Shadow of the Moon by Rachel Hawthorne

"Hayden was born a werewolf, a Dark Guardian. But her ability to sense the feelings of fellow werewolves has made her life unbearable. She runs away, only to be tracked by charming, mysterious Daniel, a newcomer to the pack and the one Shifter immune to her powers. As she reluctantly follows him home, Hayden finds herself falling dangerously in love. . . .

But even as her feelings for Daniel deepen, Hayden begins to wonder if he is who he claims to be. Where did he come from and why has no one ever seen him transform? When they stumble upon the body of a Shifter still in wolf form, her worries grow. Someone is killing her kind. Is her handsome tracker really a hunter? And is Hayden now his prey?"-Goodreads.com

Overall: 4/5

I adored each of the first three books in this series, but when you think about it, they all seem to tell pretty similar tales. One of my main fears when I picked up this book was that, after a fourth re-telling, it would start to become painfully obvious and distrssingly annoying that there really was nothing new to add to these stories.

I needn't have worried. Hawthorne has come through once again with something new; an original perspective on an original situation. It didn't feel redundant or monotonous, despite my doubts.

You could tell that Hawthorne stepped a little out of her element for this one, though. There were some actual battle scenes, which always adds some excitement. But love and romance are Hawthorne's strengths and some of those action sequences seemed a bit rushed and/or strained.
The other thing that bugged me a little was something I had expected to be in there, but wasn't. In previous books (all three of them, I think), there had been some aluding to the possibility that keeping the werewolves a secret from the world was becoming too much of a challenge in a world full of advnaced technology and that maybe it was time to start thinking about going public with their species. By the end of the last one, it had become the primary issue on their minds and I thought that this one would have some sort of final decision on that, some key action that would signal the beginning of a movement. Or, you know, anything. But there was no mention of the issue anywhere in the fourth book. I feel like it was just left kind of hanging there, with no conclusion in sight.

Maybe they'll return to it in a future book, even though there's no mention of one as of yet.

Characters: 4/5
Plot: 4/5
Ending: 4/5
Writing: 4/5
Cover: 5/5
Happy Factor: 4/5

Other books by Rachel Hawthorne: Moonlight, Thrill Ride, Caribbean Cruise, Suite Dreams

Dark of the Moon by Rachel Hawthorne

"I've loved him forever, but he can never be mine.

Brittany is determined to prove herself to the Dark Guardians. And yet she's been keeping a devastating secret: She hasn't experienced any of the intense, early signs of change that mark a Dark Guardian's transformation. The only intense feelings she has are for Connor—and she's kept that a secret, too. But she knows she'll never truly have Connor's love if she's not a Shifter like him.

At the first full moon after her birthday, her greatest fear is realized: She doesn't transform. Brittany is so desperate to become a wolf that she'll go to extremes she never thought possible . . . and put all the Dark Guardians in incredible danger." -From Amazon.com

Overall: 5/5

I can't even say how much I love this series. Before I start reading each one, I have doubts and assumptions about them. And each and every time, I'm astounded by how incredible the stories that Hawthorne manages to weave are.

From the previous books, I've never been a huge fan of Brittany. To me, she comes off as the sullen, determined, overly-serious type. It gave me pause before starting this one because I didn't think I could like a book where I didn't like the protaganist. Well, that may still be true, but it wasn't a problem in this case. By telling the story from Brittany's perspective, Hawthorne allows the reader to delve into her character and understand her better. I ended up actually liking Brittany and I have a lot more respect for her character now that I know some of her background and the reasoning behind her actions.

I loved it. It's full of action and suspence, and also tells a great love story, which I'm a total sucker for. I simply cannot wait for the next one to come out!

Characters: 5/5

Plot: 4/5

Writing: 4/5

Ending: 5/5

Cover: 4/5

Other titles by this author: Moonlight, Snowed In, Labor of Love, Caribbean Cruising, Suite Dreams

Full Moon by Rachel Hawthorne

"Lindsey has always known that Connor was her destined mate, but this summer as her full moon approaches, she finds herself dreaming about darkly handsome and silent Rafe. When the others are captured by their enemies, she and Rafe must work together to save them. As they spend time together, Lindsey will come to realize that some dangers come from within as she is forced to face her true feelings for Connor and Rafe. One is a friend. The other is her true love. But listening to her heart could cost her everything."

Overall: 5/5

I read Rachel Hawthorne's first Dark Guardian book almost a year ago, pretty much right when it came out. And I completely loved it. When I heard that the second in the series would be coming out about three months later, I was ecstatic! (Serioulsy, how many times can you say that you had that short of a wait between books in one series? I was beyond thrilled.) I was so excited to hear more of Kayla's story and how things were going with Lucas that I didn't even read the back of the book until it came out and I started the first page.

So you can imagine my shock when I find out that this book isn't about Kayla or Lucas at all; it's about Kayla's best friend, Lindsey.

I lost my enthusiasum immediately. It's not that I don't like Lindsey, cause I do. I just got it into my head that since Hawthorne had done such a splendid job with the first one, this new protaganist and her own set of problems were never going to be able to live up to it. My conviction of this made me put it aside for a few months.

Finally, about a week ago, I picked it up again. I figured, why not? My expectations were already low, not much harm could be done. And it was fantastic! Despite all my doubts, Hawthorne has done it again. She's taken a new perspective on a world that she's already introduced us to and turned it into a beautiful tale of secrecy and adventure, and love and friendship and the difference between the two.

The third in the series, Dark of the Moon, is also already out, and the fourth, Shadow of the Moon, is scheduled to come out in March.

Characters: 5/5

Plot: 4/5

Writing: 4/5

Ending: 5/5

Cover: 3/5

Other titles by this author: Moonlight, Snowed In, Caribbean Cruising, The Boyfriend League, Love on the Lifts, Suite Dreams