Review: Harvest Moon by T.M. Marie

Title: Harvest Moon
Author: T.M. Marie

Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Self-Pub

Received By: Author for Review

~*~Book Blurb~*~

Myra McClure, orphaned at birth, found herself struggling in life, trying to search out a place to fit in until one snow-covered night her life suddenly took a strange new turn. In rescuing a very special horse, she entered a world unlike anything she had ever known. Wolves, horses, and human-like animals woke Myra to the world of the Wendigo. A world she didn’t understand at first but a world she wanted to be part of despite the dangers that came with it. She learned about trust, loyalty and most of all how to love.

Alex Wade, head of his own Wendigo clan, offered Myra the protection of his clan and in doing so lost his heart to this strong-willed, sarcastic unconventional woman. Wendigos didn’t take humans as life mates but Alex began to learn Myra was no ordinary human. She had a gift with horses, evident in the rescue of a horse he spent years finding. While his own clan is ready to accept Myra into the fold, he must struggle with his own fears of the past. And most of all the animal within.

I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by this debut novel. Author T.M.Marie uses unique characters, a unique setting, and unique circumstances to take readers on a rather interesting and action driven plot ride.

Heroine Myra McClure, is the first character introduced. She's unique in the fact that this is not a heroine who comes from a cushy background,  nor is she this stunning beauty, but rather a 'plain Jane'  with a past filled with hurt, including her present circumstance of being homeless. But, when she lends aide to a mysterious stranger and beautiful horse (something that's near-and-dear to Myra's heart) during a blizzard, her life suddenly takes a sharp turn down a path filled with mystery, danger, creatures straight out of fictional tales, and romance.

Myra's hero is none other then the wealthy clan leader Alex Wade, the  good-looking alpha of a pack of Wendigos in rural Canada, living on a horse ranch not far from Vancouver. While he's never been adverse to interacting with humans, a mistake in his past has lead him to believe that he will never take another human as a mate. But, Myra has just been thrust in his path when an opposing and evil pack leader goes after both Myra and Alex's prize horses,  as well as jeopardizing the exposure of Wendigo's on unsuspecting humans, causing Alex to play protector to the headstrong heroine as well as having to inadvertently protect his own heart.


There is little actual sexual interaction between the hero and heroine in this story, but readers will be privy to a whole lot of sexual tension and an obvious attraction that develops into much more. However, sometimes I felt like there wasn't enough 'oomph' between the hero and heroine, despite the strong sexual attraction. I think maybe I just wish they acted on it more. With that being said, I definitely wouldn't classify this book as a YA category (too many adult innuendos, situations, violence, and some language), but is on the adult, lighter sexual side. 


You can't help but really enjoy the two front characters, despite their misgivings and sometimes frustrating persona's, and the secondary characters add a strong family-type presence. Something that Myra particularly needs and desires.  And Myra isn't alone in her feeling of belonging (with the exception of one pack member). Alex's clan has also taking a liking to her and relizes that there might be more to Myra than meets the eye.


A pack of Wendigo's living in rural Canada, living on a horse ranch is unique in itself, but the author went a step further and made this story border on fantastical. The idea of Wendigo's -- not the typical Were's that we are familiar with in most of our paranormal romance reads -- gives the story an air of fantasy, even though it's not. In particular with the heroine. The reader is given the idea that there's just something different about her, but we don't know exactly what until the very end.

This story was exceptionally long at just under 110K words! Yet, only occasionally did I feel like it was dragging. The author did a rather good job at creating enough twist-and-turns and an action-driven plot that it held my attention. Additionally, the author's keen knowledge of horses was front-and-center, being that the plot carries heavily with the element of horses; Another fun and unique asset of this novel.


Overall, I have to say that I enjoyed this story and the uniqueness of the  consistent plot, characters, and great writing style, having only occasional bumps along the way that had to do with my own personal preferences. If your looking for something different in the sub-genre of shifter romance with small amounts of sexual interaction, then this is a great place to start!