Shadow of the Moon by Rachel Hawthorne

This is the fourth book in the Dark Guardian series by Rachel Hawthorne.

My review of #1: Moonlight.
My review of #2: Full Moon.
My review of #3: Dark of the Moon.

Hayden is not like the rest of the shifters in her pack. She hasn't shifted yet, but will be coming up with the next full moon, so she can't communicate with her pack members with their thoughts.

She can however, feel any shifter's emotions. For some reason she is the only one that can feel their emotions and she can't find the off button to keep the emotions from affecting her.

So she has been going to school with Statics, or humans, because she doesn't feel their emotions and it's easier to be around people that way.

But now that she is getting ready for her first shift, she needs to be around her pack members. And she has to try and find a mate before the full moon arrives. But it's so hard to get anywhere near a Shifter, that finding a guy to do the transformation with seems impossible.

After a harvester arrived - a monster that kills any shifter during their transformation by stealing their essence and capturing their soul - he claims that Hayden will be the next shifter that he will take during the next full moon. And if she does find a mate, then he will die too because they will be connected during the shift.

So Hayden does the best thing and leaves the pack. She finds a small town and works at a coffee shop. It was going well for 3 weeks, but then Daniel walked through the door, another shifter who has hunted her down.

The weird thing it, Hayden can't read Daniel's emotions - and she always feels another shifter's emotions. When he said that he was there to take Hayden back to the pack before her transformation happened, they came at a stalemate. Hayden will go with him after the winter season was finished and the skiiers went back to school so she could still work at the coffee shop.

But that meant that Hayden and Daniel spent a lot of time together. Hayden kept trying to run away and Daniel kept catching her. Things got interesting, though, when Hayden couldn't stop thinking about Daniel, and it seemed like it was the same the other way around.

However, Hayden does go back to the world where she feels everyone's emotions. And they are extremely tense because of the harvester. Now Hayden has to worry about her feelings for Daniel, along with attempting to destroy the harvester while shifting for the first time without a mate. Because she will not allow anyone else to die with her if they should fail. Read Shadow of the Moon by Rachel Hawthorne to find out what happens!

My Thoughts/Reflections
I know I said I liked the third novel in the series in the previous review, but this fourth and final novel is by far my favorite! I loved it right from the beginning and I didn't want to put it down until I was done!

I loved Hayden. Imagine having to feel everyone's emotions plus your own and trying to butt out of everyone's lives. Not as easy as one might think - nor that entertaining when getting attacked by a feeling of fear or love at any given time.

I really liked the first scene with Hayden and Daniel. The way he wasn't given up trying to take Hayden back to the pack and the way he kept observing her, not taking his eyes off of her while she worked at the coffee shop was probably my favorite. Hayden could feel the intensity of his gaze and made sure the reader felt it too!

I admire Hayden's choice of running off and saving the pack from a battle with the harvester. With all of the tales she heard about the first transformation being horrible and gut-wrenching, she decided that she would still leave and do it on her own rather than risk other's lives.

I'm not sure why I liked this novel the best out of the four of them. Maybe it was because Hayden was different from any of the other lead female characters. She felt like a loner because no one wanted to get close to her and have her read their feelings.

But this was definitely my favorite and I kinda just want to buy this one out of the four. It's not like I need all four - they could all be standalones kind of because they have a different narrator for each novel, going through their own stories while also continuing the overall Shifter world.

So, anyone who wants to read another world of werewolves or shape shifters, I would recommend this to you! A good series, glad I read it, and I think others will too!

Dark of the Moon by Rachel Hawthorne

This is the third book in the Dark Guardians series by Rachel Hawthorne.

My review of #1: Moonlight.
My review of #2: Full Moon.

Warning - This book has spoilers from book 2, Full Moon. Read further at your own risk!

The one thing Brittany has been preparing for is to shift on the full moon after her 17th birthday. But when the moon came and went, Brittany didn't shift - she's not a Dark Guardian.

All of the training and eating right could not have prepared her for this blow. After talking to her mother, she found out that her father was human, and apparently his genes are more dominate than a shifter's genes.

When she came back from her "first shift", everyone assumed that she shifted by herself, which is a big deal because it's said that female shifters can't survive it without a male. Brittany let everyone think that and wanted to try the next full moon - to see if it was just a glitch in the night, even though she had her doubts.

The night she was supposed to shift, so was her friend Lindsey. With her mate, Connor. Who Brittany has loved since the moment they met. But he was promised to Lindsey and Brittany wasn't able to tell Connor how she really felt.

But when Brittany came back, she found out that Connor wasn't Lindsey's mate. And now Connor is free to choose whomever he wants as a mate, if he finds her.

Brittany wants to tell him now, but with not being a shifter and Bio-Chrome and Mason out there trying to capture a werewolf, it isn't the right time.

Connor and Brittany start to get closer, though, making it really hard for Brittany to keep her secret from him and everyone else in the pack.

Then, Connor and Brittany get captured by Mason, who is bound and determine to get the right serum to change into a werewolf. Will both of them be able to escape again from Mason and destroy all of his research he's compiled about the shifters? What will Connor do when he finds out that Brittany really isn't a shifter, but just a human? Read Dark of the Moon by Rachel Hawthorne to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
Brittany is by far my favorite character in this series. She is so tough and always has to prove herself to the community, because deep down she had a feeling that she might not be like the rest of the pack. She's althetic, in shape, serious, and determined. All qualities that I like in a female lead character!

And when she found out that she wasn't a shifter, she decided to figure out the reason why and fix it, rather than throw a fit and whine about it. She's a fighter!

