Title: Hunter’s Moon
Series: Lifting the Veil 03
Author: Susan Laine
Genre: Paranormal, Alternative World
Length: Novel (206pgs)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (20th February 2013)
Heat Level: Explicit
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥2½ – 3Hearts
Reviewer: Pixie
Blurb: Ten years ago, the Great Unveiling revealed the presence of supernatural beings living on Earth, but not all humans know much about them—or care about them as anything other than a paycheck.
Kieran Knight is a freelance mercenary who hunts mythical beings for money. He abducts a man called Gabriel King, intending to turn him over to his client. But Gabriel isn’t any ordinary cowboy. He’s a powerful werewolf and the beta of his pack—and as he and Kieran soon discover, he is also Kieran’s mate.
Kieran knows next to nothing about how mating works and he isn’t gay—but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel the chemistry heating up between them. To save Gabriel, Kieran orchestrates an escape, but his clients won’t give up their werewolf without a fight.
Purchase Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3587
Review: This story is part of a series and best read in order. Kieran works with a group of mercenaries. They will take on most jobs, including kidnapping mythical beings, as long as the price is right. Kidnapping Gabriel shakes Kieran’s world and has him questioning his behavior and his treatment of mythical creatures. Fighting his cravings for the werewolf is hard, but how can he just accept wanting a man? Gabriel has to process his feelings when he discovers that his mate is a callous mercenary. Getting to know the man while on the run makes it a bit easier, but having Kieran reject him for being male is hard when the mating pull is strong. Can Kieran and Gabriel truly mate when Kieran isn’t gay?
Hunter’s Moon is a nice continuation of the Lifting the Veil series. It has a connection to The Wolfing Way with Gabriel being the older brother of Rafe. Gabriel and Kieran are nothing alike. Gabriel is calm, gentle and tries not to let anything get to him, even when he is kidnapped. Kieran is hot-tempered, coarse and doesn’t care about many people, until he kidnaps Gabriel. Both men have difficulties when they discover they are mates, but coming to an understanding is harder than either thought.
I really enjoyed the first half of this story. Gabriel is kidnapped and discovers one of the mercenary’s is his mate. Kieran feels a pull towards the werewolf they have captured and discovers he can’t leave him in the hands of his employers. They escape together and the truth of them being mates comes out, but Kieran’s straight and finds it hard to accept. The second half of the story is all about Kieran trying to accept the mating and Gabriel trying to reassure him. It isn’t easy for either of them; especially Kieran because Kieran is straight and until he gets a whiff of Gabriel’s pheromones had never had a reaction to any man. I found the latter part of the book to be a disappointment because a lot of their ‘getting to know each other’ time was brushed over and just mentioned in passing. We didn’t get to see Kieran softening to having a male mate or coming to terms with his change in sexuality. we were just told he was and did, and I was still left with the feeling that Kieran was still only willing to give it a go and not that he had developed any feelings for Gabriel.
Although I liked Kieran, I hated that I was left guessing at the end about if he would fall in love with Gabriel. Gabriel is clearly more than half way there and I would have loved for it to be a genuine happily ever after. The sex between them is very primal, passionate and hot. We are left in no doubt about the sexual side to their mating because it is HOT.
I will recommend this story to those who want enemies to friends to lovers’ story, hot sex, gay for you, conflicting emotions and a happy for now ending.