The Silver Trilogy – Mathilde Madden

After reading all three of these books one after the other, I didn’t feel I could successfully write three separate reviews. The books are a continuous tale (though they do work as standalone novels), so much like The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter books, The Silver Trilogy books are all one long story – in this case, a sexy story.

The three books in question are entitled The Silver Collar, The Silver Crown and The Silver Cage. As supernatural fans have probably already figured out, Mathilde Madden’s trilogy deals with werewolves. Before reading these books, given the choice between the two mythical species, I’d have put myself firmly in the vampire camp. However, Alfie, Iris and their friends have changed my mind. I’m now quite happily perched on the fence. I never knew werewolves could be so sexy.

Iris Instasi Fox Tabernacle is a werewolf hunter. She and her (estranged) husband Blake work together to nuke the furry creatures that stalk Oxford’s streets every full moon. They have their reasons for doing what can sometimes be a tough and gruesome job. Blake is a sadistic pig, and Iris watched the two people she loved most in the world being attacked by a werewolf. Her twin brother, Matthew, died; and her boyfriend Alfie was turned into a werewolf himself. Originally unperturbed by this, Iris stood by Alfie until she asked him to help her track down the beast that attacked her brother, and kill him. What Iris didn’t understand was the force at work between a wolf and his sire – thrall – which means that a cub will not betray his sire. He must obey. This effectively ended their relationship, and eleven years later Iris is still busy ridding the world of furry creatures.

That is, until Alfie turns up needing her help. Iris agrees, but only on the condition that Alfie will defy the rules of cub and sire and help her avenge Matthew’s death. That’s when things start to get really complicated…

And that is basically the very beginning of the saga. What follows is a battle between Iris and the Ancient Beast that murdered her brother, and the aftermath. Though the books do work as standalone novels, I would highly recommend reading all three, and preferably back to back. You’ll then get a richer experience and be able to fully enjoy the drama, peril and sexiness of the story.

As I said, I’ve never really found werewolves sexy, but Ms. Madden has completely opened my eyes. Although in her tales, werewolves on the whole are very attractive when in human form, it’s Alfie that really stood out for me. The Alpha werewolf; big strapping guy with an incredible sex drive… well, I expect most ladies (and gay gentlemen of course) will fancy him! All of the characters involved in this melee of action are fabulous. They’re well-written and believable. Iris, in particular is a deep and fascinating character and it’s interesting to see how she reacts to everything thrown at her in all three novels.

It’s clear that Mathilde Madden had a clear idea of who everyone was and what their purpose was, because it totally works. Despite the complex plot and character relationships, you don’t get lost or confused in what’s happening – you just keep desperately turning pages to find out what happens next. The action is exciting and pacy, and the sex scenes will have your heart (and other bits) pulsing in no time!

Overall, a fantastic trilogy of books, from both an erotic and action point of view. My eyes are definitely opened to the werewolf erotica genre, and I’ll be looking out for more. I’d definitely recommend these if you enjoy supernatural smut.

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