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Five Moons Rising #1
Five Moons Rising: Five Moons Rising, Book 1
Unknown to regular citizens, nightmarish supranormals ("supras") lurk in the dark underbelly of human civilization.
Code-named Malice, Hunter Mary Alice Nolan was genetically modified and rigorously trained to use her great strength, heightened senses, and killer instincts to track and eliminate supras who prey on the innocent. A loner by choice, her only real link to the human world is her close connection to her mother and sister - until the unthinkable happens...
Ruri Samson has been a werewolf for more than a century and is comfortably situated as the Beta of her peaceful pack. Until she is betrayed by the woman she loves and an evil outsider massacres her Alpha and his most loyal followers. Barely escaping with her life, Ruri is forced to tread the perilous path of a lone wolf while vowing vengeance against the usurper and his minions.
Although these two powerful women should rightfully despise each other, fate will soon compel them to join forces on a dangerous quest to avenge their loved ones - and will ignite a forbidden passion that neither of them ever imagined.
Code-named Malice, Hunter Mary Alice Nolan was genetically modified and rigorously trained to use her great strength, heightened senses, and killer instincts to track and eliminate supras who prey on the innocent. A loner by choice, her only real link to the human world is her close connection to her mother and sister - until the unthinkable happens...
Ruri Samson has been a werewolf for more than a century and is comfortably situated as the Beta of her peaceful pack. Until she is betrayed by the woman she loves and an evil outsider massacres her Alpha and his most loyal followers. Barely escaping with her life, Ruri is forced to tread the perilous path of a lone wolf while vowing vengeance against the usurper and his minions.
Although these two powerful women should rightfully despise each other, fate will soon compel them to join forces on a dangerous quest to avenge their loved ones - and will ignite a forbidden passion that neither of them ever imagined.
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First published June 15, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
June 16, 2017
4 1/2 Stars. I really enjoyed this and I want more! Anybody that reads my reviews, has heard me numerous times exclaim my love for fantasy, paranormal, and sci-fi. I have also complained about, the lack of them in lesfic. I just don't understand why, when they are so prevalent in mainstream, especially paranormal. I just love stories that set my imagination racing. This is the first time I have read one of MacTague's books. However, she has been on my radar, for a while, with her sci-fi series On Deception's Edge. With the great reviews, I did not hesitate to pick the series up. Only lack of time, has stopped me from reading it so far. When I heard MacTague was now trying her hands at paranormal... yes please! I'm so happy this read was everything I hope for in a good paranormal story.
The book is about Mary Alice or Malice as she is known and feared as. (I gotta say I loved the name Malice, and it fits!) Malice is a human, who was enhanced by our government. She was sculpted to be the perfect monster killing machine. In this world, demons, weres (wolven) and vamps, reign supreme. But their existence to humans remains a secret. It is up to people like Malice, to dispatch them, when they misbehave. (And by misbehave, that mostly means hurting or killing humans.) When Malice meets Ruri, a wolven, they actually seem to align by having the same goals. The more time they spend together, the closer they get. Can Ruri and Malice work together to rid Chicago of a new evil presence? And can Malice be in a relationship with someone she has spent her adult life killing?
I just want to quickly add, I think the blurb of this book on Goodreads, gives a bit too much of the story away. There is so much I wanted to put in my summary, but you would miss out on some surprises and twists, so I really tried to keep it broad, no spoilers. If my little summary interests you, I'd say skip reading the full book blurb. It just gives a bit too much away. I was happy I had not read it before hand.
This is a pure paranormal story, with some romance mixed it. This story has some grit. There is violence and plenty of killing. It is Malice's job after all. But I really enjoyed how well MacTague still crafted her characters. I really felt like I knew who they were. This was not characters that were just slapped together and put into action. There was plenty of time for character building, and time to get the chemistry between the two mains going. I'm quite happy with how the connection between the two mains built, which is not so easy in a paranormal-action book.
Since both main characters were well crafted, they were both really likeable. I keep switching in my mind, who I enjoyed more, but I can't pin it down. I loved that Malice it such a badass, but she still cares. Ruri, on the other hand, ended up being one of my favorite werewolf characters, that I can remember. Both were just really well written. There was even what I would consider a secondary character, that becomes not so secondary after all. It was well done and added a very interesting storyline.
I can already tell that this is the kind of book, that will stay in my mind for a long time. I don't know if MacTague will turn this into a series, but it is primed for it. I really hope she will because in my mind it screams for it. I want more with these characters! This book was too good, not to get to read more like it. If you are a paranormal fan, don't hesitate to scoop this up. Hopefully if enough people read it, MacTague will want to write another:) Oh and after how good this was, I can't wait to read her sci-fi series.
An ARC was given to me by Bella, for a honest review.
The book is about Mary Alice or Malice as she is known and feared as. (I gotta say I loved the name Malice, and it fits!) Malice is a human, who was enhanced by our government. She was sculpted to be the perfect monster killing machine. In this world, demons, weres (wolven) and vamps, reign supreme. But their existence to humans remains a secret. It is up to people like Malice, to dispatch them, when they misbehave. (And by misbehave, that mostly means hurting or killing humans.) When Malice meets Ruri, a wolven, they actually seem to align by having the same goals. The more time they spend together, the closer they get. Can Ruri and Malice work together to rid Chicago of a new evil presence? And can Malice be in a relationship with someone she has spent her adult life killing?
I just want to quickly add, I think the blurb of this book on Goodreads, gives a bit too much of the story away. There is so much I wanted to put in my summary, but you would miss out on some surprises and twists, so I really tried to keep it broad, no spoilers. If my little summary interests you, I'd say skip reading the full book blurb. It just gives a bit too much away. I was happy I had not read it before hand.
This is a pure paranormal story, with some romance mixed it. This story has some grit. There is violence and plenty of killing. It is Malice's job after all. But I really enjoyed how well MacTague still crafted her characters. I really felt like I knew who they were. This was not characters that were just slapped together and put into action. There was plenty of time for character building, and time to get the chemistry between the two mains going. I'm quite happy with how the connection between the two mains built, which is not so easy in a paranormal-action book.
Since both main characters were well crafted, they were both really likeable. I keep switching in my mind, who I enjoyed more, but I can't pin it down. I loved that Malice it such a badass, but she still cares. Ruri, on the other hand, ended up being one of my favorite werewolf characters, that I can remember. Both were just really well written. There was even what I would consider a secondary character, that becomes not so secondary after all. It was well done and added a very interesting storyline.
I can already tell that this is the kind of book, that will stay in my mind for a long time. I don't know if MacTague will turn this into a series, but it is primed for it. I really hope she will because in my mind it screams for it. I want more with these characters! This book was too good, not to get to read more like it. If you are a paranormal fan, don't hesitate to scoop this up. Hopefully if enough people read it, MacTague will want to write another:) Oh and after how good this was, I can't wait to read her sci-fi series.
An ARC was given to me by Bella, for a honest review.
June 17, 2017
Five Moons Rising is, for lesfic, a fairly longish (~125,000 words) romantic urban fantasy set in a world in which specially engineered humans with superior strength and endurance hunt down and eliminate rogue supranormals (werewolves, vampires, demons...) for the US government. Those hunters are taught to believe than humans are better than "supras", and killing them, rogues or not, is no big deal. Moreover, they are doing a good deed for humanity. Their training about werewolves includes various ways how to take them down, but one of the hunters, code name Malice, will have to learn much more about werewolves than she could ever imagine. And vice versa.
