Wolf Born – 4 Star Book Review

Welcome to the October 21st review stop on the blog tour for the Blood Moon series by J. N. Moon, organized by Silver Dagger Book Tours. Be sure to follow the rest of the tour for spotlight posts, other reviews, guest posts by the author, and a giveaway! (More on that at the end of this post.)

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Wolf Born
Blood Moon Series Book One
by J. N. Moon

Published 20 October 2018

Genre: Urban Fantasy Romance
Page Count: 133
Add it to your Goodreads TBR!

An ancient power revealed.
An enchanting love forbidden.

Only feeling true peace in nature, Emma thrives in her career as an ecologist. Yet when she learns her uncle has been injured, and discharged from the hospital into the care of an unknown stranger, she puts her life on hold to rush to his side. She tracks them down to a log cabin built deep within the notoriously haunted Wychwood Forest.

What big eyes you have…

In the depths of the woodlands, Emma’s uncle reveals a dark family secret none within their bloodline can escape. His swoon-worthy caregiver, Conor, warns a malevolent shadow is coming for all of them. She is their only hope to survive, if she can channel a side of herself, she never knew existed.

What big ears you have…

As an ancient demon rises, and malicious spirits swirl and lash from all sides, Emma must decide who she can trust… if anyone.

What big teeth you have…

Set in Wychwood, England—the world’s most haunted forest—Wolf Born is an adult retelling of Red Riding Hood. Fans of captivating shifter stories, that intertwine monsters and romance, will be left howling for more Wolf Born!

Lift the latch and step inside, if you dare…

★★★★★ Well, that was a twist on red riding hood for sure. Emma learns about herself and a world unknown to most. Lots of twists and turns. Keeping you interested in the book. And so, did not see the ending coming. A must-read book.

★★★★★ I was captivated by this story and couldn’t put it down. The characters were indeed engaging, every twist was unexpected, and made the adventure powerful, and enjoyable. I hope you will take time and read this fantastic fantasy and love it as well.

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My Rating: 4 Stars

I received a complimentary review copy of Wolf Born from the author via Silver Dagger Book Tours in exchange for an honest review as part of my participation in the blog tour. Thank you to J.N. Moon and Silver Dagger for making this possible! This has not affected my review in any way. My thoughts are my own and my review is honest.

As you have no doubt heard if you’ve read the official synopsis or pretty much anyone else’s assessment of this book, and if not as you’ll probably be delighted to hear, this is Little Red Riding Hood for an older audience, except what if Red is not so helplessly human? On her way to visit her newly injured uncle at his remote woods home, Emma comes face to face with a red-eyed wolf. Not only is this odd because wolves typically don’t have red eyes, but this is also odd because there are no wild wolves in Great Britain. You’d think she would be terrified, but isn’t. She presses on to her uncle’s place only to be confronted with her uncle and his secret friend who both insist that they, and she, are wolf born. Naturally, she doesn’t believe them. That is, not until a wolf-hunting demon comes knocking.

In this case, the “big bad wolf” is not a wolf at all, but Red and her new-found allies are.

I absolutely love Moon’s writing style. She manages to paint the most beautiful settings and keep the reader informed of everything going on around her characters while still focusing so carefully on what the characters are doing and saying, and what the POV character is thinking, feeling, and experiencing. It’s completely immersive. The story flows beautifully, with just enough information given about important outside things, written in a way that feels natural, poetic, and genuinely intriguing.

The point of view (POV) is first person, written for the most part in the past continuous tense, which is dangerously easy to get wrong, but also a favourite target of amateur critics who mistake it for present tense with passive voice because they haven’t understood what passive voice means. I think Moon has done a good job of remaining consistent in her tense choice and has not used too much unnecessarily passive phrasing.

I don’t always enjoy first person narrative because so few authors do it well. Quite often authors who attempt first person in a continuous tense fall into the trap of narrating every little thing the POV character does or could potentially notice, even if most of it wouldn’t register for a real person, because they’re not sure how else to build the scene, set the atmosphere, and keep things moving. That’s not the case here. Moon has definitely taken the time to consider her scenes from a distance and figured out to best convey everything the reader needs to know without accidentally giving Emma some sort of compulsive disorder.

