Customer Reviews

Moonlight (Dark Guardian, Book 1)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Hawthorne invites us to see another side of an age old legend while dealing with elements of death, betrayal, and love. In the end it is seventeen year old Kayla who finally confronts her own fears and discovers who she was meant to become.

A camping trip at a National Forestry turned deadly, when Kayla was five years old. Her parents had been murdered by overzealous hunters, swearing they had seen wolves with the child. After more than a decade she returns to the forestry with her adoptive parents in hopes of chasing away the nightmares she has lived with for so long. She is drawn in by the beauty of the natural environment and its creatures, even making friends with some of the local forestry guides, sherpas. There is Lindsey who is so friendly and open. While Kayla is strangely drawn to the good looking Lucas Wilder, who, for all his lack of communication skills always appears to be watching her. Offered a position as a sherpa next summer, when she turns 17, Kayla chooses to believe her reason for accepting the position is the love of the forestry and its creatures. What she doesn't know is that shortly after her 17th birthday she will finally have to confront what she really is, along with the real reason behind her need of both the forestry and Lucas Wilder.
On her first assignment as part of a group leading some college students and their professor, Dr. Keane deep in the wilderness, Kayla realizes things aren't as they appear. Why would a Dr. Keane be taking a small group of students camping deep into the forestry to study wolves, where wolves are rarely seen? Why the heavy equipment crates, just for studying the protected wolves? And what of their strange tales around the campfire of werewolves? Could Mason, a college student and Dr. Keane's son, really be interested in Kayla? And what's up with Lucas always watching her, keeping her so close to him, when the lovely college student Monique is so willing to keep him company? And when evil finally shows its face will Kayla be up to the challenges she must deal with to meet her destiny?

In my opinion, the prologue would have offered a more intriguing introduction had it focused on the death of Kayla's parents to set the scene. As it stands, the prologue goes a bit too far, taking away some of the suspense generated by the tale. Although, the first 150 odd pages do a fair job of setting the stage, I believe it could have been done in half the pages, leaving a bit more space for several of the intriguing action scenes. There are a few twists, some suspense,a very small cliff hanger and a new way to look at an age old enemy, the Werewolf. As X-Men are mutants so are werefolk in this appealing tale. In any case, you shouldn't have to suspend logic too far out on a limb to follow this tale of werewolves. Simply drop some of the stereotypical images you have seen or read about werefolk, not transformed by a bite, and follow this new breed. Here the evil comes not from mutants but from human factors.

A tale *worth exploring, as you have some free time, Moonlight is the first in a projected trilogy. As a suggestion, skip the prologue and pick it up later in the book, where to scene is repeated.

For other tales of werewolves and their ilk, check out Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause, The Unseen by Richie Tankersley Cusick and Tantilize by Cynthia Leitich Smith.

*Take pause if you object to some slight non-descriptive nudity as wolves change back to human form, talk of older teens skinny dipping or simply sleeping side by side un-chaperoned.

"....very naked...no tan lines..." "....made him turn his back while I stripped out of my clothes and dove into the pool." "....even if all we did was sleep, we were still going to be in bed together, our bodies touching, maybe curling into each other."

[Review may contain spoilers for the book]

Maybe I just didn't get it. There are quite a few YA books that I like, even though I'm past the age-range. A lot of them are well-written and detailed, but this... While it was tolerable, it just wasn't what I was expecting. I picked this up in the bookstore after having been drawn in by the cover--call me superficial, but sometimes I chose books based on their covers--and the blurb on the back of the book sounded interesting, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

Boy, was I disappointed. The plot was rushed and the characters had absolutely no depth, which completely turned me off. The story is told in first-person, through Kayla's eyes, but we don't really learn a whole lot about her (at least I didn't). Yeah, she witnessed her parents being shot, she was adopted, she enjoys the outdoors, blah blah blah. Really, that's all I learned about her. Oh, and she falls for this "hot and dangerous" guy, Lucas, who, ohmigod, turns out to be her mate. We don't really learn a whole lot about Lucas either.

Did I mention Kayla was a werewolf? Is it really a shock to find this out? Kayla had to be clued in to this by Lucas, her mate. Did I mention she was his mate? And she didn't know about it until he told her? And he had her name (in some old language or something) tattooed on his shoulder, before he ever confessed his.... "love"?

At one point Lucas tells Kayla that her first shift feels much like childbirth. Really? Childbirth? Okay, I'm a woman, I don't have kids and I don't plan to, but I'm sure that pain is far worse than what Kayla went through. She was also making out with Lucas during much of it. Eh? Mothers, did you have the desire to make out with your partner when going through that? The transformation, as it was written, felt like it only lasted a couple seconds...

Do we get to see much of the secondary characters? Nope. They only exist to keep Kayla entertained when she's not mooning over Lucas. And even then she's talking or thinking about him.

I don't know, maybe it's that I'm no longer a teenager, but I just really did not like this book. It's a matter of opinion. If you like short, rushed plots involving love triangles and soul mates, then you might like this. If you like Twilight (which I despise), you might like this. If you're over twenty and looking for a book with depth, I'd advise that you look elsewhere.

This is the first novel I have read of Rachel Hawthorne, and I have to say that this is a good angle for a paranormal novel, especially for teens. So many new paranormal teen books have been compared to Twilight in numerous reviews, and I have to say that this is a cut from the same cloth. Girl meets boy, boy shape shifts, girl shape shifts, they mate for life.

