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Witch & Wolf #3.5

Beneath a Blood Moon

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Sara’s life turns upside down when someone leaves her funerary urns, black roses, and death threats on her doorstep. Fearing her work as a stripper and showgirl has put her in the sights of a demented stalker, she turns to her best friend and fellow dancer for help.

Instead of a safe haven, all Sara finds is betrayal. Hunted by creatures she once believed were stories meant to frighten children, she is given a choice: become one of them, or die.

Forced to share her skin with a voracious carnivore and driven by instincts and desires too strong to resist, Sara must adapt to the changes in her life or be destroyed by them. Finding a mate is her wolf’s top priority.

If she doesn’t want to become another prostitute in a city full of them, Sara must learn to control the beast within. With a hungry wolf to feed and an empty bank account, selling herself to the highest bidder may be the only way she has to prevent becoming a monster driven to eat anything—or anyone—unfortunate enough to cross her path.

564 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 10, 2015

144 people are currently reading
485 people want to read

About the author

R.J. Blain

81 books1,318 followers
RJ Blain suffers from a Moleskine journal obsession, a pen fixation, and a terrible tendency to pun without warning.

When she isn't playing pretend, she likes to think she's a cartographer and a sumi-e painter. In reality, she herds cats and a husband, and obeys the commands of Tsu Dhi, the great warrior fish.

In her spare time, she daydreams about being a spy. Should that fail, her contingency plan involves tying her best of enemies to spinning wheels and quoting James Bond villains until she is satisfied.

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5 stars
404 (58%)
4 stars
201 (28%)
3 stars
65 (9%)
2 stars
17 (2%)
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8 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
Profile Image for Leiah Cooper.
766 reviews97 followers
October 29, 2016
A content editor could make this book exceptional

“No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.” -Buddha

“The chaining of Fenrir cost the god Tyr his right hand” – Völuspá, translated to English in The Poetic Edda, Henry Adams Bellows, 1923

Sara Watson thought her life was bad enough as it was. Working as a stripper and part time Vegas showgirl, she tries to hold down four part time jobs, go to college, and still pay the rent and eat. They say Vegas is a hard place to live, and she knows all about that. But even the hell of her life is better than the hell she ran from in New York. A father that beat and controlled her, a life with no meaning. At least now, if she can get through school, she can start a real life on her own – fake ID or no fake ID.

Yes, life was hard. But nothing as hard as being kidnapped along with her best “friend” (though the idea of friend is Las Vegas equates to ‘what can I get out of you for doing you the favor of being your friend) and dragged out to the desert by her ex ‘I’m-a-cheating-POS’ boyfriend who has tracked her down to Las Vegas to bring her back. Or kill her. Whichever works.

Telling him to get stuffed, taking her beating and broken ribs, then crawling out into the desert to die on her own and free is gutsy enough. I gained a ton of respect for her at this point, though I already respected her for keeping her moral compass (unlike her crappy friend) and going against said ‘friend’ and not going full-on prostitute made me respect her. Yep. She is one tough cookie, with more internal fortitude than any man her age I have ever known. But after the ex and the girlfriend finish doing the nasty and track her down as she crawls across the desert, then turn into wolves and begin eating her alive (literally), even weirder things happen. And suddenly, Sara’s life is more hell than she could have ever imagined.

Let’s get serious here. First, I really, REALLY wanted to give this book five stars with a bullet. Sara is tough and strong, yes. But she isn’t unbelievable, and she has a heart of gold and a strong sense of right and wrong – and did I mention the heart of gold? Then she meets four other women who are an absolute joy. Tough, take no prisoners women with a fetish for guns, not taking any crap off of anyone, and their husbands (pretty much in that order). There is romance, but no sex scenes, which was completely refreshing (if you are an erotica-only lover, skip this one). The story is fast, suspenseful, sometimes terrifying, and kept me totally immersed in the story. The characters are wonderful, the world building is unusual (living in the world as we know it, but with their own governance, etc.) Some of the scenes literally brought me to tears. That’s the good.

