The Lunam Ceremony
Lunam Series #1
Nicole Loufas
Genre: New Adult Paranormal
Publication Date: April 3, 2016

Born from a curse that allows her kind to shift from human to wolf, Kalysia won the genetic lottery. She is the offspring of an original, born to lead and bound by her duty to produce an heir to continue their bloodline she must leave the only life she has ever known to take part in The Lunam Ceremony. This ancient ritual will solidify her place in the pack and determine who she will love for the rest of her life. There’s just one problem – Kalysia doesn’t believe in love.

That changes when she falls into the hands of Dillan Dukes. The attraction is undeniable. The connection unbreakable. He is everything love at first site is supposed to be, suddenly her future doesn’t look that bad.

Unwilling to give up hope on going to college and having the life her and Dillan fantasize about outside the pack, she reluctantly takes on the role as pack leader. When an unexpected proposal is made that will grant both Dillan and Kalysia their freedom she is willing to put her ego, and her heart aside, to make her dream come true.

One night.

One act of selflessness.

For the life she’s always dreamt about.

Only things are not what they seem.

Can Kalysia and Dillan find happily ever after with the consequences of that night haunting them forever?

Will one fateful night destroy Kalysia’s future along with the future of the pack?

I have mixed feelings about The Lunam Ceremony. I am always hesitant to grab shape shifting paranormal books. Some I have read in the past are so cheesy and over the top that I cannot connect and it is not my cup of tea. There are a few authors that hit the nail on the head for me and I stay within their worlds. So branching out was a step and I ended this story curious about what would happen and somewhat unsure of how I felt about what already took place.

To start off, the story was well written and well paced. The book is solid when it comes to a  story and my hesitancies are completely personal, nothing to do with the way the book was written. Nicole does a great job of blending the paranormal shape shifting world with the human world, showing the differences between what we know and what they know.

In this story Kalysia was born into a clan but raised completely cut off from it. She is different. This these was brilliant. The reader is able to better transition into the story from her POV because she is learning her role in pack life as she goes. There is information thrown at her when she asks but so many things are based on instinct which is new, allowing her to explore both sides of who she is and taking the reader along for the ride. This story is obviously about shape shifters, but it does not feel overwhelming in the details of that world. It is a theme that is vital to the story, but the main focus is on Kalysia and her experiences, her struggles as a leader in a new pack, and her determination to make a difference and change the mentality of the people she is leading.

The romance in this story is one of the things that makes me hesitant. I feel like it was well spelled out and shared in this book but it was not really connecting for me. Kalysia connects in a special way with Dillan and she decides to be with him. It is also fast, which is part of the premise. I get that. It is insta love on Dillan’s side, something that always makes me step back a bit. Yet watching the story unfold in Kalysia’s POV allows the romance to be a bit more reserved. She is uncertain as to her connection, only noticing that is is deep and her heart is connected. She is learning what everything means when it comes to mating and choosing your partner, something that allows the reader to jump in with her. But there are some things that happen later that irked me and caused a bit more of a disconnect from the romance. Again, complete personal preference.

There is so much that happens in the last half of this book and I am definitely intrigued about where the story is going. This series has the potential to be laced in intense drama. There are secrets and hidden agendas that come to play and seeing how it all unfolds should be quite interesting. This New Adult paranormal is a decent start to a new series and I am curious where Nicole Loufas is headed with her characters and drama.