Dark Guardians is a series of romance novel for teens written by Rachel Hawthorne. It’s been a couple of decades since I read a romance novel; I used to read them all the time. I picked up the first and third books in paperback, at a super low price. However, I had to purchase the second book in ebook format, which I wasn’t happy about as the price was more expensive than the two printed books put together. There is a fourth book, but it’s not available in my area so again I would have to pay a high price for the ebook, which I will NOT be doing as I believe ebooks should be cheaper than paperbacks. No exceptions!
Book 1: Moonlight
Book Description:
“I see him and I know what this turmoil inside of me means: He’s the one. My forever.”
KAYLA is the nature lover, the all-American beauty who can’t understand why she’s so drawn to distant, brooding Lucas. Adopted as a young child, she has no way of knowing that she’s inherited a terrifying-and thrilling-gene that will change her life forever.
LUCAS is dangerous, gorgeous … and a werewolf. As leader of the Dark Guardians, shape-shifters who gather deep within the state park, he has sworn to protect his pack. But when Lucas finds his true soul mate, his love could put them all in harm’s way.
As Lucas and Kayla struggle with their feelings for each other, a greater danger lurks: Humans have discovered the Dark Guardians and are planning their destruction. Kayla must choose between the life she knows and the love she feels certain is her destiny.
Book Review:
Moonlight by Rachel Hawthorne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
To be honest, the cover did nothing for me. I actually looked at it and moved on straight away. Then two young girls appeared beside me. One of them picked the book up and said, “This is a werewolf romance.” They walked off, book in hand, and I moved back to the pile of books and picked one up to read the blurb.
The blurb interested me. I’m not interested in reading vampires stories anymore, but hadn’t read a romance involving werewolves. The price was right, so I was willing to give it a go.
And I’m glad I did. Yes, it might be a bit cheesy in places. Yes, I groaned and rolled my eyes at a couple of spots where the romance was far from reality (in my honest opinion). But … the book was easy to read and quite absorbing.
I liked the characters, especially the main characters – Kayla and Lucas. Kayla isn’t sure of herself, which was a bit irritating, but she had a lot of baggage and I was able to make allowances for her. Lucas is the mysterious one. We know he’s a werewolf, but Kayla doesn’t. They are well suited, but then there’s Mason; smart, good looking and attentive.
The setting was particularly interesting. The group were hiking and camping through a forest, which presented its own dangers. I enjoyed the fact that whilst I had a clear idea of their surroundings, the author didn’t go on and on with long descriptions. Top marks for that.
The other thing I liked about the book was the fact that it is written in a way that shows werewolves (or shifters as they prefer to be called) as the good guys and a small majority of humans (or statics) as the baddies. It is refreshing to read about a topic (meaning werewolves), which is usually connected with death and violence, and have it approached from a different angle that shows it can be totally different to what is expected. If werewolves really existed, these are the type I’d like to see in the world.
I really did enjoy this book.
Book 2: Full Moon
Book Description:
“I may be promised to another . . . but thoughts of Rafe consume me. I don’t know how much longer I can resist.”
LINDSEY is wild and reckless, a natural rebel – maybe because her entire life was laid out for her even before she was born. Her parents are among the most powerful members of the Dark Guardians, an ancient tribe of werewolves, and they arranged Lindsey’s betrothal to Connor long ago. The next full moon is coming all too soon, and then her commitment to Connor will be final – no turning back. She should be happy … so why can’t she stop thinking about gorgeous, brooding Rafe?
When a dangerous threat on the pack escalates, so do tensions between Connor and Rafe. A fight over Lindsey is imminent, but will it be to the death?
Book Review:
Full Moon by Rachel Hawthorne
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Having enjoyed the first book, I had to purchase this one and continue reading. By now, I understood what I was in for and accepted the cheesiness and “roll of the eye” moments and just enjoyed the story.
This book basically picks up from where book one ended, but is told from the point of view of one of the other characters. It took me a while to let go of Kayla and Lucas and turn my attention to Lindsey, Connor and Rafe, but once I managed to do that I was again drawn in and held.
