New York City, New York - Present Day

It hasn’t been long since the Unveiling, the time when the Others revealed their existence to the human world. Vampires, faeries, demons and werewolves, they’re all real. Now imagine being part of the military for the biggest superpower in the world, what would you give to obtain secrets that could enable you to create human soldiers with the capabilities of the strongest Others? Major Noah Baker, a specialist in explosives, not subterfuge, has been tasked with infiltrating the Others to get those secrets. Unfortunately, Noah has made friends among the Others, his sister Abby is mated to one, and there’s this one special werewolf, Samantha Carstairs, who pushes all of Noah’s buttons. How can he betray his new friends, Abby, and Samantha?

Samantha “Sam” Carstairs is stuck between a rock and a hard place. As the personal assistant to the Alpha of the Silverback Clan, Graham Winters, Sam cannot hide things from her boss and Alpha. But when her best friend, Annie, begs her to keep a secret from him, a secret that could affect all Others, Sam agrees. I know, that sounds bad, but Sam isn’t going to keep the secret forever, neither is Annie, it’s just for a week. Then Graham tells Sam that Noah will be sharing office space with her for a while (He’s recruiting pack members to join a special military group.). Since something about Noah just makes Sam’s hormones go crazy, she has to wonder, what else could go wrong this week? If only I could tell Sam she just does not want to know the answer to that question.

Christine Warren has created a fascinating realm filled with characters readers will come to love and look forward to learning more about in her stories of the Others. HOWL AT THE MOON continues in this vein, allowing readers to learn more about Noah, a very intriguing military man, and Sam, a woman who holds one of the most important positions in the Silverback Clan. From their very first meeting in THE DEMON YOU KNOW (May 2007) Sam and Noah have felt the sizzle of attraction. Sam is at first determined to resist him, but after some time spent in close quarters, she starts to wonder why she needs to. After all, her Alpha took a human mate, and that’s turned out great. Maybe it’s time for this conservative wolf to explore her wild side. Noah doesn’t realize at first that Sam is anything more than a sexy potential lover; however, it’s not long before he starts to think in terms of forever, making it that much harder to proceed with the mission. Unfortunately for both of them, Noah’s not the only one looking for Annie’s research, and before it’s all over, everyone's secrets are going to be exposed. Will Sam forgive Noah for his betrayal, or is he going to find out just what kind of damage an enraged and hurt she-wolf can inflict?

Sam’s best friend, Annie Cryer, is a dedicated scientist, and like many highly intelligent people, she has an unfortunate tendency to get so wrapped up in the exciting work she’s doing that she fails to see the big picture. I hope that the author gives Annie a story of her own in the future, I’d like to meet the man who can drag Annie out of the lab and make her think of something other than genomes and test results. Graham Winters shows a lot of restraint for an Alpha presented with such a dangerous threat to his pack, though I’m sure that his mate Missy’s calming influence has something to do with that. Noah’s sister Abby loves him, and though his actions won’t change that, it doesn't mean she won’t encourage Sam to take a pound of flesh in recompense for his idiotic behavior. Many of the other characters from previous books in the series also have important roles in this story including: Abby’s mate, Rule; Rafael, leader of the Council of Others, and of course Fiona and her mate, Tobias.

HOWL AT THE MOON is a fantastic addition to the world of The Others and I highly encourage readers, new and old, to grab a copy as soon as possible. Christine Warren does a wonderful job of writing a book that meshes perfectly with the storylines of the other in the series, yet stands alone perfectly. Stop by her newly revamped site, www.christinewarren.net, for a complete listing of her books as well as the welcome news that she’s not done with this great series yet. :-)

Lori Ann