Romance Witch's Reviews: Review: Black Moon

A group of former Navy SEALS, the Alpha Pack is a top-secret team of wolf shifters with Psy powers combating the greatest dangers in the world. But sometimes those dangers are more intimate than they bargained for…

Ever since he saved Dr. Mackenzie Grant’s life, panther shifter and sorcerer Kalen Black has had trouble keeping the beautiful doctor out of his thoughts, and his heart. The brush with death awakened an intense passion between them—one that for the first time had the notorious loner letting down his guard.

With the Alpha Pack battling an evil Fae who is slowly gaining control over Kalen’s mind, Kalen can no longer trust his own actions, and he breaks off his affair with Mackenzie in order to keep her safe. But when Mackenzie learns that she is carrying Kalen’s child, no amount of danger will keep her away from the man she loves. To protect his mate and unborn child, Kalen will have to battle a terrible evil, unleash the full fury of his power, and risk destroying them all…

Review:

Alpha Pack story #3 picks up shortly after the end of book 2, Savage Awakening, ends. The love story though picks up from the novella that came before, a short story that first gets Mac and Kalen together. If you haven’t read the novella, I recommend you definitely do so, or you will be a little lost. That being said this story is wonderful in itself and the continuing overall storyline about the Unseelie king’s grand plan is fleshed out considerably. The Alpha pack series has become one of my favorite series about sexy shifters and military guys, who could resist that combo!?

Kalen is dealing with the new hold the Unseelie King has on his psyche and trying his best to keep Mackenzie safe from himself and the consequences of their desire. Fighting the influence is become more difficult and working with his magic is making it even more troublesome as the King prays on his insecurities. When he can no longer resist Mac’s pull and takes her back to bed, his desires and needs become overwhelming to him. Running becomes easier than dealing with the truth of what he wants and needs. Unfortunately this allows the evil to find a deeper hold in him, leading him directly to the King and forcing him into a bond that is perilous to both him, his pack, and his lover.

Mackenzie has always felt a connection to Kalen. Even though he obviously regrets the one night they spent together, she still feels connected to him and wants him to be hers. She has tried to accept his indifference, his desire to keep her at a distance, even though she’s hurt by it. But when things become considerably more complicated, both with the pack and with their relationship, Mac is left feeling adrift. She is pregnant with a child whose father doesn't want her anymore, a friend in serious need of assistance fighting the darkness in him, and a pack that’s being infiltrated by a evil she can’t fight. When their desire becomes too much to fight Mac, is even more confused with Kalen’s hot and cold mood swings.

While Kane and Mac were a great couple, there was such a lack of communication in their relationship that it was ridiculous. Over and over Kalen and Mac were forced apart by their own unnecessary mistakes. Kalen would make an assumption about something Mac said or did which fired his insecurities, and would lead him back into the arms of the King, making the hold of evil deeper and more profound. Several times I wished I could just tell Kalen to make a decision and stick with it already. He was portrayed as a very indecisive and immature character more often than not, upsetting to see since it was obviously not the intention of the writer, more a side effect of his wishy-washy ways. I understand trust is difficult for him, but at some point he needed to just decide who he believed and stick with it.

Overall the story was good, with lots of action, some really interesting back story building, and a passionate and sensual romance. Kalen and Mackenzie were obviously meant to be together, even though so many forces are trying to pull them apart. The fight between the pack and the Unseelie king is interesting and certainly offers a great foil to the love story for Kalen and Mac. Malik is an evil bastard and Kalen is just the one to defeat him, if he can dig deep and get past his profound inner issues and accept that Mac and his Pack are the only ones he can truly trust. It was a little rough to read at some points because Kalen’s insecurities got a little annoying in their frequency and depth, but worth the tedious moments in the end.