That learning process is the most important, as well as the best, part of this story. Everything else (setting, action, concept of werewolf's packs, pack hierarchy...) is done quite all right, but this change of thinking and feeling, this change of life beliefs for all three of main characters (Malice, her sister Cassidy, and werewolf Ruri), is why it is well worth to read this book.
My only major complaint is the ending. I know that urban fantasies tend to end in a uncertain way for the romantic future of the main characters, which leaves an opening for possible sequel/s, but I do not have to like it. And I really do not. In addition to that fact, this ending is also a rather rushed. It is too bad not to be able to bask in a really satisfying ending after finishing a good book. Sigh.
I recommend this book to all romantic paranormal/urban fantasies fans, but keep in mind that the ending may not be enough satisfying for all.
3.75 stars
June 16, 2017
*A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher.*
That learning process is the most important, as well as the best, part of this story. Everything else (setting, action, concept of werewolf's packs, pack hierarchy...) is done quite all right, but this change of thinking and feeling, this change of life beliefs for all three of main characters (Malice, her sister Cassidy, and werewolf Ruri), is why it is well worth to read this book.
My only major complaint is the ending. I know that urban fantasies tend to end in a uncertain way for the romantic future of the main characters, which leaves an opening for possible sequel/s, but I do not have to like it. And I really do not. In addition to that fact, this ending is also a rather rushed. It is too bad not to be able to bask in a really satisfying ending after finishing a good book. Sigh.
I recommend this book to all romantic paranormal/urban fantasies fans, but keep in mind that the ending may not be enough satisfying for all.
3.75 stars
June 16, 2017
*A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher.*
April 7, 2018
I'm torn on this one. In some ways I found the read to be very good and in other ways less so.
At the crux of it, we have a romance between a werewolf and a werewolf killer, a kinship story between two sisters depicting how strong or tenuous their relationship is, and a turf war between werewolf packs. The book has a bit of a mafia-like feel where the crime families are werewolves, vampires, fae, paranormal hunters, and so on.
The vibe of the read is on the darker side because there's a good amount of violence and one of our leads, Malice, is so damn glum and sulky I'm not even sure wiping out world hunger or ending all wars would put a smile on her face. Luckily, in addition to Malice's POV, we get perspectives from two other characters to help lighten up the read a bit.
I found the plot to be unique and was surprised by some unexpected twists. The pacing was good and the storyline felt really fleshed out. The world building and shapeshifting details were strong, too. I also liked that, at the climax, the points of view shifted between our three leads in faster succession amping up the suspense.
Where the book fell for me was with some of the characters. Actually, Ruri, the refugee beta werewolf I liked quite a bit. I even favored Malice's sister, Cassidy. But, Malice? Argh.
The author has said that she wanted to create a story in which we have to wonder if the human hunter (aka Malice) is more of a beast than the paranormal creatures she's out to kill. Well, mission accomplished. I wanted to like Malice but I never really did. Yeah, she does some good and has a certain amount of integrity but she also seemed immature and sullen. Even when she's doing something redeeming, she feels cold. And she ends up going even darker. I couldn't sink into her skin.
And, that impacted the romance. Again, I liked Ruri but, gah Malice. Have you ever wanted to shout at a character, "Grow up!"? Yeah, that at Malice times ten. It left the romance feeling lopsided and the sex scene feeling more crude and hard edged.
Also, the villain just felt like a caricature. You know what they say, if you want to make your hero strong, make your villain stronger. In this case, he was two dimensional and weak.
And a minor gripe but one that was present was that I couldn't always tell who "she" or "her" referred to or which point of view I was in right away.
So, mixed. I want to say the quality of writing is technically high and so is the plot. But, because of Malice, the overall read to me was just okay. 3.5 stars.
At the crux of it, we have a romance between a werewolf and a werewolf killer, a kinship story between two sisters depicting how strong or tenuous their relationship is, and a turf war between werewolf packs. The book has a bit of a mafia-like feel where the crime families are werewolves, vampires, fae, paranormal hunters, and so on.
The vibe of the read is on the darker side because there's a good amount of violence and one of our leads, Malice, is so damn glum and sulky I'm not even sure wiping out world hunger or ending all wars would put a smile on her face. Luckily, in addition to Malice's POV, we get perspectives from two other characters to help lighten up the read a bit.
I found the plot to be unique and was surprised by some unexpected twists. The pacing was good and the storyline felt really fleshed out. The world building and shapeshifting details were strong, too. I also liked that, at the climax, the points of view shifted between our three leads in faster succession amping up the suspense.
Where the book fell for me was with some of the characters. Actually, Ruri, the refugee beta werewolf I liked quite a bit. I even favored Malice's sister, Cassidy. But, Malice? Argh.
The author has said that she wanted to create a story in which we have to wonder if the human hunter (aka Malice) is more of a beast than the paranormal creatures she's out to kill. Well, mission accomplished. I wanted to like Malice but I never really did. Yeah, she does some good and has a certain amount of integrity but she also seemed immature and sullen. Even when she's doing something redeeming, she feels cold. And she ends up going even darker. I couldn't sink into her skin.
And, that impacted the romance. Again, I liked Ruri but, gah Malice. Have you ever wanted to shout at a character, "Grow up!"? Yeah, that at Malice times ten. It left the romance feeling lopsided and the sex scene feeling more crude and hard edged.
Also, the villain just felt like a caricature. You know what they say, if you want to make your hero strong, make your villain stronger. In this case, he was two dimensional and weak.
And a minor gripe but one that was present was that I couldn't always tell who "she" or "her" referred to or which point of view I was in right away.
So, mixed. I want to say the quality of writing is technically high and so is the plot. But, because of Malice, the overall read to me was just okay. 3.5 stars.
October 5, 2022
Edit: reread sept 2022
I listened to the audio version in preparation of the third book in the series that will be released later this year and I still love this book. I like morally grey characters and Malice is the perfect example. Ruri is the opposite and it seems impossible not to like her. I’ve read many urban paranormal books but this one feels different because of who and what Malice is.
I also re-listened to the second book in the series, but the first one remains hands down my favorite. I can’t wait to read the third book which stars one of my favorite characters from this first book.
I listened to the audio version in preparation of the third book in the series that will be released later this year and I still love this book. I like morally grey characters and Malice is the perfect example. Ruri is the opposite and it seems impossible not to like her. I’ve read many urban paranormal books but this one feels different because of who and what Malice is.
I also re-listened to the second book in the series, but the first one remains hands down my favorite. I can’t wait to read the third book which stars one of my favorite characters from this first book.
February 15, 2023
4.5 - I liked this way more than I was expecting to! I really liked the author’s take on werewolves, loved having a morally gray main character, and the enemies-to-lovers romance was great – tense, steamy, and sweet. I wanted a bit more information about Malice and some of the other beings mentioned throughout the story, but I know this is a series, so I hope the worldbuilding will be fleshed out a bit more in the sequel.
If you’re in the mood for a shifter/werewolf romance with lots of action, I definitely recommend this! And go with the audio version, Lori Prince does a great job of it!
If you’re in the mood for a shifter/werewolf romance with lots of action, I definitely recommend this! And go with the audio version, Lori Prince does a great job of it!
November 2, 2020
Review of ‘Five Moons Rising‘ by Lise MacTague, audiobook narrated by Lori Prince
This wlw paranormal audiobook was my first by Lise MacTague and part of my October listen to Halloween stories that are completely out of my comfort zone but allowed me to experience some good examples of the genre.
