The second in the Oaths of Dante series, Dante awakens in the middle of a transformation into his cursed state. Quickly meeting Pandora, the First Mortal Mother, he goes on a journey to fulfill his oath to Hecate and Gaia. Only, things are not as they seem and he is quickly drawn into a much older, colder, painful conflict between past and present and the gods at large.
To his shock, it is only his choices that can seal the fates of countless many, but can he pay the price?
The second in the Oaths of Dante series, Dante awakens in the middle of a transformation into his cursed state. Quickly meeting Pandora, the First Mortal Mother, he goes on a journey to fulfill his oath to Hecate and Gaia. Only, things are not as they seem and he is quickly drawn into a much older, colder, painful conflict between past and present and the gods at large.
To his shock, it is only his choices that can seal the fates of countless many, but can he pay the price?
Panting and shuddering, Dante rushed out of the cavern, over the bodies of the other werewolves. His skin felt like it was on fire, his muscles tearing at each other like ravenous dogs, his bones crunching under the weight of his curse. This was the burden of his curse, but what the hell had triggered it?
'I am usually extremely calm or depressed, that's basically it? What the hell is wrong with me?' He called out mentally, begging for some kind of answer before throwing himself on the grass outside the cave and curling into a ball as his innards tore themselves apart.
"Stop fighting!" Thea screamed, rushing towards him. She smelled of water and flowers and sweat, as well as a mixture of something sour that he knew somehow was fear. "Fighting only prolongs the pain;, accept it, embrace it, or you'll never survive the pain and of the process."
Looking up at his mother, at their near identical faces, all cheekbones and pale skin, he nodded and let go. Power and rage washed through him, and he in a flash of energy, he found himself cringing not at the pain from the change, but his sense of smell. It was sharp, overly defined, and overwhelming.
A loud whimper escaped his throat, mocked by a soft, rough chuckle next to him. Turning back, he saw a wolf in his mother's place. Her fur was pitch black barring one long streak of silver running from her left ear to her shoulder. She was a tiny wolf—, his mother was a short lady—, but she held herself high and strong. Her blue eyes remained, not like his now amber eyes, and they held profound intelligence,  and power, and a natural calm she had passed onto him.
"It's okay, breathe, kiddo,." Sshe said, not with actual words but a sort of rush of knowledge. It wasn't even telepathy, it was just a knowing they shared.
Nodding, he struggled up to his feet, just in time for a bundle of love and light to smack into him, two of them in fact. Both licked his face, one dog, one wolf.
"Ahh, gross!" he called out to them.
Ghost beamed, his dull orange fur looking brilliant in the dawn light. Â "You can talk to me now! Our talk, dog and wolf talk! I am so happy, I love you!" And he nuzzled into his master, Dante himself, with love. Dante sighed and nuzzled back, letting instinct take over ever so slightly.
"What about me?" He Dante turned and saw his adorable boyfriend and warrior, Christopher, all light brown with streaks of grey. He made an adorable puppy... "Do I get some love?"
Sighing, Dante bunted his head too, sighing into him as he did so, breathing in his partner's scent. It tasted of sugar and animals, which really seemed to match his Christopher. It must have been changed by his magic, being tied to animals and healing.
Absently, Dante noticed that he was far larger than everyone else around him, by fifty pounds in his wolf form and at least a foot. He had no idea what he looked like though... and that was kind of irritating him.
As if reading his mind, his mother approached and put her head to his. "See through me."
And he saw it, his face, and smelled his scent. He was pure chocolate brown, with a thick, shaggy coat peppered with silver. His eyes were a dark amber, just about gold, actually. He had a black nose and a strong frame. His scent was profoundly sharp, like cinnamon and citrus;, it was a lovely mixture. He knew then his theory was right:, it was the magic, no dog or wolf smelled like perfume.
The connection to his mother's mind faded as she pulled away, looking at him warmly.
"What was that?"
"All Werewolves, bonded by ancient hate, can connect to each other's mind. Even the separate packs... it takes training and experience, but it is also bound int instinct. You'll struggle with it."
He tried to frown. "Why?"
"You are all reading and knowledge, not an instinctual bone in your body."
He sighed, stopping Christopher's growl at his defense with a look. " She's not wrong... Â why did I shift? I can't think of any triggers?" As he spoke, his mind ran through all of the possible reasons for his shift.
His mother sighed. "You woke up. Sometimes that is all it takes. Christopher is an animal charmer, or so you told me last night. He has a strong connection to instinct and passion, you don't. You always have distanced yourself from that part of your mind. It concerned me a lot when you were little..." She shook her head. " That is for another time... until you can connect to your instinct and channel that part of yourself, you're going to be stuck as a wolf. Might as well get used to your new state."
Not caring how immature it seemed, Dante put his head in his paws and let out the whiniest whimper he was capable of.
"DAMN!"
The Golden Apple by Mika Mathews is the second book in the young adult, Fantasy, series "Oaths of Dante". The story follows on from The Silver Coin with the protagonist, Dante, awakening to find himself transformed into a wolf. Seeking out the famed golden apple to restore peace and balance to the world's magic is no small task, but accompanied by a gang of accomplices and the magic of Gaia pulsing through his veins, Dante is ready to tackle the next challenge in this thrilling quest.
There are likeable elements of this book. The personality traits of each wolf character certainly help to make the story more colourful; Dante's sexuality and the character of Cypress (as just two examples) adds needed diversity into the story in a way which is reflective of the wider world we all live in. More of this, please!
The Golden Apple's biggest weakness is in its execution of narrative voice. The book is written in third person omniscient (as a reader we see everything taking place at any given time, as if were were a god-like figure). The story's primary focus is on Dante and his hunt for the golden apple, yet there is so much head hopping it soon becomes incredibly hard to form a relationship with any of the characters. Really the author should have tackled this book in close third person, focusing specifically on Dante's inner dialogue, feelings and reactions, and blocking out those of all others.
There are also a number of expressions didn't quite hit the mark for me. Expressions such as "unbearably beautiful laughter" and "Gaia's majesty flowed through her...subtly and with great love". There are a lot of them throughout the book and in the vast majority of cases they come across as one liners that may have sounded good in the author's head but less so for readers.
In truth this book may have been better if it had been merged with either the first or third book in the "Oaths of Dante" series. At only 121 pages long the word count is a bit slim for the expectations of this genre. With strict editing (ideally from an experienced professional) The Golden Apple could shine as a secondary plot of a bigger story arc, however right now it is not something I will be rushing to read again.
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