The Wolf Moon (Book III of the Wolfmoon Trilogy)

Nikki
Broadwell
Genre: 
Paranormal

A belated confession motivates Maeve Lewin’s return to Scotland to meet the mother she had thought died long ago.  Their reunion sets Maeve onto a predestined journey into an enchanted world.   According to an ancient prophecy, Maeve will restore balance to the Otherworld during the time of the Wolf Moon.  Many will rally to her cause, including her lover, to oppose those who would doom them to darkness.

With the fantasy elements interwoven- surreal parallel world, intelligent beasts, massive warriors, untested heroine, and ambitious supernatural villains - "The Wolf Moon", the last installment in a trilogy, promised a heroic good versus evil finale; unfortunately, its potential wasn’t fully met. The characters are thrust into overwhelming situations that should have provoked complex emotional responses. The reader is told of their feelings and conflicts, but they are resolved with limited exploration. Maeve demonstrates token resistance to her seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Her limited emotional range made it a challenge to become properly invested in the story’s outcome.  The setting didn’t lack for detail - at times, the imagery was lush, adding a dark atmosphere to the languishing Otherworld at the crack of doom. This attention to detail would have had a dramatic effect if it had been applied to the emotions of Maeve and Harold and enriching the dialogue.  The main villain, Brandubh, has a dual nature that was interesting and short-lived.  Reading his emotions and inner conflict could have been riveting, if it had been explored. Overall, "The Wolf Moon" contains the outline of a promising story, but the characterizations and anticlimactic resolutions did not make this a compelling book.

 

Anna Fitzgerald