Customer Reviews

Hunter's Moon (Nightcreature, Book 2)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

HUNTER'S MOON is a chilling adventure about werewolves, hunters,
and deadly passions. Leigh Taylor was once a starry-eyed kindergarten
teacher who loved life and all that it promised. That was
before her family and her fiancé were brutally murdered by a pack
of hungry wolves or were they more than wolves?

Now, Leigh is a trained hunter, a role that is tailor-made for her;
she has a vendetta against a white wolf with penetrating eyes, eyes
she has seen before. Leigh's hatred for monsters rules her life, she
lives only for the hunt and werewolves are her dominant prey. Love
is something she no longer recognizes, she buried that emotion years
ago. When Leigh is summoned to a small town in Wisconsin, where
werewolves are being killed and eaten, she comes face to face with
her past and quite possibly her future.

Damien Fitzgerald, a drifter with a questionable past, has an
intoxicating pull on Leigh. But something is not right with Damien,
there is a bewildering aura surrounding him. Although Leigh feels
the attraction, he frightens her. Every moment with him brings
forth vaguely familiar, but dangerous urges. Leigh must remain
focused, she can ill afford to get careless as she begins a dance
with death. Especially when she knows her enemy is watching from the
forest.

HUNTER'S MOON is Lori Handeland's second book in a series
surrounding the legend of werewolves. The story is craftily
written, with fascinating characters, spine-tingling suspense, a
kick-butt heroine and a simmering romance. The suspense that captures
readers in HUNTER'S MOON makes Dark Moon, the next saga, eagerly
anticipated. As Ms. Handland's writing gains recognition, her name
is being spoken in circles with the likes of Christine Feehan and
Maggie Shane. (RAW Rating: 3.5)

Reviewed by aNN
of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers

Impelled by a tragic past, Leigh Tyler has become one of the finest Juger - Suchers on the planet, and due to this capability, when Jessie (Blue Moon) needs training, Edward summons Leigh to be her guide. The teacher may have a bit to learn from her student though. After all, Jessie and her lover, Will, just killed the wolf god. Now these three, and the enigmatic Damien must join together to stop the Wendigo, the ultimate lycanthrope. Making it all the more dangerous is this villain's unholy desire for Leigh herself, a passion that will force her to go to confront the deepest darkness; either to be consumed or triumph.

**** This book and its predecessor have all the hallmarks of an upcoming classic series; focus is sharpley maintained, the heroes are flawed and compelling, the tension level taut, yet lightened with wit. Be sure and add both Hunter's Moon and Blue Moon to your keeper shelf- and make room for Dark Moon, the third book coming soon. ****

In this story we meet Leigh, hard bitten survivor of a werewolf attack perpetrated by the man she had an affir with, which killed her fiance and her family two years ago.

She's the opposite of most of Ms. Handeland's heroines; short, flat chested, but just as egotisitcal (a little refreshing to be honest after years of simpering beauty queens who think they'e ugly).

Just as in the first our heroine meets a yummy half naked man in the woods one night after chasing after a werewolf in Crow Valley, WI.

He is Damien Fitzgerald, mysterious drifter/bartender with a silver ring and a gun behind his toilet with a single silver bullet. By contrast he hs all the ear markings of a werewolf, always showing up just after she meeets brown werwolf who's portecting her, killing other werewolves.

Leigh obsteively has been called to Crow Valley to train last book's heroine Jessie McQuade and Jessie's boyfriend Will Cadotte. It's a little strange how much of a part these two characters play so there aren't as many secondary characters to rely on as red herrings. It drives character development but the plot gets a little saggy in the middle as a result.

Through much talk and a ton of confusing dialogue (it's really hard to keep track of who's talking) we find out that a Super Werewolf is coming. with a special ceremony on some moon the almost impossible to kill wolf shall be reborn (folloing an Ojibwe legend). Um, hello, a new plot, please?

This one is a serial killer cannibal who was cursed to b a werewolf because of his appetites. He is Hector, Leigh's one time infedlity. To become a semi-super werewolf he promised the Ojibwe dark ones a sacrifice-her family.

Now he needs to find Liegh-- his mate, and have sex with her on the night of the Hunter's Moon to become the biggest badass werewolf- impervious to death about as much as the werewolf God.which, you giuessed it, means he's really easy to kill but our heroes will not figure it out until the last minute.

We have the same "is her man a werewolf? Is he not?" And Damien is just nowehere near as charming as Will, but he is funny. I actually preferred him because he does not magically appear naked from the woods, he comes running out of them at full tilt sweaty and disheveled.

Suprirses of surprises as the plot developes we see Leigh making really stupid rookie mistkes that betray her hard-bitten description, just as Jessie did at the end of the last book. Seems Ms. handeland can't back away totally from the helpless female idea of romance novels.

We also find out Hector the supreme werewolf is hiding in town, he could be anyone. When you look back on it you realize only one secondary character had lines. Wait a minute, he didn't! Not a single secondary caracter did in this book. He just had the most description.

Sensual, well paced, but lacking in the genius twists and turns of the previous novel. But it is a series and you must read this one to understand the coming one, and it is nice to see Will and Jessie are just as in love as ever.

It's still much better than most paranormal faire, but I'm a little disappointed in ths after reading the first. The third has promise so I'm definitely holding out.