In a world inhabited by supranormals — werewolves, vampires, demons — the government is set to keep their existence hidden. Code-named Malice, Mary Alice Nolan is a hunter genetically modified and trained to eliminate the supras that kill innocents. Ruri Samson is a werewolf whose peaceful pack is massacred by an evil outsider. Together with Malice, they will form an unlikely alliance to avenge their respective loved ones and in the process, discover a forbidden passion.
This was an entertaining story that combines action, intrigue, and romance. Both main characters are well fleshed out and believable. Mary Alice/Malice is a complex and dual character, starting with her two names and her double life. There’s more than meets the eye and no one was privy to know her completely until her opposed worlds collide and hell break loose.
Ruri has learned all her life to stay away from hunters like Malice who despise her kind and consider them animals. But after an evil wolf pack destroys what matters most to each one, the only things they have in common is their mutual enemy and distrust for each other. As they establish an unlikely alliance, they will slowly build up a rapport and eventually, a primal need that is hard to deny. Ms. MacTague builds this chemistry very well with hot flirtation and sizzling sex scenes.
Regarding the action part of the plot, this book has plenty of it with different characters creating a web of intrigue and dubious associations in which everyone distrusts each other but needs their help to survive. The story keeps you at the edge of your seat and guessing the outcome until the end.
The audiobook is narrated by Lori Prince who does a fantastic job with so many different characters, especially Malice and Ruri. With so much change of pace on the story, from quick-fire action to intense feelings and intimacy, Ms. Prince manages them all like the pro she is. She definitely made this genre more palatable to a newbie like me.
Overall, an entertaining, action-packed, and emotionally intense wlw paranormal audiobook. 4.5 stars.
Available on Scribd.
Length 12 hours, 37 minutes.
See all my reviews at www.lezreviewbooks.com
This wlw paranormal audiobook was my first by Lise MacTague and part of my October listen to Halloween stories that are completely out of my comfort zone but allowed me to experience some good examples of the genre.
In a world inhabited by supranormals — werewolves, vampires, demons — the government is set to keep their existence hidden. Code-named Malice, Mary Alice Nolan is a hunter genetically modified and trained to eliminate the supras that kill innocents. Ruri Samson is a werewolf whose peaceful pack is massacred by an evil outsider. Together with Malice, they will form an unlikely alliance to avenge their respective loved ones and in the process, discover a forbidden passion.
This was an entertaining story that combines action, intrigue, and romance. Both main characters are well fleshed out and believable. Mary Alice/Malice is a complex and dual character, starting with her two names and her double life. There’s more than meets the eye and no one was privy to know her completely until her opposed worlds collide and hell break loose.
Ruri has learned all her life to stay away from hunters like Malice who despise her kind and consider them animals. But after an evil wolf pack destroys what matters most to each one, the only things they have in common is their mutual enemy and distrust for each other. As they establish an unlikely alliance, they will slowly build up a rapport and eventually, a primal need that is hard to deny. Ms. MacTague builds this chemistry very well with hot flirtation and sizzling sex scenes.
Regarding the action part of the plot, this book has plenty of it with different characters creating a web of intrigue and dubious associations in which everyone distrusts each other but needs their help to survive. The story keeps you at the edge of your seat and guessing the outcome until the end.
The audiobook is narrated by Lori Prince who does a fantastic job with so many different characters, especially Malice and Ruri. With so much change of pace on the story, from quick-fire action to intense feelings and intimacy, Ms. Prince manages them all like the pro she is. She definitely made this genre more palatable to a newbie like me.
Overall, an entertaining, action-packed, and emotionally intense wlw paranormal audiobook. 4.5 stars.
Available on Scribd.
Length 12 hours, 37 minutes.
See all my reviews at www.lezreviewbooks.com
March 25, 2022
3.5 Stars - Audible - narrator: Lori Prince
I think the audio version of this book saved it for me. I am pretty sure I tried reading this before and I just could not get into it. Lori Prince's narration is really good. A lot of the dialogue that I just got stuck on she makes work somehow.
The good: I like the budding relationship between Ruri and Alice. I am intrigued by Cassidy and what her ultimate powers could turn out to be. There is really good action in the book.
The bad: Dialogue is a bit clunkly. Trope of colleagues/boss being a-holes/antagonistic to the MC. I hate this trope with a passion. For the first half of the book everyone is pissed off. It got old for me, but once we finally moved past that it was much better.
Will I get the next book? If the next book was about Cassidy, I might consider it but by the blurb it doesn't sound like it so I will probably give it a skip.
I think the audio version of this book saved it for me. I am pretty sure I tried reading this before and I just could not get into it. Lori Prince's narration is really good. A lot of the dialogue that I just got stuck on she makes work somehow.
The good: I like the budding relationship between Ruri and Alice. I am intrigued by Cassidy and what her ultimate powers could turn out to be. There is really good action in the book.
The bad: Dialogue is a bit clunkly. Trope of colleagues/boss being a-holes/antagonistic to the MC. I hate this trope with a passion. For the first half of the book everyone is pissed off. It got old for me, but once we finally moved past that it was much better.
Will I get the next book? If the next book was about Cassidy, I might consider it but by the blurb it doesn't sound like it so I will probably give it a skip.
July 15, 2017
I'm a big fan of fantasy and especially werewolf books. I love the world of mates, packs, bonds, "turns", etc. and this book has all the ingredients but not on the same level. The main character, Malice, is a dark and tortured character who works as a assassin of rogue creatures, and who feels responsible for her sister's situation. Part of the plot is to repair everything that "the bad guy" did at the beginning of the story.
I liked the book, but my only complaint is that the romance could have been more intense, and the author should have dedicated more pages to it.
I liked the book, but my only complaint is that the romance could have been more intense, and the author should have dedicated more pages to it.
December 14, 2023
3.5 ⭐️
Lo and behold
The first Werewolf book that I tolerate, Interesting plot and amazing MCs, although it was to long and detailed for my taste Lori Prince as a narrator helped of course, one of the best narrator out there 🔥.
Lo and behold
The first Werewolf book that I tolerate, Interesting plot and amazing MCs, although it was to long and detailed for my taste Lori Prince as a narrator helped of course, one of the best narrator out there 🔥.
February 5, 2018
Still stunned by the ferocity of the book...
4.4 stars
4.4 stars
July 22, 2017
I enjoyed this paranormal/urban fantasy story, and would recommend to anyone who enjoys them. The story mainly focuses on werewovles and a covert government agent whose job it is to take out nasty things that lurk in the dark.
Malice is the agent. I would have liked more about her backstory and the agency. After her sister is attacked by lycans she seeks the help of Ruri. By seeking ie kidnapping. After which a romance develops. Personally, I would have welcomed a bit more of the building romance in this story as they started off as captur and prisoner. Not that this stopped my enjoyment of the story in anyway.
I thought the world building of the lycans was very good.
My only slight gripe is the ending. It felt rushed and after the fantastic build up that kept me glued I felt a little short changed. However, it is well written, a good, gripping story and I enjoyed reading it.
Malice is the agent. I would have liked more about her backstory and the agency. After her sister is attacked by lycans she seeks the help of Ruri. By seeking ie kidnapping. After which a romance develops. Personally, I would have welcomed a bit more of the building romance in this story as they started off as captur and prisoner. Not that this stopped my enjoyment of the story in anyway.
I thought the world building of the lycans was very good.
My only slight gripe is the ending. It felt rushed and after the fantastic build up that kept me glued I felt a little short changed. However, it is well written, a good, gripping story and I enjoyed reading it.