In this book we learn more about the Dark Guardians and their history as we are taken into their secret village. We continue to have glimpses of Kayla and Lucas and see how their relationship in progressing, but Lindsey has issues of her own.
Lindsey and Connor have been together forever. They’ve been through a lot together and as far as everyone is concerned, including their parents, they will be bonded as mates at the next full moon. Neither of them fought against it because it felt right … until Rafe started to haunt Lindsey’s dreams; and she wasn’t always asleep when it happened!
Lindsey’s confusion and inability to make a decision was irritating, but in reality I could accept her situation and understood her confusion. Sometimes it’s difficult to know what the right thing to do is.
Once again, we returned to the forest and did some hiking and camping. The overall threat of Bio-Chrome wasn’t resolved in book one and is revisited in this book. Of course, this thread gives an element of danger, which mixes up the tension a bit more.
I gave this book three stars instead of four (which I gave the first book) simply because the freshness wasn’t there. I still enjoyed it, but the impact wasn’t as great; hence, the rating is lower.
Book 3: Dark of the Moon
Book Description:
“I’ve loved him forever, but he can never be mine.”
BRITTANY is determined to prove herself to the Dark Guardians. And yet she’s been keeping a devastating secret: She hasn’t experienced any of the intense, early signs of change that mark a Dark Guardian’s transformation. The only intense feelings she has are for Connor—and she’s kept that a secret, too. But she knows she’ll never truly have Connor’s love if she’s not a Shifter like him.
At the first full moon after her birthday, her greatest fear is realized: She doesn’t transform. Brittany is so desperate to become a wolf that she’ll go to extremes she never thought possible … and put all the Dark Guardians in incredible danger.
Book Review:
Dark of the Moon by Rachel Hawthorne
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
The third book in the series. This time we back-track to the night of the full moon (when, in book 2, Lindsey finally made her chose between Connor and Rafe) and we see how Brittany copes with transforming alone. Remember, Dark Guardian legend foretells that when a female faces her first transformation, she will not survive if she doesn’t have a male with her.
The book starts at the point just before the transformation is to happen. Brittany is terrified as she knows she may not be alive to see the sun rise again, but she waits and waits and waits.
Nothing happens and she’s devastated.
Because of the opening to the story, I believe I managed to swap characters to Brittany’s point of view quite easily. I felt sorry for her. And because of that, I think I tolerated her story more than I did Lindsey’s. She had more reason to act the way she does in the book. And there weren’t as many cheesy bits, or maybe I had just become more accepting of those too.
My biggest complaint with the book was how swiftly Connor went from Lindsey to Brittany. The explanation is viable, but it was too quick in my opinion and there were not enough hints of how Connor might have felt in the second book for me to accept it so readily in this one. Yeah, I know it’s just a story, but still…
There was less hiking and camping in this book, which by now I was glad of. However, the Bio-Chrome threat was ever present. More so, as the threat became a bigger part of the story and is resolved by the end of the book. I was pleased with this.
The thing I liked most about this book, it that it felt closer to reality where emotions were concerned. I’m not talking about the romance side of things, I mean the feelings we hold much deeper and often keep secret from others – our fears. Often we do stupid things to be accepted and Brittany is no different when she makes her decisions.
I give this book 3.5 stars. I enjoyed it more than the second book, it ‘spoke’ to me, drew me right in, and even made me shed a tear. However, I still feel the first book’s freshness made it stand out from the rest, even with the cheesy parts.
In Conclusion:
As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, there is a fourth book Shadow of the Moon. If the paperback was available locally or if the ebook was more reasonably priced, I would have purchased it. However, all threads have been resolved to my satisfaction in the three books I’ve read and I don’t feel the need to continue reading, so this is where I stop reading the Dark Guardian series.
If you like romance, if you want something easy to get lost in, and if you can overlook the cheesy parts, I recommend these three books.
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