This is a continuation from Blue Moon. Jessie and Will return but take a side role to Leigh. Leigh is a Hunter who seems to live to kill werewolves, especially after a tramatic experience from only a few years previous. Upon Leigh's arrival in a small town, where she will show Jessie the ropes, she encounters a werewolf. She tracks the creature through the woods, shoots, and burns the body. During the fire she is surprised by a strange half-naked, beautiful man (I know--an obvious copy from the first book; she even mentions the top button of his jeans being undone--also from the first book). The guy is Damien and he is obviously involved in the strange occurances of this town. Of course, Leigh and Damien are drawn to each other and things become steamy. Read the book if you want to know more.

I gave it only four stars because Leigh's character drove me batty. She too hard nose and tough. Sometimes you want to see a least a touch of tenderness, even if it is hidden from most.

Following the slaughter of her parents and her fiancé by werewolves, former kindergarten teacher Leigh Tyler lives to kill these vile monsters. Her elderly mentor Edward Mandenauer orders her to leave Canada to train a rookie Jessie McQuade in Crow Valley, Wisconsin. Reluctantly she heeds his demand, but upon arrival kills a werewolf.

Leigh and Jessie are two alpha females ready to brawl at the drop of a hat. As Leigh learns that apparently a rogue werewolf is killing her kin, an unprecedented scenario, she is also upset that Jessie loves Native American history Professor Will Cadotte, as their line of work does not lend itself to caring relationships. However, she is unable to follow her own advice as she is extremely attracted to bartender Damien Fitzgerald though he shows traits that seem paranormal.

This sequel to the delightful BLUE MOON is an excellent paranormal romance with the twist that the two tough guys are females. The story line contains a deep mystery as the werewolf hunters wonder why fratricide is occurring. Readers will enjoy the return of Jessie and Will (see BLUE MOON) while the romantic subplot between Leigh and Damien blends in well with the monster theme so that sub-genre readers will appreciate this deep supernatural suspense thriller.

Harriet Klausner

Lori Handeland has moved onto my automatic buy list with Hunters Moon. It is awesome! The hero is totally hunky, the heroine is tough, but both of them are so sympathetic that I wanted to hug them and I was totally rooting for them to get together. It was a wonderful and compelling romance with an all-star cast of supporting characters. Lots of great banter and wit. And great love scenes too. The mystery/thriller element was awesome as well! Lori Handeland's take on werewolves is original and creative and lends itself well to a racing heart and pumping adrenaline! I admit, I was peering out into the woods outside my house at night, really hoping there weren't any werewolves out there ready to get me... With Lori's combination of wonderful characters, fast-paced plot, heart stopping romance and suspense and her snappy wit, Hunters Moon is a keeper. Now, to figure out how to get through the next four months until her next werewolf book hits the shelves. Hmm...

Meet Leigh, a newly indoctrinated Jager-Sucher, who has dedicated her life to tracking down and killing werewolves. Several years ago, a pack of wolves attacked and killed her family and fiance', and she fears that she can never love again. Did I mention she suspects that the man (Hector)that she had an affair with was really the wolf that killed her entire family?...talk about guilt. Well, while seeking answers and "wolf" busting (much like ghostbusting), she travels to Wisconsin and runs across a handsome stranger, Damien. While she tries not to question her attraction to the handsome stranger, a maniac is trying to consumate their relationship during the Hunter's Moon. Read it and you will enjoy it.

I started reading this book and thought... Oh, Great, this is the same as the first book in the series only the names have changed. I had a STRONG feeling of having read this before. Anyway I hung in there and was not disappointed. Not only did this book have a completely different story line, it brought back the charters from the first book and ended up better than its predecessor. Really an awesome story, if you have not discovered these books yet, I feel sorry for ya.

I kept waiting for it to get better, however I honestly couldn't finish the book Although I liked Damien, I just did not like the Leigh. Okay, something horrible happened, but she is basically a psychotic killer searching for constant prey. I couldn't relate to her as a female in the least. I love strong female leads, however Leigh just came off as whiny and the constant cracks that we saw with Jessie are echoed, less successfully. Just like Blue Moon, the story is in first person; while in Blue Moon I loved Will and forgave more, the sentences are so choppy and short- similar to the sentence structure of a third-grade journal. This will be my last from the series. I was hoping for so much more from a good premise.

THIS REVIEW REFLECTS THE CONTENT OF THE STORY...NOT THE KINDLE EDITING (Kindle editing gets 1 star).

I read Blue Moon in paperback by this same author and loved it. As of right now, I'm only about halfway through with Hunter's Moon. The book is good, if a bit much like the first one. But I paid attention to the reviews on the series as a whole and figured I'd better read this one in order to know what's going on in the third. This book is entertaining, I haven't put it down since I began reading it. I like the main characters and am enjoying seeing the the characters in Blue Moon being a big part of this story. However...the Kindle edition is seriously botched in the editing department. More times than I can count I have seen dialog from two or even three different people in the same small paragraph which is very jarring when you're enjoying a good read. I find myself having to remove myself from the story to see just who said what. Honestly, this book deserves much better than the treatment it's received from whatever idiot(s) put it in Kindle format. Seriously, is no one editing this stuff? Did they give a dozen monkeys a paperback copy and ask them to type it out for the Kindle format?!

Anyway, my recommendation to other interested readers is to pick this book up in paperback if you can. If the Kindle version is the only thing available to you, be prepared to see some of the worst editing ever.

I will definitely go on to read the other 10 books in this series. I just hope I don't have to get many of them via Kindle.