| Title | : | Shadow Wolf (Moon Marked, #2) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 226 |
| Publication | : | First published October 7, 2018 |
No wonder I kept some secrets, broke a few rules... and implicated my werewolf protector in the process. Oops.
To make matters worse, the stealer of my dead mother's magic has set his sights on my sister a second time. As the child's powers fade, so does her vitality until death looms on the horizon.
Can I learn to harness the power of the pack – and squash my individuality – before my sister's life is entirely sucked away from her? And, with my recent blunders causing upheaval in the werewolf world, will my former protector be willing to help us if I choose to ask?
This second book in Aimee Easterling's urban fantasy series follows Wolf's Bane.
Shadow Wolf (Moon Marked, #2) Reviews
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Shadow Wolf is the second book in the Moon marked series, and continues to follow our kitsune MC Mai, her sister Kira and the pack of werewolves, including our second MC Gunner. This book continued from the first one in a way that left me a little… flat. It feels as though a lot of the events in this book were unnecessary to get to the ending we had. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t bad, but wasn’t exactly great either, hence the 3 stars. The “plot twist” was very obvious, and from then on I was very confused with who was where and what they were doing (without giving too much away because spoilers). There was a lot of ‘them after them after them’ which confused me to who the moments were centred on. Overall, it was ok, and may move on to the third book after a break from this series.
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Definitely not a romance. If you're looking for romance or softer porn, it's not here. And Mei and her sister are irritating! Good grief. I'm listening to the last book in the series, but I doubt I'll listen to any other series by this author because the thought of reading a really good romance is gone.
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An average read. I skipped a few chapters in the middle due to boredom. I’m not sure I’ll continue this series.
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Part two of a three-part serialized novel
This part of the story deserves a trigger warning because of all of the abusive male characters.
A main feature of Mai's magic, that if she owes any money at all, even a couple of dollars, to anyone, no matter how dangerous they might be, she cannot escape their radius. She is literally nailed in place, and she has to obey their orders. You'd think that this would cause Mai to never, under any circumstances, allow herself to owe anybody any money. But no. She's not that smart. The fact that the person she owes money to is her romantic interest, Gunner, presumably is supposed to add a sexy, S&M aspect to their relationship, but I just found it creepy. Being forced to obey another person is a scary form of loss of autonomy that amounts to downright slavery as the story progresses.
In addition, Gunner himself has an enslaved relationship with his older brother (a sick theme this author is obsessed with in this story), which is really awful to witness. The brother seems to be an hereditary alpha of their werewolf pack, which is quite out of keeping with how werewolves are typically presented in urban fantasy. The brother also runs his pack like some kind of Caligula. He demands that the wolves he rules over, including Gunner, engage in gladiator type brawls in a smaller version of the Roman Colosseum, with female werewolves as the prize for victory. He also claims the right to have sex with all of the female werewolves in his pack, which is sexually abusive. But what makes it even worse is that the author portrays a female werewolf, who is described as a "pack princess," as perfectly fine with the fact that Gunner wins her as a prize after a gladiator battle.
In neither of the first two books of this trilogy are we ever informed as to how someone becomes a werewolf. And the reason why werewolves want to slaughter every fox shifter like Mai and her sister is never explained in a way that makes sense.
Finally, Mai's sister is the entire source of every bit of trouble that Mai gets into. The sister is 13 and has been old enough for years for Mai to sit her down and explain the realities of their magic and the risks they face from werewolves. If Mai had done this years ago, her sister would never have sold on eBay the magical artifacts inherited from their dead mother, allowing them to end up in the hands of a mortal enemy. Every time the younger sister does something incredibly stupid and dangerous, Mai just smiles wryly and writes it off as inevitable and unfixable due to her sister' fox nature and being a teenager. Which is one more way for the author to make Mai perpetually a helpless victim of circumstance. Trying to keep her sister from being killed, due to impulsively walking into danger and getting kidnapped, continually forces Mai to alternate between being helplessly trapped in the power of Gunner, his evil brother, and/or multiple horrible villains. -
Mai after joining the werewolf pack when her sister custody is jeopardy but gunner take a decision to safeguard Mai sister as a elder brother or say god brother.
No wonder she kept some secrets, broke a few rules... and implicated my werewolf protector in the process. As his brother Ransom who want to rule a pack and want to take over and broke the gunner in process
To make matters worse, the stealer of my dead mother's magic has set his sights on my sister a second time. As the child's powers fade, so does her vitality until death looms on the horizon.
