Gray Moon Rising (Seasons of the Moon #4) by SM Reine

Rylie has been a werewolf for a year and is desperately trying to reconcile himself with the people she killed in the last book. It isn’t going well, while Adam and the other werewolves are roaming and learning control, she is desperately trying tom isolate herself… and she has a silver bullet ready.

But the mountain where it all began is calling her – and not just her, but all the werewolves in the world are being drawn back to the source. And were werewolves gather in such numbers, so too do hunters.

I have to say I am a little disappointed, in the end, by how Rylie became the superior Alpha which I’ve seen in other series of books set in this world. I expected her to do some thing or learn something or achieve something – I expected her to earn it in some epic, awesome moment. To have it be bestowed divinely without me seeing particularly why felt like something of a cop out. I expected this series of books to continue to show her growth as she went from ordinary teenaged girl to confused werewolf and eventually to something even more – and I feel it didn’t quite reach that potential.

Not that Rylie didn’t grow and change, in fact her progression through the book is pretty excellent. She begins fully reeling from the deaths of the last book. She is consumed by guilt, suicidal and generally not entirely sure she shouldn’t die – or that all werewolves shouldn’t die for that matter. It’s one of the interesting conflicts of this series – while it’s nice to think werewolves are being persecuted and attacked by the big mean hunters the fact remains that they are out of control when they change, the can’t control their changes and they do kill people.  Rylie herself has killed people, innocent people.

But we see her concern grow for her fellow werewolves far more so than for herself as she struggles to reconcile with her actions. Concern for the other werewolves also drawn to the mountain, worry about them being hunted. I love how she finds the value of werewolves through her worry for others, through seeing them as people being hunted and people to save even if she can’t see herself that way. And I know that there’s a whole lot pure martyrdom in the genre, especially with women, but working with her the guilt and pain means that this is far more developed than how we normally see the trope

Long Night Moon (The Seasons of the Moon #3) by SM Reine

Rylie is almost beginning to learn how to be a werewolf, or so she thinks. Her life is working, so it seems.

Except people are dying – is it the responsibility of the new werewolves in town? And even if it isn’t, can she control her territorial instincts?

And Abel is struggling with his newest werewolf bite from Rylie and it isn’t going so well…

Like the previous books, this book continues the story of Rylie and her development. Rylie the new werewolf trying to find her way even as she seems to have things sorted out at the end of the last book with her and Seth and Abel.

And it doesn’t go to plan

I like that. From book one there has been a sense that Rylie is a special werewolf. Sure she turns into a wolf, sure she has anger issues and sure she doesn’t remember what she does in wolf form, but she’s a special one. Her specialness is relied on repeatedly by Seth to keep him safe and is an underlying theme

Furthermore, contrary to this idea of specialness that has been implied and so pervades this genre, we also have an indication that there are people who may be better at this whole werewolf thing than she is. That there are people who are not only better than she but that they may be able to offer her something. Or, to put it another way, the awesome and powerful figure I know Rylie will become in the future

Rylie predominantly focuses on Bekah of the new werewolves. I’m hoping this means she will play a greater role in future books and may finally be the one woman Rylie’s age who she doesn’t loathe with the fiery passion of molten silver – because it’s about time. Of course, that focus in this book means she DOES focus on her with the fiery passion of molten silver quite unlike her brother (though I do question why she repeatedly thinks of Levi as sick or even rotting).

In terms of storyline, I don’t think there’s much to say because I don’t think there is much in the way of story. People are dying but only Abel really focuses on it and he in a not very coherent fashion. They’re more a backdrop to Rylie’s daily life that both lacks the mundanity of a daily life storyline and lacks the events to set it as other than that. We have mini events, a dance, a therapist visit, Rylie’s constant hostility towards Bekah and her struggle for control and, of course, Aunt Gwyn‘s illness. But an actual storyline? I think it’s lacking, even more than the previous book which left me at times wondering exactly what I was reading, what the point was and generally losing me.

