Title: Under a Blue Moon
Series: Camp H.O.W.L 02 / Dreamspun Beyond 22
Author: Bru Baker
Narrator: Dorian Bane
Genre: Paranormal, Shape shifters
Length: 6 hrs, 40 mins
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press LLC (26th October 2018)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: 💖💖💖💖💖 5 Hearts
Reviewer: Prime
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 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 Drew’s private-practice patients threatens his life. Will the close call help Nick see a connection like theirs isn’t something of which to let go?
Purchase Link: Audible US | Audible UK | Amazon US | Amazon UK
Review: Under a Blue Moon is the second book in Bru Baker’s Camp H.O.W.L series for Dreamspun Beyond. To be perfectly honest, I remember that I’ve read the first three books in the series when they came out, but when it came to the audio all I could remember was the basic premise of the series and that I enjoyed the books. Regardless, I’m always keen to rediscover books in audio form as I feel I get details that I missed in reading and often a wonderful narrator makes the audio better than reading the book. This is a series that I recommend listening to (or reading) in order, because while they are mostly standalone books, there are a number of references to previous instalments that may be tricky for the more detail orientated people.
The book was narrated by the always wonderful Dorian Bane. I love the tone he brings to the books he performs and really has a way of getting the characters just right. His deep, husky voice is one that I find absolutely perfect for paranormal/shape shifter romances. Under a Blue Moon was no exception.
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.
Under a Blue Moon starts with Nick, a counsellor who wants to get out of private practice and kids going through the Turn. 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 times, but in my opinion, it worked well for this story. 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.