August 18, 2019
Ok 4.25 stars, why did I wait so long to read this. I love supernatural/ paranormal stories, so even bad ones I give a chance to, same with horror flicks. Although, this book is thankfully not anywhere remotely near the bad category.
This is a urban supernatural book in the vein of Laurell K Hamilton. Although, not set in St. Louis, this is set in Chicago, bonus points there.
This book almost has 3 main characters but technically it all rolls off the one main character Malice. She's a supernatural exterminator who works for a shadowy government agency. She used to be a soldier prior to be experimented on. Her unit has enhanced capabilities due to their human Guinea pig status. Each major city gets one soldier to patrol the streets.
The unit now hunt all manor of bad guys: demons, vampires, weres, etc. The Chicago pack has just been taken over by a lone wolf. The beta of the pack Ruri barely escapes with her life. She's being hunted by the new pack, she is attacked by 4 wolves & saved by Malice.
This leads to a retaliatory act by the pack against Malice. Malice now kidnaps Ruri, to help her with the consequences of said act.
To keep things fair, I won't say much more, but this is definitely a new take on were paranormal. I'd love a sequel to see how the story progress & maybe bring in other unit members. Or more of their history.
This is a urban supernatural book in the vein of Laurell K Hamilton. Although, not set in St. Louis, this is set in Chicago, bonus points there.
This book almost has 3 main characters but technically it all rolls off the one main character Malice. She's a supernatural exterminator who works for a shadowy government agency. She used to be a soldier prior to be experimented on. Her unit has enhanced capabilities due to their human Guinea pig status. Each major city gets one soldier to patrol the streets.
The unit now hunt all manor of bad guys: demons, vampires, weres, etc. The Chicago pack has just been taken over by a lone wolf. The beta of the pack Ruri barely escapes with her life. She's being hunted by the new pack, she is attacked by 4 wolves & saved by Malice.
This leads to a retaliatory act by the pack against Malice. Malice now kidnaps Ruri, to help her with the consequences of said act.
To keep things fair, I won't say much more, but this is definitely a new take on were paranormal. I'd love a sequel to see how the story progress & maybe bring in other unit members. Or more of their history.
July 22, 2017
Best book I've read in a while. Great take on the werewolf genre, I really enjoyed how detailed and vast malice's world is.
Great to read a book where the author spends time developing characters instead of the mad rush to major events. In comparison to a lot of les fic books I've read lately, this story spans roughly 2 weeks but is greatly more in depth and longer and, for me, much more enjoyable.
Will absolutely be looking for more from this author.
5 stars
Great to read a book where the author spends time developing characters instead of the mad rush to major events. In comparison to a lot of les fic books I've read lately, this story spans roughly 2 weeks but is greatly more in depth and longer and, for me, much more enjoyable.
Will absolutely be looking for more from this author.
5 stars
November 26, 2021
I enjoyed this, and I enjoyed it more than I expected. A good 4.5*
I am not a fan of werewolves as sexy furry girlfriends, there are just so many books of this type I rarely even bother to read the blurb any more. And I am not fan of secret governemnt agents, the trope is so overdone.
However, this particular story is different. It's gripping. It makes sense, and it tkes a slightly different view to all the rest.
This is my first Lise MacTague and t will not be the last. Her earlier books have been added to my TBR pile.
I am not a fan of werewolves as sexy furry girlfriends, there are just so many books of this type I rarely even bother to read the blurb any more. And I am not fan of secret governemnt agents, the trope is so overdone.
However, this particular story is different. It's gripping. It makes sense, and it tkes a slightly different view to all the rest.
This is my first Lise MacTague and t will not be the last. Her earlier books have been added to my TBR pile.
October 27, 2019
This is a grittier paranormal romance that stars a Beta wolven (they don't like to be called werewolves) and a super charged human Hunter who has a nasty grumpy side. This story arch revolves around Chicago's wolven community. Ruri is a centuries old wolven who is the second in command to a well liked Alpha werewolf. Her pack is dealing with a lone wolf until things go sideways and suddenly she's a Beta wolf without a pack or an Alpha. While she's running away from some ex-pack mates, Malice, the supernatural community's boogieman saves her. She's intrigued by Malice, even when she is kidnapped by her.
Mary Alice, codenamed Malice, is a Hunter created by the government to help keep the supernatural beings in check. That usually means treating them as lesser, and killing them when she deigns it necessary. However, when she meets Ruri, she learns that she doesn't have to work that way, and even learns that there is more to the supernaturals than just the "good ones" and the "bad ones".
Ruri is powerful in her own right, but she wields it with an empathetic strength that Malice can't quite wrap her head around.
I love the dynamic between Ruri and Malice. They each have their own arcs in this book, and I love that they grow and change as the story progresses. They're attracted to each other, and though the beginning of their relationship was contentious, I felt like it progressed naturally. I also loved that Ruri was more accepting of their attraction, even while Mary Alice was being stubborn about it.
Of course, I can't talk about an urban fantasy book without talking about the world building. I enjoyed the peaks into the supernatural community outside of the wolven politics, and thought the vampire scenes were fun. There's also the DNA soup that Mary Alice was enhanced with - she knows that she has supra (as the government likes to call them) DNA in her, she just doesn't know what kind, or what might be dominant. There are some fun little details that just help flesh out the world a bit, too. Such as when wolven change to their wolf forms, they basically secrete a goo that they then have to shake off or it is exploded off them depending on how fast they shift.
Overall this is an excellent grittier urban fantasy with a compelling plot and two excellent leads. It's violent and sexy, and at times pretty thoughtful. Give this a read if you're a fan of the genre, or a fan of broody brooders paired with strong, empathetic hot blondes.
Mary Alice, codenamed Malice, is a Hunter created by the government to help keep the supernatural beings in check. That usually means treating them as lesser, and killing them when she deigns it necessary. However, when she meets Ruri, she learns that she doesn't have to work that way, and even learns that there is more to the supernaturals than just the "good ones" and the "bad ones".
Ruri is powerful in her own right, but she wields it with an empathetic strength that Malice can't quite wrap her head around.
I love the dynamic between Ruri and Malice. They each have their own arcs in this book, and I love that they grow and change as the story progresses. They're attracted to each other, and though the beginning of their relationship was contentious, I felt like it progressed naturally. I also loved that Ruri was more accepting of their attraction, even while Mary Alice was being stubborn about it.
Of course, I can't talk about an urban fantasy book without talking about the world building. I enjoyed the peaks into the supernatural community outside of the wolven politics, and thought the vampire scenes were fun. There's also the DNA soup that Mary Alice was enhanced with - she knows that she has supra (as the government likes to call them) DNA in her, she just doesn't know what kind, or what might be dominant. There are some fun little details that just help flesh out the world a bit, too. Such as when wolven change to their wolf forms, they basically secrete a goo that they then have to shake off or it is exploded off them depending on how fast they shift.
Overall this is an excellent grittier urban fantasy with a compelling plot and two excellent leads. It's violent and sexy, and at times pretty thoughtful. Give this a read if you're a fan of the genre, or a fan of broody brooders paired with strong, empathetic hot blondes.
September 21, 2017
I loved this book. I loved the characters of Ruri and Malice and how they come together despite their differences. The story has suspense and action and romance and (best of all) werewolves! Did I mention I loved this book? Lisa, please please write a sequel-or better yet write a whole damn series!
August 16, 2020
I really wanted to like this book. The blurb was almost everything I could possibly ask for. And hell, judging by the other reviews on this thing, the fault may lie with me and not the book itself; as it is, though, it just didn't work for me.
