Review – Nocturne by Christine Johnson

Thursday, April 5th, 2012 at 9:00 am

Nocturne by Christine Johnson
Claire de Lune Book #2
From Publishers – Simon & Schuster Aust.
Release Date – August 2011
Check it out at Goodreads | The Book Depository | Kobo | iBooks

Claire couldn’t be happier as it seems like her life is finally settling down. She’s been fully initiated into her family’s pack of female werewolves, her best friend Emily is back in town, and the gorgeous Matthew Engle is now her boyfriend.
But when a new girl comes to town and threatens to break up Claire’s friendship and relationship, everything starts to unravel. Not only is the new girl trying to steal her best friend and boyfriend, but it seems that she may know more about Claire than she’s letting on. Knowing Claire’s secret breaks all the rules of the pack, and the consequences may be more than Claire can handle…

Review by Liz Carson: In the sequel to Claire de Lune, Claire Benoit’s life is just as complicated as ever. Best friend Emily has come back to Hanover Falls after her parents shipped her off to live with an aunt because of their paranoia about the people-killing werewolf, which means Claire needs to keep the truth about what really is, even closer to her chest. This becomes more difficult under the scrutiny of new girl Amy Harper, who seems suspicious of Claire.
In her human world she has school, a boyfriend and trying to keep Emily onside and in her wolf world, the pack is about to expand and Claire must display her talents to the whole pack. The excitement of finally going to a school dance is dampened by a pack gathering of significant importance that Claire can’t avoid. The clash between her human and wolf world becomes increasingly difficult to deal with and it comes to a head after Amy tells Claire she knows all about her.
The teenage angst of wanting to be a 16-year-old girl and the realisation of the importance of the pack to her future are plainly obvious and Christine Johnson captures these emotions succinctly. A bit of maturity is lacking in several of Claire’s decisions and she is lucky that things don’t turn out for the worse. Will Amy reveal Claire’s secret and put herself and everyone Claire knows in danger?

About the Author: Christine Johnson grew up in, moved away from, and finally came home to Indianapolis, Indiana. She lives there with her husband and two children in a creaky old house with a creaky old dog.