Seventeen year-old Nikki Harmon knows that her life will never be the same. Forced to move after her father's death, she was determined to keep what was left of her life together--even if she couldn't get cell service.
What she didn't know, was that she would encounter mythical creatures in her quest to solve the mystery of the Trail Killer, and that she would be torn by her feelings for two very different guys.
As she unearths the deadliest secrets of all...will she lose her heart to one of them?
K.R. Thompson was raised in the mountains of rural Virginia. She resides in Bland County with her husband, son, two cats and an undeterminable amount of chickens. She is an avid reader, firm believer of magic, and still watches for evidence of Bigfoot in the mud of Wolf Creek. She can be found on her website-- http://authorkrthompson.wix.com/theke...
This story is about Nikki, a teenage girl who has just moved to a new school. There are many new things she will learn about herself, and she will meet some very interesting people. One of those people is Adam, who is also a werewolf. The existence of werewolves in this book has a very interesting back story, and I have never read anything similar to it. Usually we readers are expected to just accept their existence, but I enjoyed learning about their culture and why they exist.
There are some other very interesting mythical creatures in this story including sasquatch, and spritebloods. There are also plenty of real wildlife, and I especially loved that Adam was able to communicate with them so easily. I also loved reading along as Nikki’s gift revealed itself and as she learned how to control it.
There is a sinister presence that seems determined to do her harm, lending a dash of suspense to this tale. The facts were hidden well enough that I did not know how things would turn out, and I’m usually pretty good at figuring out a mystery. I have to admit I was surprised by the ending, which was cleverly done. This is definitely a series that holds a reader’s interest!
After Nikki's father passes away, her mom, little sister and her move to Bland, Virginia to live in her great-grandmother's house. Between the look of the city and the name, Nikki thinks her life is going to be extremely boring.
But looks can be deceiving.
The forest behind her house is full of magic and secrets. There are also some people who are not happy to see Nikki and her family. Between the mean girl at school trying to make her life miserable and the Trail Killer, there is never a dull moment in Bland.
On top of all that, there are two boys who are vying for Nikki's attention. Her new best friend Brian and the mysterious, aloof Adam. While she feels comfortable around Brian, there is just something about Adam that draws her to him. The connection with him is strong and undeniable.
As Nikki embarks on her new journey in Bland, she will learn that not only is there more than meets the eye within Bland, but there is more than meets the eye within her. She will discover who she really is, the power she holds and what fate has in store for her. But will she find out before it's too late?
I do have to admit that in the beginning I was a little worried that I wouldn't end up finishing this book. When it comes to YA paranormal novels, I try my best to go in with an open mind. But when a book starts to feel like another book I have read, I get a little apprehensive. In this case, it had a definite Twilight feel to it, except with wolves instead of vampires. There were so many scenes and aspects in the beginning that were similar that I started listing them off to one of my book buddies. I had even mentioned that if it continued on like this, I would not finish the book. I was pleasantly surprised when the author's unique twist entered into the book and it intrigued me enough to continue with the book. I am glad that I gave this book the full chance that it deserved.
I really did enjoy my first book by K.R. Thompson. I will definitely be checking out more books by her.
Before I get to the review, there are a couple of things I have to say about writing for a young adult audience. I am a very harsh critic when it comes to reviewing young adult literature and this particular novel was a trial. I really wanted to enjoy it, but I couldn’t. The writing left something to be desired.
This novel was a huge disappointment. I loved the Prologue, but it was as if the rest of the novel was written by a completely different writer. The narrative contained very little description and was riddled with ellipses and exclamation points and grammatical and punctuation mistakes. Although the ending was good, it failed to live up to the promise of the Prologue. Unfortunately, I cannot in good conscience recommend this novel, but I feel K.M. Thompson has great promise. She is great at throwing in plot twists and using the unexpected and I am incredibly curious to read her next book. Writing is about improving and the more a writer writes, the better he or she gets. Therefore, I believe her next novel will be better and she will continue to improve and grow with every word she composes. I can’t wait to see how she grows in the future and I am interested in learning what happens to these characters.