She has to learn to harness the power of the pack – and squash her individuality – before her sister's life is entirely sucked away from her. And, with her recent blunders causing upheaval in the werewolf world, as gunner being the fox protector doesn't go well with some werewolves in the pack . Will her former protector be willing to help us if I choose to ask. The gunner stand by her and court give Kira custody to her and gunner what more is there see we have to wait for part 3 of trilogy. -
Didn't read this fast enough to jump over the plot holes... instead I fell in and will not be finishing this series.
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Shadow Wolf (Moon Marked Book 2), Aimee Easterling
Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews
Genre: Sci-fi and Fantasy, Romance
So, after the last adventures Mai and Kira are hiding out with Gunner and the pack. Of course that doesn't go down well with many of them, historically the two Do Not Mix....and Kira is fading fast. Trying to be helpful we saw in the last book things she did that are now affecting her badly. Kira is desperate to help her sister, but can see her sickening daily. Kira is still a brat though, in a nice way, she adores her sister but it seems the fox/kitsune playfulness and trickster genes came out in force in Kira. She means well, but somehow ends up doing the opposite, causing chaos. If she was a NI spirit she's be Coyote!
Its a fun read, I loved the fact the Pack weren't happy and the issues that brought. I did feel a bit confused at times, sort of lost the thread of where the story was going, and it took me a while to get back “into” the story. There was a patch where I lost it completely, got confused and just kind of switched off and skimmed a couple of chapters, and of course that didn't help. “But I wanted to see what would happen” she explains plaintively...
There's some more surprises for Mia and Kira here, mum's voice is still throwing cryptic comments at Mia, and some of those made me smile and think “what on earth does THAT mean??”. Its good to have some lighter moments ;-) Gunner is doing his best to help but he's Pack and his leader brother makes it clear he needs to choose where his loyalties lie. While Mia and Kira continue to help the pack in their search they're there in sufferance but its a thin line he treads.
I enjoyed this installment even though like other reviewers there were parts where I got a bit lost, but I love to read a series back to back, and to reread good ones, and find that works well for me. I'm sure when I get to reread this one those foggy moments will be clearer, especially as I'll know the ending and be able to resist skipping to there ;-)
And, I've bought book three. It takes a lot to make me buy books with getting lots of lovely arcs ( thanks authors and publishers), free kindle reads and KU.
Stars: four, a fun read, some terrific characters – including Kira's social worker! I doubt in real life that would swing but she's a gem. I did find parts a little hard to follow but as I've said I'm sure re-reading will clear that up.
A bought book! -
This book picked up shortly after Wolf's Bane (Moon Marked Book 1) ended, and while it could be enjoyed on its own, it will make more sense if you read the series in order. As always, Aimee Easterling has produced a fun, suspenseful shifter story with an exciting plot. I love that this series adds kitsune to Ms. Easterling's world of werewolves, blending her delightful take on shifters with magic.
This relatively quick read started with a great hook and effortlessly captured and held my interest. It was fast-paced with an exciting, action-filled plot that presented some unexpected twists as our heroine Mai struggled to track down a serial killer, recover her mother’s magic, protect her sister, and learn how to function as a member of a pack. The only downside is that some of the action scenes involve dreams and possession and I was sometimes confused about what was happening and who was responsible.
I really like the characters in this series. Mai is strong but vulnerable, relatable and easy to cheer on. Her sister Kira is adorable, and I loved Gunner and his pack. Even Kira’s social worker was fun, although I’m not sure her responses to certain situations were believable.
Because I’ve come to care about these characters, I am very much looking forward to the final book in this series, which is expected in January 2019. This book has a satisfying ending though, so don't be afraid of cliffhangers. Some readers may have been frustrated with how the first book ended, but this book resolves most of the open plot threads.
I volunteered to review an advanced reader copy of this book provided to me by the author. The version I read was neatly formatted and had few typos that I can recall. If you like urban fantasy or paranormal mystery/suspense with a hint of romance, give this series a try. -
3.5
I read this book straight after the first one and even though I thoroughly enjoyed it I didn’t find it as good as the first one.
I’m glad some stuff was clarified and cleared up, but, I did find that there were moments towards the end where it was a little confusing.
- there’s a moment when she’s seeing through someone possessed wolf. It didn’t really confirm whether she was herself or if she was the other person. I thought that maybe if the author maybe made a change in font (made it italics how some books do for different POV from the main character in a book, or flashbacks) it would have helped the reader to differentiate.
My impressions of all the characters didn’t change from my review of the first book aside from Mai. I found her almost lacking in intelligence and instinct compared to the first book.
I also found a few times thinking how has she lasted this long and how did she manage to constantly win in ‘fight club’ when it constantly seemed like she was in the defensive and was constantly the one with her jugular in the attackers throat. The first book made her seem like a bad ass fight as well as a bad ass swordsman. This book; however, did not.
