Silver by Rhiannon Held

Andrew Dare is a werewolf. He’s the enforcer for the Roanoke pack, and responsible for capturing or killing any Were intruders in Roanoke’s territory. But the lone Were he’s tracking doesn’t smell or act like anyone he’s ever encountered. And when he catches her, it doesn’t get any better. She’s beautiful, she’s crazy, and someone has tortured her by injecting silver into her veins. She says her name is Silver, and that she’s lost her wild self and can’t shift any more. The packs in North America have a live-and-let-live attitude, and try not to overlap with each other. But Silver represents a terrible threat to every Were on the continent. Andrew and Silver will join forces to track down this menace while discovering their own power and their passion for each other.

4 Stars, 2 Flames

Silver is Rhiannon Held's debut novel, and already I am looking forward to her second novel, Tarnished. From the first page you're swept into the action. Andrew Dare is an enforcer charged with the protection of his pack. He is on the trail of a lone wolf tainted with the smell of silver. Silver is deadly to Weres and only European Weres carry silver on them as a weapon. Details later revealed in the book lead Dare to believe the lone wolf is tied to his past. Instead, what he finds is a young woman who has been injected with silver, her arm scarred from silver restraints. Dare brings her to his pack with the intent of leaving her in safe keeping so he can hunt the one responsible unhindered. But his alpha, Roanoke, doesn't want her. He feels that since she probably came from a western pack, she either belongs there, or should be put out of her misery and killed. Knowing his alpha is being short sighted, Dare is determined to discover this threat to his and all North American packs before its too late. 
     Silver is on the run from a monster, her only companion Death, a black wolf who speaks with the voices of the dead. As only she can see and hear him, she unsettles others and is believed to be insane. With silver poisoning her system and her subconscious protecting her from remembering whatever occurred to her and her family, Silver is lost, her instincts telling her to run and protect others who could get caught in the crossfire. In Dare she sees a warrior, and following Death's suggestion, someone who may be able to protect her. Tired of running, of waiting for Death or the monster to take her, she goes with Dare, knowing she may be leading the lone wolf to his death.
     I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Silver brings a new voice to the urban fantasy genre. I liked how the alphas took their names from the territory they controlled, for example, Dare's territory was Roanoke, therefore his alpha was called Roanoke. Also, I like how their wolf selves were referred to as their wild self, and the human as the tame self. By the end of the book all questions are answered without a quick information dump at the end. Tidbits of back story and story line are given like bread crumbs, moving the book along at a smooth, steady pace to the climax. Silver is strong enough to stand on its own, but I felt that it could be continued as a series. Which, after I checked out Rhiannon's page, her second book, Tarnished, is due in 2013! Yeah! Rhiannon Held is definitely added to my to be watched pile. Can't wait to read Tarnished, and highly recommend getting Silver.