Hunt the Moon by Kari Cole Book Review
Published by: Harlequin-Carina Press
Publication Date: June 11, 2018
Series Information: Hunt The Moon is Kari Cole's debut novel as well as the first book in her Mated by Fate series.
Other books in the series are: Touch the Sky Publishing on September 24, 2018
Genres: Romance, Paranormal Romance, Shifter Romance, Crime Romance
Formats: Ebook
Pages: 325
My Ranking:
Fire In The Sheets Ranking: 2.5 Getting Hot: The Fire In The Sheets Ranking simply shows my ranking of the sexual scenes in the book and is in no way a reflection of how good the book is. This ranking more shows how intense the hotter scenes in the book gets. My ranking system is a little different from most, for more information please click here.
Where To Buy:
My Review:
Warning, though I try my best to avoid this, all reviews can contain spoilers of some kind. If you would like to know just my overall opinion of the book, and otherwise go into reading it blind, please scroll down to my overall and would I recommend it section.
I Voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Ok before we even get into this let me just say, oh my freaking god wow. I have never, and I mean never, liked a debut novel as much as I liked this one. Seriously, after reading this book, which only took me a few short days to get through, I went online to start my research on the author so I could do my review and was shocked when I couldn’t find any other books published with her name on it. I did however find out that Kari Cole’s book won the Romance Writers of America's Golden Heart award in the Paranormal category in 2017. This book was amazing. I am thrilled to say that Hunt the Moon is the first book to be chosen to be in my top five for the year. Most of the books for this list will be chosen in November, but this debut novel took my breath away and has already earned its spot on that list. Congratulations Kari Cole. Now, lets get into the review.
Isabelle Meyers, or as everyone calls her Izzy, is one tough cookie who’s more than a little nervous to meet her brother, Freddie’s, fiancé, but family is family and she can stand the pressure of reigning in her protective nature for the woman of his dreams. Yeah, sure. When Izzy and Freddie touch down on the snow covered landing near the Cabinet Mountains this tough cookie of a girl cracks. One good sniff is all she needs to know her love struck brother is marrying a werewolf. To Izzy, it takes a werewolf to know just how dangerous they are, and she knows. Problem is, how on earth does she tell her brother to hightail it, and why does that new drool worthy werewolf make her heart do strange things?
Wow, I love this heroine. She is exactly the kind of person I would want on my side. She is smart, kind, and so bad ass. The way she protects her family and friends is so heart warming. The way her character reacts to the situation she is presented with really hooked me from the start. Her past has her so on edge, but her instincts and training helps her reel those memories back in a way that, to me, makes her more than just bad ass and brave in the normal sense but also shows how emotionally strong and brave she is where it counts the most.
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| Excerpt from Hunt the Moon by Kari Cole |
Luke Wyland is the alpha of his pack, a job that anyone who knows shifter romances knows is a heavy one. While trying to shuffle through the responsibilities he never expect to have this soon, and deal with a rouge, Luke never expected to have life smack him upside the head with the two by four of wow that is the ancient call of his mate. Nor did he expect a his fated mate to be quite like Izzy. While Luke finds the unexpected can make his heart dance, will it cause him to gain a queen or lose everything?
Luke has to be one of the best alphas I have ever had the pleasure to read about. I am use to the alpha of a werewolf pack to be scary dominant, sending his pack running to a corner with their tails between their legs for stepping out of line, or taking what’s theirs like a caveman without too much thought past what their wolf is driving them to do. Luke’s heart and mannerisms however are so unexpected for someone in his position. He is the alpha but he really looks at his pack like family. His kindness and patients are just so perfect for Izzy. Luke just made my heart melt right along with Izzy’s.
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| Excerpt from Hunt the Moon by Kari Cole |
As the story progresses, the Izzy’s true past is revealed. I am just going to say it is heart breaking. What she went through and the way she turned out is just plane amazing. She is so strong and yet at the same time searching for something she hadn’t even realized she was missing in her life. I really like that Luke coming into her life didn’t just give her what she needed, but really let her see that what she was looking for was something that was always there for her to grab. This growth in Izzy is so sweet.
Another aspect I really liked about this story is that Izzy isn’t the only one who has had it rough. Luke is dealing with his own turmoil, not quite the same, but still. His need to be the best alpha he can be while fearing he will never live up to it is really cool. I love the fact that his fears are shown in a legitimate way and the message that is delivered as he overcomes some of the obstacles in his life is very cool. Usually in these books the alpha softens as he grows with his mate and learns how respect the alpha position a little more along the way, but this story is so refreshing in that Luke grows to respect himself in this position as alpha rather than the position itself.
I think one of the best things about this book is how the characters grow and change together and how their relationship slowly helps them through the darkest parts of themselves. Izzy changes in both big and small ways that are all impactful and at times tear jerking. Loss and abuse are always bad and the scars from it usually run deep, but the uniqueness of her situation and the way it makes her view her life and herself is just devastating. While Luke’s past is no where near as dark, it is still very painful. I think I have to say the Luke’s views on himself and the way his internal struggles are presented really help reinforce how much of a wonderful man he is. I personally can always get behind a man who is strong but doesn’t let his strength and dominance do the leading for him. The way the love and romance these two have for each other changes them isn’t just swoon worthy it’s soul warming. Luke and Izzy really come together, challenge, and complete each other in every way that matters.
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Excerpt from Hunt the Moon by Kari Cole
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This is a paranormal romance involving werewolf shifters so you know there’s going to be action packed into the pages of this one, and boy was the action good. Fight and action scenes come in a wide range of intensity giving all aspects of the story a perfect balance. I also like that they did not dominate the book but rather accented and propelled the plot along nicely in a way that added richness to both the characters and overall story line. On a side note, I love that Izzy and the other humans to really kick some serious tail and claw on their own.
I have to say that I usually feel a small lack of romance and story fullness in romance books that don’t get detailed in the sex scenes or that don’t have many of them. However the way the hot and fun scenes in this book were presented just upped the romance value. Don’t get me wrong these scenes in Hunt The Moon were most certainly hot, but they mostly contained soft details, however this was perfect to the characters personalities. Honestly, even though this book didn’t get a inferno ranking in the love making scenes, it doesn’t matter. This story is written beautifully and these scenes are absolutely perfect.
Overall:
This was an amazing debut novel by Kari Cole. The love and growth of Luke and Izzy is simply amazing. While the more in the bedroom scenes in this book are only lightly detailed, the romance is off the charts good in a way that was deeper than roses and chocolates.
As for the storyline itself, oh my god wow. I honestly loved the obstacles that the characters face and the overall plot that is playing out. I cannot wait to see more of this story and see how everything plays out. I will be eagerly waiting the next book Touch the Sky.
Would I Recommend It:
Hands down, absolutely yes. If you like paranormal romance and shifter romance there is no reason, that I can see, that you will not like this book. Hunt The Moon is amazing and well worth the read. Kari Cole is now one of my favorite authors, and I am sure she will find herself in that status for many other romance novel lovers.
If you would like to know more about Kari Cole please visit her website.
If you would like to know more about Kari Cole please visit her website.
Start a conversation and let me know what you thought about this book, or let me know what you’re most excited to read about in it.
As always, happy reading.
I do love shape shifter romances, and I have never heard of her before. So I will be adding her to my list here. I do admire great character growth even if its heart breaking at times...makes the sweet ending that much more satisfying. :) Lovely review darling.
ReplyDeleteThank you girl 😊 this is actually the first book published by Kari Cole. You should absolutly put this one and her on your list, you’ll love it.
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