Kayla comes to spend a summer working as a guide at a national forest. She has come partially because she loves nature and the outdoors and partially because she hopes to get over a trauma in her childhood. This is the same national forest where her parents were killed. She was with them and has just hazy memories of what happened. But the memories have led to nightmares and sessions of therapy.

She and a group of sherpas including her friend Lindsey and the darkly, brooding Lucas are guiding a bunch of researchers deep into the forest. Kayla is also interested in Mason who is the son of the leader of the researchers. He seems to be busy courting her which she enjoys. The researchers are looking for werewolves despite the sherpas telling them that werewolves don't exist.

The only problem is that they are lying to the researchers. There are werewolves and many of the sherpas are werewolves or at least will be werewolves when they reach the proper age for their first shifts. Kayla is surprised and skeptical when she is told that she is a werewolf and that Lucas is her destined mate.

Kayla has to make a difficult decision about accepting a future she couldn't even have imagined while avoiding evil scientists and a disgruntled alpha wolf. This was an enjoyable story although I thought Kayla's acceptance both of her werewolf heritage and Lucas as a mate was just a little too easy.

This book begins a series. Each book tells the story of one girl who is a part of the Dark Guardians. ( )

This book just gripped me from page one! I absolutely loved it. Lucas is the perfect lead guy, quiet strong mysterious and hot! Ms Hawthorne is a great storyteller. I'm really excited for the next one. ( )

To be honest, the cover did nothing for me. I actually looked at it and moved on straight away. Then two young girls appeared beside me. One of them picked the book up and said, “This is a werewolf romance.” They walked off, book in hand, and I moved back to the pile of books and picked one up to read the blurb.

The blurb interested me. I’m not interested in reading vampires stories anymore, but hadn’t read a romance involving werewolves. The price was right, so I was willing to give it a go.

And I’m glad I did. Yes, it might be a bit cheesy in places. Yes, I groaned and rolled my eyes at a couple of spots where the romance was far from reality (in my honest opinion). But … the book was easy to read and quite absorbing.

I liked the characters, especially the main characters – Kayla and Lucas. Kayla isn’t sure of herself, which was a bit irritating, but she had a lot of baggage and I was able to make allowances for her. Lucas is the mysterious one. We know he’s a werewolf, but Kayla doesn’t. They are well suited, but then there’s Mason; smart, good looking and attentive.

The setting was particularly interesting. The group were hiking and camping through a forest, which presented its own dangers. I enjoyed the fact that whilst I had a clear idea of their surroundings, the author didn’t go on and on with long descriptions. Top marks for that.

The other thing I liked about the book was the fact that it is written in a way that shows werewolves (or shifters as they prefer to be called) as the good guys and a small majority of humans (or statics) as the baddies. It is refreshing to read about a topic (meaning werewolves), which is usually connected with death and violence, and have it approached from a different angle that shows it can be totally different to what is expected. If werewolves really existed, these are the type I’d like to see in the world.

I really did enjoy this book. ( )

Read the full Review at Witchmag's Boekenplank

I loved reading this story. Werewolves were put in a new and refreshing view and this time it were actually the female werewolves who got a say in chosing a mate. Go emancipation! No more woman who are stuck with a mate they don’t want (at first of course, since mates are destined to be together and it’s always quite nice to see them growing to love each other ;) )

A couple of pages I had the assumption that a naked Lucas was carrying Kayla on his shoulder. Till the moment he planned on becoming a wolf and threw his pants to her (okay so he wasn’t naked -.-). I missed a small, important sentence phrase where he puts on his pants, but it made it a lot more interesting ;) (although I kept wondering why Kayla stayed calm. She would have had an amazing view ;) )

The moment Kayla turned into a wolf was an anticlimax. The description of becoming one is that it will be painful and even dangerous, people died when they transformed. The real scene is over in a minute and I didn’t get the feeling that it was that difficult or painful (not that I wanted her to suffer) but a piece of cake. That’s quite a contradiction….

As a rule, I’m a team player, except when I’m not.

Okay, this phrase seems logical, but I actually had to read it 4 or 5 times before I got what means. Is it me (and no, I was not tired at that moment ;) )?

My overall rating is 4 hearts. I honestly enjoyed reading this book, but it wasn’t enough for 5. Why? Not the faintest idea. It lacked that bit of magic to keep me glued to it. It’s still a great book to read and I will definitely read the next one in this series. ( )

The story Moonlight sets out to tell is not a bad one, though it is somewhat lacking in originality. However, right at the point where the plot starts to get good, it drops the ball completely, leaving the end result a massive letdown.

Full review at http://luplun.blogspot.com/