Kayla is a wilderness guide this summer to try to come to terms with her parents deaths in the very same forest. There she meets her best friend Lindsay and a mysterious silver eyed boy Lucas. Throw in some evil scientist out to prove were wolves exist and you have the story in a nut shell

Hawthorne should have really extended the storyline, I could have easily read another 200 pages on the history of the shifters, developed the other characters, and drawn out the conflict of scientists. The last chapter was so rushed I wasn't sure if Kayla did become a dark guardian or if it was all a dream... Also we get the idea that Kayla is traumatized by her parents deaths, but it is so briefly explained that I don't feel connected to her grief.

The idea of Sherpas, old world tattoos, and the history of the forest was very short and I sometimes felt like the plot was being run over just to move the story along at a pace fast enough to keep ADD teens reading; Hawthorne could have easily expanded on... well everything. I have high hopes that the second book is even deeper and delves into the world of mates and shifters further.

Gold Star Award Winner!

Kayla thinks she's stumbled onto a great summer job with people she connected with last summer. Right now, she's the newbie and can't wait to start pulling her weight. She's hoping to figure out some deep dark issues hidden under the surface about her past - the murder of her parents in the very woods she'll be working in this summer.

She can't help but feel Lucas's eyes on her. She knows that he's older, but she can't help crushing over him anyways. What she doesn't realize, but soon begins to unravel, is that Lucas isn't like other boys.

In fact, the townspeople aren't exactly normal. They mate for life at the age of seventeen, and Kayla's birthday marks the beginning of a trip. She has no idea what's going on around her, but with a group of scientists heading into the woods in hopes of catching a legendary werewolf, she's about to find out.

What she discovers leaves her as breathless as when she discovers she's head-over-heels for Lucas.

MOONLIGHT is slightly different than Rachel Hawthorne's other novels. While all have romance, this darker series plays with the supernatural. DARK GUARDIAN is not a series to miss. Hawthorne expertly weaves romance with the supernatural and cloaks them with danger.

Reviewed by: Jennifer Rummel

Absolutely love this book. It was my first Rachel Hawthorne book and definitely not my last. There wasn't a minute where I was bored with the reading. I simply could not put it down. Read it in one day. Totally fell in love with Kayla and Lucas. Perfect balance of romance and suspense. Perfect read for a TEEN. NOT graphic which is why I recommend it. Couldn't wait to read Full Moon. You must read it!!!

it was a good read. Not the best book ever but atleast ok. The prolouge bored me but later on, it was ok. the others in the series were better i think. i liked book 2 better though.
The characters were fine, i think it was mainly the story.
Oh well, i liked it *shrug*

I like this book, however wish it ended it little better. However I do wish that I was working at a camp like that an meet a guy like him.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book, i picked it up at the library out of curiosity and lack of other choices, and I really enjoyed it. It was a quick, light read.
The book takes place in a national park which already sets it apart from the abundance of boarding schools and small towns. The pace of the book wasn't heart pounding but it was steady and kept me interested. The best part was the plot towards the end, I had a feeling something was off but it totally surprised me. The wolf lore was interesting and had some new perspectives I've yet to encounter which is always good, when you read as much paranormal as I do it's always nice to see a new twist.
The story revolves around Kayla who I instantly liked, she is a girl who has her feet firmly planted in the ground and takes the crap life has thrown at her pretty elegantly. Lucas was a bit typical of the brooding YA boy, but still likeable. Lucas and the supporting characters didn't get as much development as I would have liked but it seems the author will get more in depth with them in the next installments.
My only blatant complaint was the ending, it was a bit too clean cut for me. When everything comes together that well I have a hard time not thinking "suuuuure" (in a totally sarcastic tone), but there are more books so obviously something goes wrong, right?

I love this series. We get to know all the members of the dark guardian crew. I love the shape shifters' fate-to-love-you-mating thing. I love all the couples in this series. I heard they would make a tv series about this, and I am looking forward to it.

Genre: Paranormal YA (UF)

Moonlight is a guilty pleasure. Not because it has naughty sex scenes or bad language jumping off the page--quite the opposite. It's pretty sweet and innocent, like PNR novels accept YA approved. Of course I have to say right up front if you're seeking something that has mind blowing writing, hidden depths, and a unique plot this is the not the book. It's not really fantastic in any form, but there is something about it that draws a reader in and just takes hold.

Moonlight goes where you expect it to and with a 263 page count it really doesn't get to explore all the fantastic ideas that are lurking around. It focuses on girl meets wolf boy, girl is soon to turn wolf, wolf boy perfects girl, and they mate for life. Moonlight is not all romance, there is an interesting plot about humans trying to get the secrets of the Guardians (werewolves) and an evil brother bent on revenge.

Again for how small it is, the characters are well fleshed out. This is Kayla's journey to grow up and become her "true-self". Lucas is the cliché brooding male lead that the ladies love to swoon over; mysterious, quiet, and devoted to his future woman. Kayla and Lucas bonded well together, both being really likable.

The world of the Guardians is clearly something that needs to be explored more in later books, there are more boys and girls to turn into wolves and find mates. All of the guys already have their future mates tattooed onto them, so my curiosity is killing me to see if I guessed the right couples. In the short course of the book Hawthorne made me appreciate the cast of side characters.

While it reads like a beach book, it does not have the tone of one. It deals with death, loss, fear, and dealing with the choices we make and living with them. There's not much meat to it, but readers will find themselves engrossed in the world of the Guardians and the mystery of finding a life mate. Moonlight's power is to take an "adult" plot from paranormal romances and turn it in to a YA read.

Sexual Content:
Kissing and a few heavy make out scenes. There is a scene where a boy pushes himself on to the main character in the acts of making it look like he might rape her. A few dirty jokes and questions sprinkled in every now and again.

3/5- Adored it, just a few minor details held it back