Some spoilers to follow but I'll try to avoid specifics as much I can.
First, the things I did like:
1. The worldbuilding. There were a lot of things about the setting that did feel very real and a few that felt surprisingly unique. (I say "surprisingly" because of just how much urban fantasy there is in the world, mind, not because I didn't expect anything.) I loved how the wolven worked in particular, especially how the siring process worked. I liked the pack dynamics; even if the alpha/beta stuff isn't technically accurate to wolves, there's nothing stopping it from being accurate to werewolves, and I thought it was handled well.
2. How the wolven behave in their human forms is both recognizably human and recognizably inhuman and that was a fun balance to see.
3. Ruri. She's a strong, well-rounded character with a defined sense of who and what she is. She made sense, and I honestly just loved her and wanted to root for her throughout the whole thing.
4. There were details about the characters that I liked seeing. Nobody who's relevant to the plot exists in a vacuum; they have families, hobbies, unique stuff in their backgrounds, and I did like seeing those things come into play.
Things that I didn't care for:
1. *This is probably just me.* I know what genre this is and I was expecting a good amount of horniness, but it was unavoidable, felt almost constant, and kept cropping up at the oddest and most inopportune of times. Seriously, there's a woman who recently lost her whole family crying on your shoulder and you're thinking about her state of semi-undress? Your sister is in mortal peril but you'll immediately be distracted by Stupid Sexy Werewolf? I'm fine with a character being attracted to someone at maybe not the best time, but it really felt like "oh man those boobs though" overruled every other emotion every time it showed up, no matter the context. It felt whiplashy to me at best and like the characters were huge creeps at worst.
2. *This one could just be me.* Dubious consent is flirted with multiple times. There's an instance of "vampire thrall makes me want to jump her bones explicitly against my will" very close to an instance of "these enemy wolven are threatening to rape me and my wolf self will 100% welcome it because it's Pon Farr up in here" and, while I could have taken either event individually and moved on with the story without protest, their proximity to each other had me on edge that consent just wasn't going to be much of a theme in this story. Later on, there's a newly-made wolven who does not have her own heat explained to her. She does not know she's in heat. She does not know what her heat IS. It drives her to have sex with another wolven in her pack (who doesn't know that she doesn't know, so I have nothing against him for this). She's okay with it with only a few seconds of fuss, but the entire aside made me really, really uncomfortable. Thankfully, those are the only times it comes up, so I'm not sure I can exactly call it a theme, but it was still there and it felt unnecessary.
3. *Admittedly, this could be the fault of my copy. It's physical and I got it used, so it's possible that other versions are cleaner.* There are some odd (admittedly minor) technical issues that I feel like shouldn't have made it past the editing process. First-person thoughts (the narration is third-person) are sometimes italicized and sometimes not, even on the same page. Chapter 25 begins in Ruri's POV and switches to Malice's without so much as a break in the text to indicate it. There is a "case and point" instead of "case in point", and on one occasion a fence is "breeched" instead of "breached". I'm not so much of a nitpicker that I can't overlook any errors at all, but they happened more frequently than I was expecting and it bugged me.
4. Parts of it felt a little padded. At one point, Ruri has a revelation about what's wrong with a struggling wolven; she explains it in her internal monologue and it's interesting and new information... but then she tells Malice the exact same thing, in almost as many words, only a few pages later. There'll be a tense moment and then the POV character's internal monologue will zip off in some random direction for a paragraph. I may only be noticing these because that's exactly what I do every time I'm trying to pad a wordcount so I'm extra sensitive to anything that looks like that, but it did take me out of the story somewhat.
5. The romance shoehorns itself in at the cost of all other emotions. Ruri "feels Malice's absence" more than that of her pack... which she lost brutally, permanently, and RECENTLY, after having run with some of them for over a century. As opposed to Malice, whom she met a week ago, as her captor, who constantly threatened to maim or kill her. And who is coming back soon. There just isn't enough time for the relationship to develop, especially given how terribly most of their interactions go. I would rather have it end on a truce with the possibility of there being more than being told that they love each other without sufficient evidence.
6. As a couple of other reviews have noted, the ending did feel somewhat rushed. Some plot threads are wrapped up with no particular buildup to them; others (the origins of the Hunters' abilities in particular) are vaguely toyed with and then dropped without a full explanation. The latter could just be a matter of teasing for a sequel, but it was still unsatisfying.
Unfortunately, the thing that I liked the least was Malice herself.
I'm sure I wasn't meant to think of her as a GOOD person, but in that regard, the author did too good a job. I never thought her irredeemable, but I came to want her redemption to happen far, FAR away from Ruri, because Malice was just far too awful to her (even unprovoked) to deserve her. Halfway through the book, she felt less like a redeemable asshole of a love interest and more like the villain in Ruri and *Cassidy's* romance.
She does not listen, even when someone else is in danger for it. Ruri instructs her at one point to politely ask another character to do something; Malice then proceeds to phrase it as an order, TWICE, before finally even saying "please". This is while they're all on a time limit... that Malice herself put in place.
I was fully expecting her to be racist against supranormals (considering her job would be a hell of a lot harder if she thought of them as people), but having to be in her head while she's calling her eventual love interest "it" while still referring to vampires by their preferred pronouns... was a little much. In the end, everything I hated about her built up too much for me to get over by the time the book ended. She does technically get better; it just wasn't enough for me.
2/10 because, for everything I didn't like about it, I did still feel the need to finish.
Some spoilers to follow but I'll try to avoid specifics as much I can.
First, the things I did like:
1. The worldbuilding. There were a lot of things about the setting that did feel very real and a few that felt surprisingly unique. (I say "surprisingly" because of just how much urban fantasy there is in the world, mind, not because I didn't expect anything.) I loved how the wolven worked in particular, especially how the siring process worked. I liked the pack dynamics; even if the alpha/beta stuff isn't technically accurate to wolves, there's nothing stopping it from being accurate to werewolves, and I thought it was handled well.
2. How the wolven behave in their human forms is both recognizably human and recognizably inhuman and that was a fun balance to see.
3. Ruri. She's a strong, well-rounded character with a defined sense of who and what she is. She made sense, and I honestly just loved her and wanted to root for her throughout the whole thing.
4. There were details about the characters that I liked seeing. Nobody who's relevant to the plot exists in a vacuum; they have families, hobbies, unique stuff in their backgrounds, and I did like seeing those things come into play.
Things that I didn't care for:
1. *This is probably just me.* I know what genre this is and I was expecting a good amount of horniness, but it was unavoidable, felt almost constant, and kept cropping up at the oddest and most inopportune of times. Seriously, there's a woman who recently lost her whole family crying on your shoulder and you're thinking about her state of semi-undress? Your sister is in mortal peril but you'll immediately be distracted by Stupid Sexy Werewolf? I'm fine with a character being attracted to someone at maybe not the best time, but it really felt like "oh man those boobs though" overruled every other emotion every time it showed up, no matter the context. It felt whiplashy to me at best and like the characters were huge creeps at worst.
