Review: Excellent read!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 15, 2013
MOONLIGHT is a bit long at 90,000 words and took me almost a full day to read, but the pacing is good and the story is worth it. Ms. Kessler knows how to blend suspense, romance, paranormal worlds and people, and a dash of humor for an overall good time.When Adam, next-in-line as the Alpha of his werewolf pack, discovers Lana (a jaguar shape-shifter who doesn't know her own past), he is shocked to find his natural enemy is also his destined one-and-only.This situation is further complicated by the people who want Lana disposed of--or captured for some nefarious science experiment--including a fellow jaguar shape-shifter who can use his heightened abilities to move without making a sound or leaving a footprint, and whose motives are unclear.As Adam struggles with the knowledge that he has to choose between the love of his existence and his family and former life, potentially even setting up his twin brother to die, he has to woo the girl who naturally distrusts him (and desires him simultaneously, which she finds quite annoying) and who is constantly on the run.Meanwhile, Lana was abandoned as a child, never knew her parents or her past, and she's learned the hard way that she can't count on anyone but herself. However, as Adam gets under her skin and through the stone dungeon walls of her heart, she allows herself to hope that just this once, she'll be wanted wholly and unconditionally, even though it turns out she's a freak kitty with superhuman senses. The problem is that even if she could fall in love with him, she knows it would tear him from his family--the one thing she's never had, and the one thing she knows he needs to be complete (werewolves lose their strength and part of their spirit wanes when they're separated from their Pack). So could she love him enough to let him go?The choice is made for her when another trained assassin (also a jaguar) from a mysterious organization hunts her down and kidnaps her, expecting to make a trade with the organization that hired her and ruined her life. But perhaps they won't be able to steal whatever humanity is left in her soul.The characters were very well established and I'm excited for the sequel, Hunter's Moon, though I had already guessed the basic story plot. I like the characters and the world so much, however, I would snatch it up in a heartbeat.I also liked how the stage is set with this organization (Nero) and all its secrets, and the children who are anomalies in their own right and the way the paranormal races interact.My only beef with MOONLIGHT was that wolves were supposed to have this incredible sense of smell and yet no one could smell the jaguar (Lana) on Adam, until a good portion of the book had gone by and then suddenly Adam was conscientious that he had to make sure to mask her smell.That aside, I see this series going on for lots of books, with all the intriguing possibilities that are laid out in this first book, and I can't wait to dive into them.Reviewed by JCCelestefor TheRomanceReviews.com