The bad came after I had a chance to come down off my ‘reader-high’ and start thinking about what I would write in my review, and realized I couldn’t give it a five at all. The story is complex, and kept my attention throughout, but there were some issues that a really good content editor could have solved. Ms. Blain has a brilliant mind for writing paranormal suspense, but she isn’t organized. She has a few different threads moving through the book, which is fine, I really enjoy books that are more than one-note songs, but she literally dropped the ball about midway through, dropping one of the more interesting story lines and never going back to it. No wrap, just dropped. Poor form. The book is quite long, 564 pages, and I was never bored or wanting to skip pages as I do with some longer books, and her descriptive narrative and conversational style was enjoyable, but dropping the story line, which I was invested in, shows a lack of organization. Editing for word usage, spelling, and dropped words was OK, but not good. Someone put effort into beta reading for that sort of thing, but the continuity is what killed it.

Overall, I will still recommend the book. The story and pace kept me up all night long (literally, yawn) and then the minute I rose I went right back to it and stayed with it to the end. Give this woman a good content editor, or just a whiteboard to write down all of her threads to make sure she ties them all up at the end and a couple of really good beta readers and she will be a force to be reckoned with in the world of Paranormal Suspense. Recommended, but could be better.
Profile Image for Runningrabbit.
1,387 reviews99 followers
July 26, 2016
Kindle Unlimited
Absolutely loved this one. There is a number of errors/typos but it was worth bearing with it. Have another couple of Blain's to read now - all on Kindle Unlimited.

The character was likable and had some good butt kicking moves.
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Profile Image for Alicia Huxtable.
1,914 reviews60 followers
September 23, 2019
Very witty characters

I liked the story, it's a strong well written story but the characters definitely carry it. If not for the witty banter, I'm not sure I would have liked it.as much
388 reviews16 followers
March 15, 2019
This book does have more typos / editing errors that others in the wolf series (that sadly all have some). And, it was more difficult for me to get into the beginning of the book. Once it did get rolling, I enjoyed it so I left it as a four star. Although listed as 3.5, it can easily be read at the end of the series and it is 564 pages - not just an “in-between” book.
Profile Image for Natalie  H.
3,815 reviews30 followers
January 10, 2021
Jan 2021

Re-read. I do check my previous reviews before I read to try and remember what I’m getting into. I knew there was a lot of kidnapping but forgot it was pretty much back to back. I can’t tell who is more unlucky in the series, Sara or Richard. I liked how protective the Desmonds were and I hated the pack. Felt like they got off easily, the only one that showed genuine remorse was Joseph, then again he was one of the few named, the rest part of a pack of one hundred.

I felt sorry for Sara dealing with Sanders and Wendy at their worst, it felt a little abusive given everything she was trying to do for them. I liked Sara standing up for herself and ripping out throats.

Richard’s pack did pretty much take over but it was nice to see Sara making friends. Favourite character was Dustin, because sharks. I liked how he doesn’t take shit from anyone, says what he likes and despite complaining, likes puppies and being involved. Mainly because of the sharks, but I liked the nicknames too.


February 2020

I pretty much read this one just for Dustin after reading the anthology. Starts off slow with Sara being a stripper and a damsel in distress, things quickly spiral out of control and although still a damsel in distress, she can take care of herself and enjoys ripping about her enemies.

There is a lot of kidnapping in this book, which did get a bit tedious but a lot of the old characters make the story, so now all about that. Maybe a few trigger warnings, attempted rape, death threats and suicide.

Sara and Sanders are made for each other, although he was pretty pathetic to start with. Dustin was my favourite character and I’m glad to see him in a lot happier setting than his childhood.

I found it fun, violent and enjoyable with some angsty moments and some stressful moments. Although I have still yet to read the first book with Nicolina’s story, the series feels like it’s getting stronger.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Gwen.
292 reviews53 followers
November 27, 2015
Rating 3 1/2 or 4 or 5 stars - you choose as you can see I had abit of trouble with this one. I admit I love RJ's books and this was no exception but and here's the but, I seem to hit the book jackpot this week with a number of my favourite authors releasing books expectedly and unexpectedly when I was halfway through the book and suddenly I was biting at the bit to finish. After that it felt like there was one too many kidnappings, one too many repeats of Sara's life story and the roadtrip felt like it would never end. All of this was totally unfair towards the book, its characters, the world RJ's created and the wonderful interaction between all involved that made me laugh out loud. Highly recommended read but choose your time to read carefully as it is a book that deserves to be savoured and not rushed.
Profile Image for Leiah Cooper.
766 reviews97 followers
October 30, 2019
Excellent, as all her books are!

