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.