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Set in the fantasy world of Lyndaria, “The Wolverine and the Rose” is a passionate tale of love, magic, human frailty and strength and the eternal battle of good and evil. It is the chronicles the transformation of a naïve farm girl—the willful, daydreaming, auburn-haired Arianna of the hamlet of Stollinshire—to a powerful Lady who is destined to save the kingdom from the clutches of the Dark Queen Darragh.
Empowered by her bond with a stranger met in the marketplace, a wolverine—the king’s knight the gorgeous blonde and blue-eyed Geoffrey—the roller coaster adventure begins. The tale has all the elements of full-fledged fantasy adventure and Rebecca Going takes you on a wonderful journey with dragons and knights, elves, mages, portals and talking swords bound together by a love so strong that it makes one wish that the fantasy were real. Arianna—her knight’s “Rose” is thrust into a magical voyage to save her land against dark forces and dark knights—an adventure she longed for through her mundane days at the farm. A quest for a magic crystal, the Crystal of Mynos, revelations about herself and her magical heritage and the arms of her true love all begin with the giving and taking of a single blood-red rose.
The book is full of wonderful characters that make you hope that Goings has many more tales of Wolverines in the pipeline. I thoroughly enjoyed reading every bit of the story. The plot twists and turns unexpectedly keeping you hooked through the hundreds of pages. The brave knight and the strong heroine together with the many interesting characters makes for a great read. “The Wolverine and the Rose” is a grand spectacle of emotions, fantasy, magic, devastating battles and deep…deep love!
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If there is a problem it is that the book is slow to start and one tends to get impatient with the Arianna’s mood-swings and childishness before her destiny and love make her a worthy opponent to a powerful sorceress. But this is a mild hiccup and the plot picks up to become a wonderful adventure spiced with the powerful bond between Geoffrey and Arianna. I can’t wait to read Rebecca Going’s next book in the series and until I lay my hands on it I’ll keep rereading this wonderful adventure. It may be a fantasy romance but it is reminiscent of the Tolkein sagas, the mysteries of Merlin and the quest for power that we see around us even today. So many lessons and such a sweet romance.
So people a 9 on 10 is my rating for this tale and if there is a moviemaker out there this story is just crying out to be put on the big screen to rival Narnia, Eragon, the Lord of the Rings and all the other fantasia films that graced the silver screens.
Reviewed by Raakhee Suryaprakash
for The Road to Romance
March 27, 2007
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