105:120 Autumn Moon by Jan DeLima

The 3rd book in the Celtic Wolves series.  Cormac has lived for centuries in the body of the wolf even though his mind was that of a man.  The only person who ever treated him as a man was Elen, the sister of Dylan, and herself an outcast because she has powers no one else in her clan can understand but yet with all that power, she cannot call the wolf shape to herself.  She has used her powers to heal but one night, she learned that she has more power than she ever imagined when she ripped the power of transformation from the Guardian attacking her and her family and sent that power flooding into Cormac.  Now Cormac can shift between shapes but he is still lost as he tries to figure out the rules of being human and how to court the woman who captured his heart centuries ago with her kindness.  Elen is amazed at what her power has wrought but is afraid that Cormac will hate and fear her as everyone else has done now that it's revealed she has this power.  That thought scares her more than any other because he has been her only friend and companion for so long and now that he is a man, she finds herself wanting to take their relationship so much further.  Unfortunately, things are not always up to us to play out as we want as Pendaran, the leader of the Guardians, is very much interesting in the power that Elen wields and will do anything to possess it.

Ok, yes, this book is a romance even if you dress it up with Celtic mythology and wolves.  I'm not generally huge on straight romance books but this one is continuing to keep me hooked mostly because the women are strong and equal to the men but also because they don't drop out once they get mated (*cough cough* BDB *cough cough*).  Sophie is still there, fighting alongside Dylan and not being sheltered.  Rosa makes a brief appearance since the majority of the story is not her territory but she is involved in a few key scenes and not just a "makes token appearance to welcome them to her home" kind of thing.  The main story is continuing to be moved forward while the romance angle is served and even when captured and in a place where most of her magic doesn't work and she does need rescuing (yeah, okay, that bugged me a bit), she uses what magic she can to let Cormac know where to find her and once rescued uses her magic to cripple Pendaran so Cormac has a chance to take him out.

So is this great literature?  No.  The plots are pretty transparent and you know that they will end with a HEA for the lead couple but the world is rich and the characters interesting and the whole thing is not just a "guy sees girl and decides she is the one for him so must get" which bugs the complete crap out of me so I will continue to read until it turns into that or the series ends.


Page count: 304p/28,100p ytd/243,016p lifetime

45:120 Summer Moon by Jan DeLima

Rosa is the youngest unmated, full-blooded changeling and as such was married off to the Guardian Math centuries ago when the Guardians wanted Math to move to the New World and keep watch over the Walkers.  Now Math has been killed by Dylan and the Guardians remember a prophecy spoken by Talesin which basically amounts to the rape of Rosa by 8 unmateed Guardians on Beltane.  Rosa wants NO part of this plan, especially after spending centuries under Math's thumb and seeing just how horrible the Guardians treat those she cares about.  She runs to Dylan's pack to try and enlist their aid by offering the most valuable prize she has, control over her lands at Alban and herself as wife, to keep her and hers safe.

Luc is Dylan's brother, unmated although widowed by his beloved Koko.  He is an alpha in his own right but has stayed by his brother's side with unwavering support for all his brother has done for him over the centuries and his brother's vision for their pack but his wolf is restless so when the chance to help his brother comes in the form of wedding Rosa and claiming her territory next door to his brother's, he quickly volunteers.  Neither Rosa nor Luc are looking for anything beyond a marriage of convenience but they quickly find much to respect and admire in the other and find more than either was looking for.

I'm not a huge fan of outright romances and even less so of series that promise a rich world with intricate, overreaching plots that then turn into books of how can we throw two people together as a romance despite their having zero in common or any reason why they should actually be a couple outside of the fact that the author chose to make them one (BDB is especially horrible for this but there are plenty out there).  When I realize that the second book in the series centered on a new couple coming together, I groaned.  The first book was great in that it was a couple that had parted and were coming together (rarely every done) but now we were going back to a standard trope.  I really enjoyed the new world Ms. DeLima had created so I decided to hope and I was not disappointed.  Luc and Rosa found things in common, they were thrust together out of need but came to a mutual respect and understanding.  Yes, there was always sexual tension going on because it's a "paranormal romance" but it wasn't a chest thumping, bodice ripper type of thing.  It's easy enough to guess who the next couple will be but again, it seems like a case of a couple who have been dancing around each other wanting this relationship who will finally get a chance not a "guy sees girl across the street and decides she's the one for him".  I'm actually looking forward to the next installment with anticipation.

Page count: 292p/9,828p ytd/224,762p lifetime

42:120 Celtic Moon by Jan DeLima

The first in the Celtic Wolves series, a new series by a new author. Sophie ran away from Dylan and his world on the night he transformed into a werewolf to show her  why she must give up her old life.  It's been 16 years and he has been searching for her and their child ever since but now she has called him of her volition because something is wrong with their son.  As Sophie makes the decision to take Joshua to his father, she knows that it will be one of the hardest things in her life.  As a human, she was treated horribly by Dylan's pack but she will do whatever it takes to keep her son safe as she has been doing for the last 16 years.  What she was unprepared for was the awakening of all those old feelings being near Dylan again would stir up and the fact that Dylan had just arranged for a meeting with other pack leaders in preparation for the possibility of going to war against the Guardians, the ancient leaders of their race who were created by their goddess to protect her son, Taliesin, but who have become brutal despots wanting to kill or enslave all of their kind that are not pure enough.  Dylan broke away centuries ago to protect his brother who was born wolf and was unable to change to human for hundreds of years and for his sister who has power but cannot change her skin.  Now a banner of the Guardians has been left on his land and he will do whatever he must to protect his people and most especially his mate and child.

This mythology is taking more from the Celtic side of things which is what made me pick it up in the first place.  I love the fact that this is not a typical lust at first sight book where the guy sees the girl and decides she's the one without their knowing the first thing about each other.  Those books annoy the freaking heck out of me and the odds are high that this would have gotten thrown at a wall if it had been.  Instead, we see the aftermath of bad relationship decisions and are there as Sophie and Dylan figure out how to actually communicate and have a true relationship together.

I was really looking forward to following their story but as I've now started the second book, it's following the pattern of throwing a new pair together every book.  It remains to be seen if the stories are worth it or if they are going to turn into "Me Tarzan, you Jane, let's f***".  I'm hoping not as the world has potential.

Page count: 293p/9,018p ytd/223,952p lifetime