Susan Krinard’s newest werewolf novel, set in historical times, is an emotionally involving and beautifully told story with a very high angst level.

The continuation of the werewolf race rests on the shoulders of one man. Make that one werewolf. Braden Forster, the earl of Greyburn, lives for what his grandfather termed “The Cause.” After centuries of breeding with humans, the werewolf race is dying out. Braden is single-handedly responsible for locating and arranging marriages between werewolves for the sole purpose of creating strong, healthy baby werewolves to ensure the race’s future survival. Unimportant details like feelings and love aren’t part of Braden’s Cause.

American Cassidy Holt has felt unwanted most of her life. Her werewolf mother was ousted from the Forster family when she chose to marry a human. Cassidy’s mother dies when she is seven, leaving her with only a letter telling her of werewolf relatives named Forster who live in England. She’s much too young to locate them on her own and is forced into the custody of her fearful human relatives who treat her as an unwelcome outsider for fifteen long years. Remarkably she grows up to be a warm, loving person and wants nothing more than to find a place where she’ll be accepted and loved for herself. With this in mind, and the Forster name etched firmly in her memory, she sets out to locate them with the help of her late mother’s good friend Isabelle.

Braden is the first person she meets upon arriving in London. When he discovers she is his long lost cousin, he immediately whisks her away to his family’s country home in England. She’s thrilled to be accepted so unconditionally by this powerful, handsome man and develops a little crush on him. For the first time in her life she dares dream of a future filled with love and acceptance. Braden, unfortunately, sees her as nothing more than a way to further the Cause and his plans do not include getting emotionally involved with her.

Touch of the Wolf is an absorbing gothic-styled story. The brooding hero feels he is unable to give or accept love because of an unforgivable tragedy in his past. He has a physical disability and is mentally wounded almost beyond repair. He’s a man who hides his pain beneath a hard, cold veneer. He lives in seclusion and keeps his sister, brother and now Cassidy virtual prisoners all to advance the Cause. He has alienated everyone around him with his total disregard for their feelings, hopes and dreams.

The reasons for Braden’s behavior kept me anxiously turning the pages, but at the same time they were revealed so slowly that he came across as stern and cold hearted throughout a huge portion of the book. I ached for him; his torment was obvious, but because he was miserable for so much of the book it almost became exhausting. As a result the love story was filled with anguish that lasted to nearly the last page, which is a bit too long for my liking. If you like a suffering hero you’ll no doubt love Braden.

Cassidy, on the other hand, spent the majority of the book as an upbeat optimist, believing that her love was strong enough to overcome his past wounds. She was a good balance to Braden’s melancholy nature but it was almost painful to see her remain so open-hearted and forgiving when she was continually rejected, betrayed and hurt. Many of her actions were almost too Pollyanna-like to be believed, but thankfully she did have a breaking point and showed great emotional strength and character growth when it happened. She was a well developed and likable heroine who wanted a home and love so badly that it almost hurt.

If only the characters had attained happiness sooner – and the angst level had been lightened – this book would have been a Desert Isle Keeper. Regardless, there is much to recommend about Touch of the Wolf. It has carefully constructed characters (although I do wish they hadn’t all been emotionally wounded), a touching secondary romance between two social outcasts, and creative descriptions of life as a werewolf. This isn’t a fast moving book, but is the type of story you can lose yourself in. The world is seductive and richly detailed and the characters come to life. It’s a must read for fans of furry alpha heroes!