Reviewed by Kat
TITLE: Howl Down the Moon
SERIES: Comet Lake Chronicles (Book Two)
AUTHOR: Layla Dorine
PUBLISHER: NineStar Press
LENGTH: 354 pages
RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2022
BLURB:
Luka knows he screwed up the night he tried to help Raine. He always gets things wrong—one of many reasons he steers clear of the rest of the pack. Besides, he doesn’t deserve the fellowship of other wolves, not with how badly he failed when it mattered most.
Rand has seen a great deal during his time as pack physician, both good and bad. Helping others is his life’s calling, so when a wolf shows up with bitemarks from an altercation with another wolf, he’s quick to treat, but when he learns the name of the wolf bleeding on his clinic floor, he’s quick to judge, too. Too bad he fails to take the time to learn the whole story.
Speaking of stories, there’s one Slade has refused to listen to for years—so much so, he’s relegated himself to the borderlands to avoid having anything to do with those who caused the tragedy that cost him his twin and the vengeance he knows will damn him for life if he carries it out.
A series of decisions, good and bad, brings the lives of these three wolves crashing together. In Comet Lake, that’s called fate. The spark of a chance. Now it’s up to them to put stubbornness aside, stop answering questions with questions, and pause in their self-loathing long enough to listen to one another, put their pasts behind them, and learn how to love.
REVIEW:
I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this book! So worth the wait!
Rand is the Pack Doctor of the Pacific Northwest Pack. He is the doctor that patched up Raine from the Bear attack and diagnosed his pregnancy. So, when the lone wolf that tried to take Raine during the big run shows up he was less than cordial and professional with the young man after he patched him up and discovered who he really was. Then, during an encounter with the wolf, that turns out from his wrist marks is his fated mate, at a fishing spot Doc told Rand about, he not only rejects his mate but sends him away saying he never wants to see Luka. Fast forward realizing he was not only wrong about the young wolf who lacked all social skills and knowledge due to a tragedy with his only family, but that his fated mate had been swept away down a raging, ice cold river, while rescuing a set of pups that had fallen through the ice and were close to drowning. Now he has no chance at the love that the Fates had bestowed him. When Slade rescues the dying young man Luka from the raging river he knows he has to get him warmed fast or the man will die. He had encountered the tragic younger man years before but wasn’t in the right mind at the time. Now the Fates have bestowed the man to him as his fated mate. However, when he tries to get him help with the Pack Doctor Rand, Luka tells him his sad rejection story. Slade burns hot with fury at the doctor not following his oath to care for all and do no harm and challenges him through the pack council. But the council and Rand and Slade’s fathers see differently. Can a dishonored doctor, a bitter twin who lost his brother due to rejection and a young man who lost everything in his life turn things around and find the mates the Fates decided needed a second chance?
I’m going to put this out there. I didn’t like how Rand played out at the beginning of this book. I respected him greatly in the last book and wanted the workaholic doctor to meet his mates and live happily ever after. And I get that he was deeply connected to Raine and was upset how he thought things played out that night with Luka but he should have placed his personal feelings aside and not done what he did to Luka. A doctor takes an oath to do no harm and he severely harmed that sweet, caring, socially awkward young man. Luka had such a hard young life after the fire. He didn’t deserve to be scorned and thrown away like garbage by Rand. And I get that Slade was in such a dark place after Terry’s death and his early encounters with Luka were when Luka was too young for him. But poor Luka had to suffer all by himself for so long. If not for Doc caring and looking in on the young pup he surely would have died. Heck, he was barely alive after the fight and then the river rescue. He needed someone to show him love and compassion. But it was Luka that taught the men in his life to learn and care.
This series seems to be right on top of each other on the timeline. I had assumed that we would have had more of Raine and his men and his pregnancy but this all took place in such a short period of time directly after they learned of his pregnancy. I hope that we get more news about them and how they are doing in the future.
I really love this world that author Layla Dorine has created and can’t wait to visit it again!
RATING: 
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