Customer Reviews

Moon Run: Wolf Town, Book 3

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Iain has lived in Wolf Town for years, but he's always felt like a bit of an outsider. His attempts to connect always seem to go wrong, reminding him of a childhood in which he never fit in, and he was forced to hide his wolf. During a run one night, his wolf feels drawn to Teo, the town's doctor and the pack Beta. Too bad he's not quite sure if it's really love he's after, or security. When Teo rebuffs him, the rejection hurts.

Teo has been in the position of having someone want him for his position in the pack before, and he's not about to go through that again. Although he's attracted to Iain, he's determined to keep his distance. He has no idea the risk his ambivalence will cause Iain to take...

Joely Skye's series about shifters and Minders are some of my favorite paranormal books. I've especially enjoyed the Wolf Town books. While I didn't like Moon Run quite as much as the other Wolf Town books, it's still a good installment in the series. I've wondered about standoffish Teo and clingy Iain, and now I finally understand them both a little better. Iain's spent his whole life being rejected, first by his own family. He loves Wolf Town and his desperation to belong is painful. He doesn't see himself as worthy of anyone's care. When he begins to become interested in Teo, he fully expects the other wolf to reject him. In previous books I found Iain baffling and sometimes annoying, but in Moon Run he's revealed to be a deeply lonely and scared man. I felt bad for him and hoped he'd find happiness at last.

Teo, unlike Iain, feels very secure in his place in Wolf Town. He's the only doctor, and the beta. He takes both jobs very seriously, to the point of appearing cold and unfeeling at times. An unexpected attraction to a man who might just want him for security doesn't sit well with Teo at all, so he tries to put the younger wolf off. Of course, as anyone who's read the other Wolf Town books knows, Iain can be impulsive. Confused and longing to be worthy, Iain takes a terrible risk. I don't want to spoil the story (even though Wolf Town fans will already have a pretty good idea how things are going to turn out), but I'll say that I found the ending very satisfying. I hope Ms. Skye isn't finished with Wolf Town yet, because I'd love to read more stories about this fascinating town.

Cassie
For Joyfully Reviewed

There's one thing I like about Joely Skye, and that's that she can really get you into the head of her characters. "Feral", "Marked", "Monster"... all of them had incredibly unique characters that were very well-developed and richly nuanced. These tales of shifters and "minders" (people who can force their will on others, taking control of them) all weave together romance and suspense in a seamless fashion, and they all bring you into the heads of the characters. Since all of the characters are unique, their interactions are all unique, which make these tales stand apart from many other writers whose cookie-cutter characters tend to blur together.

Wolf Town is a mountain community of shifters. An experiment, if you will, where wolf shifters live and work together and don't have to worry about being outsiders because of their ability. The first two books of the series ("Wolf Town" and "Push, Pull") were rather light. While well-written, they seemed to lack the depth that made her other books stand out. They were a bit shorter and lighter and their plots not as deeply intricate. With "Moon Run", Joely moves closer to her previous strengths. The two main characters are well-developed and nicely nuanced. Each are unique, and we are offered glimpses into their motivations and fears. The drama and action portion of the story is still a bit on the light side though, and emphasis is on character nuance and motivations. The drama and action portion of the tale was basically already told in "Push Pull", but here we see parts of those events from different sets of eyes, and are privy to information we did not have before. With a lighter focus on action, the main emphasis is solidly on the interactions between the two main characters, Iain and Teo.

Iain has been in Wolf Town for a few years and has very low self-esteem. He doesn't believe he has much to offer people, but accepts it and tries to make the best of it. He is very attracted to Teo, the Beta of the town (second-in-command) and the town doctor. Teo though refuses to acknowledge Iain's attraction. Teo has maintained a distance from people, forgoing any relationships because he believes as the town Beta and doctor, he should be objective to all the residents. He also experienced a trauma in his past where his stature as Beta attracted someone with disastrous results. Becuase of these things, he keeps trying to deny any type of relationship with Iain. It's these obstacles that set the stage for this romance. It all comes to a head when an evil minder comes to town to collect one of the residents. Though the shifters are immune to the powers of a minder, the surrounding humans aren't. And this minder has no qualms about forcing the humans around him to do his bidding.

The story is nicely written, and the character interactions are unique, interesting, sexy, and very very compelling. Iain and Teo are two memorable characters, and we quickly empathise with them. The only thing that keeps me from giving this a five-star review is that the action and suspense is subdued. Still, it's a very enjoyable story with very well-written characters. I heartily recommend it.

Can a man shed his demons of the past in order to live a normal life? Or will fear of being cast aside keep him from letting his true self be seen?

Iian was introduced in Wolf Town and was instantly cast as the character you wanted to hate. He's a habitual liar and a user. But in Push Pull I got to see another side of this man and I was blown away by the sacrifices he made to keep another member of Wolf Town safe. Immediately I knew there was a story there. Something happened to him to make him act the way he does. And in Moon Run I finally got the answers.

Most of the residents of Wolf Town are shifters and part of being a shifter is the need to run during the full moon. If this is not done can cause serious damage to the wolf/person denying their dual nature. Iian was raised by a human mother who did not understand this. After a falling out he ended up in Wolf Town looking to make a fresh start and he opted to go to any lengths to fit in ... until he meets Teo.

Teo is the town doctor and strong, silent beta wolf. He has secluded himself from all personal relationships. He has suffered past experiences of being used because of the position he holds in the pack and he has no desire to relive that pain.

It really is a fluke how these two men come together. They're both so headstrong it borders on ridiculous. But the one thing they both crave is love and acceptance for who they are and not what they can give in return.

When Iian puts himself in danger, Teo realizes what he's feeling isn't just a passing thing and he wants Iian no matter what. And for Iian he's known all along that he has wanted Teo but fears rejection. A life and death situations help this couple come together to heal each other's wounds from the past.

I loved how the author had Iian redeem himself and made him a likeable character. For a short story it was filled with emotion from front to back. Moon Run is a romance built on mutual attraction, fear, misunderstandings, and most importantly, love.

Originally posted at Whipped Cream Reviews