Black Moon

Wolf Moon Rising, Book 1

By: Sam Burns, W.M. Fawkes

Narrated by: Michael Fell

Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

An apple a day won’t keep this doctor away.

Linden Grove has always known that he’s not destined to be the next pack alpha. That position belonged to his brother Aspen - but then Aspen left the pack to join the military. When the unthinkable happens and the pack is left rudderless, someone has to step up and take care of it. Can a doctor go from “do no harm” to defending his own with his teeth and claws?

Colt Doherty is used to a certain kind of life. Glittering, picturesque, and...empty. As the youngest child of the country’s only werewolf senator, Colt has grown up in the spotlight, and he’s all too used to knot-headed alphas taking credit for the work of others, especially omegas like himself. When his editor sends him to write a story on the Grove pack, though, he finds something completely unexpected: Linden Grove in his unpolished perfection, as shiny and sweet as the apples his pack are known for.

A Grove pack omega has been kidnapped, and someone has to step up. The pack needs Linden to fill his father’s shoes, but no wolf can stand on his own. To save the day, sheltered Colt has to drop the politics and become the action hero he never thought an omega could be.

Black Moon is an 90k word standalone novel featuring one fiery journalist, one doctor with an obsession for hand knit sweaters, and the sweetest apple pies on the whole eastern seaboard, all bundled up in a non-mpreg A/B/O universe.

©2021 FlickerFox Books (P)2021 FlickerFox Books

Love this!

Black Moon is Book 1 in the Wolf Moon Rising series. This is a wonderfully written non-mpreg, action packed, paranormal wolf shifter romance. Colt, an omega and journalist, is sent by his editor, from the big city, to write a story on the Grove pack. There might be information the Grove pack has and is doing to keep omegas alive when something, a disease of some sort, is killing them. When Colt gets to the Grove pack his finds that one of their family has been kidnapped. And on an attempt to get him back the Pack Alpha was killed. Linden, an alpha, isn't prepared when his father died. He wasn't supposed to be next in line. It was for his older brother to take over as leader of the pack. But his brother never showed up and Linden had to decide what he wanted to do. What was best for the pack, his pack. I really enjoyed this book. Colt is such a strong character and is so good for Linden. They work well together. I loved the other pack characters and look forward to reading/listening to more from this world. Definitely recommend! Especially if you enjoy your Omegaverse with no mpreg.
Narrator Michael Fell does a marvelous job. He really brings the characters and the story to life.

Entertaining

This is a interesting twist in a very interesting storyline. It has a great plot and flows wonderfully. The characters Linden a doctor/ pack alpha and Colt a senator’s son are very different but they come together in a amazing way that is beautiful. This was a wonderful adventure and can’t wait to listen to more. The narration was great.

Absolutly amazing!!!

The story, funny, witty, dramatic, heart warming, spicy, perfect imagery. The narration absolutly amazing, the differnt accents give just the right amount of hilariousness and still keeping the serious tone when needed. Amazing piece of writing and art overall!!!

Michael Fell! Wow, what a narrator! Need more!😍

Sam Burns and W. M. Fawkes have come up with a shifter series that's original indeed. They give us a villain that will shake anyone existing on the planet to their very core but the victims targeted in these books especially are shifters. And the heroes are those who will discover the danger to shifters and work to ameliorate the damage. The omegas of the shifters are getting sick, weak, and dying out. Male and female, omegas provide a calming influence to the pack. Losing them results in feral packs with dangerous alphas that pose a threat to others.
In Black Moon, Wolf Moon Rising Book 1 alpha Linden Grove is feeling overwhelmed with grief as he is unable to save his father's life. With all the education and training as a medical doctor, he's feeling like a failure who has wasted time and money. Having been attacked by a neighboring pack leader who kidnapped an omega, Linden's father begs him to contact Aspen--the brother who ran from the pack ten years earlier. Recovering from the loss of the pack leader is bad enough. Planning to rescue the omega when so many of them are weak and dying out is essential and requires meticulous planning especially when a feral pack leader is involved.
Omega Colt Doherty is a journalist whose father is high on the political ladder. As a blue-blood shifter, he is well aware that his robust health may have more to do with the money his family has than anything else. Learning that the Grove pack has some of the healthiest omegas in the country, Colt request to visit the pack to collect information about those things in their lifestyle that may account for it. His request has been honored courtesy of an alpha who hopes to get elected as the new pack leader. Presenting the pack with a new alpha will seal the deal, or so he thinks. It quickly becomes clear Linden and Colt are drawn together in their joint concern for the wellbeing of the Grove pack and the safety of the omega captured by the feral Reeves.
Readers are in for a special treat with the shifter series as writers Burns and Fawkes give them more than just the rival pack scenario. There is a worldwide threat that is driving pack rivalry with more than just the need for an omega for procreational reasons. The absence of the omegas is causing behavioral changes in all alpha-led packs, making it hard for them to be seen explicitly as the villains. The writers share enough in the narrative to allow the readers to infer that the feral alphas of the Reeves pack are victims, to some extent! That's some AWESOME world-building right there! As for character development? I'd be here for another hour at least! We see growth all over the place and not just between the main characters! We see them grow with respect to other characters in the story. Colt grows to love the Grove pack, Linden grows to be a leader, several secondary characters grow too! Dang, this was so good!