I am not usually into YA books but loved this one. Well written and had a good story line and plot. Nikki moves to Virginia with her Mom and little sister Emily after her Dad's accidental death to start over. They inherited her great-grandmothers house. Moving next to the local Indian reservation. Nikkie makes friends with her nearest neighbor named Brian a really nice boy who shows her the ropes at her new High school. Then she meets the boys from the reservation. The leader Adam and his friends are really nice boys and her and Adam have a spark from the start even though it takes a few days to admit it. They also have a serial killer known as the trail killer who kill hikers. They only find the gear never to find the bodies again. This has been going on for a few years now.
I don't want to go farther and drop spoilers but this is a werewolf paranormal book with a few other little creatures thrown in. It has twists and turns and It kept me guessing through most of the book. It had a surprise ending that I liked. I can't wait for the next book. I have never said that about a YA book except for a Terry Spear book.
I honestly could not read this fast enough...truly a page turner. Fast paced story with mystery and magic interwoven beautifully. This story is definitely a unique take on werewolves and I have enjoyed the "history" given thoroughly.
I became invested in Nikki's character within the first couple of pages. I quickly liked Brian and Adam as well. Their relationships are that of typical teenagers, but there is an added dimension and maturity that each have because of events in their past. To me this made the story all the more real since they act and make decisions with greater care than normal teenagers would because they have experienced more in their young lives. The supporting characters, both magical and non-magical, drive the story forward and give it more depth.
The action is detailed and the setting descriptive. I love how the magical and non-magical are contrasted so well using all of our senses. I think my favorite setting is Nikki's house. How it is described and transformed brings it to life for me.
I absolutely adored this book! What a great paranormal read. This is a Y/A book but even as a 40 plus woman, I loved it. I loved the magic, the mystery, the storyline, the characters, etc.
This was a well written story with great descriptions to detail. The magical element was actually very believable and drew me in. I was able to figure out rather quickly what was going to happen but that didn't take away from the story, it just made me want to read it faster to verify that I was correct, and I was.
I look forward to reading number 2. The characters were so easy to fall in love with, and their dialogue was easy to follow. All in all, a fantastic read.
Awesome story.. 5 stars, I love reading mythology and this story with its native Legends was a very exciting read! A fast paced story full of adventure, suspense and intrigue. Ms Thompson has dragged me into this world of legend and myth and has left me wanting more...
Beautifully written and throughly entertaining..
Would recommend this book to all fans of mythology, paranormal, fantasy and magic.. For young and old alike..
Started off like a twilight knock off and then started to get interesting. Unfortunately it fell flat as it failed to develop beyond a 1D plane. Relationships between characters were not unfolded but rather stated abruptly and without much depth and continued that way through out the story. It looked like it could be a good story but ended up being quite boring and unengaging.
Other then some typos this was a good book. Seems no one hires proof readers anymore! Makes it hard to read books these days, but it shows it was a good book, as I usually cannot get through books with typos! Would recommend!
American Indian Wolf shifters in High School track a serial killer in the forest around their reservation while keeping a potential non-tribal Seer safe. Nice beginning to a new series and recommend to those who love shifter books.
I think the cover is beautiful. I also think the story is going to be a great read. I hope I win the book, fingers crossed. Thank you for the giveaway.
Marked it dnf at 62%. I trudged through so far, but just couldn't go any forget. Didn't connect with me and kept getting worse. MC reactions were just so unrealistic.
I will be the first to admit that stories with werewolves are my favorite paranormal creature so when I found "Hidden Moon," I knew I wanted to read it. Our story begins with a high school junior, Nikki moving to a small town with her mother and sister after the death of her father. They inherited her great grandmother's house and with the small insurance money they received were going to try to make a life for themselves in a new place.
Upon arrival, Nikki sees a Native American boy outside her bedroom window. He doesn't seem friendly but she is strangely drawn to him. Also, the house is in bad repair which surprises Nikki and her mom. A management company was suppose to be taking care of it and that had not occurred. As Nikki tries to get comfortable, Anita, the neighbor down the road shows up to welcome them with her son, Brian. Rumor has it that Anita was raped many years ago and Nikki's great grandmother helped her out. Now she works for the sheriffs department.
Brian offers to drive Nikki to school and they quickly become friends. However, Nikki also learns that the boy she saw outside her window is named Adam and for some strange reason, she can hear his thoughts. Soon Brian and Adam are rivals for Nikki's affection but something is out there lurking and killing girls. He is known as the Trail Killer and now he has Nikki in his sights.
