Review #24 Claire de Lune

Claire de Lune

By Christine Johnson

Publication date: May 18, 2010

My rating: ****

My review:

On Claire Benoit's sixteenth birthday she finds out that she is a werewolf which does more than complicate her new relationship with cute Matthew Engle. Matthew's dad is at the head of an anti-werewolf organization and there is a murderous rogue werewolf on the loose. As Claire struggles to deal with the changes of her transformation, the town's increasing paranoia, and her mother's continued secrecy, Matthew is the one bright spot in her life. But how can she be with him when she can't tell him the truth? And just who is behind the murders plaguing her community? Could it be one of the members of her werewolf pack or is it someone else entirely? Time is running out as the killer comes closer...

Claire de Lune is the first in an interesting new paranormal romance series featuring werewolves. In this series werewolves are female and this is a very female empowering novel. In fact there are only a few major male characters. The women of the werewolf pack are strong and capable. Claire is a brave heroine and her mother is also a very strong character. I really like how Claire's transition to a werewolf is handled. Her confusion and anger at being left out of the loop or the way she is treated by older members of the pack are reminiscent of the way it feels as a teen to have your parents treat you like you are still a child. In a way, the werewolf transformation is like going through puberty with the physical changes Claire has to cope with as well.

The romance between Claire and Matthew is sweet and the two share a strong bond even though she has to keep part of life secret from him. The suspense element also serves to keep the pages turning as we briefly see through the eyes of the killer throughout the novel and try to figure out who it is. Some of the minor characters can be irritating such as Claire's best friend Emily but thankfully it is not a huge distraction. I thought the werewolf mythology was interesting especially some of the special abilities they had. Hopefully that will be explored further in the sequel. Overall I thought this was a good first novel from Christine Johnson. This title is less like Shiver and more like Blood and Chocolate but I think most fans of YA paranormal romance would be pleased. Look for the sequel in 2011.

Note: I read this ARC as part of an ARC tour hosted by Jamie at YA Addict. Thanks Jami!