Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read Edge of the woods by jules Kelley. This is not my usual choice of book so went in with an open mind. Wow, I was really impressed with this novel. It drew me in and kept me reading. Going to look up other releases by this author now.

This is a very good read. The writing so good I could see things happening. The "whack-a-wolf" startled a laugh out of me. Suspense wound through the story keeping me guessing.

Wow, what a wonderful story. Normally when I read werewolf story I expect another soulmate AU, where the werewolf part is secondary to the romance. That did not happen in this book. You could take the romance part out entirely and the events of this book (most of them) would still happen. I loved it. Well written, well rounded characters, I look forward to more from this author.

Also lots of LGBTQ+ representation without it being the main point of the story as well.

*Thank you to the publisher for this eARC.

"She smiled as she drew closer to him, hoping she looked suductive and not just like an idiot." - From Edge of the Woods

4 stars.

This is a sexy fun story with great writing and characters. The cover is beautiful, and it only got better from there. Diverse characters that physically weren't perfect, and were fine with that. I had just been asking for a romance with a bigger female lead that wasn't damaged about her size. It also included many unique plot points with a female alpha (who wasn't good at fighting), turned wolf verses born one politics, and having the town sort of all "in" on the knowledge. I thought the vampires needed more talking about, and the "mystery" was pretty simple and predictable, but I enjoyed the ride. A number of loose sort of ends that I hope future books include to tie them up.

I received an eARC from City Owl Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for this review and all opinions are my own.

This is book one in the Moonrise Series. The Main characters are Lelan Sommers and Haley Fern. Leland is a Sheriffs Deputy who takes a position in the small Town of Pine Grove Montana. He Meets Haley Fern who is the Nature Preserve Liaison. Haley is also a werewolf and so is most of the town. She has to figure out how to assist the sheriff with town issues without letting him in on the towns secret.

I loved how the Author put together Haley and Lelands relationship. It wasn't too sappy and very sexy at times. She also has 2 side characters, Diego who is gay and Michelle who is trans. I liked that there was enough representation of different types of relationships. Within the story there is also a murder, trespassing packs and vampires. I really enjoyed the entire book including how she describes some of the characters. They are human and not perfect which I find very refreshing in a paranormal romance novel. The cover of the book is beautiful and I would pick up the book in a store if I saw it on the shelf. The only issue I had with the book was that the ending seemed very quick without a lot of detail. I would like to have seen a chapter or two describing Haley and Lelands relationship after finding out she was a wolf. Overall i give this book 4 1/2 stars.

I will be posting my reviews on both goodreads and Amazon

This was a really good story. I hadn’t read a werewolf book in a long while and this one was very enjoyable. The whole mystery subplot and all the action at the end really elevated the book, it was very nerve-racking, but in a good way. Though I kind of wish we’d have gotten more of Leland and Haley after the conflict had resolved itself and all the secrets were out in the open. They were so cute together. This was a pretty diverse read in regard to LGBTQ+ characters and that’s always appreciated. I loved the author’s writing and I’d love to read more of her work, especially if she chose to expand on this universe.