Cry Wolf

Cry Wolf (2008) Patricia Briggs

One of the things I particularly like about this book (and spin-off series) is that we get to spend time with both Bran and Asil.

Bran didn’t reply, just spun himself slowly, around and around on the little stool in the corner of the room.

In his hothouse, Asil trimmed dead blooms from his roses. They weren’t as glorious as the ones he’d had in Spain, but they were a vast improvement over the commercially grown flowers he’d started with. His Spanish roses had been the result of centuries of careful breeding. It hadn’t bothered him to leave them at the time, but now he regretted their loss fiercely.
…
Still, he’d been exchanging cuttings and rootstock with other rose aficionados for several decades before he’d been forced to leave, so his work had not all been in vain. Somewhere in the world there were probably descendants of his roses. Maybe if Bran made him live a few more years, he’d go out looking for them.

Sarai had often thumped him soundly on the head for looking at other women, though she’d known he’d never stray. Now that she was gone, he seldom even looked. Flirting didn’t make him feel disloyal to his dead mate, but he’d found he missed that thump too badly.

It’s that final sentence that is heartbreaking.

Published by Ace

Rating: 8.5/10

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