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

Don’t give up

Both the story and the narrator have a shaky start with this audiobook. The first third is a bit cliche and the narrator seems unsure. The rest of the book catches its stride and the narrator comes into his own. It’s a sweet story and a lovely HFN ending. Give it a try. Ultimately it doesn’t disappoint

Growing more than just apples

I enjoyed this story quite a bit. Linden and Colt are interesting characters with strong personalities. As a doctor, Linden is naturally nurturing and supporting his pack. It’s funny that he can’t see his own worth as an alpha, but that’s part of his appeal. Colt has struggled his whole life to get alphas to acknowledge his strength and worth, so he’s massively confused by Linden’s ease. The two of them just mesh so well as a couple. The complications from the Condition add drama, as well as a thread for the series to follow and solve which is something I appreciate. Michael Fell does a good job with narration and is pleasant to listen to.

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.

Hit a sweet spot

This book has all the tropes and sappy mate content you could want in a shifters book without being plotless or overly predictable. Some good thought went into worldbuilding and it makes it a super compelling and fun listen. I'm super glad to see that it's part of a series.

An amazing series starter!

This is an amazing start to a new series.

I loved this sweet and sexy opposites attract paranormal romance.

The characters were likeable, relatable and engaging.

The storyline was compelling and appealed to me.

The narrator performed an exemplary audio delivery and narration

Definitely recommend

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

Good story. Good narration.

I usually avoid alpha/omega stories because many of those stories turn even the "strong" omegas into perpetual victims. This series does not.

l liked the characters so much that I downloaded the entire series after I finished just a few chapters. Colt and Linden well developed main characters, and the Grove is an interesting town that almost makes me homesick for small town life... almost.

I really enjoyed Michael Fell's narration, and I am looking forward to the next book.

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

Narration nightmare

What? Michael Fell was truly awful as narrator. All his voices sounded the same. You could hear him trying to make a distinction when two characters shared a scene but he couldn’t perform with any consistency for two minutes, much less scene to scene. I found myself having to look at chapter names (specifying who’s perspective we were hearing) to know who was talking. I also noticed a large number of mispronounced words. It made me want to have a look at the print copy to see if he could really be making that many mistakes or if there was a problem with the writing or editing (“disconcerning,” anyone?) What a shame for the book. That said, the writing was pretty bad as well. Seriously, the characters didn’t seem to care about anything really, just thought they should pretend to do so. So boring. Give it a pass.

Not what I expected

I've been reading Flicker Fox books for the better part of the last two years. I expected the usual tropes in this book, most of which are found. I expected this book to be darker, to delve deeper in the the trauma and torture of the characters. This book decides not to do that. Instead, it chooses to show soft, warm, compassionate characters that respond to the dark situations of the secondary characters. It was nice, comforting even.
The narrator is fine. He has a bit of same voice issues which is why he's getting 3 stars but overall a good narrator. It's almost as if he didn't get into the characters that much. There were times his accents dropped out and few places he forgot which character he was speaking for because he interchanged the characterization based on who was narrating the chapter.
All in all, a fairly decent book.

Enjoyable Story

A well written story with and interesting  concept.  The characters are likeable and the narration is very good.

Brill

This is a brilliant book and I loved the world building with Linden growing to become the alpha and with Colt realising what it means to be part of a pack.

A good book, hope there's a follow up

This stand alone novel is touching, sweet and action packed. The world building is great, and it looks like we might have the set up for a follow up as there is one huge loose end. I really hope so as Linden and Colt are adorable together and I’d like to spend more time with the Grove pack.

