Weekly Reader: Alpha Wolves by D.J. Swykert; Middle of Maggie Elizabeth Harrington Trilogy Emphasizes Romance Over Love of Nature
By Julie Sara Porter
Bookworm Reviews
Spoilers: In Maggie Elizabeth Harrington and For the Love of Wolves, author, D.J. Swykert explored the love that humans have for animals. Maggie Elizabeth Harrington is about the female protagonist, Maggie and her then-boyfriend Tommie Stetter protecting four newborn wolf puppies from becoming a hunter’s trophies. For the Love of Wolves focuses on a now elderly Maggie feeling the spiritual presence of her long deceased white wolf friend, Wolf.
The second book in the trilogy focuses more on the human aspects rather than the nature aspects. Instead of exploring more of Maggie's connections with wolves, the book is more about Maggie's complex love life. Her relationship with Wolf, her future guide and protector is mostly a subplot.
That's not particularly bad since Maggie is an interesting character and her interactions with other characters help define her independent spirit. But what is missing is the relationship Maggie has with her beloved wolves which were central themes of the other two books, making this the weakest of the trilogy.
It has been ten years since Maggie recklessly ran off with Tommie Stetter. Ten years since he was sent away to school to take his place in society and forget about her. Ten years since Maggie remained in Central Mine as she kept house for her father and waited for her lover to return. And return he does.
The mine is faltering and Tommie returns to take his late father's place as the new manager. Unfortunately, he is not alone. He returns to Central Mine with a wife and child in tow.
Maggie is devastated but she is also determined that she still loves Tommie no matter what. However, she has become friends with a miner, Jeremy Paull who is a sweet, even tempered guy. It's not too long before Maggie finds herself caught between two guys: the loving and unattached, Jeremy and the now married love of her life, Tommie.
Maggie shows a lot of spunk and independence. When Tommie reenters her life, Maggie vows that shame or no shame that she will love him anyway. One of her greatest moments occurs late in the book when the judgemental town minister confronts her with gossip about her feelings towards Tommie. He begins to lecture her about the wages of sin and what the role of a good wife should be. She is outwardly polite, but inwardly she is determined to live her own life and love two men.
Maggie also has to come to some hard decisions. These decisions are based on her love for both Tommie and Jeremy. Swykert does us all a favor by making them both good characters thereby making it easy to see why Maggie can't choose between them. She loves them both because she really can't choose one over the other. They are both great guys and she doesn't want to hurt either one.
She doesn't know who the right man is supposed to be and to her credit, neither does the Reader. It's one of the few times in literature that I could genuinely say, that I was actually rooting for an open marriage to occur.
Unfortunately, ménage a trois are not the thing in Central Mine. A wedding occurs but Maggie finds herself in big trouble after a night of passionate love making to Tommie. She has to make a real decision, not with her heart but with her head. She realizes that she has to make a decision for all involved not just her.
As I mentioned before, Maggie's relationship with wolves is a subplot compared to the other two books. However, it does serve a real purpose. Maggie receives Wolf as a gift from Jeremy. In gratitude and for love of the majestic animal, Maggie keeps him bound as a pet. He is kept as she is kept. Wolf feels pressured to be a pet and Maggie feels pressured to conform to standards that others require of her such as what her role as a woman is supposed to be and whom she is required to love.
It is no coincidence that after Maggie decides which man that she is bound to and whom she really loves, she sets Wolf free. She realizes that Wolf was once wild and untamed and that it was wrong to keep him as a pet. Setting him free allows Wolf to continue in his role as a wild animal. Maggie too had a wild free spirited heart that was bound by rules. However, unlike Wolf she cannot run free. She has to live among her own kind. However, she chooses to live honestly and with love. She has matured but she is still a wild and free spirit.
As with the other books there is a strong sense of seasonal passage of time in Alpha Wolves. Maggie Elizabeth Harrington deal with spring and early summer, birth, and young love. For the Love of Wolves dealt with winter, aging, and death.
Alpha Wolves is concerned with late summer and autumn. Days grow shorter. Children begin school. Suddenly, the youthful energy and enthusiasm gives way to adulthood and the worries that come with developing maturity.
The once vibrant imaginative girl, Maggie is not yet the elderly sorrowful woman. She is someone who longs tp hold onto that young heart that she once had. Eventually, she realizes that she and Tommie have changed. They recognize flaws in each other's character that they never noticed before.
They are settling into marriage, employment, and children and establishing themselves as community members. Because of this, there are more people to consider than their own reckless passions.
While Alpha Wolves is not the best book in the pack, it is another great addition to the series. It serves as a bridge between who Maggie was and who she later becomes.
