Title: Hiding in Plain Sight

Series: Camp H.O.W.L 03 / Dreamspun Beyond 28

Author: Bru Baker

Genre: Paranormal,  Shape shifters

Length: Novel (256 pages)

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: 💖💖💖💖💖 5 Hearts

Blurb: Happily ever after is right under their noses.

Harris has been keeping a big secret for years—his unrequited mate bond with his best friend, Jackson. He’s convinced himself that having Jackson in his life is enough. That, and his work at Camp H.O.W.L., keeps him going.

Things get complicated when Jackson applies for a high-ranking Tribunal job in New York City—far from Camp H.O.W.L. The position requires he relinquish all Pack bonds… and that’s when his wolf decides to choose a mate. Suddenly Jackson sees his best friend in a sizzling new light.

Their chemistry is through the roof, but they’re setting themselves up for broken hearts—and broken bonds—if Jackson can’t figure out a way to balance his career and the love that’s just been waiting for him to take notice.

ISBN: 978-1-64080-866-9

Product Link: Dreamspinner | Amazon US | Amazon UK

Reviewer: Prime

Review: Hiding in Plain Sight is the third book in Bru Baker’s Camp H.O.W.L series and found myself surprised at the extent to which I enjoyed the first book and had no choice but to read the rest! I recommend reading this series in order, because while they are mostly standalone books, there are a number of references to previous installments that may be tricky for some people. While the previous couples aren’t always so prominent there are probably a few points where things can get difficult.

The series surrounds the lives of the doctors/counselors who work at Camp H.O.W.L as they do the work they love, protecting the young wolflings who are going through their first and very traumatic shift in a summer camp type of setting and somehow finding love while undoubtedly fighting the mating bonds that are forming almost every step of the way. I think, though, the couples fighting the bond only really bothered me in the second book than it did in the first and third because it made less sense to me.

This third book tells the story of tribunal enforcer Jackson and camp councilor Harris. Jackson appeared in the previous book as the stepbrother of one of the MCs, while Harris has been a bit of a stoic, strong figure who supports his colleagues/friends at Camp H.O.W.L. I was seriously excited about this story and I wasn’t disappointed in the slightest. After reading the blurb I could already predict that I would be totally in love with Harris – I already loved him as a secondary character. I also knew that I would love Jackson, but I also knew that I would get invested and frustrated by his hesitation, which in this case was not a bad thing at all.

Harris is a well loved and well-respected counselor. He has lived for years holding a torch to one of his best friends, Jackson. But Jackson has always been ambitious, and Harris had a great fear of losing Jackson if he acted on his feelings. However, Jackson is now in the process of getting a new job in New York, which would take him almost too far away from Harris. Jackson is also deeply attracted to Harris, but having a mate at this point in time is not in his plans and despite nesting when he knows that Harris will be around, he can’t give in. The guys have a chance together when Jackson freelances for another best friend to provide security to the camp and little incidences start to happen. All these little steps have to happen so that these guys have a chance at a HEA.

This is a fun story. It’s sweet but also very sexy, the guys have great chemistry. If your thing is shifters then you’ll enjoy it. If you’ve already started the series and loved it, I can’t see why you wouldn’t want to read Harris’ story.

Title: Under a Blue Moon

Series: Camp H.O.W.L 02 / Dreamspun Beyond 22

Author: Bru Baker

Genre: Paranormal, Shape shifters

Length: Novel (228 pages)

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: 💖💖💖💖💖 4.5 Hearts

Blurb: Once in a blue moon, opposites find they’re a perfect match.

Nick Perry is tired of helping people with their marriages, so when a spot opens up to work with teens at Camp H.O.W.L., he jumps at it. He doesn’t expect to fall in lust with the dreamy new camp doctor, Drew Welch. But Drew is human, and Nick has seen secrets ruin too many relationships to think that a human/werewolf romance can go anywhere.

Happy-go-lucky Drew may not sprout claws, but he’s been part of the Were community all his life. He has no trouble fitting in at the camp—except for Nick’s stubborn refusal to acknowledge the growing attraction between them and his ridiculous stance on dating humans. Fate intervenes when one of his private practice patients threatens Drew’s life. Will the close call help Nick to see a connection like theirs isn’t something to let go of?

ISBN: 978-1-64080-696-2

Product Link: Dreamspinner | Amazon US | Amazon UK

Reviewer: Prime

Review: I was pretty excited to read Under a Blue Moon. This is the second book in Bru Baker’s Camp H.O.W.L series and found myself surprised at the extent to which I enjoyed the first book. And so after reading the first one I went straight into the second and third books – because binge reading is my vice. I recommend reading this series in order, because while they are mostly standalone books, there are a number of references to previous installments that may be tricky for some people. Well, that’s my opinion anyway, it would probably work ok as a standalone if you’re not going to question too far into the words.

The series surrounds the lives of the doctors/counselors who work at Camp H.O.W.L as they do the work they love, protecting the young wolflings who are going through their first and very traumatic shift in a summer camp type of setting and somehow finding love while undoubtedly fighting the mating bonds that are forming almost every step of the way.

Ok, so that was a pretty simplistic overview but I think that it’s accurate. In Under a Blue Moon we meet two new workers to Camp H.O.W.L, Nick Perry and Drew Welch.

Nick is a counsellor who wants to get out of private practice and kids going through the Turn. He is the replacement counselor for Tate from book 1. And then there is Drew. He is a medical doctor – a human raised by his human mother and wolf stepfather, surrounded by his three wolf step brothers. The guys meet each other on the way to camp and things get hot and heavy – and at this point they don’t even realize that they are travelling to the same place, let alone going to be work colleagues. I don’t want to go into things too much, I don’t want to completely spoil the plot, but Nick finds it hard to reconcile that he has a mate bond with a human, and that being human doesn’t mean that Drew can’t survive life with wolves.

As I said earlier, a common theme in both book 1 and 2 is that at least one of the men in the romantic pair tries his best to ignore the mate bond and push away his prospective mate. I find that trope a little frustrating at time, but in my opinion it worked well, even if I found myself getting annoyed at Nick and wanting to bash a fry pan over his head. Meanwhile, I loved Drew and his family. Drew is a wonderfully relatable character – fearless and smart as a whip.

If you loved the first book or shape shifter romances, you’ll no doubt love this.