Reviewed by Jen
TITLE: Red Moon Rising
SERIES: Strength of the Pack #3
AUTHOR: Joy Lynn Fielding
PUBLISHER: Independent
LENGTH: 327 pages
RELEASE DATE: February 12, 2026
BLURB:
Owned by one wolf. Falling for another. And wolves don’t share.
Tristan loves college, working at the diner, and his pack. But when hostile wolves abduct him one night, none of that helps him. Suddenly he’s a prisoner in a place where fear is law, and mercy doesn’t exist. Except… someone is watching him. A quiet stranger who flinches from his gaze—but never quite looks away.
Colby Williams survives by staying invisible. It’s the only way to placate the wolf who thinks he owns him—and the only way to stay alive. And then the pack drags in a young wolf with bright eyes, who should be terrified by what’s ahead of him. Instead, he keeps watching Colby—curious, hopeful, and alive in a way Colby can scarcely remember being.
And when Tristan looks at him like he matters… Colby can’t look anywhere else.
He knows it’s a mistake. He knows it’s dangerous. But he also knows it’s already too late.
Red Moon Rising is Book Three in Strength of the Pack —a complete series of character-driven MM fated-mates romances with standalone love stories, an overarching series plot, slow-burn tension, and shifters who absolutely do not talk about their feelings (until they do).
Content note: This book includes material that some readers may find upsetting. Full details are available on the author’s website, with a link in the book sample.
Note: This novel is a substantially reworked and expanded new edition of the novella originally published by Siren Bookstrand in 2014.
REVIEW:
Tristan is one of the younger pack members. This story picks up where the previous one left off where Cale’s rogue pack has been defeated by the Urban pack and Cale’s beta, Nico, sees an opportunity to grab Tristan in the hopes of getting information and/or leverage to gain access to the Argent (Jesse). Luckily, Cale is not in town, so Tristan is put into a holding cell for the meantime. Colby is Nico’s “pet” who is under his control and is used and abused regularly. Facing Nico’s wrath, Colby decides to help Tristan and ultimately helps him escape. Colby then becomes a captive of the Urban pack, although the treatment is much different.
The Urban pack is understandably wary and hostile towards Colby, although Alpha Matt doesn’t jump to conclusions and is grateful for the help Colby gave Tristan. He decides to give it time and eventually allows Colby to stay realizing that he is not safe outside of his pack either at this point.
Meanwhile, Tristan starts to have feelings for Colby beyond just being grateful for his help. They end up being mates, but they must tread lightly given Colby’s past relationship and treatment by Nico.
I enjoyed this installment and how the pack cares for Tristan, even if some come across as a bit harsh at times. There are a number of things going on here beyond the Cale’s pack seeking retribution for the last beat down they received. They are still hell-bent on obtaining the Argent, and now Nico wants Colby back. The story gets a bit more involved as the Argent goes and the pack must come up with a plan to thwart this and any other attempts at coming after Jesse. I was hoping the Nico issue would have been a bit more drawn out, as well as the issue of Colby’s past trauma, but we got a satisfying ending anyway. Things are still ramping up with the Argent, and I’m really looking forward to seeing how the stories of a few other characters play out. All in all, this is a really enjoyable series.
RATING: 
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