Dual Book Review: Under a Blue Moon by Bru Baker

Reviewed by Ami & Nikyta

Title: Under a Blue Moon
Author: Bru Baker
Series: Camp H.O.W.L. #2; Dreamspun Desires #22
Heroes: Nick & Drew
Genre: M/M Paranormal
Length: 228 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: June 19, 2018
Available at: Dreamspinner Press & Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Once in a blue moon, opposites find they’re a perfect match.

Nick Perry is tired of helping people with their marriages, so when a spot opens up to work with teens at Camp H.O.W.L., he jumps at it. He doesn’t expect to fall in lust with the dreamy new camp doctor, Drew Welch. But Drew is human, and Nick has seen secrets ruin too many relationships to think that a human/werewolf romance can go anywhere.

Happy-go-lucky Drew may not sprout claws, but he’s been part of the Were community all his life. He has no trouble fitting in at the camp—except for Nick’s stubborn refusal to acknowledge the growing attraction between them and his ridiculous stance on dating humans. Fate intervenes when one of his private practice patients threatens Drew’s life. Will the close call help Nick to see a connection like theirs isn’t something to let go of?

Ami’s Review:

Nick Perry is the new counselor at Camp H.O.W.L (he replaces Tate, from previous book); on his way to the camp for his new job, his flight runs into trouble, which ends up with him having to stay overnight until the weather is clear.

Luckily, Nick shares a seat with a gorgeous human – and well, under a blue moon’s influence, find himself sharing a bed as well. But Nick doesn’t do relationship with human, so he marks the night as a one night stand, and doesn’t even ask for the human’s phone number. Imagine his surprise that the object of his lust is the new camp doctor, Drew Welch.

Bru Baker continues her Camp H.O.W.L series with new characters to root for – for me, in this case, is in the form of Drew. I LOVE this guy!!! Even though Drew is a human, he shows that werewolves can’t take him for granted. Drew’s stepfather and stepbrothers are werewolves, so he knows how to deal with them. He is a smart cookie, our Drew. I loved when Drew challenged Nick to both physical and mental games! Drew proves that he isn’t simply prey.

Now, NICK, on the other hand … he totally grating on my nerves with his “traditional” perception of weak humans. Even when the other wolf staffs at the Camp keep saying that Drew can take care of himself, Nick is adamant of keeping his opinion, that he cannot be with a human since a human doesn’t understand wolves … plus he seems to worry that Drew is just going to break. Stupid Nick *grumbles grumbles*

I thought Nick’s apology in the end needed A LOT of improvement – that scene seems too short for me, and too convenient for Nick *hmph* — but Drew is SUCH a darling, and I love him too much to not give this a higher rating. Besides when Nick felt miserable over his own decision, it was quite fun to read (and I was happy that he was miserable *haha*).

Ami’s Overall Impression: I really liked it!

Nikyta’s Review:

When I read Camp H.O.W.L., I absolutely fell in love with the world. I loved that there were facilities that allowed teen shifters to be able to come to terms and control their shift. I was so eager to read more of that world that I was so ecstatic for Under a Blue Moon to come out and boy, was this book satisfying! Normally, I’m not a fan of books that start off with one night stands but this one sucked me in right from the start. I loved the immediate attraction between Drew and Nick and how they gravitated towards one another. It was so entertaining to see the contrasts from waiting for their next flight to when they meet at the camp. It was such a vast difference because Nick was completely blind-sided by seeing Drew again, even if he was happy to see him, that it caused him to react negatively to Drew, which made everyone think Nick was against working with a human, completely untrue, but first impressions and all!

I just absolutely loved that Nick struggled with the idea of having a relationship with a human. Not because Drew was a human but because Nick was under the assumption that humans just wouldn’t understand what it was like being a werewolf and that inability to share that would cause a rift between them later on. I think part of that is because Nick didn’t realize how involved Drew was with the werewolf society as they didn’t exactly get to know each other in their initial meeting but I loved that Nick fought the bond between them so hard. I mean, it seemed like it was killing him when he thought Drew had moved on and I loved every minute of it!

As for Drew, I did love him as a character (although I definitely liked Nick more) and I loved how he was a human but was able to dupe werewolves and knew exactly how to handle them. I didn’t feel like we really got to know Drew as much as we got to know Nick, though. Either that or I was way more invested in the Nick POVs than the Drew POVs (LOL) but I did enjoy their time together and getting to know one another. I would have liked to see more of them actually learning  about one another instead of being told that they spent time together and talked about their lives but as it was, I adored the slow-burn chemistry between them.

While I really loved this story, I felt like the resolution to some of the conflicts was too easy. I wanted to see things hashed out more but instead, it felt like it was tied up too neatly. I wanted to see both Nick and Drew apologize because I felt like they were both at fault for things. Drew relied too much on thinking Nick already knew what he wanted and Nick was too hung up on thinking he couldn’t have a real relationship with a human. I wanted them to really talk these issues out but instead, Nick admits he had an issue and that was about it. It could have been so much more, IMO, and I was saddened that we didn’t see them delve into their problems more. I also wanted to see more of the ‘games’ they went through but we only really got to see a few of them and it sounds like the others would have been so much fun to see play out!

All in all, I really enjoyed this book. It was a great follow up to the first in the series and I loved being able to see Tate and Adrian again because I adore those two. I did love Nick and Drew, though, because they’re both such endearing characters. I loved their chemistry and how much they were drawn to each other. I did like the way it ended but wished it had been more fleshed out in certain areas. I’m really looking forward to Jackson’s book, though, can’t wait for that one!

Nikyta’s Overall Impression: I really liked it!

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in return for a fair and honest review.*