Moon Craving : All About Romance

Moon Craving

Grade : C-

As Faux Historical Paranormal Werewolf tales go, this one resides somewhere just a teensy bit short of smack dab in the middle of the grading curve.

As far as time setting goes, it’s murky, but I’m guessing about the 12th century. Not that it really matters because if historical setting were really important to a reader she probably wouldn’t be reading a Faux Historical Paranormal Werewolf book anyway, now would she? So, moving right along, Abigail is the deaf sister of the heroine of the previous book. It seems that the deaf are believed to be possessed by demons so she’s learned to hide her disability by lip reading.

Englishwoman Abigail is promised in an arranged marriage to Talorc, laird of the Scots Sinclair clan who, unbeknownst to the bride’s side, is a werewolf. He’s descended from a long line of werewolf warriors who have interbred with humans. He is powerful and rich and blackmailed by his king into reluctantly agreeing to the marriage.

Abigail and Talorc meet. They talk. They’re attracted. They marry. They have explosive sex. They begin to like each other. But – cue ominous music – she’s keeping the secret of her deafness, while he’s keeping the secret of his werewolfness.

Honestly, if you’ve ever read a Faux Historical Paranormal Werewolf tale before, then you’ve read this one because there is nothing unexpected and nothing that would help this book rise out of the pack. (A little werewolf humor there. Sorry. I’m back now.) The historical setting is textbook wallpaper. That’s bad enough, but then there are the language anachronisms. Characters say things like “OK” and, every 50 pages or so, the author throws in a “dinna.” On the positive side, “OK” and “dinna” never appear in the same sentence.

The missed opportunities are legion. The Scots highlands offer a mysterious and intriguing setting, but it’s wasted here. The characters are wooden and the world-building sparse. The prose is smooth enough, however, and that is largely what keeps this one out of D territory.

Lucy Monroe is one of those authors who seems to be spreading herself thin by publishing a lot of books in a lot of different genres. There’s just no other way to put this: It shows.

Reviewed by Sandy Coleman

Grade : C-

Book type : Paranormal Historical

Sensuality : Hot

Review Date : February 2, 2010

Published On : 2010