I like that Connor and Brittany were able to get to know each other without another mate or interest in the way. From the first and second novels, the reader was able to figure out that Brittany had a serious crush on Connor but couldn't do anything because of Lindsey being his mate.

I wish that the novel would have ended the way I imagined when finding out that Brittany didn't shift during the first full moon, but this ending was alright as well.

I liked this novel better than the second because Brittany had a purpose and was bound to fix her problem, rather than just thinking about it and contemplating about it.

I'm excited to read the fourth and final novel because I don't know who the female character is, and it seems that she is a little different than the other shifters so far in this series!

Full Moon by Rachel Hawthorne

This is the second novel in the Dark Guardian series by Rachel Hawthorne.

My review of #1: Moonlight.

Growing up knowing she was a shifter, Lindsey knows what to expect the night of the full moon after her 17th birthday. And since she was 15, she's known who her mate is: Connor.

Every memory that Lindsey has from the past includes Connor. Family trips, school events, you name it. Connor and Lindsey's parents are close friends and they kept the two of them really close, expecting them to be together. So it was an easy decision when that's what Connor did - named Lindsey his mate.

But there's a bit of a problem...

Rafe came back from college with Connor and Lucas, and now Lindsey can't stop thinking about him. Every time she looks at Rafe, it feels like she is getting zapped by a lightning bolt.

So now Lindsey is having second and third and fourth guesses as to who she should be mated with. Rafe, the bad boy, outcast in the group who is silent but observant and makes Lindsey dream intensely, or Connor, her best friend, the boy she grew up with, has been with since she was 1 years old.

She can't pick. There are pros and cons to both boys and it's impossible to pick between the two of them.

When the full moon comes, though, Lindsey will have to choose. Because no female has survived their first shift without their mate there to help them through it.

And because Lindsey doesn't have enough to worry about, the group needs to be aware of Mason coming back for revenge after losing his werewolf during the summer. And he's brought a mean group of guys and Rottweilers to help him capture another werewolf for his experiments.

Who will Lindsey choose? Will she choose the right guy? And will the group be able to avoid Mason again? Read Full Moon by Rachel Hawthorne to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
I really liked that this story was about Lindsey instead of Kayla like the first novel in the series. Gives the reader the chance to get to know the other characters while also following the story line with Mason and the science experiment for creating werewolf genes.

And while I did like having another character to read about, I found that Lindsey's story and personality didn't mesh well with me. She seemed too whiny and indecisive. I understand that she's known Connor longer and knows him more than Rafe. Fine. But don't complain that you can't pick one. It just drove me insane for the most part.

Maybe I was biased because when the reader was introduced to all three of the guys in the first novel, I was very intrigued with Rafe out of the three of them. And the connection he has with Lindsey made me pick him more so than Connor. But it might just be me :)

Overall, I enjoyed the novel. Not as much as the first, but that's just because of the constant battle in Lindsey's head.

I'm excited to read about Brittany in the third novel to see what the big she-alpha is going to do!

I would recommend this to anyone who likes stories about werewolves. Also, I don't think it's completely necessary to read the first one before this one. It's pretty self-explanatory and it's not about the same characters as the first novel.

However, it will be more effective, I think, if it's read in the right order.

Moonlight by Rachel Hawthorne

This is the first book in the Dark Guardian series by Rachel Hawthorne.

Ever since Kayla's biological parents were killed in the forest, Kayla has had nightmares about the forest, darkness, and wolves.

When her psychiatrist suggested that facing her fears and going back to the woods where her parents were killed, Kayla decided that it couldn't hurt. She's an outdoor person so being outside wouldn't bother her. Just the area itself to face what happened to her when she was five.

This is her second summer coming to work for the state park taking tourists into the forest and back. And the feelings she gets when Lucas is around her makes her uncomfortable but electric. And he's also technically her boss who hasn't shown any interest, romantically, toward Kayla.

So she's keeping her distance and sticking close with her friend, Lindsey, that she made last summer.

But when the group of hikers that Kayla works with are assigned to take a big science group out to the deepest parts of the forest for their observations, things get a little tense.

Kayla gets a feeling that someone, or something, is watching them from the shadows of the forest.

And the group of grad students with their science professor are a little odd as well. Especially when they start talking about werewolves being real and that they are in the forest to capture one to experiment on.

And for some reason, they think Lucas is a werewolf.

But he's not. Instead he is a shifter. And he has a secret that he tells Kayla. And now Kayla has to decide if she wants the life she's always had or to be with Lucas and the supernatural factors that come along with it. Read Moonlight by Rachel Hawthorne to find out what Kayla decides to do!

My Thoughts/Reflections
I found this through Goodreads recommendations and I'm glad I read the synopsis! I thought it was a good book with a common, but unique, story line.

What Kayla went through as a child was horrible, but she was raised well through an adoptive family who loved her like their own and Kayla didn't want for anything growing up. Well, except to know what really happen to her biological parents.

So she was brave enough to go back to the place they were killed to try and figure out what happened. I don't know how many 17 year olds would be brave enough to do that!

The attraction and connection between Lucas and Kayla was odd. First he didn't talk to her and then, BAM, attraction and they can't get enough of each other. There were no stolen kisses and then awkward moments throughout the book - it all came at once, making the reader want more (or at least that's how I felt).

I felt like I flew through this novel, which might just be because Hawthorne's writing was really fast paced. I did think the tangents Kayla thought about were a bit much, but I can't be too picky.

Overall, I really enjoyed it and think that others who like supernatural stories and stories about werewolves/shifters will enjoy this novel. This is the first is a four novel series, all of which are out and all of which I have with me and will be reading them as fast as possible :)