5 stars for a great series starter

I fell in love with this book, Linden’s sweater & gentle nature, Colt’s sass and this series when I picked up the ebook. It’s one of those “world” we can get lost on, the alpha, beta, omega shifter world where there’s a mysterious Condition that’s taking omegas lives. Linden, an alpha, with his healer nature has been on a mission to find a cure while also dealing with a pack entrusted to his care. Colt who’s a brave, independent omega also on a mission to just get away from his overbearing family even for a bit and write an important journalistic.

These two wolves from two different worlds collided and everything unfolds from there. The world building is so good, the characters captivating and the story, just engaging. And the mystery? It’ll keep you hooked.

Michael Fell is a new-to-me narrator and he definitely added another layer of awesomeness to this story.

Linden and Colt

I loved Linden with his gentle demeanor and kindness to a traumatized pack member. He's caring, goodhearted, selfless, and always putting others first. In short, he's the perfect leader. It seems that he's the only one that can't see it. He steps into his father's shoes and stumbles around a bit because it's so foreign to him. Once he accepts that he's the only choice he becomes an even better leader than his dad. I liked that he never assumed what Colt wanted, he always acknowledged Colt's intelligence and will in their relationship. I so enjoyed Colt and his snarky attitude. When he isn't surrounded by his domineering family he is so self-assured. He's used to being overlooked, looked down on, and expected to be a good little omega sitting quietly in the corner. He so isn't. It was funny that everyone saw him as the alpha mate before the two of them did.

Audiobook: very enjoyable narration

Black moon

I am really enjoying this series. Colt was a character I really loved getting to know all about along with Linden. Both the characters had a lot to figure out and their relationship was a lot of fun to watch develop. There were a lot of emotions and a few parts that definitely made me want to hug these characters. It was a great start to what is going to be an amazing series. I can’t wait to see what will happen next for this world.

I love a good pack!

I'm not really one to like the Omevaverse trope of Alphas are better than Omegas but damn if it doesn't make for fun characters! Linden and Colt were so sweet and them falling for each other was simple, which I do loooove.

They also had some side characters, including the antagonists that I understood every step of the way. So excited for the other books, especially with some mysteries and problems left unsolved.

Like others have said, the differences between the main couple and others voice-wise could be better but it didn't deter me whatsoever, thank goodness! I've been on a Michael Fell binge and I'm bad about reviewer, but this is one of his weaker performances. Still very enjoyable!

I loved this book

What I liked about this book is that it wasn’t always about the romance. The characters were also well developed and I liked the narrator.
I plan on getting the rest of the books that I can why I gave the rating I did was because I liked the book. What I don’t like is half of the books that I have I find on YouTube first and I hate when books I like are taken off before I’m done reading them or listening to them

I would suggest this book to anyone who likes MM romances

Enjoyed and can't wait for the rest in audio!

I really, really enjoyed this book. I was wrapped up in it from the very start to the very end and I'm very much looking forward to listening to the next 3 books. (And of course, the characters I'm now most curious about don't get their own book until the end of the series - well played, Burns & Fawkes, well played.) The two lead characters, Linden & Colt, and the friends and family who were supportive of them were wonderful to be around, and the villains/non-supportive types were good to dislike and wait for karma to hit.

The world they live in is both familiar when it comes to comparing it with other shifter books and the actual real world, but it also has its own unique characteristics, making it easy to settle in and focus on the characters and their problems, while not knowing everything coming around the corner. Grovetown seemed like an interesting place to be, though I'm not sure I'd move there myself if it were real. There's supposed to be some good pie, cinnamon donuts, and cider though.

There's a LOT going on in this story, but I didn't have any trouble keeping track of who is who or what they were up to. The side characters were so nicely fleshed out that they were interesting without taking too much of the spotlight away from Linden & Colt. Sometimes I did feel that issues were put on the back burner for too long, that characters forgot what they were supposed to be focusing on, and that conversations didn't loop back to where they ought, as if Colt and Linden had too much on their plates and couldn't keep up with everyone tugging on them. I'm not sure if that makes the story more or less realistic, but either way, I was still riveted, and there are 3 more books to go for resolutions.

I enjoyed the audio narration as well - I'd only listened to one book done by Michael Fell before, which I enjoyed as well. I wouldn't hesitate to listen to more books he's narrated.