Now, my inner editor is itching to give fellow editor readers a little warning. Typically I don’t comment on editing points in ARC or tour reviews due to the possibility that the copy I have received is not a finalized version. In this case, the copyright page indicates that this is a second edition and credits an editor. My warning: If you can’t turn your inner-editor off, your inner reading voice is going to sound like it’s doing a William Shatner impression at times. Commas were abused. More periods and semicolons were needed.

Overall I really did enjoy this book. I’m a huge fan of all types of fairytale retellings and versions of Red that empower the heroine are among my favourites. (My absolute favourites follow the Beauty and the Beast format.) Wolf Born’s protagonist Emma is written in such a way that she feels real and relatable. I was in her corner cheering for her the whole time! This is book one of the Blood Moon series and since review copies were mailed all at once to everyone on the tour who volunteered to review any of the books, I do have access to books two and three. I have absolutely added them to my TBR! I need to know how this story continues to play out. I want to know how Emma is supposed to live anything resembling a normal life after all this! I want to see Connor’s predicament resolve. I don’t like Luke and I’m still not sure if I’m supposed to or not, so I’m curious to see if more chapters will convince me. So many questions!

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Dragon Born
Blood Moon Series Book Two
by J. N. Moon

Published 13 October 2019

Genre: Urban Fantasy Romance
Page Count: 208
Add it to your Goodreads TBR!

Would you steal Poseidon’s Trident to save your lover?

Luke has been kidnapped by Teran, a crazed Pagan sea god, and is being held deep within a sea cave. If Emma can’t find a way to save him, he’s sure to die. Or worse, be turned into Teran’s slave.

The blood of Dragon shifters is unrivalled and formidable…

Eliciting the help of a scandalous demon known as an incubus, Emma and her friends take their rescue mission to the seas. Within the watery realms of the Selkies and sea witches, they journey to Atlantis in search of Poseidon’s Trident.

The father of all monsters has risen.

Trapped underwater and sinking fast, only the gods can save them now. Can they convince Zeus to help the shifters he views as abominations?

He blackened out the sun as his wings opened.

Fans in search of the spellbinding mayhem of gods versus monsters will be left panting by Dragon Born!

Grab your life jacket, this is one hell of a ride!

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Shadow Born
Blood Moon Series Book Three
by J. N. Moon

Published 17 November 2019

Genre: Urban Fantasy Romance
Page Count: 202
Add it to your Goodreads TBR!

They say mortals are the most dangerous beings in the world. But there’s something far worse, and it’s on the hunt.

Wolves are being tracked and exterminated. An ancient order, known as the Watcher Angels, has embarked on a mission to eradicate all shifter abominations which they view as an affront to God.

Now, they have their sights set on Emma.

Driven to turn her divine power into a weapon with the ability to annihilate all supernaturals, they’re prepared to slaughter all who dare stand in their way.

Emma’s only hope to save her people is to travel to the Underworld to steal an ancient scroll from the Marquis of Hell. New alliances are formed, and friendships are tested as the old Order crumbles to allow a new era to dawn.

The trumpets of war sound in, Shadow Born, the epic conclusion of The Blood Moon Series!

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A writer of Dark Urban Fantasy with a smattering of gothic horror.

What got me hooked into vampires, as a kid I secretly watched Hammer Horror films on my tv, then reading the classics, Dracula and Frankenstein. I was always more interested in the vampires than Van Helsing!

Inspiring movies, Underworld, The Lost Boys, and Blade.

My books are gritty and action-packed, taking you into the underbelly of the world of the damned, who live alongside the world of the living.

Vampires, werewolves, demons along with mythological creatures are all mixed into my stories. A balance of fantasy and reality, a world that takes you, the reader away from the mundane stresses of life. And sometimes a smattering of the philosophical to…

Dark, Sublime, Gripping Stories.

When I’m not writing, I can be found wandering in nature, reading or at the movies.

I also enjoy hanging upside down! Been doing aerial arts for about 7 years.

If you want to connect, I like talking to like-minded souls so get in touch.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Bookbub | Goodreads

One lucky follower of the tour will walk away with a $25 Amazon gift card! Check out other stops on the tour for more chances to enter. Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway.

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