She also felt like even though she’d been more Fox lately than in the past, she wasn’t maybe as in-tune with her Kitsune as she should have been. How can her sister who isn’t even a Kitsune or have her own powers be more in-tune with her Fox. I know she was in hiding but still.
Otherwise the book was a good read and original 😊 -
Some authors just know how to do shifter urban fantasy perfectly. I hunt these authors out and treasure them whenever found. Aimee Easterling is most definitely among that rather elite group, and her Moon Marked series is a perfect example of why this is so. Her take on shifter mentality and the world-building she put into the series are both just perfect. I fell in love with its lead character, sassy but string fox shifter Mai Fairchild in Wolf’s Bane, the first book in the series. It was an excellent tale full of adventure and just the right amount of romance (see my separate review). I had intended to savor the remaining two books, Shadow Wolf (Book 2) and Fox Blood (Book 3) but once I started I found myself unable to stop and gobbled them up in one single sitting (which went far too long into the night). Mai is with the pack now but things are not easy for her or for Gunner. Her sister is at risk. The pack itself is at risk. Her disruptive impact is seemingly as feared. Trouble, twists and turns, adventure, excitement and romance all as promised and all done perfectly. Total addiction a definite risk. But for the fact that I’m literally dictating this review to my husband from my hospital bed I could go on and on with praises. Both of these books definitely deserves it. Since I can’t do that I will simply note that each book is most definitely “one to read”, and each is easy to highly recommend.
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„Shadow Wolf”, the second installment in the “Moon Marked Series” by Aimee Easterling, continues the story of Mai Fairchild, shifter kitsune, and her sister Kira in their quest to come to terms with their own heritage.
Kira is slowly fading as a result of her former decisions, and Mai is struggling to find her place into the pack. Gunner’s help has its boundaries, after all he has to abide by the Alpha’s rules, his own brother. Kira kitsune/trickster nature does not make the situation any easier and to aggravate it even more, their mother’s killer is prowling on Kira again, while “mom-dearest-spirit” advice causes more hassle than deliverance. The events somersault into each other in a web of twists and turns that force the reader’s attention until the very emotional end.
Aimee Easterling is undoubtedly an alpha writer 😉 when it comes to shifter stories and has the uncanny talent to create characters that are always relatable and possess a distinct personality with a mix of human weakness and animal instincts traits that makes them instantly recognizable. Mai’s is an intriguing character, they are not many kitsunes out there, and surely not so very good interpreted in UF. A very successful sequel in a fantastic series, that for highest entertainment should be read in chronological order. -
This book is a serious page turner! Aimee Easterling's style of writing puts you right beside the characters to the point where all else fades away and you are running along with them, fighting to survive with them, and laughing and loving along with them. I love that while there are wolf shifters in this novel, there are also the Fox shifters. I love that we have a whole separate type of shifter involved. It makes me smile, I love foxes. I will suggest you read the first book of the series, WOLF'S BANE, because this particular book picks up right where the first book left off. Although you can figure out what all is going on easily, I do believe you will enjoy it more after the first, However, I picked up in the middle of her other series before and had no issues at all. She writes complete worlds in which the imagery flows into being. I am very excited to get the next book in the series because it is such a good group of characters, they become your friends, and your enemies. Definitely 5 out of 5 stars from me!
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AN ABSOLUTELY EXCITING TALE!!!
Wow. Talk about power plays. This is one exciting, pulse racing, heart pounding, nailbiting, page turning tale that captivates from the start. All the twists and turns, ups and downs, along with a few glitches here and there make for one enjoyable experience. You get action packed, hard hitting, fast paced, thrilling rollercoaster ride of emotions and events. The scenes are so descriptive and detailed it's easy to picture each scenario as it plays off one another perfectly. The characters are well developed and believable. Their personalities are unique with qualities that balance as it pulls this little treasure together beautifully. Aimee did an excellent job bringing this read to life flawlessly. Fantastic job Aimee, thanks for sharing this little guy with us. -
Lots of action, mystery and adventure in this one. Mia and Gunner are still fighting for custody of Kira. Adding to an already stressful situation Kira suddenly falls deathly ill and they have to figure out what’s going on and how to help her. Their search for the cure leads Mia and Kira on a journey that may just help them figure out the answers to some of their other questions. There’s danger around every corner and loyalties are called into question as each bit of truth is uncovered. I enjoyed the many twists and turns their journey takes. I got confused a little during one of the battle scenes but quickly caught on the further I got into it. The ending had me feeling lots of different emotions. I’m still holding out hope that Mia and Gunner will find a way to be together. Can’t wait to see what the next book has in store for them. (4.5⭐️)
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Shadow Wolf by Aimee Easterling is Book 2 in the Moon Marked series. Mai and her sister Kira are kitsume and are now living with Gunner and his werewolf pack who have sworn to protect them rather than kill them on site as most werewolves would. Better living conditions have not brought an improvement in Kira's health which took a turn for the worst at the end of Book 1. Mai is determined to find the Master who stole her mother's star ball (the only thing that will save Kira) as well as continue to deal with Protective Services who is trying to remove Kira from her guardianship. Will Mai find out who the Master is and foil his plans as well as keep her sister with her? You will need to get this highly recommended story to find out. Piper Goodeve is an excellent narrator. She brought this story to life. Received an ARC and this is my voluntary review.
