Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE: Hunter Moon

SERIES: Wolf Moon Rising Book 3

AUTHOR: Sam Burns and W.M. Fawkes

PUBLISHER: Self-published

LENGTH: 345 pages

RELEASE DATE: June 10, 2021

BLURB: 

The prodigal alpha returns from the navy to a whole new sea of trouble…

Aspen Grove left his pack to ensure its future, and his own. After ten years in the navy, his father is dead, his brother is pack alpha, and he’s ready to return. But does the pack he turned his back on still have a place for him so many years later?

Brook Morgan has seen the dark side of alpha wolves—their violence, their brutality, their greed. He has only taken the first small steps toward recovery when Aspen Grove, the alpha who stole his heart then abandoned it ten years ago, returns to Grovetown. Thank the moon he can lose himself in video games and put the only alpha he’d ever wanted out of mind for good.

After abandoning his rightful place in the Grove pack, Aspen is struggling to find where he fits in, but when the feral wolves who tormented Brook return looking for more trouble, he has to protect his home, and his mate, or risk losing them both forever.

Hunter Moon is a second-chance, childhood sweethearts romantic wolfish romp featuring one misplaced navy alpha, a mechanic who’s better with cars and video games than with people, and enough apple butter to soothe all woes, in a non-mpreg ABO world.

Please be aware of the content warnings on the copyright page of this book, as this story deals with trauma and recovery.

REVIEW: 

Hunter Moon, the third book in Sam Burns and W.M. Fawkes’ Wolf Moon Rising werewolf shifter, urban fantasy/romance series, follows a similar relationship trajectory to that of Book 2, Harvest Moon.  Like omega Alexis and Alpha Ridge before them (in Harvest Moon), omega Brook Morgan and Alpha Aspen Grove were childhood sweethearts who were separated by time and distance.  Also like Alexis, Brook has been waiting for his Alpha to come back.  At the start of the book, Brook and Aspen are finally seeing each other again after a decade apart and discovering how much they both have changed.  But what does that mean for them? 

If you’ve read the prior books in this series, you know that Aspen is the eldest of the Grove brothers, the rightful heir as alpha of the Grove pack.  But Aspen knows himself;  he’s a fighter, not a leader or a peacemaker.  Every part of him rebels against the idea of inheriting the mantle of responsibility as head of the Grove pack.  Recognizing that his younger brother Linden is the right man for the job, Aspen flees without explanation and without saying goodbye to his pack, his brothers, his father, and most of all Brook.

Ten years – that’s how long Aspen’s been gone.  He and Brook dated for almost that long before he left.  They have a long and deep history, so Brook, despite the decade apart, despite stewing in his sadness, hurt and loneliness, never moved on. He thought that they were a “forever” couple. 

Aspen clearly had other thoughts.  He wanted to be forever with Brook, but he needed to leave and couldn’t ask Brook to go with him.  After he left, he enlisted in the Navy which is where he’s stayed for the decade following, with almost no communication whatsoever from anyone in his life before.  A lot happened in his absence.  Brook was kidnapped by a rival pack, and Aspen and Linden’s father, the pack Alpha, was murdered trying to rescue him.  Linden has now taken over as pack Alpha, just as Aspen always wanted.  Under Linden’s careful, empathetic yet strong leadership, the pack successfully rescued Brook and is now starting to heal and rebuild.

For Brook, however, healing is not so easy.  He’s traumatized, with both physical and emotional scars from his abduction.  The pack members treat him like he’s a piece of fine china, fragile and readily breakable.  While well-intentioned, they’re smothering Brook with their constant monitoring, curfews, and making sure he’s accompanied at all times.  He finds it’s hard to heal when everyone reminds you that you’re a victim.

Aspen knows he messed up by leaving the way he did.  So he returns prepared to face the fury of his pack and his family.  And fury he does face.  Ironically, Brook works through his anger faster than many others notwithstanding that he has the most to be angry about.  The story shows Aspen and Brook reestablishing a relationship.  They slowly open up to each other, first remembering what it was like to be friends.  From there, their second chance romance has a chance to grow and flourish.  Aspen commits himself to Brook, his family, and his pack.  He vows to do whatever it takes to redeem himself.  To rebuild the trust he so badly broke when he left everyone behind.   

Hunter Moon is an emotionally impactful story.  Heed the trigger warnings. Brook’s healing journey revisits the trauma from his abduction even though it occurred in the past, off-page.  The authors do an excellent job of giving Aspen and Brook dimension in a deftly executed storyline handled with thoughtful and sensitive treatment of the subject matter. 

The Grove pack found-family dynamic is a huge part of this story.  In my opinion, this is one of the best aspects of this series.  Aspen and Brook both need to leverage the support of their pack to explore how they fit in that found family.  Aspen’s been gone so long, he’s practically starting over.  Add to that the challenge of needing forgiveness or at least acceptance from those he betrayed when he left.  Brook’s been with the pack all along but no one looks at him or treats him the way they did before.  He doesn’t know who he is in their eyes, other than a victim.

In Hunter Moon, the authors continue with their terrific world-building and creative plot lines.  This story’s cadence bears more similarity to Book 2, Harvest Moon, than Book 1, Black Moon.  It’s slow and steady in the early parts and the action picks up in the latter parts.  Aspen needed to repair his relationship with Brook and the pack first, so the foundation was laid for what comes next.  However, the perhaps unavoidable result is slow pacing for a large swath of the narrative. 

Notwithstanding, Hunter Moon provides thoroughly enjoyable, immersive storytelling with endearing characters and a romance that’s difficult, but oh so rewarding.  You can read this as a standalone because enough background is provided in Hunter Moon itself to allow you to read without getting confused.  However, I highly recommend that you not read it that way.  Instead, at least read Book 1, Black Moon, first.  That book provides essential context and enriching details for Hunter Moon.  Also, if you read Hunter Moon first, when you undoubtedly decide you need to read the prior books in the series, you will have completely spoiled at least Book 1. 

Luckily, it looks like there is more to come in this series.  I am eagerly awaiting the next installment to see what these talented authors have in store for the Grove pack next.

RATING:

BUY LINK: 

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