DISCLAIMER: I received a review copy of The Pale Skulls from the publisher via NetGalley UK in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author Jane H. Wood and to the publisher Book Guild Publishing for the opportunity to review this title.

WARNING: This review contains spoilers; please read on only if comfortable with this.

The Pale Skulls is the second instalment in Jane H. Wood’s award-winning GoldenEars series, continuing on from the events of the first book, The Whispering Mountain. The story follows Edmund as he vows to find his beloved wolf GoldenEars, and sees him continuing to grow in his newfound career as a Forest Ranger at Huxforest Wildlife Reserve. While on leave, Edmund returns home and begins to research the myths and legends surrounding the wolves at the local library, hoping to find clues that could reveal where the wolves have disappeared to. While there, he meets Joe, a Native American, who becomes a valuable friend to Edmund and an asset as he continues his research. It soon becomes clear that the wolves’ disappearance is more significant than he first thought, and that dark and mysterious forces are at play in the local wilderness that threaten everyone and everything in their path.

The Pale Skulls delves much deeper into the supernatural and spiritual than The Whispering Mountain, and it is these elements that drive a significant portion of the book’s plot. The story is suddenly about much more than wolf conservation and the protection of wildlife, now delving into the very concepts of life and death themselves, and the blurred lines many cultures and peoples find between them. I found these newfound elements both fascinating and a little frustrating, as I had previously really enjoyed the groundedness and real-life essence of The Whispering Mountain. I had fully expected these themes to remain dominant in The Pale Skulls, but with the charming and somewhat magical twist offered by the titular GoldenEars. The supernatural threat posed by the “Pale Skulls” at times felt both jarring and simultaneously right at home with Edmund and GoldenEars’ story, and this threw up some complex emotions in my mind while reading, causing me to question if this was the ‘right’ direction for the series to go in.

This said, my reservations about the changes in the story’s direction were matched in equal measure by the hugely gratifying developments by Wood of several of the ideas from The Whispering Mountain. At the same time as exploring new concepts, she stayed within the core woodland setting that had been established in the first instalment and expanded upon it, maintained Edmund’s appreciation for the wolves and wildlife conservation as a whole, and also took this a step further in the form of the rangers’ development of the Wolf Sanctuary. I really liked that we saw tangible evidence of the influence of Edmund’s efforts and his dedication to the wolves and their protection, and that the rest of the rangers at the Huxforest Wildlife Reserve came together in respect of his wishes to create a safe home for the wolves should they return to the forest.

Although I did enjoy these aforementioned developments, overall, I did find Edmund’s character development – particularly towards the end of the book – to be a little disappointing and problematic. Though almost an adult at the start of the book, and having turned 18 by the end, his emotions in the latter half continuously seemed grievously unchecked and unbalanced. Though I know this is, in part, meant to be due to the influence of the Pale Skulls and the effect their ‘touch’ and his visit to the Spirit World had on him, his rampant selfishness and constant jealousy of Glyph, of Neeka and of his fellow forest rangers became tiresome at points. It was as if I was reading about a possessive and and controlling partner trying to exert their influence over their partner, and this was a little exhausting and upsetting, as Edmund had previously been a character I had really admired in The Whispering Mountain.

Edmund’s darker side aside, when acting more like his older self, he was a pleasure to read about. The other returning cast members were also easy to care about and become invested in, making it all the more upsetting when some were lost over the course of the story. Edmund’s parents in this book were incredibly caring and supportive of their son in his new career, and this was lovely to see in addition to the care and affection expressed by Edmund’s fellow rangers to and for him. Josh in particular continued to be a close friend to Edmund, being someone who cared for him even when Edmund’s behaviour compelled him to avoid him. Joe was a welcome addition to the cast, offering a fresh new perspective and a new way of thinking to the tight-knit group of rangers. The wolves – in particular GoldenEars – were as enchanting to read about as before, and it was incredibly sad to see the loss of multiple members of the pack as they battled for their freedom and safety. That is to say with the exception of Glyph, perhaps, who you can’t help but feel slightly sorry for even while completely infuriated at his childish, ignorant meddling. Finally, the peripheral characters – including the farmers and hunters – served as a stark reminder of the reality of the importance and necessity of wildlife conservation, lest animals be killed senselessly and, often, in error due to misunderstandings.

