creek in search for answers.

How to Run With the Wolves has a different feel to it compared to the previous books in the series. It’s not as cutesy and fun and the romance part is mostly absent and comes a bit out of nowhere. I didn’t feel any genuine romantic feeling between them, friendship – most definitely, but the rest felt forced.

I loved Matthew Shaw’s brilliant performance of this book. It was spot on, just as it has been for the previous four books in the series. For some reason he really nails that human/dog duality of each character. Making both natures feel so present and real. He’s as much part of Mad Creek as any of the quickened and their mates.

Conveying the feelings of the characters is something Shaw really excels at, be it Timo’s curiosity of Zeus and his need to learn anything and everything to save his pack, to how overwhelming Mad Creek was. Also Zeus was clear as day, how his eagerness and need to be a part of the Search and Rescue team, his fascination with Timo and his need to help. Shaw does it all, and brilliantly. I do believe he can enhance any story he narrates.

There was a scene at the very end that I think is my absolute favourite in the book. It was truly emotional and touching on all levels. The meeting between Zeus and the Inuit man was full of so many emotions. They were plain to hear in Shaw’s voice. It was heartbreaking and filled with so much hope and promise. It was incredible moving and touched me more than anything else in the book did. Shaw made you want to take that first step to mend what had been broken so many generations ago. He made you wish for more.

This book isn’t so much a goodbye to Mad Creek as it is an introduction to the Quimmiq pack and the cold Alaskan country. It will be interesting to see where Eli Easton will take us next.

A copy of this book was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review for Love Bytes.

A Magical Series, Matthew Shaw is Wonderful

Eli Easton’s extraordinary Howl at the Moon series comes to a close with How to Run with the Wolves. Fans of these characters are going to especially enjoy this one, because a good part of the story takes place within the community of Mad Creek. To me, these guys are dear after five books, and this is a particularly sweet way to say goodbye. If you haven’t delved into this magical world, start with the first novel, How to Howl at the Moon, and read them in order!

The entire series is available in audio, performed by the marvelous Matthew Shaw. I’ve been impressed by the multitude of voices this talented narrator has come up with for the extremely diverse supporting cast! Plus, throughout the series Mr. Shaw has continued to find unique traits in all of the main characters to make each of them special. It’s been a true pleasure to listen to Matthew Shaw’s rich, warm voice as he brought these characters to life.

When Mad Creek’s Search and Rescue team head to Alaska to help after an earthquake, they discover a unique group of shifters. Structured more like a wolf pack, the Quimmiq tribe have purposely cut themselves off from the modern world. They look down on technology and want nothing to do with the ways of man. However, the Quimmiq aren’t thriving, and the pack is at risk of becoming extinct.

Though Zeus was born in Mad Creek, he’s always preferred small groups and wishes for a more low-key life. When handsome Timo invites him to spend a few days immersed in the Quimmiq’s more basic existence, Zeus finds he can definitely appreciate the way this tribe lives. Of course, Timo is curious about Zeus’ world too, and a trip to Mad Creek shows him all the amazing and wonderful things modern technology can provide.

The negative aspects of the human world have been ingrained in Timo his whole life, and he has trouble understanding why the Mad Creek shifters would actually choose to live among men. Zeus tries to help Timo understand how it’s natural for dogs to be drawn to men, after all it’s only through this connection that dogs can get “the spark” and become shifters. His understanding will be the only way to save the Quimmiq tribe.

While each of the novels in the Howl at the Moon series has been completely unique, there’s been a common thread running through all of them. As the various breeds of dog shifters work together to build a community in Mad Creek, they learn to accept and embrace each other’s differences. This support network becomes particularly important once they share their secrets and include humans in their world.

What a wonderful thing it would be if beloved pets could get “the spark” and become quickened! I’ve enjoyed seeing all the ways Ms. Easton has explored so many aspects of this marvelous world. Listening to Mad Creek blossom and grow into the place it is at the end of the Howl at the Moon series, with How to Run with Wolves, has been a delightful experience, and I’m tempted to start at the beginning and do it all over again.