Review: Promise of the Wolves

Promise of the Wolves by Dorothy Hearst

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Synopsis: Never consort with humans. Never kill a human unprovoked. Never allow a mixed-blood wolf to live.

At least that’s what the wolves of the Wide Valley believe. Until a young wolf dares to break the rules—and forever alters the relationship between wolves and the humans who share their world.

Born of a forbidden mixed-blood litter and an outcast after her mother is banished, Kaala is determined to earn a place in the Swift River pack. But her world is turned upside down when she saves a human girl from drowning. Risking expulsion from their pack and banishment from the Wide Valley, Kaala and her young packmates begin to hunt with the humans and thus discover the long-hidden bond between the two clans. But when war between wolves and humans threatens, Kaala learns the lies behind the wolf’s promise. Lies that force her to choose between safety for herself and her friends and the survival of her pack—and perhaps of all wolf- and humankind.

Set 14,000 years ago, Promise of the Wolves takes you to a land where time is counted in phases of the moon, distance is measured in wolf lengths, and direction by the scent of the nearest trail. Join Kaala and her pack in an epic adventure of wolves, humans, and the remarkable bond we share.

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I was captivated by this book from the moment i read the synopsis on the back. I thought this is my kind of book! And it was. If you are an animal lover, or are interested in a heart warming tale, you will enjoy this book.

It is read from the point of view of Kaala, a young wolf trying to fit in with her pack mates but marked with a difference she can't hide from. She escapes death due to her mixed blood only because of her crescent moon marking, which legend claims will be worn by a wolf who will change all of wolfkind. And change them she does, by interacting with a human that she finds herself drawn to even though it is forbidden to associate with each other. This is because the last time they interacted, a war burst forth between them. She is guided in the direction of the humans by a spirit-wolf whom only she can see.


Hearst has created a well rounded culture within the wolves, showing them to not just be wild and reckless creatures, but moral and political with laws of their own, which are determined by their elders and pack leaders.


I loved escaping into Kaalas world, and feeling her sorrows and joys. I highly recommend this book, its a lovely story and there is more to come as this is only the first book in what is to be a trilogy.



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"We humans fear the beast within the wolf because we do not understand the beast within ourselves."
~Gerald Hausman