The plot for this story at times felt a little reminiscent of Twilight and the writing was pretty rudimentary; yet, I did enjoy the world building and characters. The story within the story keep me quite entertained and guessing who the killer was until the very end. If you are interested in this series, I would highly recommend that you purchase the box set of the first three books. It is free! You cannot beat that!
I've recently decided to dive into the world of kindle unlimited which provides some very... interesting books. This was one of them. I'm a sucker for teen romance. Read the description and said fuck it, why not. Anyways, into the pros and cons which will most definitely include spoilers.
Anyways, read it if you want a good cringe or find these sub par romance books funny.
What a delightful novel! It has a similar feel to the Twilight series, but the mystery part goes the entire length of the story! I never did figure out who the villain was until almost the very end. The book is well written.
The author has a wonderful way of describing how the boys transform to animal form. I could almost feel the fur on his shoulder. I could feel the mist coming off the boy as he changed to his wolf form.
Nikki is 17 years old and moved to a new home after her grandmother leaves the house to Nikki's mom. Nikki must start over in a new school, a new house, and a new town. As she begins to navigate all the new things, she is befriended by Brian, who lives just down the road and volunteers to take her to and from school till she gets her own transportation. She also makes friends with Ronnie, who writes for the school newspaper and is a cheerleader, along with Adam, one of the group of kids from the Res (Reservation). Adam and his cohorts are just a bit different. Nikki is assigned to be Adam's study partner in English class and they form a friendship. But someone is killing female hikers in the woods that are between Nikki's house and the Res...someone from town...someone evil. It's not safe in the woods...
The story includes some information in Native American culture, some mythology of werewolves, and a lovely teenage love triangle.
I liked this story more than I thought I would and I happened upon it while searching for a good wolf series. I am glad that I did, I think the author is a talented story teller, and the story definitely doesn't turn out how I thought it would so kudos for having some twists, turns and surprises. There is some good character development and I think this world has alot of potential. The story does end on a cliff hanger but kind of gives you a clue about what's to come in the next book. I couldn't give it a 5 because there were some grammatical errors and there were some parts in the book that just didn't make sense, so I had to reread them and they still didn't make sense so I just had to go with it. Also Nikki is just too accepting of everything she finds out about herself, it's like hey you are part of this legend, and she's just like ok cool. For a character who's supposed to be 17, she definitely acts much older and it just isn't quite believable. Also when she falls in love right after a kiss, also not believable. The author definitely is telling a make believe fantasy, you definitely will get the vibe, so you just have to roll with it otherwise you won't be able to enjoy the story. There is alot of this story that you're just like - really, did that just happen? So you have to open up your mind. I think the build up of the story itself could be a little better, but we will see how the next one goes.
Imagine if Bella had fallen for Jacob from the start, and the bad guy was just another guy in Jacob's tribe. There, that's the plot. Only Jacob is hotter (literally and figuratively) and although Jacob (in Twilight) doesn't get the girl, there was still more chemistry between them than these two. I like some elements of the world building that aren't in Twilight. There are more mythical creatures in these woods. And as someone who has been in those mountains, I appreciate the setting, although it could have been so much more richly described. That area has God's hands all over it, and all we hear about is thick trees (but no description of them, no mention of what kinds of trees) and some roots. Will I keep reading? For now. I'm hoping Brian gets a better story, and I am interested in the (very) mild cliff hanger at the end. I usually hate cliffhangers. They make me feel manipulated. This one is mild enough you could walk away from the series if you wanted.
Finally, I am not the age of the target market, so keep that in mind, although I do like clean romance in modern fantasy books. Hoping the next in the series is more engaging.
Wolves and moons and so not what you would expect. I don't want to give too much away so bear with me. Mystery? Check. First it seemed a simple one mystery story line but it twisted off path to so much more. There are multiple mysteries running through the story. Keeps you on your toes. I like contemplating on solving said mysteries and uncovering the plot. Also, lots of magic and "creatures" appear as well as a completely unexpected ending. Yep surprised for sure. The reason I gave it a 4 is because some portions of the story...not many but yet still there...reminded me of another well known story. The one with vampires (no vampires here, at least not yet) and the new girl in town. I won't mention the title because those of you paranormal fantasy fiction loving friends will know what story I'm referring to. I just don't want to dissuade you from reading this book. Just some parallels between them but not enough to be considered the same.
