Gwen’s review of Kiss of a Dark Moon (The Moon Chasers, Book 2) by Sharie Kohler
Contemporary paranormal romance released by Pocket on 30 Sep 08
What’s with me lately and always catching Book 2 of a series? Somehow I miss these when they first come out. I need to take that up with management… 🙂 This series has a few unique twists on the lycan myth- they’re not so noble (with a very few exceptions) and the humans hunting them are as ruthless as they. I enjoyed the book, but it left me feeling a bit dissatisfied.
The action in the book sucks the reader in right from the get go. The heroine, Kit March, is a lycan hunter. She even torpedoes a rare date to go hunt lycans. The hero, Rafe, watches her take down three lycans, without lifting a finger to help mind you, just to watch her move. The chemistry between these two is immediately apparent – it almost sizzles off the page and is fun to read.
Both the hero and heroine are nicely developed characters. I felt like I got to know them, even if their romance eventually left me feeling empty. What occurs between Rafe and Kit could have been wonderful, but because of actions on the hero’s part, I just ended up pissed off. Kohler uses the “forced seduction” card one or two times too many. The chemistry was there and the time/place was ready, but the heroine’s reaction and the hero’s need for control made it all too… I don’t know… dirty. It left me feeling cold in the end.
I enjoyed the hell out of the action sequences, even if the bad guys were bumblingly incompetent more often than not. I felt like perhaps some additional brains should have been attributed to them. They were all just a tad too incompetent. Perhaps they were “badder” in the first book. We’re introduced to, and I left with a good initial impression of badness for the uber-baddy – the head of EFLA (some effete suit) – but then we never see him again.
And, those of you who have read my previous reviews know that I love me some epilogue. LOVE to see how things pan out a few months/years down the road. But, because of the unaddressed issues in the H/H relationship, and because, frankly, I didn’t see how they were going to get a chance to settle down any time soon, having them fighting lycans with their brood of chilluns made the epilogue seem a bit silly and over the top. And I normally like epilogues!
Upshot is this was a good book, but I had one major problem with it and a couple of minor ones. I’d recommend it to fans of action paranormal romances or of the author. I don’t recommend this to someone who isn’t necessarily a fan of paranormals, however.
Grade: C-
Summary:
LOVE AND LET DIE . . .
After a savage lycan attack destroyed her parents, Kit March has ignored the rules saying only men can be hunters and dedicated her life to destroying lycans. Her profession is hell on her love life, but she’s resigned to the lack of romance until she meets sinfully sexy European werewolf agent Rafe Santiago. Unfortunately, Rafe is a man with a mission: eradicate rogue agents from the American branch . . . and the foremost name on his list is Kit March.
Rafe has always put business before pleasure, but something about this feisty yet vulnerable woman is doing strange things to a man who has never before allowed his emotions to get the better of him. The merciless hunter excels at eliminating threats, but he doesn’t know how to handle the threat Kit poses to his heart.
The world of lycans has always been black and white. But now, suddenly, the rules are changing. Forces that have been brewing for generations put Kit and Rafe in terrible danger, and nothing they confront is quite as it seems . . . including each other. Is the passion between them just as illusory? Or is it the only thing real?
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
