Sandy M’s review of Moon Burning (Children of the Moon, Book 3) by Lucy Monroe
Paranormal Romance published by Berkley 1 Feb 11
I lovelovelovelove this series by Lucy Monroe. And Moon Burning is my favorite so far. I’m totally intrigued with Barr – a wolf – and Sabrine – a raven – and their totally opposite personalities and beliefs. Barr is the confident laird with the responsibility of an entire clan, Sabrine his enemy, a warrior and spy with the responsibility to locate her people’s lost magical artifact to prevent their extinction. So much conflict between them, but also so much heat, emotion, respect, and admiration. They’re a mesmerizing couple.
Barr has been sent by the Sinclair laird to lead the Donegal people and to train their young heir to be the future laird of their rundown, fearful clan. He’s learning their previous laird led with a brutal hand, but he himself is a fair leader and knows he’ll get to the bottom of the underhandedness to give these people their peaceful and happy lives back. On a hunt he’s stunned to come upon a naked woman in the woods. Carrying her to the castle, he feels a connection to her, something he’s never had happen before. He knows she’s keeping secrets, but he’s determined to find out everything he needs to know about this fascinating woman.
Her people have kept their lives separate and secret from others like them. Sabrina has sacrificed everything in her life to be the warrior she now is to keep their world safe from those who would destroy them – Faol. Wolf. She goes a step further, decides to infiltrate the Donegal clan, knowing someone there has to be the one who stole the legacy that keeps her people from dying out. Her brother’s coming of age celebration is imminent, and Sabrine vows to have done her job before that time so that her brother, her people’s future leader, will mature into the man, with all of his magical powers, he’s meant to be. The roadblock she runs into is Barr. He’s Faol, but he’s also much more and Sabrine finds herself wanting to be with him more and more, despite the man’s arrogance.
I love reading about these two characters. They’re perfect together. Sabrine is right, Barr is arrogant but he wears it humbly. He knows his mind, he speaks his mind, and he goes for what he wants, which isn’t much as laird. But when Sabrine comes into his life, he knows she’s meant for him and he’s going to keep her. In doing so he’s alpha to the core but also very romantic about it. Sabrine, little by little, has to let go of her prejudices against wolves and also let go of her warrior self just a tad to give herself permission to love, to have a life of her own. And she has to trust. Especially her new-found wolf. She almost waits too late to do that totally. The scene where Barr realizes he doesn’t have her trust as he thought he did is one of the best of the book. Ms. Monroe does a wonderful job of showing his emotion in that scene.
There is also a side story with Earc, Barr’s right-hand man, and Verica, the clan’s healer. They’ve been dancing around one another for a while, and when things heat up concerning the former laird, Earc steps up to the plate and claims Verica. Their banter and interaction is just as much fun as Barr’s and Sabrine’s. And speaking of the former laird, what a piece of evil work he is. He’s the reason the clan is voracious in giving trust to Barr. At least those who are worth their salt. The others who still fear for their lives have to be wooed, and Barr is very good at that. There are beautiful little nuggets like these throughout the book – the that pull everything together for such an emotional, humorous, magical, and romantic read.
Though I know better than to ask an author, “How much longer till your next book in this series?” or “Can’t you write faster??”, Lucy Monroe is one who I’d trip over my tongue for, because those questions would be asked one on top of the other. I lovelovelovelove her work!
Grade: A+
Summary:
Barr never asked to be made laird over the struggling Donegal clan, or leader of its werewolf pack. But he’ll do his duty and although he hasn’t yet found his mate, he hopes she will be among his people. He expects his new role to be difficult; he doesn’t expect to discover a naked woman in the forest whose memory is as fragile as her human body—her delectable, all too appealing body. Could this woman be his true mate?
On a mission to save her people from extinction, Sabrine pretends she has no memory in order to gain access to her enemy: the Donegal clan. A raven shifter, she is determined to retrieve the sacred stone that rightfully belongs to her people. But soon she’ll be engulfed in her burning desire and growing love for Barr—and the dangerous and inescapable secrets destined to keep them apart…
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