I am addicted to RJ Blain. That's all there is to it! Well written, funny, and with great storytelling, se is my favorite. I just finished reading the "Magical Romantic Comety (With A Body Count)" series for the third or fourth time Gettysburg ready for the nex entries - I can hardly wait!

Read her work, you will be hooked!
Profile Image for Debrac2014.
2,355 reviews20 followers
August 4, 2024
3.5 stars I'm overall happy with Sara and Sanders story! There was too much abuse of Sara from start to finish, but she kicked ass!
Profile Image for Dr susan.
3,094 reviews51 followers
November 10, 2015
I have to admit this is a biased review; I love Blain's Witch & Wolf world and characters with a fiery passion. Beneath a Blood Moon tells Sara's story. Sara is a stripper and Vegas show girl who finds out her world is an even scarier place than she thought. But Sara isn't a fainting heroine waiting for her Alpha hero to save her--Sara is quite capable of saving her hero and herself. Blain's characters and their relationships drive her books as much as the action does, and BaBM has a lot of action, as Sara struggles to discover if she has a place in a world populated by wolves, witches, and wizards, both good and evil. Of course, there is romance with fade-to-black sex, plenty of action, fun with sharks, less fun with evil sorcerors, and an entirely engaging, flawed heroine. BaBM could be read as a standalone but is more fun if Winter Wolf and Tales of the Winter Wolf are read first. I beta read Beneath a Blood Moon but bought my copy to support Blain's W&W world.
Profile Image for Kei.
792 reviews14 followers
October 27, 2021
Long before you even the reach to the middle of this book, the main character is going to be kidnapped by 3 different sadistic psychopaths. And also sold once, though she 'lucked out' with the buyers. It's gets tiring.
Thing is, there is just too much stuffed into this one book, and half of it had to be pulled in by the ears, by making characters act purposefully stupid or relying on very improbable accidents. It's just not a well-structured book. It just feels like the author had too many ideas and instead of picking the ones that fit, put them all in regardless.
Another thing is that this author seems to have a 'thing' for picking an 'powerful and weird older couple' (Charles and Wendy here, the crazy designer in Bernadette Franklin books, etc)and then have them appear in every book in the series and act in the exact same way. It's fun once, it's fine the second time, but when it goes on and on ... it just gets beyond annoying, especially because their behavior is based on disregarding all and any boundaries of anyone else and torturing people with their 'affection', which in this series also includes violence.
What this book did is just really make me want to 'clean it' from all the repetitive stuff and illogical and forced stuff.
1,950 reviews18 followers
May 19, 2021
Sara is nothing like Cordelia (of Buffy fame). She does not have a similar background, which means that when she ends up in the kind of dire straits a lone girl in a wicked city can run into, Sara falls into the same kind of gritty underground that a girl with no money, no connections and a need to hide generally falls into. Sara is more like Marie-Therese from J.R. Ward's "Covet" - a girl from a good background running from someone powerful. Good thing that both Sara and Marie-Therese end up with guys who appreciate backbone as well as beauty and who are strong enough to help a beaten girl stand up to the bullies in her life. This was a gut-wrenching read - while it ends wells, Sara takes a lot of hard bumps to get there. The author does not compromise with her writing; she puts in as much of the dirtiness needed to really create a happily-ever-after worth appreciating. Well written!
44 reviews
December 24, 2023
I think there are a lot of things not working for me in this book. First it could have been half of the length and no one would notice. Second there are a lot of things bothering me a lot like to have a relationship in this book the new girl needs to be better than the old one and every one needs to tell her how the old one was not goed enough... Even to the point that the old wife just decided not to sacrifice her own career for him .. how dare she!!! Also lots of gender stuff that we should be over with but seems to be the base of any relationship in the book. The bickering that may be fun at the beginning gets old and it's the same for 400pages so at some point I just wanted to be done for.

This one did not do it for me for a lot of reasons I think it had potential and the story could be a good one but needs a good edition.
Profile Image for T..
Author 13 books572 followers
March 16, 2018
I received Beneath a Blood Moon from the author/publisher (via BookFunnel). The gifting did not determine the review/rating, which reflects my honest opinion.