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I generally enjoy this author’s writing, and I am happy to say this book, the second in a series, is no exception. Mia’s life has changed quite a bit, but she isn’t sure if it’s for the better. Now, it seems her sister Kira can’t be well after losing something at the end of the last book. Can she find out what’s up with her sister, and maybe get to the bottom of who the Master is? I loved how events unfolded in this book. I do wish that Mia and Gunner would get a little closer, but there are more books to come. And, to tell the truth, I am sad at a couple of the events at the end. I’m hoping for a resolution in the next book…please, please? Enjoyable book that I highly recommend! I was provided the e-book which I voluntarily reviewed.
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SIMPLY THE BEST
I have just finished Shadow Wolf & it's 3:45am, so that gives you the first bit of insight into this latest work of Aimee Easterling's. It was addictive to the point where I definitely won't get enough sleep tonight, but it was SO WORTH IT!! Ms. Easterling's portrayal of both kitsune & werewolves shows the depth & complexity of their humanity while also demonstrating the sheer rawness & honesty of their animal sides. The character of Gunner in particular stands out as one of the most fully developed characters I have read in a long time. The plot was exciting, gripping, & moved at a frenetic pace. The climax was tense & resolved in a totally unexpected manner. I can highly recommend this book, as well as Ms. Easterling's other works. It's a great ride! -
I was a tad bit annoyed that the first book in this trilogy did not end where I thought it should have. Luckily, book #2 in this trilogy (series?) did resolve the plot and character arcs introduced in the first book.
If I have one major criticism of these two books it's that the author didn't always provide information that would have helped better anchor me in the story she was trying to tell. I wasn't sure if she was trying to be clever or if she just wasn't sure of the reasons herself, but it took much too long for her provide ample exposition of the kitsune nature. And, frankly, I'm still not sure why there's out-and-out animosity between werewolves and kitsunes. It seemed...ungrounded. -
Shadow Wolf is Aimee Easterling's second installment in her Moon Marked trilogy. This book was just as thrilling as the first! Mai and Kira have moved in with the werewolves, and are gradually learning what it means to be part of a pack. Meanwhile, Kira is slowly fading away due to the loss of her star ball. The Master is still at large, and pulling strings whenever possible. Mai's mother has made an appearance, and the jury is out on whether that is helpful or potentially harmful. The race is on to discover the master, and disarm him before more damage can be done.
The storyline remains fast-paced, filled with, magic, danger, intrigue and manipulations. The characters are vast, but the main ones are well developed and engaging. I can't wait to see what book three brings! -
I cannot believe there’s still no answer to whether humans know these beings are walking around in their world. People are weak and gullible but there’s no way we wouldn’t notice all of this going on around us. Oh, and the sister how can a character become more selfish and more self-serving I don’t care how young she is, that’s ridiculous. To be two books into a trilogy and still not understand the whole werewolf wolf/shifter world is mind numbing. Wait a minute of course I don’t understand it we get no details we’re supposed to assume.
I’m also surprised how uninteresting and uncaptivating the romantic situation between the Fox and the Wolf was. He’s pretty standard but she is just ridiculous and again why would we care. -
Overall rating: 4.6
Mia’s love for her little sister has no boundaries and this author truly captured this. The conclusion took me by surprise which is always a good thing. This tale read really well and made flying through it a breeze. I loved the exposure this tale gave to pack politics as well as the havoc unforeseen influences had on them. Family roots tend to have secrets and this pack is no exception. Love the exposure to kitsunes. All my reviews are always voluntarily written. -
This is the second book in the Moon Marked series and it picks up pretty much where the first book ends. There is plenty of action, suspense, drama and even romance surrounding Mai and Kira. I really want to see what is next for the girls because of the ending of this book. I never give spoilers so if you want to know what happens read the series, it is so worth it! I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
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Enh....I really enjoyed the take on the Kitsunai and adding something different to the traditional werewolf spin but it's shallow. There is a lot missing in the character development that would make you want to fall into the book. The author skips details at critical junctures and then over does it in other areas. I am downloading book 3 now because I do like the overall story and it's a quick read but would like more umpf!
