Book One in the Riley Jenson Guardian series

I picked this up in a second-hand bookshop on a recent trip to the beautiful city of Galway in the west of Ireland.  The moody cover is what captured me.  The contrast of the red font against the navy sky immediately drew me in. Riley Jenson is a werewolf-vampire hybrid. In this world humans know about supernaturals. There’s a lot of sex, so if that’s not your cup of tea don’t bother picking this up.

Set in Melbourne, Australia, Riley’s brother goes missing in the week before the full moon when were creatures are in heat, not the best timing.  Sex is not optional during this time; it’s a necessity to stave off the bloodlust that can literally drive a werewolf insane. Riley has to balance her need to mate with finding her missing brother.  She works for the Directorate of Other Races and finds herself in one dangerous situation after the next.

I couldn’t get into Riley’s character straight away. She’s so confident and empowered that I found it hard to relate to her.  Even the way she speaks to strangers, cursing and being so forward had me wondering if a person like her could really exist, but as the story progressed I understood and even appreciated her no-bullshit personality.  The arrival of the lovely vampire Quinn O’ Connor also helped!

Riley’s mate Talon is a misogynistic pig and I never warmed to him, even at the start when I had no reason to be suspicious of him.  I would have liked to get to know her brother Rhoan more, but maybe he’s explored in greater detail in further books of the series.  As a supernatural creature, you’d expect Riley to be able to handle herself physically.  She is a skilled fighter and there are many scenes of her battling with other creatures of the night.  It’s great to see a woman taking care of herself and not relying on being rescued by a man.  Riley is definitely not a damsel-in-distress.  She’s tough, smart and self-reliant, all things I can admire but she never reveals a softer side.

Riley and her brother were thrown out of their packs for being half breeds and their mother turned her back on them both.  I wanted to find out more about how this affected Riley but we never see any vulnerability or a glimpse of pain.  I get that she’s an ass-kicking, alpha female, but she’s also got a heart and emotions like anyone else but we never get to see them.

Overall, I found Full Moon Rising to be a fast-paced, action-packed read, but I would have liked to be able to relate to Riley more. ***

Check it out on Amazon HERE

Here’s my question:  If you had to become a supernatural creature, would you like to be a vampire, a werewolf or a vampire-werewolf hybrid?