Review & Giveaway: A Whisper of Wolves - Kris Humphrey

A Whisper of Wolves (Guardians of the Wild #1) - Kris Humphrey

ISBN - 9781847155962

Publisher - Stripes Publishing

Release date - March 2 2015

Find - Goodreads | Book Depository 

When a raven drops a white feather at the doorstep on the day of your birth, it is a symbol of your destiny. You are a Whisperer – a guardian of the wild. After many years of peace in the kingdom of Meridina, rumours are spreading of a planned invasion – could the demonic Narlaw be returning from the darklands? It is up to the Whisperers and their animal companions to defend Meridina, protect Princess Ona and stop the Narlaw from destroying their world.

When hunters from her village disappear without a trace, Alice suspects that something sinister is at work. With the help of Storm, her wolf companion, Alice fights to save her village. The Narlaw are on the attack and it’s up to the Whisperers to stop them…

When a postman drops a parcel with a white feather through your letterbox it is a symbol of a great read! I was lucky enough to be part of the cover reveal for A Whisper of Wolves back in January and I've been looking forward to reading the book for quite some time.

Once upon a time a band of demons were banished by Queen Amina, the Whisperer people still talk about one hundred years later. But the Narlaw have returned... Alice, along with her mentor and another young Whisperer, may be all that stand between the demons and the people. Whisperer's are those with magic. Taken from their homes at an early age they become apprentices and gain an animal companion who they 'whisper' with to communicate.

The story is the first in a planned quartet and is mostly the story of Alice and her fight to save the local village from the Narlaw. We're also introduced to Dawn, the chief Whisperer in the royal palace even though she's just a young girl. The story weaves between the two girls where it becomes apparent that Dawn is practised at everything Alice is struggling with and desperately needs to know in her battle.

The plot moves along at a fast pace, with only 213 pages it has to really, and Kris Humphrey's writing is simply wonderful. He paints quite a vivid picture of Alice's world and I loved that we got to see things from the Whisperer's animals point of view. Alice has a wolf, Storm, and Dawn a raven named Ebony. There are also more unexpected animals as companions including an owl belonging to Alice's mentor, Moraine. The bond between Whisperer and animal was amazing, especially during the battle scenes with Alice where Storm was there in her mind giving her the confidence to do what was needed.

An exciting read for the middle grade crowd A Whisper of Wolves is a great story. There are parts which could have done with some more detail such as the history of the Whisperer's, more about the Narlaw and where they came from and more back story about both the girls but to me these are minor niggles that I suspect may well be ironed out in further books. If you like adventure, fantasy and animals then definitely give A Whisper of Wolves a go. I'm now eagerly waiting the second book, Warning Cry, as I can't wait to see what happens next, meet more Whisperers and see more of the fantastic world Kris has created.

One lucky person can win their own copy of A Whisper of Wolves, simply leave a comment on this post and you'll be eligible to win. It's an international giveaway and will be open until Saturday 21 2015.

Blog Tour: Q & A with Kris Humphrey

Welcome to the Guardians of the Wild Blog Tour! I'm so excited to have Kris Humphrey, the author of A Whisper of Wolves, here today and answering some bookish questions! Don't forget to check out my review and enter a giveaway to win a copy of A Whisper of Wolves

How do you pick your character's names?

I usually have an idea about what kind of name I want for each character – a certain sound or a name that begins with a particular letter. Because Guardians of the Wild is a fantasy series I tend to invent a lot of the character names, some of which seem to pop straight into my head and others take a lot more effort – I might merged two existing names or look online for interesting names I’ve never heard before.

What comes first when you're writing, the story idea or the character?

It’s almost always the story idea, although character and story are inextricably linked. As soon as I start working on the plot of a book I also have to consider the characters involved because the action of the story depends on the motivations and personalities of these characters. You can’t just cram a random character into the fantastic plot you’ve constructed.

What inspired you to write A Whisper of Wolves?

I’ve always wanted to write fantasy books, and I’ve always loved animals too. I spent some time living in Canada and my camping trips to the Rocky Mountains were a huge inspiration for the Great Forest in A Whisper of Wolves. That was one of the few times I’ve been surrounded by true wilderness and it made a lasting impression.

