ARC Review: Silver by Rhiannon Held

Silver

Author: Rhiannon Held Publication: Tor Books; First Edition edition (June 5, 2012)
Description: Andrew Dare is a werewolf. He’s the enforcer for the Roanoke pack, and responsible for capturing or killing any Were intruders in Roanoke’s territory. But the lone Were he’s tracking doesn’t smell or act like anyone he’s ever encountered. And when he catches her, it doesn’t get any better. She’s beautiful, she’s crazy, and someone has tortured her by injecting silver into her veins. She says her name is Silver, and that she’s lost her wild self and can’t shift any more.
The packs in North America have a live-and-let-live attitude, and try not to overlap with each other. But Silver represents a terrible threat to every Were on the continent. 

Andrew and Silver will join forces to track down this menace while discovering their own power and their passion for each other.

My Thoughts: This was an interesting sort of werewolf book spent a lot of time talking about pack dynamics in the New World while exploring two damaged characters. Our male main character is Andrew Dare who is working as the enforcer for the Roanoke Pack. He had spent some time in Europe but is back home after losing his mate and going on a killing rampage to get those responsible for her death. He came back with a very bad reputation, lots of guilt, and an essential feeling of loneliness. He is in the Roanoke Pack but not really accepted by it. He is an alpha wolf who doesn't want responsibility for anyone but himself.
Andrew is sent to track down a lone wolf and finds Silver. She has been injected with silver, has lost her wolf, has hallucinations and is generally crazy. She sees a black wolf she calls Death who talks in the voices of those who have died. When Andrew finds her, he wants to find out where she belongs and wants to find out who did that to her and stop him before he does it again. Using silver as a weapon of torture is something that had been done in Europe but wasn't common in America. His pack alpha wants to get rid of Silver but has no interest in finding the person responsible. As long as he stays out of his territory, he doesn't care who caused the problem.
Andrew decides to disregard his alpha's instructions and find out what is going on. He wants to help Silver. Together they go off to the West Coast to try to find a pack that knows her.The story is told alternately from Andrew's and Silver's point of view. Getting into the mind of a woman who has been poisoned by silver was a very surreal experience. It was fascinating to see her relationship with Death and it was fascinating to see her come to terms with her horrible memories and come back to reality. 
This was a story of growth and change for both main characters set in an interesting world with a new mythology. It wasn't action packed. More time was spent on each characters' internal struggles than on external actions. I recommend it for fans of werewolf stories who want a quieter, more introspective book.
Favorite Quote:

Silver laughed, the sound thin. "I'm not much of an advocate for facing up to things, in any case."

"That's just the silver." Andrew squeezed her hand. Dammit, what did you say in this situation? No, you're not stark raving nuts? Yes, you're crazy, but it doesn't seem likely to change any time soon, so you might as well get used to it? I'm sorry?

"No, it's not." Silver looked away from him. "Since you...purged it, I can feel things at the edges. Names. Memories. I thought you'd be the first to sense that I wasn't trying very hard...Dare."

I received this ARC through the Amazon Vine program. You can buy a copy here.