Moonlight Warrior : All About Romance

Moonlight Warrior

Grade : D-

Having attempted to read the fifth entry in Janet Chapman’s Highlander Series as a standalone book, I can accurately describe that experience with one word: Confusing. Thinking I could leave all of that series’s history behind, I volunteered to review this, the first in Chapman’s new Midnight Bay Series, expecting to begin at well…the beginning. Instead Moonlight Warrior reads more like the seventh in the Highlander Series with at least five of the couples from those six books playing some sort of role. Talk about confusing.

The overriding theme here is magic and there is a lot of it to be had. As you would expect, some of the characters are hundreds of years old with all sorts of purposes, occupations, and forms. And this time their mission is to protect a dragon (who is really a man) from a vengeful ninth-century witch.

Once an eleventh century Highland warrior, Kenzie Gregor has lived a multitude of lives as several different animals over the past two centuries. Relieved to once again be in human form, Kenzie purchases a 400-acre farm on the ocean with the stated purpose of opening an animal sanctuary. It’s all a front, however, since Kenzie’s true objective is to help displaced souls – of the human turned into animal variety.

Eve Anderson is trying to make a new start with her life and finding the going a bit difficult. Recently divorced, she’s come home to Midnight Bay to live with her mother, Mabel, who is experiencing the first stages of dementia.

In the opening pages, Eve and Mabel learn that Eve’s uncle has just sold the family farm they call home without notifying them of his intentions. With only five days to vacate the property and no money, they have nowhere to go.

When Kenzie is informed that he has displaced two women by purchasing their former home, he rushes to inform them that they may take their time in relocating. But Eve is an independent woman and wants no man’s help. Even if this man is kind and thoughtful (and actually much too wonderful), Eve can’t appreciate or even simply thank Kenzie for his generous actions.

Although Eve is attracted to Kenzie, there’s no way she will give into any attraction. Besides, she thinks of him as weird – nobody’s ever really as nice as he seems to be. And she is also suspicious of just why such a rich, handsome man would choose a place like Midnight Bay to live (although my thoughts were just the opposite – I would expect a rich man to occupy 400 acres of ocean-front property).

Wanting to be close to Eve as well as take care of both her and Mable, Kenzie offers her the position of live-in housekeeper. Eve agonizes endlessly over what the townspeople will think of such a living arrangement, although her mother and an old priest will continue to live in the house. So what does the way-too-considerate Kenzie do? He volunteers to continue camping near the ocean (he likes to camp) so that Eve and Mabel may have a place to live without the threat of him abiding under his own roof. Eve accepts the preposterous living arrangement, and my opinion of her plummeted further.

Kenzie has his reservations about a relationship with Eve as well. He knows there’s danger headed their way plus she has no idea about his true age or pledge to protect displaced souls. He’s depicted as the gentle giant sort who seems too eager to please in the beginning, although he shows more backbone towards the latter part of the book.

Secondary characters abound, taking up what feels like wasted page space, with one in particular standing out among the crowd. As Eve’s close friend, Maddy serves as cheerleader for the book’s romance as she points out to Eve again and again (ad nauseam) how gorgeous and strong Kenzie is, while Eve continuously rejects any such talk. Maddy is the stand-up comic of the book with so many one line zingers that it became very tiring – very quickly.

Unfortunately, the story of Moonlight Warrior requires a lot of background information and the telling – rather than the living through – of events detracts from the ongoing plot line. Even present day events are often recounted through one character to another instead of giving the reader a firsthand experience. Other key words that describe my reaction to this book are contrived, disjointed, and erratic. Problems keep appearing to provide a false sense of conflict between the leads, while the book heads in too many different directions as it must keep up with so many past characters, introduce numerous obviously future characters, and fight off evil – all in the midst of a developing romance.

This disjointed telling rather than experiencing along with a prickly heroine I couldn’t like or respect weighed heavily on my less than favorable opinion of this book. But it was the “continued” series nature of a “first in a series” book that, in the end, earned its D- grade.

Reviewed by Lea Hensley

Grade : D-

Book type : Paranormal Romance

Sensuality : Warm

Review Date : June 2, 2009

Published On : 2009