A woman discovers her shape-shifting heritage in Metis' debut urban fantasy novel. Luna Auber works at a bakery where her preternatural ability to sense customers' favorite flavors is put to good use. She can sometimes sense bad things as well, like the jolt she gets right before the call letting her know her brother, Daniel, is dead. Daniel died of an apparent suicide, but he left Luna a map and two tickets to Sweden. Luna doesn't know much about their origins--she and Daniel were adopted as children--but recently, after being diagnosed with a rare degenerative disease, Daniel started trying to find answers in their genetic lineage. "You need to do this," reads the note Daniel left Luna. "It's the key to who we are and it's the cure. The only cure." Luna follows Daniel's trail to Sweden, where she learns that Daniel did not suffer from a degenerative disease at all. Rather, she and her brother are descendants of the Birka: ancient lycanthropes, or, as they are more commonly called, werewolves. Luna will soon begin her own process of transformation--which, of course, she wants no part of. Even more horrifying is the knowledge that there are other werewolves out there...and not all of them are nice. Metis' prose is urgent and pulpy, capturing the animalistic energy of Luna's new life: "She tore her shirt off in readiness for the change, eager to feel her teeth lengthen to their hungry fangs. Her hands arched into sharpened claws. Her legs began to get longer, they were ready for the pounce." The book comes up with a fun origin for the werewolves, rooting them in the pagan mists of the Viking age. Otherwise, the novel is a fairly standard urban fantasy offering. The opening is compelling, but as it progresses, the story becomes significantly less impressive. Fans of the genre may find this a passable offering, but the general reader will not lose much by skipping it. A sometimes original but more often derivative werewolf tale.
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In Metis' paranormal fantasy sequel, a reluctant werewolf leader must navigate a centuries-old feud. Having just survived a major battle to save humankind inCure(2022), Luna Auber, an inexperienced 20-something werewolf, is settling back into life at home in Camden, New Jersey. She spends her days working at Bizcocheria, a bakery she loves, spending her lunch hours with her newly lycanthropic boyfriend, Javier, and being mentored via Zoom by Birger, a librarian for The Lycanthrope Society (TLS), a group that "believes that humans and shapeshifters were meant to share the planet and allow one another to live in peace and harmony." Weeks pass without incident until Luna wakes up one morning with torn clothing and no memory of the previous night. Fearful that her werewolf transformations are out of control, she heads to the TLS facilities inSweden to continue training with Birger in person; there, she's shocked to discover that she has a power that sets her apart from the rest of lycanthropic society.Meanwhile, readers learn of a battle between TLS and an opposing lycanthrope sect, The Righteous Group, via historical accounts of European courts in the 8th century. TLS turns to Luna and her unique abilities in the hope that she's a prophesized savior destined to unite the groups once again. Metis makes good use of multiple perspectives and timelines to reinvigorate well-known werewolf story traditions; specifically, she highlights her fictional universe's deliciously bloody past involving power-hungry humans and nonhuman royals and their role in dividing the once-united lycanthropes. Whenever the novel jumps to present-day conflicts and Luna's point of view, the story stalls a bit, due in part to unsatisfying characterization. The contrast between Luna's scrappiness and Birger's sage wisdom is humorous, and her relationship with her adoptive parents is sweet. However, Luna's emotions feel oversimplified and somewhat disconnected from the plot, leading to a climax that's somehow both perplexing and predictable. An unevenly executed novel that's enlivened by fresh lycanthrope lore and gratifying royal-court intrigue.
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