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kblincoln's review
4.0
So I read the first in this menopausal-women-called-to-small-town-by-werewolf-magic series a long time ago.
She apparently had a writing hiatus for this series. However, Lundoff was at a local event recently and I picked up Blood Moon just because I wanted to find out what happens to the Big Baddie (Annie) and also if Becca and Erin (protagonists) ever get together.
At the beginning of the book, Erin is found with a dead body, turns herself into the police, and then Becca and the pack’s Alpha, Shelly, have to figure out both what really happened with the murder, and also counter a new threat to the pack.
What characterizes this series is that more than action and escalating violence, its more….escalating older women involvement in care and tracking bad people. Basically Becca and Erin are surrounded by pack members, and the story builds on Becca getting to know everyone, arranging meals, rides, puppy daycare, figuring out how to keep the police out, investigating a break-in, etc.
There’s a little bit of chasing through woods, some fights with another werecreature, and Erin gets to track Annie through the woods/mountain as well a couple times. Both story lines mentioned above are brought to a satisfying conclusion while we get to know more about the elder “retired” werewolves.
The pack women are often shown talking about a problem, agreeing to a solution, and then something happens to change that solution out of their control. That got a little repetitive at times, as well as Erin encountering Annie and nothing really happening. But if you go into this book thinking of it as something to read that is restful and deeply embedded in the ways groups of older women organize and care for each other (i.e. more meal planning than combat preparation) then you’ll enjoy it for what it is.
She apparently had a writing hiatus for this series. However, Lundoff was at a local event recently and I picked up Blood Moon just because I wanted to find out what happens to the Big Baddie (Annie) and also if Becca and Erin (protagonists) ever get together.
At the beginning of the book, Erin is found with a dead body, turns herself into the police, and then Becca and the pack’s Alpha, Shelly, have to figure out both what really happened with the murder, and also counter a new threat to the pack.
What characterizes this series is that more than action and escalating violence, its more….escalating older women involvement in care and tracking bad people. Basically Becca and Erin are surrounded by pack members, and the story builds on Becca getting to know everyone, arranging meals, rides, puppy daycare, figuring out how to keep the police out, investigating a break-in, etc.
There’s a little bit of chasing through woods, some fights with another werecreature, and Erin gets to track Annie through the woods/mountain as well a couple times. Both story lines mentioned above are brought to a satisfying conclusion while we get to know more about the elder “retired” werewolves.
The pack women are often shown talking about a problem, agreeing to a solution, and then something happens to change that solution out of their control. That got a little repetitive at times, as well as Erin encountering Annie and nothing really happening. But if you go into this book thinking of it as something to read that is restful and deeply embedded in the ways groups of older women organize and care for each other (i.e. more meal planning than combat preparation) then you’ll enjoy it for what it is.
penandpages's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Death, Islamophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Body horror, and Gore
Minor: Alcoholism and Fire/Fire injury
judeinthestars's review
4.0
Blood Moon picks up two months after [b:Silver Moon: A Wolves of Wolf's Point Novel|35487775|Silver Moon A Wolves of Wolf's Point Novel|Catherine Lundoff|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1498956724l/35487775._SY75_.jpg|19136688] ended, and I strongly suggest you read both books in order. Not only because then you’ll be familiar with the characters in the second book, but also and more importantly because Becca’s journey to accepting her new self is fundamental to the story.
Silver Moon was mainly focused on all the changes in Becca’s life: the menopause, her ex selling the house, the whole werewolf thing and feelings for a woman. There was some action but a large part of the book was spent in Becca’s thoughts – she has a great sense of humour, by the way – which accounted for the uneven pace. A couple of months later, Becca has embraced her inner wolf and self-discovery isn’t at the forefront anymore.
Blood Moon starts with a bang, or, rather, with Erin confessing to murder. She doesn’t remember committing the murder itself, nor who the victim is, but as a recovering alcoholic, she’s afraid she fell off the wagon and lost track of reality. A reality that turns out to be just as scary, if not more, than what she imagines.
In series, the novelty effect doesn’t often travel further than the first book, which means authors have to find other ways to keep readers engaged. Lundoff did this by widening the scope. The first book was from Becca’s POV. In this one, we have Erin’s as well. We also find out more about other Pack members as they work together to prove Erin’s innocence while fighting other paranormal creatures with evil intentions.
This second book comes closer to other werewolves stories I’ve read than Silver Moon, which was a story of changes. With this one, Catherine Lundoff makes the transition to paranormal mystery. The duality of woman and wolf, while still ever-present, blends into the mystery without overpowering it. The sense of humour I loved in the first book can also be found in this one, and the romance is still a very slow burn, which makes complete sense given the circumstances. As Becca gets to know the other Pack members better, other storylines develop in the background that bring up topics such as gender fluidity (I really liked Carla’s story arc) and addiction. The universe and atmosphere Lundoff set this series in work very well for me and I hope we haven’t seen the last of the wolves of Wolf’s Point.
I received a copy from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
Silver Moon was mainly focused on all the changes in Becca’s life: the menopause, her ex selling the house, the whole werewolf thing and feelings for a woman. There was some action but a large part of the book was spent in Becca’s thoughts – she has a great sense of humour, by the way – which accounted for the uneven pace. A couple of months later, Becca has embraced her inner wolf and self-discovery isn’t at the forefront anymore.
Blood Moon starts with a bang, or, rather, with Erin confessing to murder. She doesn’t remember committing the murder itself, nor who the victim is, but as a recovering alcoholic, she’s afraid she fell off the wagon and lost track of reality. A reality that turns out to be just as scary, if not more, than what she imagines.
In series, the novelty effect doesn’t often travel further than the first book, which means authors have to find other ways to keep readers engaged. Lundoff did this by widening the scope. The first book was from Becca’s POV. In this one, we have Erin’s as well. We also find out more about other Pack members as they work together to prove Erin’s innocence while fighting other paranormal creatures with evil intentions.
This second book comes closer to other werewolves stories I’ve read than Silver Moon, which was a story of changes. With this one, Catherine Lundoff makes the transition to paranormal mystery. The duality of woman and wolf, while still ever-present, blends into the mystery without overpowering it. The sense of humour I loved in the first book can also be found in this one, and the romance is still a very slow burn, which makes complete sense given the circumstances. As Becca gets to know the other Pack members better, other storylines develop in the background that bring up topics such as gender fluidity (I really liked Carla’s story arc) and addiction. The universe and atmosphere Lundoff set this series in work very well for me and I hope we haven’t seen the last of the wolves of Wolf’s Point.
I received a copy from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
tangleroot_eli's review
medium-paced
Picks up soon after Silver Moon left off, which is good, because it ended up answering a lot of the questions I had at the end of SM. I'm still unclear on some things, but I'm charmed by the suggestion that even the ancient magic that protects the valley and creates the werewolves is learning and growing along with its humans and doesn't always entirely know what's going on. A fun read if you love off-the-beaten-path werewolf stories.
0ri's review
mysterious
medium-paced
5.0
Loved this book. Loved the LGBTQIA+ representation, loved that the characters weren't necessarily familiar with terminology or LGBTQIA+ people, but were willing to learn. Sweet romance with mystery.
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