2. *This one could just be me.* Dubious consent is flirted with multiple times. There's an instance of "vampire thrall makes me want to jump her bones explicitly against my will" very close to an instance of "these enemy wolven are threatening to rape me and my wolf self will 100% welcome it because it's Pon Farr up in here" and, while I could have taken either event individually and moved on with the story without protest, their proximity to each other had me on edge that consent just wasn't going to be much of a theme in this story. Later on, there's a newly-made wolven who does not have her own heat explained to her. She does not know she's in heat. She does not know what her heat IS. It drives her to have sex with another wolven in her pack (who doesn't know that she doesn't know, so I have nothing against him for this). She's okay with it with only a few seconds of fuss, but the entire aside made me really, really uncomfortable. Thankfully, those are the only times it comes up, so I'm not sure I can exactly call it a theme, but it was still there and it felt unnecessary.
3. *Admittedly, this could be the fault of my copy. It's physical and I got it used, so it's possible that other versions are cleaner.* There are some odd (admittedly minor) technical issues that I feel like shouldn't have made it past the editing process. First-person thoughts (the narration is third-person) are sometimes italicized and sometimes not, even on the same page. Chapter 25 begins in Ruri's POV and switches to Malice's without so much as a break in the text to indicate it. There is a "case and point" instead of "case in point", and on one occasion a fence is "breeched" instead of "breached". I'm not so much of a nitpicker that I can't overlook any errors at all, but they happened more frequently than I was expecting and it bugged me.
4. Parts of it felt a little padded. At one point, Ruri has a revelation about what's wrong with a struggling wolven; she explains it in her internal monologue and it's interesting and new information... but then she tells Malice the exact same thing, in almost as many words, only a few pages later. There'll be a tense moment and then the POV character's internal monologue will zip off in some random direction for a paragraph. I may only be noticing these because that's exactly what I do every time I'm trying to pad a wordcount so I'm extra sensitive to anything that looks like that, but it did take me out of the story somewhat.
5. The romance shoehorns itself in at the cost of all other emotions. Ruri "feels Malice's absence" more than that of her pack... which she lost brutally, permanently, and RECENTLY, after having run with some of them for over a century. As opposed to Malice, whom she met a week ago, as her captor, who constantly threatened to maim or kill her. And who is coming back soon. There just isn't enough time for the relationship to develop, especially given how terribly most of their interactions go. I would rather have it end on a truce with the possibility of there being more than being told that they love each other without sufficient evidence.
6. As a couple of other reviews have noted, the ending did feel somewhat rushed. Some plot threads are wrapped up with no particular buildup to them; others (the origins of the Hunters' abilities in particular) are vaguely toyed with and then dropped without a full explanation. The latter could just be a matter of teasing for a sequel, but it was still unsatisfying.
Unfortunately, the thing that I liked the least was Malice herself.
I'm sure I wasn't meant to think of her as a GOOD person, but in that regard, the author did too good a job. I never thought her irredeemable, but I came to want her redemption to happen far, FAR away from Ruri, because Malice was just far too awful to her (even unprovoked) to deserve her. Halfway through the book, she felt less like a redeemable asshole of a love interest and more like the villain in Ruri and *Cassidy's* romance.
She does not listen, even when someone else is in danger for it. Ruri instructs her at one point to politely ask another character to do something; Malice then proceeds to phrase it as an order, TWICE, before finally even saying "please". This is while they're all on a time limit... that Malice herself put in place.
I was fully expecting her to be racist against supranormals (considering her job would be a hell of a lot harder if she thought of them as people), but having to be in her head while she's calling her eventual love interest "it" while still referring to vampires by their preferred pronouns... was a little much. In the end, everything I hated about her built up too much for me to get over by the time the book ended. She does technically get better; it just wasn't enough for me.
2/10 because, for everything I didn't like about it, I did still feel the need to finish.
December 1, 2025
Devoured this in a day! RTC ✨
October 28, 2018
4.5 – A thrilling urban fantasy that left me impatiently awaiting for more
I find that most urban fantasy novels will fall into two categories. Either every day humans know about the existence of supernatural beasties (vampires, demons, werewolves, faeries, etc), or they are completely in the dark. Five Moons Rising is of the second type and it takes us to a world that is full of supranormals, or “supras” as they’re called by the government who seeks to monitor and control them. In order to take care of the supras who get out of line to make sure they don’t hurt people or expose their existence, the government has created genetically modified super soldiers using a mix of different supra DNA. Mary Alice, or Malice, is one of those soldiers and her city is Chicago. She’s known as the local boogeyman to the supra population because she doesn’t just monitor them, but she executes when the order is given by her handler.
Ruri is the beta of a peaceful wolven pack. When a lone wolf comes through and takes over the pack with inside help from Ruri’s lover, the beta is sent injured and running for her life. She feels guilty for abandoning the remaining members of her peaceful pack but she’s in no shape to help and vows revenge. The new Alpha moves the pack to a different location in Chicago and involves them in a major theft ring and that is where Ruri and Malice cross paths.
I thoroughly enjoyed MacTague’s novel and thought the world she created was just unique enough to set it apart from some of the other urban fantasies out there. Malice was a complex individual who walked a tight wire each day of her life. On one hand she had normal mother and sister who had no idea who or what she had become in while serving in the military. She was sarcastic, competitive with her sister, and ordinary to anyone looking in from that side of her life. On the other hand her duties as a hunter and executioner guaranteed that she was extremely damaged emotionally and distrustful to the extreme. She didn’t see Supras as intelligent beings, she saw them as animals, as “it”. As a cover story, she was a sculptor who displayed her works in a local gallery. But her career choice was more than merely giving her gloss over the reality of her main life, creating something from her imagination also gave her a release for all the darkness she had accumulated inside.
While Five Moons is pure paranormal action, there is also a romance woven throughout. I would say it was an enemies to lovers type romance which I have no problems with. However, one of my cons is that I was kind of missing more of the friendship development between the two states. I would have liked to see more connection between the two besides sex. They needed to develop affection, not need. I would like Ruri to be with a lover and mate rather than someone who is, for all intents and purposes, a serial killer. Malice has so much potential and while I didn’t get a feel that she had any sort of redemption in this particular book, I do hope to see one in future works. She just needs to work through some issues first. The other con I had was that there were a few of the action scenes where I had to read it twice in order to see who said what, or did what. They became a bit convoluted in my head and I lost track. Example: One scene I thought strangely enough that Luke attacked Ruri, which was not unexpected since he didn’t seem to be her biggest fan. But then down a bit he defends her and I realized that a different character attacked Ruri. Took a few reads of that scene to piece together what happened and WHY it happened the way it did.
Overall, if you like a good urban fantasy tale with a fast pace, vivid scene descriptions, and a well-crafted alternate world, you should definitely check out Five Moons Rising by Lise MacTague. She’s not afraid of serving darkness along with romance and scalding sex scenes, but she also delivers the most important thing of all. An engaging tale, and a wrap up that left me feeling satisfied and full and excited for more.
This ARC was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
I find that most urban fantasy novels will fall into two categories. Either every day humans know about the existence of supernatural beasties (vampires, demons, werewolves, faeries, etc), or they are completely in the dark. Five Moons Rising is of the second type and it takes us to a world that is full of supranormals, or “supras” as they’re called by the government who seeks to monitor and control them. In order to take care of the supras who get out of line to make sure they don’t hurt people or expose their existence, the government has created genetically modified super soldiers using a mix of different supra DNA. Mary Alice, or Malice, is one of those soldiers and her city is Chicago. She’s known as the local boogeyman to the supra population because she doesn’t just monitor them, but she executes when the order is given by her handler.
Ruri is the beta of a peaceful wolven pack. When a lone wolf comes through and takes over the pack with inside help from Ruri’s lover, the beta is sent injured and running for her life. She feels guilty for abandoning the remaining members of her peaceful pack but she’s in no shape to help and vows revenge. The new Alpha moves the pack to a different location in Chicago and involves them in a major theft ring and that is where Ruri and Malice cross paths.