Wow, wow, wow! I'd forgotten how much I enjoy Blain's worldbuilding and character development (I have now placed a half-dozen more books on my TBR -to be read- list. Beneath a Blood Moon was a long (500pg), full-length, standalone read with excellent storyline and sub-plots. Well worth the sticker-price, Blain did a terrific job of building a story (although, there was periodic recap/repetition which made me wonder if this book had originally been a collection of serial installments) and creating a story to pull the reader in and hold them to the story. Very well done- I loved this book.
Profile Image for Kimberley.
213 reviews1 follower
October 3, 2017
This book was wonderful Sarah leaves home and tunes to Vegas. Working four jobs to feed herself and afford school and a place to live. She has no idea the woman she thought was her best friend and her ex would change her life forever. While working as a stripper she is paid a lot of money to go out with someone. After meeting Sanders face to face her life really changes from one the. To the next you will be take. Into the world of wolves and danger I can’t wait to read the other books by this author
305 reviews2 followers
January 17, 2019
Possibly one of the best books I have ever read

This book is fantastic. So many bits made me laugh. Some bits actually made me cry. That hardly ever happens and only when the writing is exceptional. This is one of those.

I really enjoy all RJ Blain's books. But this story, Sara, Sanders, Desmond and Wendy, is incredible. It took me with it all the way. So rare but it is truly an incredible journey.
Profile Image for Nikita Gordyn.
42 reviews2 followers
April 12, 2021
Sara goes through hell in this story, but time after time she gets back up and ends up at her happily after after with a wolf more that worthy of her. Beneath a Blood Moon was an emotional read that covers some hard subjects, but goes to show you, have faith in yourself and your strength and you will find your happily ever after.
168 reviews1 follower
November 3, 2025
Exciting and bloody

This story is so exciting and crazier than usual and that is saying a good deal.I love it because it is so different.There is betrayal,fights,love and exciting crashes.The characters are awesome,even the bad guys are so evil that you want to cheer when they get comeuppance.Recommended? O yes 👍👍
94 reviews2 followers
June 20, 2017
What a great book!

While werewolf books are not my favorite paranormal genre, this book is so well written that I can't wait to read more by this author. I had a hard time putting it down. The action never stops and I love the characters. Definitely a must read.
Profile Image for Denise Fisher.
113 reviews1 follower
February 4, 2018
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Excitement all through it!

This book has a HEA, you're never sure how it could end that way. Plots within plots. Make it a point to read all RJ Brain's books. They're all great!
1,279 reviews
April 2, 2019
This is probably one of the best books I have read about werewolves. It follows Sara who becomes a werewolf through all her troubles, problems, and with a mystery of who is after her. Great story, a different look at werewolves.
44 reviews
December 14, 2020
Interesting with HEA

Trigger warning: suicide attempt and kidnapping. The good guys win even with our heroine's bad luck. The lessons are perseverance and hope, and everything ends happily.
Profile Image for Evelyn Ryan.
150 reviews7 followers
February 28, 2021
Trigger Warning

Loved this story, but I will say that some of the storyline should have come with a trigger warning. Parts were difficult for me to read, to be honest, I skipped them. Better than having an attack of PTSD. However, the ending made me happy.
152 reviews
February 5, 2022
Fantastic!

While I like all the Witch and Wolf books, this one may be my favorite. I adore Sara and her story ending in a happily ever after with Sanders. She’s strong, self sufficient, and a survivor which leads to an interesting read.
Profile Image for Kath Stewart.
106 reviews
November 28, 2025
Wolf

Sara becomes a wolf shifter after being attacked by her ex and her best friend. Lots of shenanigans and mishaps happen to Sara as she navigates her new life. Sad in places happy in others and frightening Inbetween
Would definitely recommend
110 reviews1 follower
June 12, 2017
Funny exciting and full of action.

Absolutely great. Starting from the first to last page kept you going. Great characters and free flowing action. Can't wait for book two.
552 reviews2 followers
September 14, 2018
Werewolf adventure

By one of my favorite fantasy authors, but not my favorite book. Bit too much perils of pauline, kidnappings, sharks, guns.
570 reviews3 followers
December 12, 2018
Love this author

Sometime being a werewolf is just more trouble than it’s worth. Sara’s friends bring even more trouble but they are worth it
Profile Image for Tami.
492 reviews1 follower
August 28, 2019
It started out kinda slow but got better the further you got into the book. Was disappointed the puppy's weren't born
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for T K.
217 reviews
May 30, 2020
It was so long when it really didn't need to be. I loved the book, just my only problem.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews

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