Full Moon Rising (Trilogy of the Wolf 01) by J.A.J. Hutchisson and J.L. Hutchisson

Title: Full Moon Rising
Author: J.A.J. Hutchisson and J.L. Hutchisson
Series: Trilogy of the Wolf 01
Read Type: Indie Author
Stars: With more if I could!

You can purchase a copy of this book from Amazon UK and Amazon US

You can find out more about the authors on Facebook and their website. I am also excited to be doing and interview with them in the near future

Book Blurb

"Somewhere in this world, there is a man who can protect her. What I saw told me that he is the only one who can. I do not know what this man looks like, nor do I know his name. What I do know is that this man is a werewolf."

When Constin Sal Tamind, an Elder Priest in Heartfield, hears this prophesy about his daughter, Olesa, he does what he thinks is right and flees with her. With an approaching army blocking his route out of Heartfield, Constin goes to a friend of his that may know a way out of the city.

Constin, Olesa and a few close friends make it out of the city, but that is where the trouble begins. The group gets split when bandits attack their camp. Constin is then thrown into a desperate search to find and rescue Olesa. He only hopes he can find her before something terrible happens.

Review

Strong language: Some
Drugs: None
Violence: Graphic
Sexual content: None

I received a copy of this novel in return for an unbiased review

As the novel opens, picturesque like an old movie, a priest is called to visit the resident seer. The shocking news he receives, that his daughter is in great danger and only a werewolf can protect her, sends him reeling. No way is he letting a vicious man-eater near his little girl, despite the seer's protests of the necessity, and differences in this wolf. Soon he is on the run, taking with him the woman he hired to care for Olesa when he could not, another priest, and a brothel owner and his son. They hire a woodsman to get them through the forest and hope to find shelter beyond.

Soon things go awry, the prophesy has started, leaving Olesa in danger and separated from the people she loves.

This story mixed strong characters and locations that jumped off the page to draw you in from page one. This left the start, particularly the tension of everything going on, a bit weak in places, but this soon kicked up into stints of action heroes and exploration. Amongst these we had a priest and a hardened man of the woods swapping roles in who was the better man, amazingly written grief that tugs at your heart and characters being pulled together without their knowing it. The emotions, I felt, were the real drivers of this story, and gave a good few kicks to the gut along the way.

I was particularly taken with the character of Draikin, a strange, silent man who unwillingly agrees to walk this mis-matched group of women, children, priests, and men of less savoury occupations, through a dangerous wood, trying to keep his distance. Soon however he finds himself risking everything repeatedly to keep them safe, and in return learns not everybody takes you at face value. Nevertheless, he still has the roughest ride of all of them in my opinion, but he was the shining star of the novel.

I felt the major fight scenes, in particular the first one with untrained vs. very trains opponents was a weak spot in the story. This for me was because while the authors had spent much time making sure every bow and parry of the POV character was shown, and often glimpses of thoughts on why, there was very little emotion. He could have been a brainwashed fighter, but I know this is a very hard aspect of writing to balance.

As the story drew on and groups joined and parted, whether because they were taken or chose to do something else, it was interesting to watch the group dynamics change as to who led and who slipped into the background.

Prisoners rarely escape their prisons, whether they are actual or imaginary. If they can find a larger purpose to live and use it as a driving force, a prisoner will get much farther.

As for the young girl, Olesa who this prophesy was based around I felt she was handled very well. There were times when she was kidnapped, times when she was presumably naked or in very bad condition. Many of the New York Times best seller's authors would have tried to make an outcry by using this as a suggestion of sexual attacks or looks. The authors of this story however, knew where that line was and elegantly kept away from it without leaving any suspicious fade to black scenes. I was very impressed.

Finally, we come to the werewolf of the story. I cannot say nearly as much as I would like about this creature without giving spoilers, but I felt it was a very deep character with a mission buried so deep it its soul it could not think, only react. I was elated to read the scenes when it triumphed, and crushed on the occasions when it seemed all was lost.

All I can say about the ending is it was a real shocker. I think I know where the story may head next, but left as it was, I was dumbstruck.

The 411

I'm in a good mood, this was a fantastic book, with the only issues I could find being related to subjects even the best struggle to achieve. I love the characters, the flow of the plot and the emotions relayed across the page.

Of course, seeing a bad priest get his comeuppance was a bonus. Hmm, a priest who isn't as holy as he seems, imagine that!

I would give more than 5 stars if I could!