I thoroughly enjoyed MacTague’s novel and thought the world she created was just unique enough to set it apart from some of the other urban fantasies out there. Malice was a complex individual who walked a tight wire each day of her life. On one hand she had normal mother and sister who had no idea who or what she had become in while serving in the military. She was sarcastic, competitive with her sister, and ordinary to anyone looking in from that side of her life. On the other hand her duties as a hunter and executioner guaranteed that she was extremely damaged emotionally and distrustful to the extreme. She didn’t see Supras as intelligent beings, she saw them as animals, as “it”. As a cover story, she was a sculptor who displayed her works in a local gallery. But her career choice was more than merely giving her gloss over the reality of her main life, creating something from her imagination also gave her a release for all the darkness she had accumulated inside.
While Five Moons is pure paranormal action, there is also a romance woven throughout. I would say it was an enemies to lovers type romance which I have no problems with. However, one of my cons is that I was kind of missing more of the friendship development between the two states. I would have liked to see more connection between the two besides sex. They needed to develop affection, not need. I would like Ruri to be with a lover and mate rather than someone who is, for all intents and purposes, a serial killer. Malice has so much potential and while I didn’t get a feel that she had any sort of redemption in this particular book, I do hope to see one in future works. She just needs to work through some issues first. The other con I had was that there were a few of the action scenes where I had to read it twice in order to see who said what, or did what. They became a bit convoluted in my head and I lost track. Example: One scene I thought strangely enough that Luke attacked Ruri, which was not unexpected since he didn’t seem to be her biggest fan. But then down a bit he defends her and I realized that a different character attacked Ruri. Took a few reads of that scene to piece together what happened and WHY it happened the way it did.
Overall, if you like a good urban fantasy tale with a fast pace, vivid scene descriptions, and a well-crafted alternate world, you should definitely check out Five Moons Rising by Lise MacTague. She’s not afraid of serving darkness along with romance and scalding sex scenes, but she also delivers the most important thing of all. An engaging tale, and a wrap up that left me feeling satisfied and full and excited for more.
This ARC was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
Read
February 2, 2021One of the challenges of writing a novel which features paranormal elements, such as characters and plot points, is to make the story feel realistic. This sounds like an oxymoron; it’s paranormal—it’s not meant to be realistic. But yes it is. The setting is the reality and the paranormal elements which exist inside it are meant to be written as fact, and therefore accepted.
And this is what Lise MacTague does exceptionally well. In Five Moons Rising, the city is home to supranormals (werewolves, vampires, demons) who exist in the dark edges of society, and it is the job of genetically-modified human Mary Alice Nolan, a Hunter, to track down these supras and eliminate them. One of these supras is lone wolf, Ruri Samson, who barely escaped with her life after being attacked by an evil outsider and his followers. On paper or any other surface, these two women should not get along. In fact, they should despise each other, but a series of awful events close to home brings them together.
Five Moons Rising is exceptionally well-written. Sometimes fantasy/science-fiction novels can be filled with overly-explained backstory and littered with such tiny, tiny tiny, completely unnecessary scene-details, that you’re driven to the point where you need to create a wall chart filled with Post-It notes. Not this book. The story moved along beautifully. There were enough moments when MacTague took her foot off the accelerator to let us see more personal interaction and development, then it was full-on speed with fighting, and survival, and moments of scary Oh-God-Malice-Hurry-Up-And-Kill-It.
Mary Alice (code-name Malice) is written with such depth. Her personal journey is very interesting and, again I’ll use that concept of reality, her conflict is incredibly human. Ruri, as a werewolf (wolven), is a character with depth as well. At the risk of offending her, I’d say Ruri is a real person, in the sense that I got to know her personality and who she is. I think that’s something else I loved. The supras are real people — well, they’re not, but you get the idea.
I loved this book, and I give it 5 stars. I’m not a huge 5-star flag-waver, because I only give that rating if the book is really, really great. This one is.
And this is what Lise MacTague does exceptionally well. In Five Moons Rising, the city is home to supranormals (werewolves, vampires, demons) who exist in the dark edges of society, and it is the job of genetically-modified human Mary Alice Nolan, a Hunter, to track down these supras and eliminate them. One of these supras is lone wolf, Ruri Samson, who barely escaped with her life after being attacked by an evil outsider and his followers. On paper or any other surface, these two women should not get along. In fact, they should despise each other, but a series of awful events close to home brings them together.
Five Moons Rising is exceptionally well-written. Sometimes fantasy/science-fiction novels can be filled with overly-explained backstory and littered with such tiny, tiny tiny, completely unnecessary scene-details, that you’re driven to the point where you need to create a wall chart filled with Post-It notes. Not this book. The story moved along beautifully. There were enough moments when MacTague took her foot off the accelerator to let us see more personal interaction and development, then it was full-on speed with fighting, and survival, and moments of scary Oh-God-Malice-Hurry-Up-And-Kill-It.
Mary Alice (code-name Malice) is written with such depth. Her personal journey is very interesting and, again I’ll use that concept of reality, her conflict is incredibly human. Ruri, as a werewolf (wolven), is a character with depth as well. At the risk of offending her, I’d say Ruri is a real person, in the sense that I got to know her personality and who she is. I think that’s something else I loved. The supras are real people — well, they’re not, but you get the idea.
I loved this book, and I give it 5 stars. I’m not a huge 5-star flag-waver, because I only give that rating if the book is really, really great. This one is.
April 18, 2018
Five Moons Rising is an incredibly exciting urban paranormal story that I found impossible to put down. I am drawn to great characterization and Lise MacTague does not disappoint in this regard! The plot is centered around two very strong women (with supra-natural characteristics) that don’t always exemplify traditionally heroic qualities.
Malice, a genetically modified hunter of Supras (demons, werewolves and assorted evil creatures living in our midst) and Ruri, former beta wolf of her pack now betrayed, exiled and on her own, both exemplify the anti-hero trope. I find Malice particularly intriguing. She is dark and brooding, an inevitable byproduct of her profession. She is an efficient and deadly hunter but as important as her work is, nothing supersedes her devotion to family. Malice risks all to protect her sister and one scene in particular with Stiletto really stands out to me as epitomizing her drive to protect her family. The protective drive exhibited by Malice melds perfectly with the wolven pack mentality and is an incredible draw for Ruri. I thoroughly enjoyed the realistic melding of seemingly disparate personality traits the author layers into her characters and the blurred distinction between the traditional good and evil dichotomy. Characterization is definitely one of Lise MacTague’s strengths.
Considering the time and effort spent on developing intricate characterization and building relationships, the plot flowed nicely and was well paced. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it! There are several opportunities for additional storylines which I desperately hope are explored!
Malice, a genetically modified hunter of Supras (demons, werewolves and assorted evil creatures living in our midst) and Ruri, former beta wolf of her pack now betrayed, exiled and on her own, both exemplify the anti-hero trope. I find Malice particularly intriguing. She is dark and brooding, an inevitable byproduct of her profession. She is an efficient and deadly hunter but as important as her work is, nothing supersedes her devotion to family. Malice risks all to protect her sister and one scene in particular with Stiletto really stands out to me as epitomizing her drive to protect her family. The protective drive exhibited by Malice melds perfectly with the wolven pack mentality and is an incredible draw for Ruri. I thoroughly enjoyed the realistic melding of seemingly disparate personality traits the author layers into her characters and the blurred distinction between the traditional good and evil dichotomy. Characterization is definitely one of Lise MacTague’s strengths.