Describe A Whisper of Wolves in ten words or less.

Whisperers, wolves and demons do battle in the Great Forest.

What's the best thing about being a writer? 

Daydreaming for a living – being able to drift away on your imagination and not having to feel guilty about it.

And the worst?

Biscuits. I drink a lot of tea while I’m writing and I just cannot resist having biscuits to go with it. It’s really very unhealthy.

A Whisper of Wolves is the first book in a series, do you already know how it's all going to end?

I’m just working on the details of the fourth and final book at the moment, so I have a general sense of how things will end – but nothing is fixed!

Do you listen to music whilst writing? Do you have a 'writing' playlist?

If I’m getting down ideas and not actually writing chapters then I sometimes listen to music. I do have a writing playlist, which consists of mostly instrumental tracks that I won’t be tempted to sing along to and distract myself! When I’m writing chapters I can’t have music on at all. I need to concentrate on the rhythm of the sentences I’m writing.

What books are currently on your reading pile?

The top section of my reading pile consists of Diamonds and Daggers by the always-brilliant Elen Caldecott, Scarlet and Ivy by Sophie Cleverly and Last Leaves Falling by Sarah Benwell – these are all brand new books that I’ve been looking forward to getting my hands on for ages. Also, I’m going on holiday to Burma very soon and I’ll be taking The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh, which deals with Burma’s troubled recent history.

What's the last book you read?

I just finished The Starlight Conspiracy by Steve Voake. It’s a fantastic YA thriller about an alien artefact that falls into the hands of a teenaged girl and sets her off on a journey from England to the New Mexico desert in America. The characters were great and there was much more depth and playfulness to it than your average thriller - The X-Files meets John Green.

What authors and/or books inspired you to write?

Brian Jacques’ Redwall series got me hooked on reading when I was at school. It made a book-lover of me and started me on the long road to becoming a writer. JRR Tolkien was also a huge influence on me when I was younger. I used to draw maps of my own fantasy worlds and dream about writing epic sagas to go with them; this was a direct result of the magic and drama I experienced when I read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Later on, writers like Michelle Paver, David Almond and Marcus Sedgwick have inspired me by showing me just how good children’s books can be.

About the Author

Hotly tipped by tutors on his MA course in Writing for Young People at Bath Spa University, Kris Humphrey graduated with Distinction and was awarded the prize for Most Promising Writer. Skilfully combining the dramatic, vivid landscapes of Meridina with a fast-paced narrative, A Whisper of Wolves is Kris’s first novel. 

Cover Reveal: A Whisper of Wolves by Kris Humphrey

I'm super excited today to be taking part in the cover reveal for Kris Humphrey's debut book, A Whisper of Wolves. It's the first book in the series, Guardians of the Wild, and fits in perfectly with my goal to read more middle grade books this year. Anyway, here's the (gorgeous) cover!

A Whisper of Wolves (Guardians of the Wild #1) - Kris Humphreys

ISBN - 9781847155962

Publisher - Stripes Publishing

Expected release date - March 2 2015

Find - Goodreads | Book Depository

When a raven drops a white feather at the doorstep on the day of your birth, it is a symbol of your destiny. You are a Whisperer – a guardian of the wild. After many years of peace in the kingdom of Meridina, rumors are spreading of a planned invasion – could the demonic Narlaw be returning from the darklands? It is up to the Whisperers and their animal companions to defend Meridina, protect Princess Ona and stop the Narlaw from destroying their world.

When hunters from her village disappear without a trace, Alice suspects that something sinister is at work. With the help of Storm, her wolf companion, Alice fights to save her village. The Narlaw are on the attack and it’s up to the Whisperers to stop them…

Kris Humphrey grew up in Plymouth, where he spent most of his time reading books, riding around on his bike and daydreaming about writing a book himself. Since then, Kris has had more jobs than he cares to think about. He has been a cinema projectionist, a bookseller and worked at an animal sanctuary in the Guatemalan jungle.

Find Kris on Twitter here and Stripes Publishing here. Look out for my review in March where I'll also be giving away a copy of this fab middle grade book via the Book Depository!

Last but not least, look how the proof of A Whisper of Wolves arrived! It was so cute I didn't want to open it!