Tag Archives: PNR

how to howl at the moon banner

Book Review: How to Howl at the Moon, by Eli Easton

I’ve actually owned Eli Easton‘s How to Howl at the Moon since February of 2019. But I picked it up to read now because I recently set myself a Christmas Challenge and I included it,  thinking it was a holiday themed book. I guess I was just fooled by the snow and red on the cover. Important parts of the book are set in winter, but it’s not set during the holidays. So, I took off the challenge list. But I’ve read it now.
how to howl at the moon eli easton

Sheriff Lance Beaufort is not going to let trouble into his town, no sir. Tucked away in the California mountains, Mad Creek has secrets to keep, like the fact that half the town consists of ‘quickened’—dogs who have gained the ability to become human. Descended on both sides from Border Collies, Lance is as alert a guardian as they come.

Tim Weston is looking for a safe haven. After learning that his boss patented all of Tim’s work on vegetable hybrids in his own name, Tim quit his old job. A client offers him use of her cabin in Mad Creek, and Tim sees a chance for a new start. But the shy gardener has a way of fumbling and sounding like a liar around strangers, particularly gorgeous alpha men like Sheriff Beaufort.

Lance’s hackles are definitely raised by the lanky young stranger. He’s concerned about marijuana growers moving into Mad Creek, and he’s not satisfied with the boy’s story. Lance decides a bit of undercover work is called for. When Tim hits a beautiful black collie with his car and adopts the dog, its love at first sight for both Tim and Lance’s inner dog. Pretending to be a pet is about to get Sheriff Beaufort in very hot water.

my review

I thought this was really cute and sweet. But I also think I was predisposed to enjoy it, considering it has a border collie in it as a main character. You see, I have a border collie/blue healer mix (Batou, the mostly white one) and an Australian shepherd/border collie mix (Motoko, the predominantly black one). Batou and Motoko

The first of which tends much more toward the border collie behaviors, but the second is much closer to how I imagined Chance looking. I am well acquainted with the border collie focus and intensity, as well as the border collie stare. So, it was fun for me to see these behaviors enacted by border collie shifters.

But I also enjoyed the quirky characters Easton populated the town with, Tim’s runaway mouth, and the easy way the book reads. I did think Tim tended a little too toward child-like naivete, especially when alone with Chance. But I look forward to continuing the series.

How to Howl at the Moon photo


Other Reviews:

Review: How to Howl at the Moon by Eli Easton

Review: How to Howl at the Moon by Eli Easton

luna rising banner

Book Review: Luna Rising, by Sara Snow

I borrowed a copy of Sara Snow‘s Luna Rising through Amazon’s Prime Reading. I’ve been avoiding new adult and young adult books lately. So, I’m not entirely sure why I borrowed this. But I assume I had a reason at the time. *shrug*

Luna Rising Sara Snow

Xavier Blackwood is the man every girl at my college dreams about at night, myself included, but I’d never let anyone know that.

Standing at 6’8 with steel grey eyes, he’s a walking dream, but he’s also a world-renowned jerk.

Who would have thought that one night, after dragging myself home after doing double shifts at the diner, I’d be jumped by three men…only to have Xavier come to my rescue.

Oh yes, Xavier bloody Blackwood saved my life…but the thing I saw, the CREATURE that ripped those men to shreds wasn’t the Xavier everyone knows.

He wasn’t human…

He was a wolf, a demon, a creature from myths, and it was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen until he attacked me too and knocked me out.

Humans that learn about the existence of werewolves have to die.

…There are NO exceptions.

The Werewolf Xavier saved me, but now I am condemned to death

To make things worse, both Xavier and Axel claim I am their mate

…this can’t be good.

my review

You know, when it comes to Fated Mates shifter books we’ve read it all before. There is nothing new under the sun. But seeing the combination of circumstances (even familiar ones) the author puts the mates in and getting to know them is what makes the trope fun to read. And this is where Snow fails with Luna Rising. We don’t get any of that. There is almost no world-building. We’re given very little meat plot-wise. We only get to know Ruby a little bit (and only because so much of the book is her navel gazing…or waking up, she sleeps A LOT), Xavier almost none, and Axel absolutely none at all. And then the book ends before anything really begins. This almost feels more like and extended outline than an actual fleshed out book. There isn’t even enough her to feel connected to anything or anyone. The writing is pedestrian but fine. I don’t think I’ll bother with the rest of the series though. But if anyone wants a taste of the series, there is apparently a prequel available here.

luna rising photo


Other Reviews:

Luna Rising by Sara Snow – A Book Review

the alpha's warlock banner

Book Review: The Alpha’s Warlock, by Eliot Grayson

I saw The Alpha’s Warlock, by Eliot Grayson, recommended on Instagram. So, I borrowed an audio copy through Hoopla. It was narrated by Chris Chambers.
the alpha's warlock

Cursed, mated, and in for the fight of their lives….

Warlock Nate Hawthorne just wants a cup of coffee. Is that too much to ask? Apparently. Because instead of precious caffeine, all he gets is cursed by a pack of werewolves who want to use him for his magic. Now the only way to fix the damage is a mate bond to a grumpy and oh-so-sexy alpha in the rival pack, who happens to hate him. This is so not how he wanted to start his day.

Ian Armitage never intended to take Nate as his mate. The Hawthorne family can’t be trusted. Ian knows that better than anyone. The fact that he’s lusted after the way-too-gorgeous man for years? Totally irrelevant. Ian’s just doing what is necessary to protect his pack. This whole mating arrangement has nothing to do with love and never will. That’s his story and he’s sticking to it.

Nate and Ian will have to work together if they have any hope of staving off the pack’s enemies and averting disaster. That’s assuming they can stop arguing (and keep their hands off each other) long enough to save the day….

my review

This wasn’t very good.The idea underpinning it was fine and the writing seemed readable (though I had an audio copy, so that’s hard to judge), and the narrator did a good job. But the execution was simply lacking. The book felt like a second book, though I don’t think it is. The plot is far too focused and centered in a small room with two people and far too little on what is happening in general, such that whole swaths of the plot fell flat and there wasn’t any resulting tension (even in scenes where there should have been). The bickering between Nate and Ian didn’t feel like appreciable banter, but like two adolescents sniping at one another and I didn’t feel the love at all. I gathered that the author was trying to infer the two had had crushes on one another for a while, but you don’t feel it. All in all, this one was a flop for me.

the warlock's alpha photo


Other Reviews:

Review: The Alpha’s Warlock (Mismatched Mates #1) by Eliot Grayson

Review: The Alpha’s Warlock by Eliot Grayson

Book Review: The Alpha’s Warlock (Mismatched Mates Book 1) by Eliot Grayson [Audiobook]