Considering the time and effort spent on developing intricate characterization and building relationships, the plot flowed nicely and was well paced. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it! There are several opportunities for additional storylines which I desperately hope are explored!
February 12, 2024
Vamps, Demons and Wolfs....age old storyline but glad this was entertaining with a tiny twist to who haunts in this story.
Look forward to more in the series
Look forward to more in the series
June 25, 2025
Audiobook - Audible
Narrated by
Lori Prince
⭐️⭐️⭐️
An urban fantasy with werewolves, vampires and modified humans.
Also Lgtbq+ with females as the most important characters.
It wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either.
I guess I'll go for okay, with a thumbs-up.
My opinion might be coloured by me being in a reading slump after re-reading the Fourth Wing books.
Narrated by
Lori Prince
⭐️⭐️⭐️
An urban fantasy with werewolves, vampires and modified humans.
Also Lgtbq+ with females as the most important characters.
It wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either.
I guess I'll go for okay, with a thumbs-up.
My opinion might be coloured by me being in a reading slump after re-reading the Fourth Wing books.
October 23, 2021
4,50 ⭐ É um livro sensacional. Mas algumas coisas me impediram de chamar ele de "um completo cinco estrelas".
Começando pela Cassidy, a personagem é Extremamente insuportável e o modo como ela foi introduzida na história não me ajudou nenhum pouco a ver ela com o respeito que o título de Alfa pede, até porque eu tava muito ocupada revirando os olhos toda vez que ela aparecia. E o Luther é outro chato, os dois combinam na chatice KKKK. Mas ainda bem que eles são secundários e que as duas personagens principais são realmente INCRÍVEIS. Te amo, Mary Alice. Te amo, Ruri.
Terminando pela final. Eu senti falta de tanta coisa ali naquela batalha final, e também, queria que tivesse acontecido mais coisas entre a Ruri e a Mary, mas acho que o segundo livro pode me dar isso.
Então, NATANA DO FUTURO LEIA ESSE LIVRO MAIS UMA VEZ. VOCÊ GOSTOU DELE
Começando pela Cassidy, a personagem é Extremamente insuportável e o modo como ela foi introduzida na história não me ajudou nenhum pouco a ver ela com o respeito que o título de Alfa pede, até porque eu tava muito ocupada revirando os olhos toda vez que ela aparecia. E o Luther é outro chato, os dois combinam na chatice KKKK. Mas ainda bem que eles são secundários e que as duas personagens principais são realmente INCRÍVEIS. Te amo, Mary Alice. Te amo, Ruri.
Terminando pela final. Eu senti falta de tanta coisa ali naquela batalha final, e também, queria que tivesse acontecido mais coisas entre a Ruri e a Mary, mas acho que o segundo livro pode me dar isso.
Então, NATANA DO FUTURO LEIA ESSE LIVRO MAIS UMA VEZ. VOCÊ GOSTOU DELE
August 9, 2017
Loved it!
This was a very well written story. The author did an excellent job describing the characters. The main characters were very well done. Malice was such a tortured hero, Ruri was really cool. And Malice's sister Cassidy turned out to be quite hero herself. The supporting characters were well done. I liked Carl's. She was really hot. I would have liked to know why Britt turned on Ruri and the pack. That was heartbreaking. I also feel that after all Malice did to save Cassidy the end was left with unfinished loose ends. Perhaps a sequel??? I hope so!
This was a very well written story. The author did an excellent job describing the characters. The main characters were very well done. Malice was such a tortured hero, Ruri was really cool. And Malice's sister Cassidy turned out to be quite hero herself. The supporting characters were well done. I liked Carl's. She was really hot. I would have liked to know why Britt turned on Ruri and the pack. That was heartbreaking. I also feel that after all Malice did to save Cassidy the end was left with unfinished loose ends. Perhaps a sequel??? I hope so!
June 19, 2017
Great and interesting story. I have read many books on werewolves, lycans , loup garous and the likes and am intrigued by the different yet similar way they are portrayed. Malice goes against her beliefs after an event that changes her world in many ways, Ruri has to deal with lost and betrayal and new dynamics on her own views. Well put together and I hope to be reading more. My faves are L.L. Raand, Jae, Gill McKnight and Rebecca York.
November 6, 2018
I can’t help but wish there was a sequel to this awesome story! I’m heavily invested in the Ruri and Mary Alice’s world and I really want to read more about them. Paranormal stories hold a special place in my heart and this book will become a favorite re-read of mine. The action was non-stop and I enjoyed the suspense along with the passion! This is the first story I’ve read by this author and it certainly won’t be the last!
May 21, 2024
Now this is how you write a werewolf book, I’m so excited to continue the series!
August 24, 2022
Interesting story, good pacing to it. Felt unfinished though which is frustrating as a reader even if the book is a series.
February 26, 2021
This book was better than I had expected it to be.
The absolute best thing about this book, to me, was the world that MacTague built. A world of supras that included wolvens and vampires and the way they interacted as well as super-soldier type agents sent in when someone misbehaves. The common world isn’t aware of the existence of supras and the agents are there to make sure that they don’t become aware. The world felt so good and well built. Some of the explanations and descriptions seemed to drag on a bit but I enjoyed the aspects that went into crafting the world of this book.
I really enjoyed the main characters. Ruri the refugee beta and Malice the Hunter were amazing characters. Both characters were badass but not to the point of having no weaknesses. I adore how dedicated Malice was to making sure that her sister was okay. (End of book spoilers) I felt so bad for Ruri right after she lost her pack because the author wrote her struggles well.
I couldn’t really enjoy any of the side characters. I found myself not liking Cassidy (the main side character) and the other side characters just didn’t work for me. I especially didn’t like Stiletto.
The action in this book was amazing. I loved the fights that took place and the way they were handled. The author also had the characters acknowledge the pains of current and past wounds during a fight even if the wounds didn’t stop them from fighting.
I wish there had been more romance in the story. It’s mainly an urban fantasy action book with a bit of romance added in. There is attraction but not much in terms of a relationship.
This was an enjoyable book to kill a few hours, but I doubt I’ll read the second book in the series.
The absolute best thing about this book, to me, was the world that MacTague built. A world of supras that included wolvens and vampires and the way they interacted as well as super-soldier type agents sent in when someone misbehaves. The common world isn’t aware of the existence of supras and the agents are there to make sure that they don’t become aware. The world felt so good and well built. Some of the explanations and descriptions seemed to drag on a bit but I enjoyed the aspects that went into crafting the world of this book.
I really enjoyed the main characters. Ruri the refugee beta and Malice the Hunter were amazing characters. Both characters were badass but not to the point of having no weaknesses. I adore how dedicated Malice was to making sure that her sister was okay. (End of book spoilers) I felt so bad for Ruri right after she lost her pack because the author wrote her struggles well.
I couldn’t really enjoy any of the side characters. I found myself not liking Cassidy (the main side character) and the other side characters just didn’t work for me. I especially didn’t like Stiletto.
The action in this book was amazing. I loved the fights that took place and the way they were handled. The author also had the characters acknowledge the pains of current and past wounds during a fight even if the wounds didn’t stop them from fighting.
I wish there had been more romance in the story. It’s mainly an urban fantasy action book with a bit of romance added in. There is attraction but not much in terms of a relationship.
This was an enjoyable book to kill a few hours, but I doubt I’ll read the second book in the series.
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