All Hallows' Moon (Seasons of the Moon #2) by SM Reine

Rylie, a new werewolf, has to get out of the city. She’s too dangerous to be around people, there are too many things around her that distract her wolf senses. While she may not like the countryside, life on her aunt’s ranch may be the one way she can avoid hurting people

But, with werewolves now very rare, the werewolf hunters are quick to identify what the animal attacks on livestock around Rylie mean. Obsessed werewolf hunter Eleanor heads to town with her two sons, Abel and Seth

Like the first book, I think there’s a lot of realism in the main characters – Rylie and Seth are teenagers in extreme situations. But still teenagers. In many ways they feel very real – which means I don’t always agree with what they do. I don’t always like what they do. I often don’t really like them. But I understand them – I get why they do what they do.

It really sells Rylie as a teenager who is turning into a werewolf, not understanding and desperately hoping that she won’t hurt anyone but not knowing how not to. She flees the city because the idea of changing into a wolf surrounded by so many people terrifies her – as well as her senses being completely overwhelmed. So even though she chose to move to her aunt’s ranch in the middle of nowhere, it was still a choice that was forced on her and she is a city girl at heart. She’s also mourning her recently deceased father and all the traumatic events that happened at camp

Does this make Rylie a happy, sunshine, reasonable person? Nope. But I don’t think anyone could be or would be in those circumstances.

Similarly, Seth is clearly disillusioned with his life as a hunter. He is severely questioning the morality of their path and, even aside from that, simply doesn’t wasn’t to live this way; a life with no affection or love, a life where family means fellow warriors, a life where his mother cares more about the kill than her children and a life which, ultimately, has no future. Rylie is an excellent catalyst to accelerating his own discomfort and challenges with the lifestyle his mother demands. And I like that it is an extra element that spurs him but not the only reason, he’s not turning his back on his family and tradition and duty he believes in because of Rylie – he’d already seen the deep flaws in all of them long before.

Six Moon Summer (Seasons of the Moon #1) by SM Reine

Rylie didn’t want to go to camp. She’s a city lover at heart and she doesn’t want anything to do with her and the great outdoors. Especially not when her parents are just getting rid of her so they can arrange their divorce

But even she didn’t imagine of the threats of nature would be being bitten by a werewolf.

Now she is slowly transforming, her appetites, her anger – and that’s without the moon rising. She has 3 months to find a way to stop it, or she’ll be a monster for life.

I am torn. On the one hand I have to applaud how very human Rylie is – and not just Rylie, everyone. She’s a teenaged girl going through some terrible times with her family and has been dumped in summer camp, basically to get rid of her while her parents try to sort through their lives. In addition to resenting being kicked off to the middle of nowhere, Rylie is an urbanite. She doesn’t like the countryside, not even a little.

Rylie is not a happy young woman.  On top of that she’s also turning into a werewolf which comes with its own set of complications and problems

And it shows – she’s a surly teenager who is kind of surly. This generally leaves me jumping between two stances: irritated with Rylie because she’s not perfect, she’s angry and she doesn’t always act perfectly because of it. Or angry with the people around Rylie for the somtimes unfair way they treat her, because they’re also not perfect and they’re generally trying (especially the camp counsellor).

I have to say that neither stances nor the story makes me especially particularly like her but that’s not a criticism on the character. She is a very real character, a very human character and, like many people who are going through a difficult time, she’s not especially likeable. And that’s fine – she’s is a very good character with interesting points and character growth. And it’s her very normal humanity that makes her slow transition into becoming a werewolf and all that means all the more powerful and meaningful.

I can’t say the same for the development of any other character, sadly. This is a book that is very focused on Rylie but there’s no connection or real humanisation of anyone else. The figures at camp are pretty much small parts. She has a guide to the ways of the werewolf in the guise of Seth – but all he is his the uber-hot purveyor of arcane knowledge. There’s a sinister guy who is sinister and an ending that should be really twisting and surprising but fails to be because none of these characters were developed in a meaningful manner. Ending with “Oh look X is a werewolf!” isn’t all that shocking or surprising or meaningful because I know next to nothing about X and have been given no real reason to care about them.