Audio Book Review: Wolf's Bane by Aimee Easterling

I enjoyed this shifter, action story.

Wolf's Bane
Written by Aimee Easterling
Narrated by Piper Goodeve
Release Date: July 2, 2019
Run time: 5 hours and 43 minutes
Release Date: July 2, 2019
Publisher: Wetknee Books
Genre: Fantasy, Folklore, Shifters
My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.0; Narration 4.25.

Publisher Description
Secrets are my specialty.
I’m Mai Fairchild — fox shifter, sister’s keeper, and bane of the local werewolf pack. In a world where different is dangerous, my sister and I must pretend to be human at all costs. Too bad I just lost the job that lets me live under the radar while putting food on my sister’s plate.
Enter an enticing werewolf who offers enough cash to upgrade our diets from ramen noodles to salami if I join him on a magical hunt. But can I afford to accept the opportunity when the risk of working closely with every fox shifter’s sworn enemy is so great?
This first book in USA Today bestselling author Aimee Easterling’s newest series dives into a world of magic, danger, and romance.

Review:
Mai and her younger sister, Kira, are fox shifters, also known as kitsune. They have to keep this secret since it is a fact that would condemn them to execution by werewolves who don’t tolerate the kitsune magic. Mai lost her mundane day job so has to rely on her fighting success in the fight cage.

Unfortunately, her run of wins is hurting the betting. Her boss decides to set her up against a new team – werewolves. Gunner, an alpha werewolf, offers Mai a lucrative job if she will help the werewolves find a rogue, brutal killer. Mai needs the work but is reluctant to work so closely with her enemies of her very nature. While she is still contemplated the job another murder occurs and she is drawn in to inspect the scene. It is quickly apparent that the killer is using magical power. Not only that, but the killer has somehow gotten a hold of Mai’s family artifacts that can be used to trigger magic.

Mai is receiving cryptic mind messages from her dead mother while she is trying to discover who has obtained her mother’s magic and is now stalking her. Meanwhile, Mai needs to keep her ‘boyfriend’, a local werewolf, from putting her in the middle of a territorial war with Gunner and his pack. All of her efforts get tangled up, especially when Kira keeps taking actions that endanger the sisters.

I enjoyed the overall plot line and the intrigue of Gunner’s interest in Mai. I was a little frustrated that Kai had not shown more regard for her mother’s heirlooms and also failed to communicate better with her sister regarding their nature. Then there was the bad choices that Mai kept making to sneak away from the werewolves who were trying to trust her. These several elements seemed like major missteps for the primary character although it plays into the action.

The writing is at a level suitable for YAs and adults. I do enjoy shifter characters and I liked the developing relationship between Mai and Gunner. The story ends with danger and a bit of a cliff hanger. I am interested in reading the next book. I recommend this to readers who like shifter stories.

Audio Notes: Piper Goodeve does a good job with the narration. She gives appropriate life to Mai and manages to give the characters distinct voices. I enjoyed the audio listen.

Source: 4/01/2020 Chirp for $.99. This qualifies for 2021TBR, 2021Audiobook and 2021Alphabet (audio) goals.