Twilight meets Faeries/Slasher movie. Werewolves from a tribe, soul mates (imprinting), and magical powers with Faerie creatures...if there were vampires instead, it would be Twilight.
It was quite an annoying plotline, with the usual love triangle, and it bothers me that the girl thinks kissing her best friend is okay. It is even more annoying that she never looks back and assesses her relationship or the situation. Is she clueless? How can she not recognise what just happen and still go on unaware that her best friend is mad that she kissed him and immediately jumped into a relationship with someone else.
Anyway, the grammar was atrocious. The cliche, evil-barbie-doll-cheerleader is too predictable. And the perfect girl who suddenly turns into a clumsy, swooning dolt when she meets a cute guy...ugh. Sorry, I just didn't find this one to be good enough to continue.
For my clean readers: Mild language, kissing, violence, and descriptive gore.
Seventeen year-old Nikki Harmon knows that her life will never be the same. Forced to move after her father's death, she is determined to keep what is left of her family together, even if she can't get cell service. What she doesn't know, is that she will encounter mythical creatures in her quest to solve the mystery of the Trail Killer, and that she will be torn by her feelings for two very different guys. As she unearths the deadliest secret of all--will she lose her heart to one of them, or will she lose her life?
This was a well written and interesting read as well as story line, mixing Native culture and beliefs in along with our usual and unusual creatures of shadows, faeries, nymphs, Sasquatch, and a host of others. We learn of the Keepers and what we don't know is how Nikki is tied to them, but the attraction between her and Adam is unmistakable, and plays out as young love often does, I look forward to seeing where this goes.
It is currently giving off a twilight fanfic vibe, which I am not happy about. Some research beforehand could have helped the author. Cheerleader tryouts happen over more than one day and definitely not in 5 minutes. How did she tryout for cheerleading with no advanced notice, no outfit change etc? How are they just getting to sentence diagramming in their junior year of high school? That is an elementary school learned skill! If you are a high school junior who is labeled as having no developmental delays how do you not know what a noun is? How does her mom know Adam drives a hero when she has never met him before?!? This book was so bad I could read beyond page 65. I would have given it less than 1 star if that was a possibility.
After her father’s death they have to start over! New town, new school, new friends, and new enemies. Someone is stalking and killing women, another girl is missing, and the killer is getting closer! Lots of drama from being a teenager, add in magical beings, Native Americans, wolf shifters, murder and evil watching, waiting. Two boys are in love with the same girl, who will she chose! Where is the missing girl, who is next? Will the boys get there in time? Where is her little sister? How will it end? Why can’t they find her? Wait he is coming, the end is near! ,
This is a good start to a series. One mystery is solved within the pages as a girl learns about native American shapeshifters and foils a bad guy. However, a new twist comes right on the last page of the book....grrrr! Now I'll have to read the next book...I wish this would have been longer and not ended on a cliffhanger, but it is a good introduction to a fantasy coming of age book.
3.5 stars. I liked the story, although the beginning felt very much like Twilight. The style of writing was a little harder for me. I felt some of the things needed a little more explanation instead of being assumed or skimmed over. It feels like the writing needs a little more depth and a little more editing. Overall I enjoyed it though. There was enough intrigue to keep me reading, but I’m not sure I will continue the series.
Chewy was my favorite character even though its appeared briefly in story. I liked how the Indian characters were depicted as educators instead of a secret society. Brian was a strong character then disappeared until end. That was a little disappointing since I wanted to know of his struggles too.
I enjoyed the paranormal aspects of the story. For some reason, the romance didn't resonate with me. I really liked both Nikki and Adam but didn't feel the emotions I typically do with romance novels. This is most likely due to my mood and preferences. I would still recommend this book since it is very engaging.
Ok I wasn’t sure I would like this book the way it started and felt creepy like. Creepy wasn’t what I was looking for at this time. But the more I read the more into I got. It’s not really creep just different and I love it. I can’t wait to read the next one in this series. I love k.r.thompsons work not just this series but her other books as well.