The ending of The Pale Skulls is perhaps the greatest point of contention for me, as I found it to be confusing and, in certain ways, unnecessary. After the wolves and Edmund’s victory over the Pale Skulls, it felt like a punch in the teeth to then see GoldenEars insisting upon the breaking of all bonds between him, Glyph and Edmund. While the breaking of Glyph’s bond with GoldenEars made perfect sense in order to allow the former to move on into the afterlife, the subsequent breaking of Edmund and GoldenEars’ bond felt sudden and rushed. I don’t feel that the chest pain being experienced by Edmund was explained well enough to adequately justify why the breaking of their bond was necessary and unavoidable. Edmund also did not put up as much of a fight as I expected after all of his protestations to GoldenEars about the value of their bond, and how he wanted to keep his bond with his Spirit Wolf intact.

The swift reversal of part of the memory wipe conducted by GoldenEars on Edmund also seemed clunky, as this negated the severity of the process. I feel that this partial memory wipe should have been what happened in the first place, if really needing to happen at all. This sequence of events seemed to unnecessarily elongate this section of the book, taking weight away from the happiness I was meant to experience at seeing GoldenEars relent and returning some of Edmund’s precious memories involving him. As a final sticking point, I also really did not like that GoldenEars’ ‘powers’ (if I should call them that) were seemingly stripped from him through this process, as symbolised by the loss of his glowing golden hairs. It is unclear if there will be another book in the series, but if there is, it is now unclear to me how Wood intends to proceed if both Edmund and GoldenEars have been reduced to living their very separate, very mundane lives.

Despite all of these expressed reservations and issues taken with the supernatural elements, the changes in Edmund’s personality and the muddled ending, The Pale Skulls thoroughly engaged me and captured my attention throughout. I found myself compelled to continue reading even when events got intense, and did not ever feel discouraged from reading on to find out what was going to happen next with Edmund and GoldenEars’ respective journeys. Wood’s writing was wholly enjoyable, and while the storytelling was clunky at points, I never found the writing itself to be clunky, obtuse or unnecessarily complex. While I did not enjoy all of the ideas in The Pale Skulls, I cannot fault at all how readable of a written experience it was, enjoying the whole book in no more than three sittings. It is certainly a book that can, and should, be enjoyed by both young adults and older adults alike.

To conclude, while The Pale Skulls was not quite the sequel to The Whispering Mountain that I was hoping for, it was still a largely enjoyable read sporting an excellent mix of suspense, drama, emotional events and supernatural occurrences. If you like wolves, the idea of animal conservation, supernatural or spiritual creatures, and / or power struggles between opposing forces, then this book will likely entertain and enthrall you as it did me even despite its flaws. Do make sure to read the The Whispering Mountain first though, or you’ll be missing plenty of valuable context and background for this riveting second instalment in the GoldenEars series.

This review is based on my own edition of the book as my netgalley copy archived before I had a chance to download it. I was unaware at the time that this was a second installment in a series so I had to go and read the first book when I found out.

This wonderful sequel starts off with Edmund missing his wolf GoldenEars, and trying to figure out where all the wolves have gone. He ends up meeting a man called Joe who is able to help him figure out details about his connection with the wolf and where the other wolves have gone to.

This story has a big focus on bonds, and its one of the aspects I enjoyed the most. I love seeing Edmund's bond with GoldenEars and it makes me wish I had a bond like that too. There was a bigger supernatural element to this book too which I really enjoyed.

GoldenEars really tries to put across the message of the danger wolves face in North America where they are still being hunted. I think the author did a good job of this as she makes you connect to the characters in the book and care for them, therefore making you care on how wolves are affected in the real world.

Overall this was a very enjoyable read and even though it took me a long time to get there, I'm glad I got to experience these books eventually.