Julie Hall thinks she has the hang of mothering her Werewolf baby Carson, until the night she wakes to frantic barking and finds her house on fire. Arson. Paranormal fire creatures want to kill Carson—and an unknown Were may be helping them.
As if fire-spawning Salamanders and a mysterious Werewolf aren't dangerous enough, Julie soon faces even closer threats. Her trusted friend Eliza harbors a secret and Julie’s new understanding of Werewolves threatens to tear apart her team. Meanwhile, her relentless enemies will burn everything in their path, if they can’t get to Carson.
Will Julie’s efforts to protect Carson do more harm than good?
310 pages, Kindle Edition
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
All Things Urban Fantasy
1,921 reviews618 followers
December 22, 2017
Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy
Tension is a major mood in WAXING MOON which is felt in so many tones from Julie having to deal with conflicting desires for how Julie should live her life to the very real threat of a rival supernatural group bent on killing her son, Carson. Much of the story is action-packed and pretty thrilling to read. What I was most intrigued by was the expansion of the werewolf culture and world along with the new supernatural adversaries, the Salamanders. We get to figure out more about the types of werewolves there are and exactly how their powers work along with their long standing feud with the Salamanders. While I am not a fan of naming a group of people who are not a sports team or actual salamanders, Salamanders, I found them to be excellent and dangerous adversaries especially with their powers which are an exact contrast to the werewolves' powers.
Part of the tension felt between Julie and the werewolf pack is in how they want to care for Carson and in their conversations, we see the insular and at times prejudice nature of the culture the pack wants to indoctrinate Carson into. While the pack is well meaning and generally are good people, I could really feel for Julie in her need to control the situation with Carson and his being a werewolf as much as she can.
Overall, WAXING MOON is a great continuation of this series, that expands on the universe through new threats to Julie, her son, and the pack. There are some new revelations that happen at the very end that assuaged my concerns in the first book about how long the series could go on without feeling like it was in a holding pattern.
- reviewed-by-kristina
Fangs for the Fantasy
1,449 reviews191 followers
November 23, 2017
Julie is getting used to raising her powerful werewolf baby - and is still determined to do so alone, in her own home in her own town despite pressure to move to join the rest of the Pack
But when her house is burned down by a supernatural force she never knew about which may be in direct opposition to the powerful werewolf Carson is becoming. Can she assert her independence as a mere human in this world of dangerous supernatural beings fighting over her child?
In my review of the last book, I questioned how this series would continue after the events of the first book. I did suspect there would be some really convoluted way that Julie would end up being bitten and become a werewolf and then have many exciting adventures.
Oh how very different this turned out to be.
The conflict of this book is how much Julie gets to live her own life and how much control she has over raising her own son. It exposes a lot of the glaring problems with werewolf culture that have been briefly touched on but not explored in the last book
None of this is done clumsily. I mean, I would have frowned at this if all the nice people from the first book suddenly turned into hateful monsters. Instead we see it in their general attitudes, who is valued. Who is respected. Looking back among all the action of the previous book we see a lot of subtle or not overly flagged actions now from a very different light. Even how everyone is utterly fawning and excited over her son Carson; lots of little moments
And given how powerful Carson is, to Julie this is just all the more important why she needs to separate him from the damaging prejudices of a society that could have him absorb so
Again, it’s done really subtly, with the battle they’re fighting serving as a perfect background for people to make harsh decisions in the name of “safety”. It’s balanced to be very realistic - perhaps even something we could easily understand and go along with if it weren’t for Julie’s excellent insight.
This also brings excellent further exploration of Julie’s insistence of living her own life in her own town - but I think the best part of this was also looking at Julie’s extremely good friend Eliza. Loyal, supportive, passionate, determined, a good woman AND WRONG. Because you can be a good person and still be part of a deeply flawed, prejudiced system; you can be a good person and perpetuate inexcusable things within that system and being a good person doesn’t make it ok. That’s a nuance that is far superior to the simplistic narratives we see elsewhere
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Wendy Schindler
3 reviews3 followers
January 2, 2020
Sarah E. Stevens has done it again! This sequel to Dark Moon Wolf is full of well-developed, interesting characters (including many strong women characters - which I love), intriguing plot twists and turns, and complex themes of love, friendship, family, and betrayal. The suspense kept me riveted and I found myself reading the entire book in one go - I just couldn't put it down. Stevens has created a magical world with amazing creatures not previously seen in paranormal literature. Waxing Moon exceeded all of my expectations and I'm full of anticipation for what's to come for Julie and her gang!
- badass-women
Patricia Macmillan
4 reviews1 follower
January 2, 2019
Such a fun read. I love the characters in these books and stay up way to late to see what happens.
Sandi Ramirez
1,858 reviews13 followers
January 8, 2018
Definitely Recommend Read.... unique take on paranormal activity....
This is the second book in this series. I hope there is another book to tell us more about Julie, and Carson's life after this. I really enjoyed reading a different slant on the paranormal community. Adding salamanders to the mix made for quite an interesting read. As I was reading this book , I kept wanting to take different characters off into certain relationships myself... wonder if the author will take them there herself. Hope so. Well written and detailed. With a unique slant on paranormal. Definitely recommend this one.
- 2018reading-challenge
Lissette
Author 26 books103 followers
October 17, 2017
Julie Hall never imagined raising a Werewolf. Though her Werewolf genes are recessive, her son is far stronger than those who have come before him. Protecting him is first and foremost, most especially now that there are those intent on doing away with him. She can't imagine as to why anyone would take the life of such a harmless being. Granted, Carson is far too different to truly know what he'll be like later on in life. Nevertheless, she'll do whatever is necessary to ensure her son's survival.
From the moment you open up this book, the action doesn't stop flowing. We're thrown deep into the heart of Julie's plight, watching her do everything possible to protect the child she's brought into the world around her. This is a woman who knows almost nothing about the paranormal world. She was brought into it by accident and has been slowly learning how to navigate through the chaos that now surrounds her.
Sarah has taken this paranormal world a step further, broadening the lore behind all things Werewolf. She's shown us a world where they coexist alongside humans, albeit keeping their existence to a minimum when it comes to the world outside. Werewolves like in packs, far protective of those they love. They mingle amongst themselves, often losing what it means to truly be human. They'll do anything and everything to ensure their survival, including doing away with those who wish to do them harm.
Though Julie has a hard time in dealing with the chaos, she also finds the strength within herself to do whatever is necessary when it comes to Carson. Her friends and family are always there for her, giving her the helping hand she needs. It's refreshing to see her struggles and vulnerabilities displayed in such a way that it allows the reader to relate to her plight. She's resilient, to a point, but she's still a woman who often loses herself to the emotions roiling within her.
Though her existence is tenuous, at best, she's willing to fight for what she believes in. This is what drew me to her. She's been through so much, but she's still determined in remaining level-headed. Everything she does, she does to ensure that her son has a chance to live. He may be the strongest Werewolf out there, but he's still a part of her. Nothing and no one will keep her from protecting him and those she loves.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
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