Great start to a new series

Another cracking read from this writing pairing and enjoyable performed by the narrator. Still on the supernatural spectrum but this time it's wolf shifters. Omegas in peril, a kidnapping, a pack left leaderless. But more than that it's about finding home, the softest, sweetest alpha (with a core of steel when his own are threatened), sweater vests, and picking apples. Linden is a sweetheart and Colt is a fiesty omega.
What else do you need to know, here's a summary:
* supernatural
* shifters
* City boy in a small town
* finding home
* doctor
* journalist
* knotting
* NO MPREG
* alpha softie
* fiesty omega
* start of a series

Great start to the series

Oh my word do I love this new series, the world Burns and Fawkes have created, the Grove pack and the characters of Linden and Colt. Here we have an alpha who never expected or wanted to have to lead a pack and an omega who is used to never being taken seriously or getting credit for his work. Both men in this book learn just how resilient, tough and talented they can be both separately and together. The world building is of the usual stunningly high quality these authors always deliver, the mystery is intriguing and there are clearly things going on in the world that we will learn about in future books. Michael Fell brings all the characters to life with skill and flair.

Enjoyable story with intriguing mystery

Content warning for kidnapping, trauma, forced mating, and presumed sexual assault of a secondary character. This action occurs 'off-page', but the trauma and suffering have lasting effects on the victim and other characters. Usual shifter violence when two alphas fight to the death (brief, but semi-graphic).

I really enjoyed this audiobook and the slightly different take on the shifter world. It has a bit of a dystopian feel with 'the condition' taking out most of the omegas, and the alphas going aggressive and practically feral without them. There is some drama and trauma here (see my warnings). Although the actual crimes occur off-page, the aftereffects are very evident and tragic. There are a couple mysteries here. The big one is 'the condition', what causes it, and why some packs' omegas were decimated, while other packs suffered less. (Note: This mystery is touched on but not really advanced, so I presume it will be picked up in future books.) There is also a smaller mystery in the alpha who helped Brook. Not sure if his appearance was a one time thing or if he will play a larger role later on. I really loved Linden and Colt and the way they both grew and came to realize they were much more than what they originally thought. I'm looking forward to more from this world. I sure hope we get a book about Brook and his healing. He deserves a good alpha (not sure that would be Linden's brother, either!)

The narration was very good and really brought the characters to life. I loved the snarky attitude of Colt.

I received a free copy of this audiobook and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.

Black Moon

This is my first listen/read of Burns/Fawkes, but it won't be my last. I really liked the story and the characters. Linden and Colt are so perfect for one another. I'm ready for more. I enjoyed Fell’s narration after I sped it to 1.3.

Another (interesting) take on shifter lore!

A sickness that affects only omegas, a relatively successful wolf pack, a kidnapping, an Alpha doctor
(Linden), an omega journalist (Colt) and pack politics. Just a few of the things that make the story interesting.
Linden and Colt make a good couple – together they were able weather issues like Linden’s insecurities about being the pack leader and Colt’s preconceived notions about Alphas, as well as the pack in fighting and mistrust.
Overall, a good story with interesting world-building, good dialogue/banter and interesting characters. A good start to the series.
Michael Fell was a very good choice for the narration. He has a good range of voices for the different
characters, good pacing/timing and portrayed their emotions really well. He made the story an
enjoyable experience.

Black moon

I like the world building and also the background that sets the mood for this pack. Linden is not the typical Alpha but he is kind hearted and had left his pack to study medicine. When Colt arrives as per Skip’s invitation, the attraction to Linden established. He is a reporter and with a prominent family. They might not be the stereotype for who they are in wolf world but they are a cute match and they are strong. I enjoyed the book. Hope to read the next one in the series soon. Great narration.

so good!

I loved the everyday alpha role of Linden. He's your "Joe regular" and I loved him for it! He's an alpha bit doesn't need to do all the alpha posturing that is present in so many books. Linden cares deeply for everyone and was humbled to be chosen as pack alpha. it was refreshing! I loved the underlying intrigue of "the Condition" and am so interested to see where it goes and where it came from.
I loved confident, fierce and independent Colt. He's the perfect jucstaposition to Linden and while his family kind of sucks I love his big heart! and omg Brooke! I felt for him so badly and I look forward to his healing, recovery and hopefully HEA!
A great start to this series and world and I'm itching for more!!