Book Review and New Release: Hunter’s Moon by Lisa Kessler (Book two of the Moon series)

Come back on Friday, when author Lisa Kessler comes for a visit to talk about her love of series!

Title: Hunter’s Moon
Author: Lisa Kessler
Series: Moon
Genre: Paranormal romance
Published: 2013
Pages: 340
Format read: ebook
Rating: A-

Hunter’s Moon is the second book in Lisa Kessler’s Moon series about werewolves and jaguar shifters. It was my first book from this author, but definitely won’t be my last!

Aren’s wolf pack is still reeling from the recent events that killed his father and left his twin Adam a married man and father of two–and their new alpha. Aren’s loyalty has always been with the pack and his family, but now he’s harboring a secret: the knowledge that the hired killer who played a major role in those events is actually his one true mate.

Sasha was once a homicide cop, until she was bitten and forcibly turned into a jaguar shifter and assassin for a shady group called the Nero Organization. Now she’s on the run from them, and hasn’t seen her sister Nadya–the only family she has left–in months. To complicate matters, the wolf she was supposed to have killed months ago but couldn’t bring herself to is currently following her, taking out the men that Nero has sent to bring her back in. A threatening text puts not only her life but that of her sister in danger–can Sasha trust the man she should have killed to help her keep Nadya safe, or is it too much of a risk?

Not having read Moonlight, the first book in the series, I did feel a bit behind times in the beginning of the novel, since so much of what is going on hinges on the events of book one. I quickly caught on to enough to get by, though, and was immediately drawn into the storyline. It definitely grabs you right away and doesn’t let go. Hunter’s Moon is not quite a standalone book, but it can function as such if you’re willing to put the work in.

(Naturally, though, I’m absolutely going to read the first book. I’d already added it to my Goodreads “to read” list before I even reached the fifty-percent mark of this one. You’ve been warned: you can read this one without having read the first, but you’re totally going to want to read book one anyway by the time you’re done.)

I really liked the way this story was told in dual first person point of view; it allowed the reader to really see the internal conflicts faced by both the hero and heroine. It also made for some highly entertaining dialogue, both internal and external, from the hero and heroine.

“Is this about the kiss?”

“No.” She shifted her weight to one foot, pushing her hip out slightly. “But I don’t think we should do that again.”

I raised a brow. “No?”

“We’ve got to get this guy, wolf.”

Apparently she still wasn’t going to call me by my name. But she wasn’t shooting me with a Taser either.

Baby steps.

Poor, poor Aren–for so much of the book his human instincts and those of his wolf just can’t agree. I liked what Kessler does with the “one true mate” concept in this world; it makes for an interesting duology. The fact that jaguars don’t necessarily mate for life just adds another layer of interest to the story. Neither Aren’s human side nor Sasha are completely on board with the idea of being mated for a good long while.

I opted to retreat and regroup, reaching for a way to change the subject. “But I guess this is actually a good cover. If we shifted here [at an anime expo] there’s a good chance no one would notice.”

He nodded. “You’re probably right.”

We sat in awkward silence for a moment, and I waited for him to say something. Preferably something not insane like “you’re my mate.”

But he didn’t say anything.

I really enjoyed both the voice of Aren and Sasha, and Kessler’s writing was witty and sharp. The action scenes have just the right amount of tension, and the relationship angst here is finely drawn. It definitely has all the marks of a good series: an interesting world with strong characters. There seems to be a lot to explore in the other pack members that we see here, and the ending of this book nicely sets up the next, which will feature Nadya and another member of Aren’s pack. Even before I read the excerpt at the end I knew I was going to be reading that one.

This raw, real love made me strong and weak, like a thrill ride and a cup of chocolate all at once.

Already, I was hooked.

Me too, Sasha. Me too.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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