The Lunatics by Navessa Allen
- Alisha Eadle
- 14 hours ago
- 3 min read
The Lunatics
by Navessa Allen
Published by Forever
Book 1 in The Lunatics Series
Layla Fitzpatrick lives a simple life, for a werewolf.
And that's just how she likes it. Her childhood was less than ideal. She'd like to spend her adult years flying under the radar of more powerful preternatural creatures. Because she knows from experience what happens when they notice you. Everything changes one early summer night when she attends a ritual bonding ceremony meant to join two werewolves together for life. Midway through, the spell becomes corrupted and she finds herself unexpectedly mated to the stuffiest shifter she's ever laid eyes on.
Michael Kolbeck is more man than wolf. He spends his days in a skyscraper, building his family's empire. At night, he prowls the streets of Boston, a city where shifters, witches, and vampires walk a delicate tightrope of ceasefire masquerading as peace. Little do they know that Layla's arrival will act as the spark that ignites the fire, and that thin veneer of peace is about to vanish.
Genre
Triggers
Violence, Murder
Before I begin, I would like to thank Forever Publishing for sending me an ARC of The Lunatics by Navessa Allen, in exchange for a fair and honest review.
I received this arc a few days before The Lunatics released last week.
I finished it in two days.
It was so, so good.
I wasn't sure what I was in the mood for - a fantasy, a romance ... I've been in a weird headspace lately. The Lunatics was the perfect bridge, and had me in it's grip from the first chapter, to the last.
It's been a while since I read a werewolf book, and honestly, I don't know why. I love the genre. It's fun, and oftentimes a little dark.
It was kind of what I was expecting.
The Lunatics is that ... but also felt a little different. Not in a bad way. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think it's because I'm so used to werewolf romances to be more focused on the physical aspects of mating, that this one just hit different. Not because there isn't sex.
Navessa Allen wrote this. Of course there is.
It's just not the focus. The emotional bond between these characters, getting to know each other, is. The story, and everything stacked against them, gets in the way.
It all just adds to that slow burn we all love. The tension.
Two things that we don't usually get when it comes to mated werewolves romances.
Another thing I loved about this book were the characters. Layla's personality was relatable, and it was easy to genuinely like her. Despite the things she has experienced in her past, and the resulting consequences in her present, she is a good person. I adored Michael. First of all, the body type being atypical to most romances - stockier, average height, with a bubble butt - totally my type. So loved that. Besides that, I just liked his character. That he was a decent person, despite who raised him. The fact that he is Layla's polar opposite makes their dynamic so much fun. I love what she can pull out of him, and that slowly, he loosens up and becomes more him, and not the curated version of him, with her.
What makes me nervous is that this book ends on a cliffhanger. This was previously self-published, and readers have been waiting five years for the rest of the stories, and when asked .... crickets. Now, I'm going to assume that Forever wouldn't have published this book without the promise of a conclusion, and I genuinely hope one is coming ... because that was an insane way to end the book, and I need more!
The Lunatics released August 4th, 2026. You won't regret adding this book to your shelves.
Mom: "Trust me, I get it. The first time you father and I slept together, it felt like I disintegrated on a cellular level."
I gagged.
Layla: "Too much, Mom."
Mom: "My brain short-circuited."
Layla: "Mom!"
Mom: "I lost math for three days."
I clutched the steering wheel and dry-heaved.
Gia: "You need to get on his mother's good side."
Layla: "No shit."
Gia: "Have you reminded her that if you drop a litter of Michael's pups, she'll have superwolves for grandkids?"
I looked at her.
Layla: "Drop a litter? Seriously?"
Layla: "I think I should shift first. That way we can see how you respond. Also, I'm big enough in wolf form that if you start to get snippy, I can just sit on you."
He shook his head, a small smile playing about his lips.
Michael: "I'm not sure I can stomach the embarrassment of that."
I grinned back at him.
Layla: "Then you better behave."
Michael: "Yes, ma'am."
Comments