REVIEW: To Hunt a Moonborn Beast – The Lycanthrope Protection Agency Series Book 1 – CJ Ravenna

This world isn’t kind to werewolves. Especially wolves without a pack.

It’s a lesson that human-werewolf hybrid Max Gallagher learns when he’s abducted by the Moonborn cult. Scared and on the run, Max has learned that the only one he can trust is himself.

Until Agent Gabe Reyes rescues him, and Max finds sanctuary with the wolves of the Lycanthrope Protection Agency. The moment Max catches Gabe’s scent, Max’s wolf knows he’s found his fated mate.

But there’s no room for love in the fight to come. When the cult arrives on the agency’s doorstep, Max and Gabe find themselves in the battle for their lives. The Moonborn will kill to get their hands on Max, and Max fears he may lose Gabe and his found family for good.

Unless Max is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice.

To Hunt a Moonborn Beast is the first in The Lycanthrope Protection Agency series, featuring friends to lovers, slow burn romance, lots of hurt/comfort, and a rowdy found family. There is knotting kink, but no Mpreg or A/B/O dynamics. Concludes with a HFN and more to come for Gabe and Max.

Reviewed by Linda Tonis

Member of the Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team

From the first page I was glued to Max Gallagher’s story, a story of abuse and the sadness that comes with reading about it.

Max is a human-wolf hybrid in a world where werewolves have been accepted but hybrids have not. Bullied in school and by his stepfather Max has only known hate. When his mother first married Richard everything seemed wonderful until his true self showed himself. Richard hates hybrids, they are a curse on pure wolves and need to die and he does everything in his power to break Max.

Richard’s hatred finally pushed him to lock Max up, beat him, belittle him till Max finally believed everything he said about him. Unable to fight back Max is turned over to John Jones the leader of the Moonborn Cult who capture hybrids and viciously kill them. Max is chained and locked in a cage at this point feral.

Gabe Reyes works for the Lycanthrope Protection Agency; his job is to find hybrids in need of help. While rescuing two children he smells something amazing, and it leads him to a feral wolf, his partner smells dirt and blood. When he approaches the wolf, he is attacked and tranquilized and brought to the Agency hoping they can help him. He is unable to switch to human and it seems unlikely that he can ever maintain his humanity.

Locked in a cage, Gabe finds himself caring for the little red wolf who he calls Lobito. The little wolf is not aggressive towards Gabe now that he has calmed down a little and when Gabe takes him out of the cage Lobito lays in his lap. The little red wolf is finally able to switch to his human side thanks to Gabe but other than his name, which is Max, he doesn’t bond with anyone else.

An ad about Max brings his mother to the Agency but he doesn’t willingly accept her. Max has always felt like a failure, and a coward who couldn’t protect his mother now his guilt keeps him from embracing her and his belief that she is ashamed of him. It is only Gabe that gets through to Max and he has feelings for his rescuer but has no faith in being cared for by another person because he is weak and not deserving of love.

Like Max, Gabe suffered at the hands of John Jones who kidnapped him when he was young and took great pleasure in torturing him. Gabe is a hybrid and Jones killed his father now he is consumed with hatred and a desire to kill the beast that tortured him and killed his father.

The search for John Jones is ongoing while Jones and Richard are after Max, a red wolf which is very rare. The agency is attacked, they are betrayed and what should have been the good guys against the bad wound up a trap leaving more agents dead.

This book has surprises, betrayal, lies, secrets, violence and abuse. A lot happens, some of it suspenseful, some sad. I was very interested in Max’s story because whether a hybrid or a human child abuse is something performed by monsters.

I highly recommend this series and look forward to more.